An Invitation

“Come now…..and let us reason together”

Isaiah 1:18

I come to the Lord this morning as I reflect and write this while looking out my window. Truly in being still we sense God’s presence as we come to Him to receive all He has intended. I look outside and see the stillness in the blanket of snow that has covered the earth after the wintry storm displaying God’s power and beauty. Jesus is the commander of the storms and of the storms in our life but the storms do not dictate the outcome, He does. The storms transform us as He engineers all things for His noble purposes.

A year ago today the Lord gave me Matthew 14 as I read of another storm as we headed to Duke in the midst of our own personal storm as we met with doctors for further treatment while waiting for more reports regarding another mri. Walking each step of the way the waves were rising and the winds blowing hard against the faith deep within my heart and I was reminded of how Jesus is never absent from us and He is quick to save us. He told Peter to “Come” and Peter obeyed and began to walk on water but as the storms came and he saw the winds blow he was afraid as his eyes were off the Lord and he started to sink. The Lord saved him and showed me that in all that He allows He will see us through…if He says to ‘Come’ then that word will accomplish all it intends and how that day I had to keep my eyes on Him to keep my faith from sinking. The same Lord who allows the storms will calm the storms. His presence is promised and His grace sustained us all as we kept our eyes on Jesus.

As I come to Him this morning and think of the snow and the storms that come into our lives I am most reminded of the beautiful words in Isaiah 1:18 reflecting His unending love in His invitation to me once again to 'Come'.

Isaiah 1:18, "Come now....and let us reason together". The Lord invites us to come to Him. There will never be a more important invitation ever given to us. If you were never invited to anything else again, just think, the God of the universe invites you to come…"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow".

As I think of the beauty of the snow and of the beauty of Gods transforming grace in our life how great is His glory that fills the earth. The prophet Isaiah cried out to God - "Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory" Isaiah 6:3. Isaiah's heart was transformed as despair and a spirit of helplessness had covered him but as he looked up "he seen the LORD sitting on a throne high and lifted up and the train of His robe filled the temple". Isaiah 6:1. The glory of the LORD was magnified in his life and his heart was flooded by lights of holiness as his hope was placed in God alone. In all his despair it brought him to see the condition of his own heart compared to God's holiness. As He came, His despair lifted. He saw the LORD. He saw himself. He saw the needs of others.

Isaiah the prophet became undone in this place of despair but that was the place the Lord could do a work in him as it took his eyes from all that was troubling him and placed his eyes on the LORD. As with us, as we come to Him and fix our eyes on nothing other than Him.

Through this scripture that Isaiah penned, Isaiah's testimony was that he not only saw the presence of Jesus in the temple but that the presence of Jesus was filling the temple. As grace has opened our eyes how the Holy Spirit wants us to come to ‘be filled’ daily (Eph 5:18) with His presence. How I need a continual, daily filling - a moment by moment surrender for His moment by moment control in my life.

The snow is such a beautiful analogy to me of how His grace covers us all. Just a couple days ago the barren ground and leafless trees that winter brings were not very pretty and somewhat messy and lifeless, as it can be in the messy and barren places of our hearts but as God's glorious white covering of grace comes upon the messy and lifeless places He makes all things new as we come to Him. As we come there is a newness, a cleansing, a peacefulness and stillness as seen with the snow and all is covers, as the world stands still and witnesses another glimpse of the undeniable attributes of God seen in the beauty of His creation that no one can deny. How too the world sees this undeniable transformation in us...a behavior seen that comes from a stillness in Him that speaks louder than our words.

Regardless of how messy things may appear, and how undone we may feel at times....in just one moment God can make all things new in just one turning of our heart. In just one step coming towards Him. He covers our sins, our past, our failures, our hurts and our pain as the dirty ground is instantly covered and made white as snow. I think of my salvation and His continuing sanctifying work in my life. This process goes way beneath the surface like the ground underneath the snow but in that place I am given new clarity and a fresh perspective that our righteousness is like filthy rags compared to the holiness of God and it is only by Gods grace covering us and making us white as snow that we are made new. But too, underneath the surface there is always a continued work to be done as the snow melts and winter leaves us and spring comes followed by summer and fall, the ground has to continue to be cared for.

So it is with our hearts. As a Christian I must strive to be pure and clean from the inside out. Surface cleansing is not sufficient although it may look pretty but it is always the heart that God sees and wants us to maintain. The maintenance of my heart is fully surrendering to Him and requires a process of a stripping away of my surface and a digging deep below the surface in the places where the impurities lie. His continuing work in our life means that He loves us so much that He desires for us to become all He intends and this process is sometimes painful but as we allow Him to search our hearts we unearth or discover more of who He is. And as we do, we dig out and bring into the surface all that He desires to touch in our life with His transforming grace.

It is during the seasons of sanctification the Lord builds in our lives as we continually surrender to Him. This is never easy. But when we, like David, believe that God’s lovingkindness always is looking over us and watching out for our well being we find treasures that we previously couldn't of found under the surface through the layers of dirt clay and muck that covered them.

"Each step of obedience on my part brings more clarity…Morel clarity enables greater understanding….Greater understanding initiates greater responsibility….greater responsibility furthers His eternal plan."

"Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be made clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Psalm 51:6-7

"He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him." Daniel 2:22

Father, Thank you for your grace and mercy that takes away our sins....for your unending grace in all forms and in all areas of our life needed each day. In the name of Your Son, Jesus. Amen.

"Come now, and let us reason together", says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow". Isaiah 1:18

Thank you Father for inviting us always "to come".

Michelle A. Guerra