Hear, you who are far off, what I have done; and you who are near, acknowledge my might. The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the godless: “Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?” (Isaiah 33:13-14)
I remember before I became a Christian, my perspective of God was that He was up in heaven, observing all of the bad things I was doing. He was keeping a list, and one day when I was least expecting it, God’s judgment was going to rain down on me. BAM! Hellfire and brimstone!
I believe many people live in one of two places: They keep all thoughts of God boxed up in the “denial” part of their consciousness, or they live in fear of God’s judgment.
I vacillated between the two. Denial was definitely easier - but every now and then those pesky thoughts of God would creep in, and I would become aware of my guilt.
But how does God really want to be acknowledged? Verses 5-6 give us a clue:
The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness, and He will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is Zion's treasure.(Isaiah 33:5-6)
See friend, it’s not an either-or situation. God is both a consuming fire, and He is righteousness, stability, wisdom, knowledge - and most of all - abundance of salvation.
Pastor Clay
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