From: "Phil Rembleski" <PHIl@rescuechurchofchrist.org>

To: "1111RESCUEMEMBERS"

Cc:

Sent: Mon, Dec 11, 2023 at 5:55 AM

Subject: 12-11-23 THOUGHTS

12-11-23   THOUGHTS

This morning’s reading is kind of a SUNDAY versus MONDAY issue.  On worship day, they did a good job seeking God and His nearness.  On Monday, they “drove their workers with a wicked fist.” God tells them to be REAL (kind, compassionate, loving, pure in heart...), every day of the week, all day!  God asked for “BEING” not process, and that love would motivate all doing!
2Cor 5:21-6:1    He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 6:1 And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain —.     The passages below urge a “proper fast” in our lives. Verse 7b admonishes “not to hide yourselves from your own flesh.”    The promises then flow!  Our light will rise in darkness, we can be repairers and restorers!  God sees potential in us!  God seeks    See 2Cor 4:6-7

Isa 58:1-12    "Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression And to the house of Jacob their sins. 2  "Yet they seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways,  As a nation that has done righteousness And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God. 3   ‘Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’ Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire,  And drive hard all your workers. 4  "Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high.  5  "Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the LORD? 6  "Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free And break every yoke? 7  "Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?  8  "Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. 9  "Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; You will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, 10  And if you give yourself to the hungry And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness And your gloom will become like midday. 11  "And the LORD will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. 12  "Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.

My Prayer:
Lord, make us a proper fast, that Your love in Christ will be shown. 

           In His name,      Amen.