Song of Solomon & Isaiah

Today is Monday.  What a wonderful day we had yesterday at Church.  So good to see people saved, baptized, join the church, and a packed out parking lot and buildings.  Our Spanish church had 396 in attendance and our buses had 468 in attendance.  God blessed and it was a great time.  I'm thinking we had close to 1,200 in Sunday School.  This morning, I read the book of Song of Solomon, and into Isaiah.  Here are a few thoughts that I marked in my Bible:   1) RELATIONSHIP- In S.of S., Solomon is talking about his love and visa versa.  In talking about his love, he uses phrases like:  "my sister, my spouse".  He is not saying his spouse is his sister, but he talking about relationships and that he first treats her like a sister, and then a spouse, but still guards her as a sister.  Notice these verses:  4:12 "A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed."  5:1 "I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: "  5:2 "... Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled:.."   Not only does he use the phrase "my sister, my spouse", but "a garden inclosed".  A garden is something you constantly have to work with.  You have to till, plant, weed, pick, etc.  It is a lot of work.  A garden inclosed is a show garden.  It takes even more work to have the flowers looking well.  So is relationships.  You have to work hard to have them going well.  It takes a lot of time and a lot of effort, but the product is always worth the effort.  Pour some extra time today into the relationships of your life and know that you will be greatly benefited from that effort, and so will those around you.   2) LOVE- S.of S. 8:7- "Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it:  if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned."  This shows us the great value of love.  Cherish the love that you have and be blessed by it.  Value it highly as God's Word tells us to value it.    3) LEARN TO DO WELL- Isaiah 1:17 says:  "Learn to do well:  seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow."  Not only does it tell us to "learn to do well", but then it tells us some things that are well!  It lists four things that we need to learn to do well.  We should always be growing in our Christian lives, and always learning to do well, better!  God wants us growing and gives us means to learn... to do well.   4) WOE ON THESE! Isaiah 5:20, says:  "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"  Now, by now you know this... I love exclamation points!  Notice that this verse has one at the end.  God is saying that those who exchange His values for theirs will have trouble with Him.  Woe unto them that switch God's ruling on things and values.  It will not be well for them.    Well, it is Monday, and I have some work to get started on.  God bless you my friend!  Have a great day and a great week.  Pastor Mike Mutchler