[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR WEDNESDAY JULY 20

[Donnie Parrett]

DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR WEDNESDAY JULY 20

WORD OF WISDOM

If you don't like the path you're on, you have two choices; learn to like it
more, or find a new path.

___

DAILY DEVOTION

The Best Kind of Obituary


And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that
Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not
delay to come to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was
come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by
him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she
was with them.
Acts 9:38-39

During the days of westward expansion in the United States, life on the
frontier was anything but certain. Hundreds of people were buried alongside
trails and in small cemeteries without much notice or remembrance. At one
point, a Missouri newspaper called the Mountain Echo ran this notice: "If
you have frequent fainting spells, accompanied by chills, cramps, corns,
bunions, chilblains, epilepsy, and jaundice, it is a sign that you are not
well, but liable to die any minute. Pay your subscription in advance and
thus make yourself solid for a good obituary notice."
Every day, we are making a record that people will remember after we are
gone. We may never be famous or well known, but there are people whose lives
we are impacting-for good or ill-and they will remember what we have done.
The obituary that we are writing with our actions will long outlast anything
that may be printed or posted online. The encouraging words we speak, the
kind actions we perform, the generous gifts we give, and the faithful
witness we present are the best kind of obituary there is to leave behind.
The opportunities of today will likely not be repeated tomorrow. We must
seize each day and do all that we can for God and for others in it. In
truth, none of us knows what the next day will bring. The only day we have
for certain is this one, and we must not waste it. Jesus said, "I must work
the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no
man can work" (John 9:4).
The way we will be remembered after we are gone is determined by the way we
live today.

___

DAILY BIBLE READING

Isaiah 1-3 New King James Version
Judah Called to Repentance
1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and
Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

The Wickedness of Judah
2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth!
For the Lord has spoken:
"I have nourished and brought up children,
And they have rebelled against Me;
3 The ox knows its owner
And the donkey its master's [a]crib;
But Israel does not know,
My people do not [b]consider."

4 Alas, sinful nation,
A people [c]laden with iniquity,
A [d]brood of evildoers,
Children who are corrupters!
They have forsaken the Lord,
They have provoked to anger
The Holy One of Israel,
They have turned away backward.

5 Why should you be stricken again?
You will revolt more and more.
The whole head is sick,
And the whole heart faints.
6 From the sole of the foot even to the head,
There is no soundness in it,
But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores;
They have not been closed or bound up,
Or soothed with ointment.

7 Your country is desolate,
Your cities are burned with fire;
Strangers devour your land in your presence;
And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
8 So the daughter of Zion is left as a [e]booth in a vineyard,
As a hut in a garden of cucumbers,
As a besieged city.
9 Unless the Lord of hosts
Had left to us a very small remnant,
We would have become like Sodom,
We would have been made like Gomorrah.

10 Hear the word of the Lord,
You rulers of Sodom;
Give ear to the law of our God,
You people of Gomorrah:
11 "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?"
Says the Lord.
"I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fed cattle.
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
Or of lambs or goats.

12 "When you come to appear before Me,
Who has required this from your hand,
To trample My courts?
13 Bring no more futile[f] sacrifices;
Incense is an abomination to Me.
The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies-
I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.
14 Your New Moons and your appointed feasts
My soul hates;
They are a trouble to Me,
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you [g]spread out your hands,
I will hide My eyes from you;
Even though you make many prayers,
I will not hear.
Your hands are full of [h]blood.

16 "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes.
Cease to do evil,
17 Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Rebuke [i]the oppressor;
[j]Defend the fatherless,
Plead for the widow.

18 "Come now, and let us reason together,"
Says the Lord,
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land;
20 But if you refuse and rebel,
You shall be devoured by the sword";
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

The Degenerate City
21 How the faithful city has become a [k]harlot!
It was full of justice;
Righteousness lodged in it,
But now murderers.
22 Your silver has become dross,
Your wine mixed with water.
23 Your princes are rebellious,
And companions of thieves;
Everyone loves bribes,
And follows after rewards.
They do not defend the fatherless,
Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.

24 Therefore the Lord says,
The Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel,
"Ah, I will [l]rid Myself of My adversaries,
And [m]take vengeance on My enemies.
25 I will turn My hand against you,
And thoroughly[n] purge away your dross,
And take away all your alloy.
26 I will restore your judges as at the first,
And your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city."

27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice,
And her [o]penitents with righteousness.
28 The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together,
And those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.
29 For [p]they shall be ashamed of the [q]terebinth trees
Which you have desired;
And you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens
Which you have chosen.
30 For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades,
And as a garden that has no water.
31 The strong shall be as tinder,
And the work of it as a spark;
Both will burn together,
And no one shall quench them.

The Future House of God
2 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the Lord's house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And all nations shall flow to it.
3 Many people shall come and say,
"Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths."
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,
And rebuke many people;
They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning [r]hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore.

The Day of the Lord
5 O house of Jacob, come and let us walk
In the light of the Lord.

6 For You have forsaken Your people, the house of Jacob,
Because they are filled with eastern ways;
They are soothsayers like the Philistines,
And they [s]are pleased with the children of foreigners.
7 Their land is also full of silver and gold,
And there is no end to their treasures;
Their land is also full of horses,
And there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land is also full of idols;
They worship the work of their own hands,
That which their own fingers have made.
9 People bow down,
And each man humbles himself;
Therefore do not forgive them.

10 Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust,
>From the terror of the Lord
And the glory of His majesty.
11 The [t]lofty looks of man shall be humbled,
The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down,
And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.

12 For the day of the Lord of hosts
Shall come upon everything proud and lofty,
Upon everything lifted up-
And it shall be brought low-
13 Upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up,
And upon all the oaks of Bashan;
14 Upon all the high mountains,
And upon all the hills that are lifted up;
15 Upon every high tower,
And upon every fortified wall;
16 Upon all the ships of Tarshish,
And upon all the beautiful sloops.
17 The [u]loftiness of man shall be bowed down,
And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low;
The Lord alone will be exalted in that day,
18 But the idols [v]He shall utterly abolish.

19 They shall go into the holes of the rocks,
And into the caves of the [w]earth,
>From the terror of the Lord
And the glory of His majesty,
When He arises to shake the earth mightily.

20 In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver
And his idols of gold,
Which they made, each for himself to worship,
To the moles and bats,
21 To go into the clefts of the rocks,
And into the crags of the rugged rocks,
>From the terror of the Lord
And the glory of His majesty,
When He arises to shake the earth mightily.

22 Sever[x] yourselves from such a man,
Whose breath is in his nostrils;
For [y]of what account is he?

Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem
3 For behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts,
Takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah
The[z] stock and the store,
The whole supply of bread and the whole supply of water;
2 The mighty man and the man of war,
The judge and the prophet,
And the diviner and the elder;
3 The captain of fifty and the [aa]honorable man,
The counselor and the skillful artisan,
And the expert enchanter.

4 "I will give children[ab] to be their princes,
And [ac]babes shall rule over them.
5 The people will be oppressed,
Every one by another and every one by his neighbor;
The child will be insolent toward the [ad]elder,
And the [ae]base toward the honorable."

6 When a man takes hold of his brother
In the house of his father, saying,
"You have clothing;
You be our ruler,
And let these ruins be under your [af]power,"
7 In that day he will protest, saying,
"I cannot cure your ills,
For in my house is neither food nor clothing;
Do not make me a ruler of the people."

8 For Jerusalem stumbled,
And Judah is fallen,
Because their tongue and their doings
Are against the Lord,
To provoke the eyes of His glory.
9 The look on their countenance witnesses against them,
And they declare their sin as Sodom;
They do not hide it.
Woe to their soul!
For they have brought evil upon themselves.

10 "Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them,
For they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
11 Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him,
For the reward of his hands shall be [ag]given him.
12 As for My people, children are their oppressors,
And women rule over them.
O My people! Those who lead you [ah]cause you to err,
And destroy the way of your paths."

Oppression and Luxury Condemned
13 The Lord stands up to [ai]plead,
And stands to judge the people.
14 The Lord will enter into judgment
With the elders of His people
And His princes:
"For you have [aj]eaten up the vineyard;
The plunder of the poor is in your houses.
15 What do you mean by crushing My people
And grinding the faces of the poor?"
Says the Lord God of hosts.

16 Moreover the Lord says:

"Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,
And walk with [ak]outstretched necks
And [al]wanton eyes,
Walking and [am]mincing as they go,
Making a jingling with their feet,
17 Therefore the Lord will strike with a scab
The crown of the head of the daughters of Zion,
And the Lord will uncover their secret parts."

18 In that day the Lord will take away the finery:
The jingling anklets, the [an]scarves, and the crescents;
19 The pendants, the bracelets, and the veils;
20 The headdresses, the leg ornaments, and the headbands;
The perfume boxes, the charms,
21     and the rings;
The nose jewels,
22     the festal apparel, and the mantles;
The outer garments, the purses,
23     and the mirrors;
The fine linen, the turbans, and the robes.

24 And so it shall be:

Instead of a sweet smell there will be a stench;
Instead of a sash, a rope;
Instead of well-set hair, baldness;
Instead of a rich robe, a girding of sackcloth;
And [ao]branding instead of beauty.
25 Your men shall fall by the sword,
And your [ap]mighty in the war.

26 Her gates shall lament and mourn,
And she being desolate shall sit on the ground.

Footnotes
Isaiah 1:3 manger or feed trough
Isaiah 1:3 understand
Isaiah 1:4 Lit. heavy, weighed down
Isaiah 1:4 offspring, seed
Isaiah 1:8 shelter
Isaiah 1:13 worthless
Isaiah 1:15 Pray
Isaiah 1:15 bloodshed
Isaiah 1:17 Some ancient vss. the oppressed
Isaiah 1:17 Vindicate
Isaiah 1:21 Unfaithful
Isaiah 1:24 be relieved of
Isaiah 1:24 avenge Myself
Isaiah 1:25 refine with lye
Isaiah 1:27 Lit. returners
Isaiah 1:29 So with MT, LXX, Vg.; some Heb. mss., Tg. you
Isaiah 1:29 Sites of pagan worship
Isaiah 2:4 knives
Isaiah 2:6 Or clap, shake hands to make bargains with the children
Isaiah 2:11 proud
Isaiah 2:17 pride
Isaiah 2:18 Or shall utterly vanish
Isaiah 2:19 Lit. dust
Isaiah 2:22 Lit. Cease yourselves from the man
Isaiah 2:22 Lit. in what is he to be esteemed
Isaiah 3:1 Every support
Isaiah 3:3 Eminent looking men
Isaiah 3:4 boys
Isaiah 3:4 Or capricious ones
Isaiah 3:5 aged
Isaiah 3:5 despised, lightly esteemed
Isaiah 3:6 Lit. hand
Isaiah 3:11 done to him
Isaiah 3:12 lead you astray
Isaiah 3:13 contend, plead His case
Isaiah 3:14 burned
Isaiah 3:16 Head held high
Isaiah 3:16 seductive, ogling
Isaiah 3:16 tripping or skipping
Isaiah 3:18 headbands
Isaiah 3:24 burning scar
Isaiah 3:25 Lit. strength