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Wednesday December 12, 2012 -- Advent Week 2 -- No Dirty Laundry

Wednesday December 12, 2012


One day while the prophet Isaiah was praying, he saw a vision of God sitting on his throne in heaven. In the brightness of God's purity, Isaiah noticed his own sinfulness and the brokenness of others around him.  The perfection and holiness and beauty of God changed Isaiah's view of everything, including himself. Isaiah's first response was one of hopelessness and doom because he saw how deep and dark the filth of sin was in him, and also in others.  Some people are afraid to approach God because they are afraid of this very thing -- their sins being hung out like dirty laundry.

God is kind. He is not one to try to motivate us with shame, and He has no desire whatsoever, to humiliate us.  He's been aware all along of all the sin we're now seeing.  God knows that as we become more conscious of our sin, we will feel shame.  God, in His great kindness, has provided a solution for that as well. God does for each of us exactly what He did for Isaiah.  God  forgives us instantly, when we ask Him.  We can't clean ourselves enough to come before God.  We can't do anything on our own about the ugliness of our attitudes, words, and actions, as they contrast to new knowledge we get of God's goodness.  What we can do is make ourselves available to God's cleansing and healing through surrender to His word and work in our lives.  Jesus reveals the beauty of God's kindness and forgiving acceptance of us when we come to Him, confessing our sins.  It's not enough to know God is good and stay far away because we realize we are bad.  We need to bring ourselves before God and let Him remove our guilt and forgive our sins. 
What an amazing gift God prepares for us in this Advent season .... not only forgiveness and lifting our guilt, but the sending of us out to be messengers of hope among others who are struggling just like we were.  Advent is a season of hope.  Advent is time we are given to share this wonderful living hope.  This is the season of the gift giving of hope. 

Where are we in this journey today?  Do we need to take time to seek God?  Do we need to take time with God and receive His cleansing even when we feel dirty and doomed?  Is it time now for us to respond to God's question "Whom shall I send as a messenger to this people?" by saying, "Here I am Send me."

It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple.  Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.  They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!”  Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke. Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”  Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”  Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”  I said, “Here I am. Send me.”  And he said, “Yes, go ...."  (Isaiah 6:1-9 NLT)

Audio for Wednesday December 12, 2012 -- Advent Week 2 -- No Dirty Laundry

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