Isaiah 58:6-11: “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.
GOD doesn’t forsake us; He fulfills our every need. He feeds the hungry, cares for the poor, shelters the homeless, strengthens the weak, heals the sick, frees the captive, cleans the dirty, guides the lost, befriends the lonely, remembers the forgotten, parents the orphan, protects the defenseless, rewards the penniless, and comforts the grief-stricken.
GOD is One of Goodness, Grace, Mercy, Love, Light, Forgiveness, and Giving, and we are His people—chosen, anointed, gifted, blessed, loved, protected, and empowered.
This GOD, our GOD, is compassionate, ever extending Himself to us, ever reaching out and calling us, even when we’re lost and wandering.
Our good deeds alone don’t commend us to GOD but our faith, our obedience, our stewardship, our reverence and our worship, and He faithfully draws us near, so we can have a genuine relationship with Him.
What some of us don’t understand is that there are no natural STEPS but a spiritual ALTAR to GOD where He offers the Invitation, Jesus Christ, His Son, and we accept Him as our Savior, in turn, inviting Him into our lives, our families and our hearts.
GOD then welcomes us into His family, His Kingdom, and as His children--his sons and daughters--we, like Him, show compassion to others, loving as we have been loved, forgiving as we have been forgiven, sharing the Gospel of the Kingdom, the Good News of JESUS CHRIST, and blessing others, especially the less fortunate, as we have been blessed.
And what greater gift could we give JESUS CHRIST and our Heavenly Father during this time than to GIVE of our hearts, our abundance, our time, and our gifts, to FEED, COMFORT, CLOTHE, and ENCOURAGE others, especially those in the Kingdom, in the Family of GOD?
