The Simple Life

Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. Isaiah  1:13-15  (ESV)   When we make "religion" about ourselves, we make fools of ourselves. When we make relationships about ourselves, we become "users" rather than "lovers." It is easy to go through the motions of loving God and others when we demonstrate that we love ourselves, and our outward exhibition of sincerity is a show to convince ourselves of our sincerity. Several places in the Bible tell us that our prayers are worthless. God sees through our religious drama and deals with our hearts as they are. We need not do anything to...

"The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand." Isaiah 1:3 (ESV) Animals recognize the one who cares for them. For years, I operated the horse program at Silver Birch Ranch. Over time, the horses recognized my voice and looks and could identify me at a distance. Depending on what they were up to, they either welcomed me or ran from me, but they always knew it was me. Those who listened to me lived relatively carefree and straightforward lives. I bore the burden of caring for them; they needed to allow me to do so. One day, four horses escaped into the massive National Forest, two of whom were MIA for quite a long time. I was concerned, for I knew that without my help and protection, they were easy prey in those woods. Within a few weeks, I saw them standing by the gate, waiting to return home. Skinny, scarred, and scared, they finally realized that being under the master was better than going alone.   http...

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: "Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me." Isaiah 1:2 (ESV) "Isaiah lived during the decline of Israel in the shadow of Assyria. He spoke the word of God to a people who were "deaf and blind," who refused to listen to his warnings of looming disaster. He warned that the sin of the people of Judah would bring God's judgment, yet he also declared that God is sovereign and would use Cyrus the Persian to return them from exile. The book speaks of a "servant," a "man of sorrows," who would be "pierced for our transgressions," accomplishing God's purposes of salvation. The final chapters give a beautiful description of a new creation in which God will rule as King, judging the wicked and establishing eternal peace." (ESV Introduction) Here is a prophet assigned to proclaim God's Word to the "deaf and blind." What a...

The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. (Ecclesiastes  12:11-14  ESVST)   We must be careful not to add to what God has said, for adding parts to truth can be as devastating as subtracting parts. We must have the whole truth without additions or subtractions.   Anything that does not increase our fear of God is dangerous, and anything that compromises obedience to God is devastating.   God has not asked us to do anything we cannot do. He has asked us only to do things we can do when we obey and depend on Him. If you do not fear God, you do not know Him. If...

Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity. Ecclesiastes 12:8   Our position in life, wealth, learning, or comfort will never bring lasting satisfaction to our souls. Life can be a failure or a triumph depending on our focus.   God created us to love, and Satan seems to want to tempt us to pervert love by enticing us to love what we should use and use what we should love.   At the end of our lives, all we possess will remain here and be managed by someone who may have had nothing to do with its accumulation.   However, those who invested their lives in loving God and people will enter an eternity of celebration, and will never really be without what they treasured most.   For now, the choice of what/who we treasure is ours. https://www.podbean.com/relate365

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, "I have no pleasure in them." (Ecclesiastes 12:1 ESVST)   Good habits are established early in life and easily broken if not attended to diligently attended. If one remembers his Creator, he remembers that he is created. If you are created, you realize your limited power and authority and that you have a purpose that has been given to you.   Many try to earn their purpose or change it to no avail, for our design is intentional, and will not yield well to something outside our design.   In the days of our youth, we can look ahead and see what we think we will enjoy when we are old, yet those who are old, like the writer of Ecclesiastes, warn us that the stuff of this earth and life are not worth our time and have no worthwhile yields.   Young people should often be reminded that God created them to love. They need to see older people demonstra...