05/08/2013 - PEOPLE OF GOD LED CAPTIVE

• 
• 
• 
• 

Therefore my people have gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge; their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.

Isaiah 5.13

When Isaiah announced that the Israelites would be led captive, the Israelites thought the prophet had gone bananas. Would it be possible that they – who had been freed from slavery in Egypt, now an organized nation with so many promises made to them – would be enslaved by a pagan nation? But it happened exactly as the prophet said. The Israelites were taken captive because they failed to give the Lord the place he deserved in their lives.

It is not enough to be religious; it is not enough to claim that you belong to God. You need to examine yourself and see if you are standing firm in faith, or if you are merely acting like a legalist. When you fail to understand your rights in Christ and to take possession of what has already been delivered to you, you are truly insulting the Lord God. It is almost as if you declared you do not believe in what he says; or that you do not need what was given to you through the death of Jesus on the cross.

When this happens, even those who are considered godly – those who are devoted to religion – are hungry for the Bread of Heaven. He who belongs to the Lord needs to live on every word that comes from the mouth of God. However, he who does not eat the flesh of Christ or drink from his blood has no communion with him.

In regard to people who claim to be Christians, the lack of living water can be seen through physical appearance and the soul, since very few of them actually seek the Lord. Most of them are not interested in fighting to be delivered from their troubles. If God heals, they thank him, because they will save money on medicines, but if they are not healed, they seek human help. As far as they are concerned, Christ the healer would never be sought.

The Word is the Bread that sustains us, but in our days, as in the days of Isaiah, the Word is rejected. The result is people sick in faith, unwilling to seek the Lord and tricked by the subtle lies of the devil. As a consequence of this lack of fear of the Most High, the number of divorces, for example, grows steadily among Christians. Bottom line: too many people are not interested at all in God’s commandments, so they do whatever they please.

But the revelation of the Word is like water that quenches the thirst of our soul. Perhaps some will ask: “Why should we quench the thirst of our soul if a good worldly program can help spice up the relationship?”, “What’s wrong with enjoying worldly pleasures, if we are not going to be around much longer”? Well, thoughts like these permeate part of God’s people. Poor people! If they do not repent, they will be led to captivity.

Humankind is taking a big risk by living far from God. One of the attitudes that insult the Lord the most is not to pay him attention, as if he were not real. How about when their time is up? What will those who despised God do? It is time for the holy people to act with wisdom and seek the Author of life, so that when oppression comes they will not be alone.

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares