We are given a looking glass into our own lives in Isaiah 29 and 30. What do you treasure? What do you value? What do you hold in high regard? Our lives will answer these questions without a need for us to speak. We can proclaim to act or believe in one thing or another but if our actions do not match what we say we are lying. Do you live out what you proclaim to be your faith in God? Do your actions proclaim your trust or disdain of God? “And the Lord said: ‘Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.’” Isaiah 29:13,14 Where is your heart? Our hearts are what truly motivate us to do everything we do. Continue Reading…
Do your actions proclaim your trust or disdain of God: Isaiah 29 and 30
The greatest commitment of your life: Isaiah 27 and 28
What is commitment? Do we commit only when there is some benefit to ourselves? Is there a greater motivation to what we do? Why do we get up every morning? Once we identify the motivating factor behind our commitment we will truly know who we are and what we value. Does money motivate you? Do the pleasures of life bring you satisfaction? Can family and friends produce a lasting motivation that carries you through life. Has your faith in God pervaded your life to spur your motives? There are many things that we claim as motivators in life but true motivation can only be found in God. Continue Reading…
Hope in the coming day of judgement: Isaiah 23 and 24
A day is coming when God will come to judge the earth. There will be no one excluded from the moment then God returns in glory to weight the hearts and intentions of men. ”Behold, the LORD will empty the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the slave, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor. The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered; for the LORD has spoken this word. The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and withers; the highest people of the earth languish. Continue Reading…
The unstoppable will of God: Isaiah 21 and 22
Will you acknowledge your Hope? When you find yourself blessed do you attribute that blessing to your own prowess or your luck? Do you remember that God is that one who is at work in your life? Read the story of Isaiah 22 and learn what happens when selfish pride overwhelms man. “Therefore I said: ‘Look away from me; let me weep bitter tears; do not labor to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.’ For the Lord GOD of hosts has a day of tumult and trampling and confusion in the valley of vision, a battering down of walls and a shouting to the mountains.” Isaiah 22:4,
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Just turn and start that journey of faith before you: Isaiah 19 and 20
Can anything that we hold in high regard give us lasting hope? Can money buy us assurance? Will friendship provide the lasting fellowship we crave? Can the power and renown of our ethnicity, nation, or religious denomination grant us the hope that tomorrow will be better than today? “An oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them. And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, and they will fight, each against another and each against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom; and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out, and I will confound their counsel; and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers, and the mediums and the necromancers; and I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a hard master, and a fierce king will rule over them, declares the Lord GOD of hosts.” Isaiah 19:1-4 In Isaiah 19 we see how nothing can stand against the will of God. Prowess, power, and cunning are of no use against God when He determines to move.
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Refuge, hope, and salvation found in Jesus Christ: Isaiah 17 and 18
Do you possess a continual eternal perspective that envelopes your life? If we had a consistent eternal perspective we could endure the ups and downs of life with little or no regard because we would always be steadfast upon the truths of God. Our eternal perspective is always shifting depending on our emotions and circumstances. We are consistently scrambling to overcome every moment of tribulation before we become overwhelmed and sadly we easily forget the truth that God is our unmovable hope. ”For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge; therefore, though you plant pleasant plants and sow the vine-branch of a stranger, though you make them grow on the day that you plant them, and make them blossom in the morning that you sow, yet the harvest will flee away in a day of grief and incurable pain.” Isaiah 17:10,11 God is a refuge for those who know Him. God is hope for those who seek Him. God is the source of salvation to those who believe. Do you know God? Do you know His refuge, hope, and salvation? Continue Reading…
Leaving pride to find the enveloping grace of God: Isaiah 15 and 16
What of do you think about pride? Is pride a noble virtue, an inherent quality of mankind, or a fault to overcome? Look at the people of the world who you pass by each day. Have they presumed to live their lives in complete apathy towards God and endure without calamity? We create monuments to our vanity as we glory in ourselves each day. Oh the wretchedness of humanity ; we take the precious gift of life that God has given us and we degraded it to a freak occurrence of nature over billions of years. Do we fear God? Do we realize the peril that is upon our doorstep as we glory in our pride of life? Continue Reading…
Are you in Babylon awaiting deliverance: Isaiah 13 and 14
Are you existing in a personal exile that has enslaved you into a life of complete despair? The Israelites abided exile in Babylon where they remained helpless but the seed of hope remained as they awaited deliverance. Have the decisions you made throughout your life brought you to this moment of broken helplessness. What hope is there? The world is wicked and it may seem that chaos reigns supreme but there is hope. ”Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come! Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt. They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame.” Isaiah 13:6-8 How is hope found in God’s coming destruction? Continue Reading…
God’s eternal, purposed, redemption of humanity: Isaiah 11 and 12
We are a part of a great story. God’s redemptive purpose from eternity past to redeem mankind from sin is playing out to this day as people come to place their hope and trust in Jesus Christ. The amazing breadth of God’s purposed redemption of humanity can be seen when our present circumstances are placed into the story presented in the Bible. In Isaiah chapters 11 and 12 we are presented with the promise of a righteous and fair leader who will bring hope and healing. “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.” Isaiah 11:1-5 We are in the midst of God’s continuing promise to redeem humanity from their sins. Can you fathom the overwhelming love of God? Continue Reading…
The proliferation of hope to a broken world: Isaiah 9 and 10
“For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.” Isaiah 9:4-7 What did the promised Messiah mean to the people of Israel? Did the Israelites look upon the promise of God hope of carte blanche retaliation on all their oppressors and a restoration of the glory of Israel? What was offered when God promised a renewal of the kingdom of Israel. Continue Reading…
