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Day 200, or July 19. Eat, drink, and be merry. Our thoughts today are rooted in Isaiah 22,

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verse 13. But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep,

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eating of meat and drinking of wine. Let us eat and drink, you say, for tomorrow we die.

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Now the big picture surrounding this verse. Isaiah spoke not only to Israel's neighbours

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but also to Israel herself. He prophesies to Jerusalem and warns its inhabitants with

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our verse for today as well as many others. It seems God's people were living just for

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today and giving little thought for tomorrow. As well as words of judgment, Isaiah is also

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given insights into the end times which he can share with his hearers.

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And now today's action step. I remember when links between smoking and lung cancer

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hit the news in the 1970s, and adults up and down our nation were justifying their continued

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smoking by saying, It's one of the few pleasures I have, so I'm not giving up. So many people

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believed in the maxim of, Enjoy today because you never know what the future has in store

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for you. It's very similar to our verse today from Isaiah. I have detected a slight change

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from people, especially those who are outside our fellowships. The maxim has changed to,

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Let me enjoy myself today and then I can get serious with God once I have at least enjoyed

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part of my life. What a condemnation of the church. People are saying that enjoyment and

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spiritual life are incompatible. Actually they aren't quite saying that. They are saying

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enjoyment and church don't go together. Sadly that's sometimes true. So how can we remedy

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that? A good start is for you and me to enjoy church and look as though we are. It's the

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church that puts people off, not the gospel. As part of the church be sure to act as though

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your life depended on others enjoying and benefiting from the service. Of course your

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life doesn't, but their life might.