Absolve us.

Monday, August 10, 2020 (7:35 a.m.)

Holy God,

Thank You for the ways You get our attention. This morning as I think again of being absolved, I read of the word’s origin.

“late Middle English from Latin absolvere ‘set free, acquit’, 

from ab- ‘from’ + solvere ‘loosen’.”

You do set us free Lord. Absolving us when we confess our sins against You, others, even ourselves. Loosening us from our transgressions and trespasses.

Father, how I thank You for the work You are doing in us. Teaching us. Cleansing us. Forgiving us. Loving us. Always.

This morning I am directed again into the writings of Isaiah. Chapter 2. (The LORD’s Future Reign; A Warning of Judgment). Father, thank You for every single time You teach me something else I hadn’t known. 

Illustrated Bible Handbook. “ISAIAH The Promise of Salvation The Book of Isaiah is one of the most significant in the OT. The NT alludes to it over 250 times, and quotes it at least 50 times.”

The Life Recovery Bible tells us that its purpose is “To confront the people of Judah with their sin and denial and to inspire them to rebuild their lives based on God’s promises.” Oh please Dearest Father, let this apply to us as well.

The description of the book begins by saying, “Though it is never easy to face the truth, truth brings healing. God spoke through Isaiah to address the denial of the people of Judah.”

Holy God, You have absolutely always known Your best for Your people. And we continue messing it up. You teach love. Forgiveness. Faith. Hope. And we insist on trusting our feelings over Your commands.

“Over the centuries they (the people of Judah) had become addicted to the false promises of idolatry. They had developed self-destructive patterns of behavior that included oppressing the poor, accepting bribes, and lying to get what they wanted.”

Father God, this could easily describe society today. We are in such a deep state of despair. You alone are our only hope.

It’s verse 9 in chapter 2 that brought me to this section of Scripture. “So now everyone will be humbled and brought low. The LORD cannot simply ignore [‘absolve’ The Message] their sins!”

I think of the state of the world this very day Lord. The comment for this section begins, “2:6-22 Isaiah declared that when God sets up His kingdom, the people who have put their trust in anything other than God will be humbled and hide to try to escape the terror of the Lord. By putting our trust in God, not in any human program or plan, we will have no reason to be ashamed or afraid when He reveals His awesome power. Any human program or item that we may trust in will one day be destroyed...”

Oh that we would truly come to trusting and obeying You Blessed God. There is so much discord and conflict. How I pray Your Truth and Your promises back to You.

“The LORD will settle international disputes. All the nations will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. All wars will stop, and military training will come to an end. Come people of Israel [learned yesterday that this means ‘ruled by God’], let us walk in the light of the LORD!”(Isaiah 2:4-5).

Please, Lord God. Do everything You must to this end.

We love You. We need You. We thank and praise You. Absolve us Father. Please. Absolve us. Amen.

(553 words ~ 8:53 a.m.)