IT DOESN'T TAKE LONG

"Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips... He touched my mouth with it and said, 'Now this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, and your sin is atoned for.'" Isaiah 6:5,7

One minute Isaiah was feeling vile and loathsome -- "ruined" -- beyond repair. The next minute he was cleansed and whole and called into the ministry. It doesn't take long for God to perform surgery in us. We come to Him in virtual despair over our situation, thinking that, at best, it will take years of agonizing struggle to become whole. However, as we humble ourslves before Him, acknowledging His worthiness and perfection, we find the work is done instantly -- not by some great noble effort on our part, but by Him. It is totally a work of His mercy and grace. But it isn't automatic. It doesn't happen by osmosis. Isaiah went to the place of prayer where he sought the Lord. He didn't go away disappointed. Neither will you. Believe the promise. Heed the word: "Therefore, let us come boldly to God's gracious throne, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:16

The power behind Isaiah's encounter with God was not in himself -- his performance, his great faith. It was in the blood. The coal from the altar that touched Isaiah's lips was blood-soaked because the blood of animal sacrifices had fallen into the flames below, soaking the glowing embers. The angel took one coal from the fire and put into effect the wonder-working power in the blood. That is powerful symbolism.

Under the New Covenant we no longer practice animal sacrifice. Those rituals were a temporary provision that pictured and pointed forward to the ultimate, perfect sacrifice -- the Lamb of God. When Jesus died on the cross He fulfilled completely and finally all that was foretold through those temporary measures. Today, New Covenant believers can rejoice in the wonder-working power in the blood of the Lamb.

Don't re-invent the wheel (as if you could!). Don't try to be your own savior. Don't offer your own sacrifice. God has already provided a Lamb for the sacrifice. Embrace Him. Give yourself totally to Him. Say to Him, "I am yours, Lord. Save me." He will do in an instant what you could never do in a lifetime. "The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin." 1 John 1:7