"I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not benefit you. When you cry out for help, let your collection of idols save you! ...But the man who makes me his refuge will inherit the land..."
(Isaiah 57:12-13)
In Christ we have made the Lord our refuge. He is our citadel, our fortress, our Rock of refuge. He has His protective walls around us. From this vantage point and this secure foundation “we will inherit the land.” From here we can do the works “which God has prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).
Any good work will be in His name and in the power of the Spirit, and it will rest solely on the Lord’s foundation. Otherwise it would be an idol and a hard taskmaster which makes us laboriously carry it. But on the Rock that is Jesus we are carried and our work is made a light burden.
The accuser will tell us that we are merely engaged in devotion and not going out and trying to solve the world’s ills like real Christians. But there is no danger of this if we are having personal dealings with the Lord by encountering Him daily in the Word and listening to the Spirit’s voice. That’s the voice that nudges us in the direction we should go, towards the acts of compassion and works He wants us to do.
Scripture Focus
2 Corinthians 5:12-15
Insight
This will also naturally and unconsciously flow out in sharing the joy and liberty we have found in Jesus with others who want to know.
Bible In A Year
- Isaiah 29-30
- Psalm 85
- Acts 7
