Daily Thought
At one time or another, we all have thought, "If you want something done right, do it yourself." So has God. Isaiah chronicles our human attempts at justice and righteousness and peace; "No one enters suit justly;
no one goes to law honestly;
they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,
they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
The way of peace they do not know,
and there is no justice in their paths;
they have made their roads crooked;
no one who treads on them knows peace" (Isaiah 59:4, 8).
A dismal record. At last, God says, "I'll do it myself;
"then his own arm brought him salvation,
and his righteousness upheld him" (Isaiah 59:16).
Isaiah is prophesying, there is a future glory to look forward to. Let me tell you how much. Our wedding had been my wife's dream since little girls begin dreaming. Debbie can tell you every detail. I clearly remember one: 8,500 pearls. A friend made her gown. It was white silk, long train, beautiful, and 8,500 little pearls were hand-sewn one at a time into the fabric of that dress. That's a lot of pearls and a lot of sewing.
God has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bride adorns herself with her jewels (Isaiah 61:10).
Debbie was dazzling and heavenly and beautiful. This was her dream, to look her best for the man she loved; and I was that man.
Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure"-
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. ~Revelation 19:7-8
We are that bride, and there will be a wedding. Something to look forward to. Someone to prepare for.
Daily Prayer
My God, When you are betrothed to the King, when you are engaged to our Savior, when you are promised to Jesus Christ, then the flirting ends. How many times do we still smile and wink at the world, the flesh, and the devil?
Our acts, what we do, these are the fine silk linen, the pearls sown on the bridal gown of the bride of Jesus Christ. May all of our lives be preparation for the wedding.
Amen
Daily Thought
They acted religious and wondered why God wasn't impressed, "Why have we fasted, and you see it not?" the people complained to Isaiah. "Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?" (Isaiah 58:3). They were fasting for show. Seven hundred years later, nothing has changed. Jesus warns, "When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others," said Jesus. "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them" (Matthew 6:1, 16).
James, the half-brother of Jesus, writes about "religion that God likes" (James 1:27), as if God's is the last opinion considered. Religion that God likes amounts to purity and charity, "to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." God has been repeating this for centuries, "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter -
when you see the naked, to clothe him" (Isaiah 58:6-7).
We think fasting is about giving it up, but it's not. It's about giving it away.
Daily Prayer
God of Wonder, when I follow You, when I walk on the path You lay before me, when I pursue righteousness, I live confidently and enjoy peace. What a wonderful feeling it is, Father, to think back on my day, to smile because I made You smile, to know that I did the things You would do, that my life reflects Your love.
God, when I do what is right, I find rest and give You joy.
Amen
Daily Thought
Isaiah, in describing the future Servant of the Lord, emphasizes his silence, the silence of the sacrificial lamb.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth. ~Isaiah 53:7
In a debate, I cherish the last word, the snappy comeback, the perfect counter punch that stuns and silences my adversary. Pilate asked Jesus, "Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?" But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed (Matthew 27:13-14).
Jesus was silent. He did not need or desire the last word. "Jesus yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, 'Truly this was the Son of God!'" ~Matthew 27:50-54
Actions speak louder.
Daily Prayer
God, My Savior, You who made the heavens, placed the stars, grew the mountains, filled the seas - You became the servant of man, the lamb of sacrifice, and suffered for my salvation. You showed Your glory through humility, Your majesty through affliction, Your wisdom through the cross.
Your Son cried, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?" I wonder, my God, why have You pursued me? Who am I, O God, that You would show me grace and mercy, forgiveness and salvation? You are forever to be worshiped. You are my joy, my strength, my life.
Amen
Daily Thought
God used prophets such as Isaiah to teach his hard-headed people to trust him. "Because I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass, I declared them to you from of old, before they came to pass I announced them to you" (Isaiah 48:4-5). So, for instance, Isaiah said, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). Seven hundred years later, an angel appeared to a girl named Mary and told her she will give birth to the son of God (Immanuel means "God with us"). Mary responded, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" (Luke 1:34).
"The former things I declared of old;
they went out from my mouth, and I announced them;
then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass" (Isaiah 48:3).
"There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse," announced Isaiah (11:1), "in the tent of David" (16:5). The first verse of the first Gospel begins "the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, and Jesse the father of David the king" (Matthew 1:1, 6). John the Baptist announced Jesus, "preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand'" (Matthew 3:1-2). Isaiah announced John, "A voice cries: 'In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God'" (Isaiah 40:3). Isaiah even knew how and why Jesus would die, "he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5), and Jesus said to his disciple, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe" (John 20:27).
"Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). God tells us ahead of time what will happen. Trust him. "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come" (2Peter 3:9-10).
Daily Prayer
Saving God, Immanuel, God with us. You promised a Savior, You sent Your Son. Thank You for Jesus Christ, my Savior, my Lord, my God. I trust You in all things. You are the God of Your Word. May I be a man of my word, as well.
O Lord, You are faithful and true. You said Your Son would come. He did. You said He is to come again. He will.
Amen
Daily Thought
"To infinity and beyond," proclaims Buzz Lightyear. The distance from the earth to the sun is 93 million miles, to reach the nearest star, 4.3 light years, and a light year is 5.88 million million miles. Our galaxy, the Milky Way is 100,000 light years across and has 200 billion stars. The Milky Way is 1 of 500 billion galaxies, we guess. How big is the universe? No one knows.
"I am the Lord, who made all things,
who alone stretched out the heavens,
who spread out the earth by myself" (Isaiah 44:24).
To infinity and beyond? God will still be there. He knows how big is the universe; but that does not amaze me nearly as much as, "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine" (Isaiah 43:1). He knows me.
"Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes,
who are deaf, yet have ears!" (Isaiah 43:8).
Worship opens my eyes and ears, provides perspective, heightens appreciation. Life still happens, God does not keep me from trouble, but "when you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior" (Isaiah 43:2-3).
Who better by my side?
Daily Prayer
My God, my Savior, You are always present, an ever-present help in time of trouble. In good and bad, may I remember You. That secret of contentment, whether I'm high or low, in plenty or in need, safety or trouble, in any and every circumstance, I can do all things through You who gives me the strength.
I know when it feels like You are not there, it's me that left. I need to stop doing that, to stay on Your path and walk beside You. Thank You, though, for coming after me when I stray and being there when I get back. You are my God, my Savior. There is none like You.
Amen
Daily Thought
Isaiah was prophet to King Hezekiah, a good king who "did what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God" (2Chronicles 31:20). He restored Judah to faith and worship, and stood against Assyria, the mighty nation that had defeated the northern kingdom of Israel. Assyria presented to Hezekiah and to Judah a question they must answer, "Say to Hezekiah, 'Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours?'" (Isaiah 36:4). That question is asked to each generation, including ours.
Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, presented Hezekiah with a reasonable argument. Assyria has demonstrated her strength. Lots of little nations depending on lots of little gods have fallen. "Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my fathers destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?" (Isaiah 37:12-13). Your God will fail you, too.
Rather than listen to the reasonable words of the faithless, Hezekiah put Sennacherib's words before God and worshipped. The little gods destroyed by Assyria "were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone" (Isaiah 37:19). Big deal! "O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth" (Isaiah 37:16). Worship gave Hezekiah perspective, he would answer the question, he would trust in the one God, his God, the God of the heavens and the earth.
After the one God defeated the Assyrians, Isaiah could not help but add a postscript on Sennacherib, "as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword" (Isaiah 37:38).
'Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: 'On what do you rest this trust of yours?'" Good question.
Daily Prayer
My Creator, You are Lord of all. You establish justice and promote righteousness. You have made Your ways known, Your Laws are clear and they are good. I may choose to follow them. Or not. You give me freedom to decide the path I walk, the choices I make, the direction of my life.
At the end, God, I know I will stand before the King of kings and Lord of lords, the God of all the kingdoms of the earth. Thank You for Your Son, who paid the price for my sins on my behalf. He has given me his righteousness, so that I may stand with confidence before You. There is no other choice but You.
Amen
Daily Thought
"Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?" (Isaiah 33:14). God is a consuming fire; his way is "the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it" (Isaiah 35:8). Isaiah calls out against the unclean, announcing judgment upon the nations. No wonder Isaiah appears to be a prophet of doom; but this assumes the question cannot be answered. It can; there is one who can stand the flames.
He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,
who despises the gain of oppressions,
who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe,
who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed
and shuts his eyes from looking on evil (Isaiah 33:15).
Isaiah is also a proclaimer of hope, calling a people to walk with God, to fight oppression, to pursue righteousness, to reflect his glory.
There was a concert at the shopping plaza down the street. The band played songs by Journey. Remember Journey? "Don't Stop Believin'," "Any Way You Want," "Wheel in the Sky." I closed my eyes and could hear Steve Perry on lead vocals. Except it wasn't Steve Perry. It was a guy imitating Steve Perry, and he sounded just like him. Just like him. They were good. I thought to myself, what if the original Journey band was in the audience listening to their songs being performed by this band? I bet they would have loved them. I bet they would have said, "Well done!"
"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us" (Ephesians 5:1-2).
Daily Prayer
Father God, when I think of Your Son, how He lived and how He died and how He rose again, I see a picture of You. He is the image, the perfect image of the invisible God. He is God. When we see Jesus, we see the Father, because You, God, are Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three in One. I don't understand it, but I see it.
May I be an imitator of You, as well, so that when people see me, they see what You are like. I won't be perfect, but I'll aim for it. You began the work in me, and I trust You will continue it daily. May I love like You love, forgive as You forgive, seek Your righteousness and Your ways, and follow Your steps wherever You lead. And may I live in such a way that You are forever and always praised.
Amen
