ESOCS Devotional 23 January 2023
TEXT: ISAIAH 48:12-22
MEMORY VERSE: “Oh, that you had listened to My commandments! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.” Isaiah 48: 18 NLT
God’s mercy is from everlasting to everlasting. It is not His will that any should die, but that sinners should repent and be saved. Moreover, His love for mankind moved Him to offer up His only Begotten Son, for the redemption of the human race (John 3:16). It is God’s utmost desire that sinners should turn back to Him and not die, so as to inherit eternal life.
In order to deliver man, God incurred a most expensive cost. In other words, the cost of human salvation is the blood of His Son. Jesus was executed in our place – setting us free and removing our guilt. Yet, for us to experience His pardon, we need not, and in fact, cannot pay anything. We receive it through faith alone (Galatians 3:22). Through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, we are wholly sanctified, and declared righteous (1 Thess. 5:23). However, our own little sacrifice is to surrender completely to God’s will, just as Christ was totally submissive to the Father’s will, even unto death (Luke 22:42).
God has brought salvation to mankind through His free grace. But man must respond to this free grace through obedience to the teachings of the gospel of Christ. In our text, we see that Israel suffered captivity in heathen lands because of their disobedience to the commands of God. They were expected to understand that their sufferings came as a result of their disobedience. In verses 17-19 of our text, we see that if they had been obedient, they would have had peace throughout their history. Both in the New Covenant and the Old Testament, God gives man freedom to make choices. When we make wrong choices unto disobedience, we must pay the price that sin brings upon the sinner. In other words, there is no peace for the wicked. All sinners are hereby called unto repentance, in order to inherit eternal life. Time is running out, and very fast too. Let’s strive to follow the footsteps of Jesus, so we can qualify for eternal life.
- The death of Christ has brought salvation to all; whether we live right or wrong. Is this true?
- Lord Jesus, give me the grace to trust and obey Thy Will unto eternal life.
FURTHER READING: Amos 4:4-13; Luke 8:1-15; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
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ESOCS Devotional 23 January 2023
