I’ve
been using this title for a little while, now, and it occurs to me
that some might wonder how I came up with that title. Well, let’s
start off by turning to Isaiah 6 (I am using the ACV, here; it’s
free, and conservative with the translation of the original language
text):
8 And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Lo, send me. 9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but do not understand, and see ye indeed, but do not perceive. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn, and be healed. 11 Then I said, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until cities be waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land become utterly waste, 12 and Jehovah has removed men far away, and the forsaken places be many in the midst of the land. 13 And if there be yet a tenth in it, it also shall in turn be eaten up. As a terebinth, and as an oak, whose stock remains when they are felled, so the holy seed is the stock of it.
I
do not intend that this blog should be used to tickle ears, nor do I
intend that the messages passed along, here, should be compromised in
order to avoid the offense of those who come to read (or to comment,
by the way, as comments will be moderated anyway, of course).
The
commission of someone called to speak forth the Word of Way, Truth,
and Life is not always an easy word to hear, but it is always needed.
Many people have a tendency to attack the one who is responding to
such a call, seeking only to execute it faithfully, and I would
adjure you to question the veracity of those who level such attacks.
For example, one such person that I run into online, is someone who
seems
to falsely
claim to be Christian
themselves in order to discredit genuine Christianity. They don’t
believe the Bible, don’t go to church, don’t have any views in
line with those of Christ and agree with everything that atheists
say, but bless God, they’re Christian! Such a person might even
spout Bible references at the one fulfilling their call, but such
spoutings are rarely accurate when fully examined.
Take
care in your assessments of such people, that you not be merely
crying out for your ears to be tickled. Take care, as well, that you
not assume sin where you do not genuinely know its presence, for the
commission of the Prophet did not begin with verse eight, but verse
1:
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings, with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who cried, and the house was filled with vapor. 5 Then I said, Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. For my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts. 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said, Lo, this has touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin forgiven.
God
confronts those He intends to use before He ever sends them out, so
be certain of your stance before you attack, lest you find yourself
attacking God, for the faithful messenger does not alter the message
given, but merely passes it along, so that when you attack the
message, it is the Sender you are attacking, and not the one carrying
the mail.
That
having been said, it is also not my intention that I should be the
only author posting here. if this endeavor is a success, you will see
more joining in, called to share the Word in their devotions and
pronouncements.
