week of 10-13-10 4th recorded Bible study

The passage I read was Isaiah 45:18-25
You can find that passage here:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2045:18-25&version=NIV

My summary of the passage is this:
To me, the passage is stating several things. One area of discussion is that God will have no other gods before him. It’s a command and must be followed. Another area it seems to discuss is the jealousy of God; the longing for his children to come back to him. He is not only jealous of the wanderings of his chosen but also of those that have not yet chosen to follow. In this passage he lays down a very good argument for following him. The Lord points out that many have prophesied in His name about things that have since come to be. So if God has told man what is to happen, and then it happened, how come people haven’t realized that the rest of what he said must be true also? That’s a huge point here I think. God is saying we have all the proof needed that His word is true and that He is the living and all powerful God of creation. Come and follow Him. He also gives the alternative. He says every knee will bow, but makes it a point to separate those who would bow by force verse those who bow now by choice. There is a different outcome for them both. One will be found righteous and will exult, the other is put to shame. In summary, clearly the passage says that we are to seek/come to God, be saved, and then present His truths to others so that they too may be lead to the cross. But don’t take my word for it…. Take a gander into the Word of the Almighty.

As I reflect:
In looking at what the passage is asking of me; what God is telling me, I have found that there are a couple commands in this passage: Draw near to God, be saved, and have no other God’s before me. Taking these things into consideration, I can say that I am following the commands in this passage. What else is there I wondered. He is talking to the lost it would seem. Calling out to those that have wandered away from Him and think they can find answers else where. Through several versions of the Bible I read. I was eventually led to read the King James version and verse 24 stood out to me most here.
24Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
Pretty well sums it up to me. In the Lord = righteousness and strength. Not in the Lord = Ashamed. I have been there. Before I was saved I sought out worldly wisdom. I tried to gain by my own means and I ignored God as much as I could. I ran from Him straight into the darkness and tried to be of this world. But I couldn’t stay there. I just couldn’t stand the sin I was covered in. I couldn’t stand. the life style that was leading me not into Heavens gates, but directly into a hell of solitude. I was lost and ashamed and at the end of my rope when I picked up a Bible in a homeless shelter and said a prayer that I could start over and be different this time. I have since that time grown in strength and righteousness that is not my own. I have found that in the Lord I have these things given to me freely as I follow after Him. The Word of God is indeed truth, and it is powerful.

My response to the Lord:
Lord God, You never gave up on me. You knew where my road would take me and you continuously left messages and signs for me to turn around and run to you. You were waiting for me to pick up your word that night and spend time praying to you and listening to what you had to share with me. Thank you Father. It is only because of you that I am alive today and have a future in your kingdom. Lord place in me a heart to seek and save that which was lost. Lord help me to be used by you in the salvation of others that are headed down that same road I was on so that one day they would be freed from their shame and be able to say they have righteousness and strength in you. I love you Father. In Jesus name I pray. Amen