Transmission - Video
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Transmission - Devo
Day Two - Apples to Apples
Isaiah 43:25-44:5 (NLT) - "I-yes, I alone-will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again. Let us review the situation together, and you can present your case to prove your innocence. From the very beginning, your first ancestor sinned against me; all your leaders broke my laws. That is why I have disgraced your priests; I have decreed complete destruction for Jacob and shame for Israel. "But now, listen to me, Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen one. The LORD who made you and helps you says: Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant, O dear Israel, my chosen one. For I will pour out water to quench your thirst and to irrigate your parched fields. And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children. They will thrive like watered grass, like willows on a riverbank. Some will proudly claim, 'I belong to the LORD.' Others will say, 'I am a descendant of Jacob.' Some will write the LORD's name on their hands and will take the name of Israel as their own."
Apples to Apples is a laugh-out-loud game of word associations. In each round, there are many players and always one judge. To play the round, the judge draws a card with an adjective word and places it face up. Every player has several cards with nouns, from which they must choose a single noun card that most closely matches the adjective card and present it to the judge. If you play this game even for a short while, you immediately see that the nouns often have nothing to do with the adjective. Even though the players are not supposed to reveal to the judge what cards they put down, the judge often knows the players by their wild claims and persuasions that their noun is the best related to the adjective, and that they should be chosen as the winner.
In Isaiah, what we see is that the people's best card of innocence shows that they are not very innocent. In fact, God calls them out and says they are not at all Him because they have sinned by breaking his laws and turning away from Him. The part of Apples to Apples that makes it unique each time is that at the end, the judge makes a decision quite subjectively, giving those who seemingly had no chance a chance to be chosen. This is what is incomprehensible at times: instead of objective destruction and shame, God mercifully blots out our sins for His sake and chooses us to be subjects of His love.
In verses 44:1-5 (beginning with "But now, listen to me...") Isaiah beautifully describes the result of this love in our lives.
Responding to the Transmitted Message: God's long-term heart and vision for us is that we will belong to and faithfully follow Him. Spend some time talking to God and confessing to Him your sins. Through Jesus, He will not disgrace you, but will blot out your sins for His sake and will never think of them again. Now read through 44:1-5 and thank God for the beautiful life that He has promised to those who follow Him.
