It's Philip and the Brain!

Scripture:

Isaiah 1:18-20
18 Come now, let us argue it out,
says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be like snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land;
20 but if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be devoured by the sword;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Galatians 3:17-18

17 My point is this: the law, which came four hundred thirty years later, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. 18 For if the inheritance comes from the law, it no longer comes from the promise; but God granted it to Abraham through the promise.

Observation:

I have often been struck by what I perceived to be a conflict alive in scripture. Case in point, Isaiah 1. There in the span of three short verses (and certainly not just there!) something is offered and then seemingly pulled back. Verse eighteen declares what will be in the future in a way that has power to achieve the declaration. We have a simple english word for such a type of speech that packs power to create: promise. (In Christian circles we might also say, "gospel".)

But, in the very next verses, the enacted promise seems to be unravelling through a series of qualifications: 
      "if ...then...shall".

I have struggled in the past to wonder how to reconcile such 

passages. Is our identity as "chosen-of-God" secure; or, is it 

conditional upon our "right-behaviour".

In a book called "Covenant and Kingdom", Mike Breen likewise identifies two major themes that run throughout scripture. However, rather than place them in competition with one another, he describes how they related to one another. He treats the tension between them as something to be upheld rather than as something to be resolved.

I have found these two "triangles" to be helpful in interpreting scripture. I wonder if you might too?

(Below - from "Covenant and Kingdom: The DNA of the Bible", Mike Breen, 2010, 3DM)


"Covenant is the way in which the Bible describes and defines relationship: first our relationship with God and then our relationship with everyone else."

Covenant:
Father(God) --> Identity --> Obedience

"Kingdom is the way in which the Bible describes and defines responsibility: first, our responsibility to represent God to the people we know and then to everyone else."

Kingdom:
King (God) --> Authority --> Power

Application: 

Today (just like every other day, Pinky!) 

I will let God tell me who I am; then, let my decisions and 

actions follow from that beautiful security and freedom. 

Having said all that, do you read/hear today's Moravian Texts 

prayer differently?

Prayer:

Father/King, you are ever patient with our inaction. Help us to drown out the noise so that we can hear your voice. Hold us in your arms so that we can let go of fears that hold us back. We look forward to following you. Amen.