Isaiah 58: A Recipe for Spiritual Revival and True Joy

Hello everyone!

A couple of weeks ago, in "My Re-baptism" post, I promised to share what I had learned at a youth conference earlier this year on the beauty of the message of Isaiah 58; therefore, today's topic is "Isaiah 58: A Recipe for Spiritual Revival and True Joy".

 While attending a wonderful youth conference earlier this year, I was especially captivated by the messages that one of the speakers was sharing. This speaker shared many wonderful insights, but I'll only focus on one of them in this post; he encouraged us to live out the message of Isaiah 58. 

 What I gathered from what he shared is that by living life as God prescribed for us to live in this chapter, we will be overcoming sin. This makes perfect sense to me because sin began through Lucifer's selfishness (Lucifer is now Satan: Revelation 12:7-9; Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-17). To become truly unselfish is to become like God because God is unselfish. How beautiful! Isaiah 58 is a chapter that encourages us to minister to the needs of those around us. I want to encourage you all to take some time to prayerfully read this wonderful chapter in the Bible (This paragraph and the one above it are adapted from a Facebook post I made in January of this year). https://www.biblestudytools.com/nkjv/isaiah/58.html

 Now, I'd like to share with you a personal testimony regarding what practicing the message of Isaiah 58 allowed God to do in my life. This testimony is taken from a Facebook post I made in May of this year:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I am convinced: if anyone will prayerfully read, sincerely take to heart and practice the messages of John 15:1-9 along with the message of Isaiah 58, his or her life will be different. I know from experience.
I have been giving away clothing (gently used clothing which I no longer want and/or can use, as well as gently used clothing other family members are ready to give up) which has been sitting around my house, to people in need, and my joy has increased as a result. A couple of weeks ago, I got my eyeglasses adjusted at Walmart . While there, I learned that the Walmart Vision Center has a box where people can donate used eyeglasses. I donated an old pair of glasses that have been sitting in my drawer earlier this week. Yesterday, I found more things sitting around under my bed that I know other people can use. I know that God reminded me of these things.
My parents and I appreciate reaching out to struggling people. Whenever we do, we are always blessed. Last week, my mother and I came back from visiting friends in a poor neighborhood feeling very happy. We were SO blessed! Spending time blessing others blesses not only the people being encouraged, but those who are reaching out too!
My heart feels so much lighter than it felt earlier this year when I was more focused upon myself. I am really enjoying sharing my time and possessions with others. I realize that I am not going to be taking any of my earthly possessions to the grave with me , if Jesus doesn't come first, nor will I be taking any of them to heaven with me when Jesus comes back. I'll only take my character to heaven with me. Every time I spend time with those who need me, and every time I give unneeded things away, I feel happier and God uses these experiences to make me more like Him.
If you are in a mental slump, feeling down and discouraged, I highly recommend that you read these chapters, ask God to live in your heart every day, and purposefully practice the message of Isaiah 58.
The abiding in Christ message of John 15:1-9 as well as the reaching out message of Isaiah 58 are healing, beautiful messages. You have to abide in Christ in order to effectively reach out to others. Christ longs to live in each of our hearts and He will only make our lives better.
Blessings."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I pray that all of us will either begin to be or continue to be God's work "in progress". All God's needs from us is our surrender to and our cooperation with Him. When He has our surrender and cooperation, He will begin to do, continue to do, or even resume doing the good work that He longs to do in each and every one of us. Courage! 😊

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tornado Roll Hair Tutorial

Image
Hello everyone. :) (One important note: I mentioned that I wear a panty hose on my head at night to keep my hair neat. I either tie up the legs or wear a panty hose that has had the legs cut off. I wouldn't want anyone to have the legs end up becoming tied around their necks during their sleep. That doesn't sound safe). In today's video, I am showing you all how to do what I have termed a "tornado roll" on stretched natural African-American hair. This style would not work so well on most freshly washed natural African-American hair. African American hair is generally not washed daily. My definition of stretched hair is the following: natural African-American hair  that has been twisted, braided or put in buns for more than one day and that has then been combed out dry. This style can be done with straight or wavy hair as well. The hair tools that I use in this video are the following: A wide tooth comb A bristle brush A pony tail holder A large jaw clip Bobb
Read more

The Amazing Benefits of the Whole Foods Plant-based Diet part III

Image
Hello everyone, Today I will be sharing part III of the series I am doing on the Whole Foods Plant-based Diet. Up until now I have not shared any recipes for foods that can be eaten in this diet. I am happy to let my readers know that this diet can be very tasty and delightful. In this part of the series, I will be letting my readers know what some of my favorite dishes have been through the years, and I will be providing links to where you can purchase the cookbooks that contain the recipes for these dishes, if you are interested in trying them. :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There are vegan versions of very many kinds of foods. There is vegan macaroni and cheese, vegan lasagna, scrambled tofu (a great substitute for scrambled eggs), vegan pizza, vegan cheese and sour cream etc. There is so much out there for vegans to eat. A vegan diet does not have to be a deprived, boring and miserab
Read more

The Amazing Benefits of the Whole Foods Plant-based Diet part IV

Image
         Would you be excited if you learned that there is a diet that has been shown to help people to drastically improve, and even reverse, type 2 diabetes and heart disease, and which also makes weight loss tremendously easier? Some medical professionals have come to see that the Whole Foods Plant Based diet can do incredible things for many of their patients: things that conventional medicine struggles to accomplish.  Today I will be sharing some free, online resources that give my readers scientific information on the benefits of the Whole Foods Plant-Based diet for type 2 diabetes and heart disease. I will also be sharing testimonials of people who have overcome obesity on this diet.       What I am sharing isn't a comprehensive ( comprehensive definition ) list of resources on these topics, but I hope that what I am sharing will be food for thought (that sounds like a pun!). As a friendly reminder, I am not a medical professional and what I am sharing is not a substitute fo
Read more