Before Isaiah 1:18 Ministries was started as a website in 2022, I did a personal blog with the desire to be a full time author. I blogged about my hobbies and interests, but as I let God lead me I came to write more and more about spiritual matters in the world. It was after this had continued that I decided to follow the prompting to create this website because my mind would never stop thinking deeply about these subjects. As I meditated on what to do and how to move forward I realized that the ministry shouldn’t be tied to my name. That this ministry shouldn’t be tied to a personality or individual unless it tied back directly to Jesus Christ. It’s why this ministry is named after a Bible verse.
In the past my Mom told me that she could notice the difference in what I wrote. Some pieces were just me writing on my own and others she said were noticeably inbreathed with Holy Spirit and His power. That is why I have times of inactivity where I don’t publish new articles and audio uploads. These time periods are meant to be time where I dedicate myself to abiding in Christ and draw near to Him so that what I write and produce is what He wants me to produce for those who will read. This principle was illustrated by Jesus to his disciples in John chapter 15. His teaching imagery is that of a fruit vine that has off shooting branches which produce fruit. This was an analogy to help us understand that we will only be able to do the work set out for us if we remain in Him. It is important that we do this because He is the one who connects us to the Father the source of our power and strength to continue. This is vital because we live in a world of darkness and Christ is the light we need to live. This has many ways of being understood. Light guides us in darkness so we can see the safe path forward but for plants it is the way they sustain themselves through photosynthesis which uses light energy to produce that which they need to survive. Here is John’s poetic opening to his gospel.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
John 1:1-5 (NIV)
Christ also describes Himself as light when he is teaching Nicodemus who came to Him with questions and a desire to understand what was being taught. If you’d like to read the full account on your own time it’s in John chapter 3. But the verse speaking about light and darkness starts at verse 16 and continues to verse 21 which ends the section about Jesus and Nicodemus’ meeting.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”
John 3:16-21 (NIV)
Jesus would once again bring up the fact that the world is hostile in spirit to Christians in later chapters, but before I continue with those chapters I want to make one thing clear. It is the “Spirit of this World” that’s hostile, not the people. And this distinction is important because it is about how we characterize others. We want to easily write others off because of how they act but the truth of the matter is that they’re under the influence of the “Spirit of this World” who leads them to act in ways that are evil in addition to their own sinful nature. A nature that is already in opposition to God and His morals. The way we counter this is by remembering that God loves them as well and wants to rescue these people from Hell also.
All people have eternity on their hearts as it is written by Solomon in his book Ecclesiastes but not everyone recognizes it. To someone not interested in the topic of religion or things pertaining to more than just our physical being they might say they have a desire to do something grand to be remembered. But those who are a bit more open to the idea of something existing beyond the physical world might say that they have some feeling or pull that urges them on in pursuit of something that could best be described as “more.” And there are countless religions from history that have been formed and forgotten as time passed. But what all of these people have in common is that they are seeking for a deep longing to be fulfilled. People go to social gatherings because they want to be part of something and hope it is found in the activity.
There are two spiritual forces active in our world. One is that of Satan and his legions who are purposefully leading people astray. But the other is that of God who is working to redeem as many people as possible from sin and death through the news of His Sacrifice. When the demons have a successful hold on a thing, person, or group that is continuing to draw people away from salvation they will mount a defense once the good news of Christ begins to make headway and reduce their influence. There are two reasons for Satan and those who follow him to become hostile. The most obvious one is that people are being drawn away from worshipping him and the second is that people are being saved from hell which brings joy to God.
People can actually be pretty conversational when approached properly. One of my most stalwart intellectual opponents in High School could be quite reasonable when we spoke. Sometimes he’d ask questions in an unexpected manner to make me fumble. But there was more to our relationship than just debating theology. We had shared hobbies and interests that we spoke about. And while we didn’t speak outside of the time before school started and when we had free time during class that was allowed for discussion with each other we still could relate on some stuff. I think think it was being relatable and able to show that I am just a normal guy who has a different position than him on the “Jesus Question” is what allowed for some work to be done to open him his soul up a little bit. I don’t know where he is, or any of the others I was a witness to during High School are, but I trust that God will send others to continue the process of nurturing those truth seeds since they were planted by someone who was relatable and approachable.
This brings me to my final point about why it’s so important we ensure we abide in Christ. Whether a person knows it or not, they are susceptible to the misleading of demons and can go astray when they aren’t actively working to maintain a firm alignment with God. That is why there can come opposition in more forms than just a disagreement when it feels like the person you care about is putting up a stone wall to accept Christ. When Jesus spoke to the disciples in His Last Lecture, which I’ve dubbed the segment from John chapter thirteen to chapter seventeen, He addressed this directly saying thus;
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.”
John 15:18-20 (NIV)
He brings up an important fact that we often miss as well. Specifically, that we are servants of Christ and are not greater than Him. Thus what He experienced be it good or bad we are also fair game to experience in our lives. That is why we must continue to keep our eyes on Him. As the Magi followed the star to Bethlehem in Judea so too must we keep our eyes on what scripture teaches. It is what keeps us sharp and lets us know how to distinguish right from wrong. It is the bread of life and provides us strength just as Jesus told Satan “Man does not live on bread alone but on every word of God.”
That is why I will continue to take the breaks as I work with this ministry. Because teachers are held to a higher standard by God, and will be kept accountable for what they bring about in their follower’s lives they must ensure that what they produce is properly aligned with Him. Regardless of who I may be, the fact that I write and record these thought pieces is enough to have God scrutinize me as a teacher because there are those who will take these words to heart and let it impact them. There are many who pursue, and have pursued, the role of a teacher or leader for the glory of the position they would be better served passing it up out of respect for the responsibility that comes with it.
For teachers and those with influence, it becomes even more vital that they keep their eyes focused on the true teachings of God because of what they can do. By our actions or inactions we are bringing people closer or further from a good relationship with Him and that will impact their eternity. To others we must be gentle but not without strength and conviction to stand on the truth and direct people in the right direction. It requires patience and all of the other “Fruits of the Spirit” listed in Galatians 5:22-23 but they will only be cultivated within should we remain in the word and allow for God’s Spirit to have freedom in our lives as a resulted of the indwelling that comes from this. We may not understand the outcomes but those are His responsibility. Our responsibility is to obey Him in the present so that the outcome He desires will come to pass and bring about something better than what we could ever bring.
Until next time,
Courage and Godspeed!