Passage: Isaiah 12:1-6
1 You will say in that day:"I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.
2 "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation."
2 "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation."
3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
4 And you will say in that day: "Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 "Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.
6 Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel."
Cross references:
Journal: The second song of this chapter (Isaiah 12:4-6) links thanksgiving to the Lord with rejoicing in the Lord. ("Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.") It is easy to see a sin of commission, as a law of God is broken. It is not a stretch from there to know that if we are not repentant in our realization and evaluation of our sin, then we have sinned again. Yet, it seems extremely difficult to see that we sin when we do not have hearts filled with thanksgiving. Otherwise, the attitude of thankfulness would be much more prevalent. The first confessional is our guide -- What is the chief end of man? The chief end of man is to give glory to God and to enjoy Him forever. There is a direct link between God's glory and our joy; there is a link between a thankful heart and a joyful heart. ("Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.") The joyful heart of a Christian turns empathy into action; it turns inward compassion into outward acts of mercy. The joyful heart of a Christian is impossible to ignore by a dark world in need of light. ("Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.")
Heard 'Round the House:
A simple conversation recently turned into college and career day at the home school . . .
A simple conversation recently turned into college and career day at the home school . . .
Mommy says something to Luke (age 12) about Wheaton College, which she is suggesting as his college of choice.
Luke: I want to go to Tech . . . [pause] . . . if I can get in.
[Jill, the TCU snob, tells me that at this point she resists saying to Luke - "Are you breathing?"]
Anna (age 7): I want to go to . . . where did you go to college, Mommy?
Mommy: TCU. But I don't want you to go to TCU. (Jill, though a TCU snob when it comes to Tech, did not like the overall environment at TCU)
Anna: Oh, then I'm going to Tech too.
Alex (age 12): I'm not going to college.
Alex (continuing): I'm just going to live here. I can help out with Vera, Emma and Ella (the "downsie triplets, as we call them around here).
Alex, now apparently deciding that perhaps his room would not be perpetually available: I could set up a cardboard box in the field and live out there.
[Anna apparently chimes in, agreeing that his cardboard village is a great idea]
Alex, now thinking it through with greater vision and maturity: It would really be great if it was a refrigerator box . . .
