Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Worship Celebration of the Faith of
the People of God
Dr. Jisha Thomas
Long Island MTC, NY
Isaiah 6:7-8 “With it he touched my mouth and
said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin
atoned for. Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And
who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Isaiah was called to be a
prophet in a time when the people of Judah were no longer faithful to the
covenant. Prior to Isaiah 6, we see the wickedness of the people of Judah and
the judgment coming to Judah and Jerusalem. But from Isaiah 6:1 to Isaiah 12:6,
we see that God redefines the future of His people through the response of one
man, Isaiah.
Isaiah’s experience of the
magnificence of God initially leads him to despair regarding his own depravity.
He looks inward and sees his own inadequacy. We have these experiences as well
where we let our own insecurities derail the call God has for us. However, God
chooses to use a hot coal touching Isaiah’s lips to demonstrate that in just a
moment, God takes away the sin, guilt, shame and inadequacy that we carry. We
serve a God of mercy. Isaiah didn’t have time to go clean up his mess, build
his character or read a self help book. He just stood there, in the presence of
God and humbled himself, and God re-established Him.
What does it mean to worship
with abandon? Isaiah’s call was not an easy one, but to carry a message of
judgment and warning. But his encounter with the Lord led him to live with
abandon - giving his life over completely to serve the Lord. Does our worship
challenge us to lay down the mentalities, ambitions, stereotypes and values of
the world in order to pursue His kingdom, His way in our daily lives?
The interesting
part about verse 8 is that the call was not directed at Isaiah specifically.
God put out a request. Isaiah, being in the presence of God, was ready to hear
it and prepared to respond to it when he overheard the call. We all don’t
experience visions of the Lord in all His glory. But we have moments where the
Holy Spirit positions our hearts to respond to Him. These moments shift our
perspective off of ourselves. Worship is not passive; it actively redirects our
eyes off ourselves and onto bringing hope to a dying world. If we allow the
Holy Spirit to bring us into the presence of God, we too will hear His
invitation to us and in perfect freedom, we will respond saying, “Here I am,
send me!”
PRAYER
Lord, let Your will
be done in our lives today. Help us to seek justice, love mercy, and walk
humbly with You all the days of our lives. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
"Am I getting nobler, better, more helpful, more humble, as I
get older? Am I exhibiting the life that men take knowledge of as having been
with Jesus, or am I getting more self-assertive, more deliberately determined
to have my own way? It is a great thing to tell yourself the truth. " The
Place of Help, Oswald Chambers