Have you ever spent an entire night before and examination studying in the hopes that you can earn a passing grade? I never found cramming to be an effective way of learning. The rapid review of facts may give and illusion of comprehension but there will be no knowledge. “Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not, who have ears, but hear not. Do you not fear me? declares the LORD. Do you not tremble before me? I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they cannot pass over it. But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart; they have turned aside and gone away. They do not say in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.’”Jeremiah 5:21-24 Continue Reading…
Turn, walk, and love the fear of God: Jeremiah 5 and 6
True joy glimpsed in a Promise: Isaiah Summary
How can we summarize Isaiah? Is the book a collection of 66 chapters about a man names Isaiah? Does the book only apply to the people of Israel in a time long past? Is the book of Isaiah a prophetic view of God working through humanity despite the inherent unfaithfulness exhibited? How does the way we look at the book of Isaiah impact our faith today over two thousand years after the death of Jesus Christ. Looking back upon the book of Isaiah the unfaithfulness and disobedience of people is consistently evidenced. Time after time Isaiah tells the people of Israel that they are straying from God. Is the book just a repetitive collection of warnings against idolatry? If you leave your view of Isaiah upon this door step of negativity, disappointment, and discipline you will miss the true joy contained in the text. Continue Reading…
Amid the minutia God was, is, and will be: Isaiah 66
What is Isaiah 66 describing? Are we told about the future of Israel, the future of the church, or the collective future of humanity? The language speaks of the birth, death, rebellion, and even restoration. Often we become bogged down in the minutia of the text. How should we interpret these verses? When we vehemently defend our views of end times and what will happen when Jesus Christ returns what gain is there for the collective body of Christ? Continue Reading…
God will where you cannot: Isaiah 64 and 65
“Will you restrain yourself at these things, O LORD? Will you keep silent, and afflict us so terribly?” Isaiah 64:12 Why is life difficult? Why does such evil dwell in the hearts of men? Did I do something to deserve this treatment, this life? ”There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities. But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Be not so terribly angry, O LORD, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people.” Isaiah 64:7-9 Continue Reading…
We only are because God is: Isaiah 62 and 63
God is Hope. God is Promise. God is Restoration. God is Holy. God is Father. God is. “You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” Isaiah 62:4,5 We only are because God is. Simply put without God there would be nothing. It can only be by God’s gracious favor that we aspire to endure. Continue Reading…
Hope is truly hope when God’s fingerprints are evidenced: Isaiah 60 and 61
How has life become like this? Can I honestly talk to anyone, can anyone relate or understand? I am on a hopeless journey of life with no prospect for my future. What was once filled with joy, peace, and hope has become a deafening silence of the soul that speaks to my longing. Can you relate to these thoughts or feelings? We all go through moments where we doubt and even despair in our journey. Continue Reading…
Urgency and devotion of the hearts desire: Isaiah 56 and 57
“Thus says the LORD: ‘Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed.’” Isaiah 56:1 The message within Isaiah 56 and 57 talks of two groups of people, those who set their hearts toward God and those who set their hearts away from God. The message proclaimed is one of urgency, devotion, and dependence. The time is drawing near when God will collect all those who have trusted, hoped, and believed in His Son, Jesus Christ. Where have you set your heart? Are you resting steadfast upon the promises of God or have you decided that your life is your own kingdom to be conquered? There is hope for everyone. No matter where you find your hearts devotion you can turn and trust in God alone for your hope. Continue Reading…
Completely incomplete apart from God: Isaiah 54 and 55
I love how Scripture is poignantly intentional to hit at the heart of the human condition. God designed us to be complete but when we allowed sin to entice and separate us from Him we became completely incomplete. We are all craving acceptance and identity and more often we define ourselves by what we do not have. I am not married, successful, loved, rich, or happy. What does God tell those who are lacking and incomplete? “‘Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,’ says the LORD.” Isaiah 54:1 God desires those who are incomplete to celebrate and sing for joy. Why is that? How can we sing for joy in the midst of our despair? Continue Reading…
Despised, rejected, oppressed, and crushed for you: Isaiah 52 and 53
Such beauty seen from the grandstand of life is seldom beheld as is seen in Isaiah chapters 52 and 53. We read the beautiful foreshadowing of our present day Hope and Faith. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’ The voice of your watchmen-they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the LORD to Zion.” Isaiah 52:7,8 Within the pages of Isaiah we are given a picture of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Did the audience who received these worst realize how precious and beautiful these words of God truly were? ”Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.” Isaiah 52:13 Continue Reading…
You are the image of the Immortal God: Isaiah 50 and 51
Who are you? More precisely put, what defines you? Is identity defined by what we do, what we know, or what we posses? Is our identity fixed and defined from birth depending on our parents? Can identity change? “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the LORD: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, that I might bless him and multiply him. For the LORD comforts Zion; he comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song.” Isaiah 51:1-3 Can clearly say that you are defined by God and His redemptive process at work in your life? Continue Reading…
