Good morning people who tune into the right narrative about the end of time.

Isaiah 2:2 NIV In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.

The last days.

Now, there’s a subject that invokes many different thoughts and emotions. Even between great scholars there are various beliefs about what will be.

I don’t want to tell you what I think about many of the specifics that are often debated (in part, that’s because I have no idea). But I do want to state plainly three things I know for sure about the last days.

The last days are a day closer today than they were yesterday.

I almost don’t need to expand on this statement; it speaks for itself. But we must live with the understanding that every day that passes is a day closer to the return of the King of kings and the Lord of lords. The time of Jesus’ return is fast approaching, and therefore, the following thing I know for sure is imperative for us all today – here it is:

We must live ready today as if it were the final day.

Putting off until tomorrow is a dangerous way to live for a follower of Christ. I am not talking about putting off temporal things, but about putting off eternal things. Repentance can’t wait another day. Forgiving others can’t wait another day. Obedience to God can’t wait another day. Today is the day that you and I must live as if it were our final day!

We must point to Jesus today as if it were the final day.

Some of us are putting off sharing the good news about Jesus until another day; until a better time. But we don’t know how long we have! We don’t know how long other people have.

I believe we need a restored sense of urgency. I’m not talking about putting undue pressure on ourselves and nor am I talking about being frantic and fearful. Not at all.

But today matters! Right now is our only guarantee, and that can pass in an instant. Here’s the truth:

2 Corinthians 6:1-2 NIV As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

This is the truth about the last days.

Good morning people who come back to the ways of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 1:21 NIV See how the faithful city has become a prostitute! She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her—but now murderers!

Isaiah 1:26-27 NIV I will restore your leaders as in days of old, your rulers as at the beginning. Afterward you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City. Zion will be delivered with justice, her penitent ones with righteousness.

God wants us to see the progression of what is happening here and His intention and will.

Israel was once faithful to the Lord. Israel followed God as God. But as we see many times on their journey, the children of Israel complained and rebelled and disobeyed the God who called them as His own.

This sin was not a small thing in the eyes of God. The opening line of verse 21 accurately describes how God sees the rebellion of those who were His children: See how the faithful city has become a prostitute!

Even as I type this, I sense that some find the language and tone offensive. And so we should! But how much more offensive is it to God who had called them and saved them and led them and done countless miracles that pointed to who He is!

But praise God, in addition to stating Israel’s true spiritual state, God always states His prophetic intention and intense desire – and this is where verse 26-27 come in.

I want you to take note of the following phrases: as in days of old…as at the beginning.

God was not calling His people into a new thing, but into a renewed way of living. Honestly, this is the true biblical reality of revival.

Revival is available to all but only entered into by those who turn back to God.

Take note of the last few words of verse 27: her penitent ones with righteousness.

The word penitent is the word converts in the KJV, and it means to turn back. Again, it is not talking about something that has not been experienced before. True revival is not so much about non-Christians being saved – although this is an essential part of the fruit of revival – but revival is Christians converting – Christians turning back – to the ways of God that they have abandoned.

How close are you to God’s original intention for your life?

If you need to repent, please repent today. God’s desire is to revive every person who needs to be revived. God wants to call you righteous and faithful.

Good morning people who accept the difficult sayings of the Lord.

Isaiah 1:19-20 NIV “If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken…these are words that every Christian should be familiar with and anchored to.

Truth is what the mouth of the Lord has spoken, and it is truth because the Lord who spoke it is Truth. Who God is and what God says is truth. It is this simple and it is this clear. It is not difficult to know or to understand. Some are making it more complicated than it needs to be.

That said, it is not always easy to live according to truth. And I think that this is the real issue.

For some who declare truth as something different than what the Lord has spoken, the reality is not that they don’t know what God has said, but rather, they are not willing to live according to what God has said.

Sometimes the redefining of truth is more about disobedience than about ignorance.

I am unapologetic and unashamed about calling the church and every professing Christian to live according to the truth of God and His Word. I will never back down on this, and nor will I ever water it down to allow it to be something less than it is.

Let me state it this way: Following Jesus is not meant to be easy!

Some “Christians” who have abandoned the faith have done so because they wanted it easier than it was. Some “Christians” who have abandoned truth have also done so because they wanted it easier than it was.

Saying NO to the misdeeds of the flesh – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not easy! If temptation wasn’t tempting, then it wouldn’t be temptation! It is alluring. It is enticing. It does please the flesh. But it also destroys people!

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken…

Is this your foundation for how you choose to live your life?

Good morning people who willingly embrace the beautiful gift of repentance.

Isaiah 1:18 NIV “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

As I read the words come now, I picture the Lord saying, “Move from where you are and step towards Me.”

Acknowledging wrong doing is part of the process of restoration to the Lord. Without repentance, there is no forgiveness of sin. Repentance is such a wonderful and helpful gift from God!

Acts 5:31 NIV God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins.

Acts 11:18 NIV When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

2 Timothy 2:25-26 NIV Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

Repentance is a shift of heart position and a change of our way of thinking. Repentance starts in the Spirit to our spirit – it is a gift from God – and it is an internal changed position towards God; away from sin, and towards God.

But repentance cannot stay an internal changed position only. It must remain an internal changed position, but it cannot stay an internal changed position without an outward manifestation – and I use that word accurately – a manifestation reveals what exists. True repentance can be seen and it must be seen.

I hear the Lord saying, “Move from where you are and step towards Me.”

May our heart posture and our way of living both be in harmony with a repentant heart towards the Lord.

Good morning people who step into a deeper connection with your heavenly Father.

I am really gripped by the importance and power of context in Scripture. As we continue to look at Isaiah 1, there are some repeating themes that God wants us to see.  

Isaiah 1:18-20 NIV “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

God hates falsehood and hypocrisy, yet He wants restoration.

God does acknowledge and clearly state the sin of His people. He does not ignore it or turn a blind eye to it. He most definitely does not excuse it because of “grace” – He never has and He never will.

And yet, even through the clarity of His awareness of and hatred of sin – that’s right, hatred of sin – God clearly and repeatedly states His desire for His children to be restored and purified. And His reason for doing so is clear: If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land.

God yearns to lavish His goodness on His children! But there is a second recurring theme that I see in this chapter.

God created an inescapable law of sowing and reaping.

In all of nature and in all that God created, there is sowing and reaping; there is reproducing after our own kind. In no situation can we sow one thing and reap a different thing. And yet it is a mystery why many people live like this doesn’t apply to them! It did in Genesis 1, it did in Isaiah 1, and it still does for every person today.

What you sow you will reap.

Galatians 6:7-8 NIV Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 

Eternal life is God’s desire for you! But it will take putting off the misdeeds and the lusts of the flesh. It will take repentance and restoration. It will take sowing to please the Spirit. And all of this requires not growing weary in doing good; it takes perseverance and godly self-control. Here’s the very next verse:

Galatians 6:9 NIV Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

If you need to repent, then repent. If you need to stop, then stop. If you need to start, then start. If you need to forgive, then forgive. If you need to go again, then go again. Whatever you need to do in order to be pleasing to the Lord, then please, do it today. God is waiting to embrace you with love and acceptance.