Tuesday, November 8: Isaiah 65- A Day is coming.

Promises of a bright and wonderful future, seeds of heaven and a glorious day. As Isaiah’s word from the Lord winds down, God gives a glimpse into the day when He will make things new. From verse 17 to the end, brush strokes of a new Jerusalem are splashed on future’s canvas.

Here is but a portion of what God said through Isaiah:

"Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. ….

The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent's food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain," says the LORD  (17-19, 25).

My thoughts immediately traveled to the last book of the Bible and to its next to last chapter where God puts the final accents of color on the canvas of what heaven will be like:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away (Revelation 21:1-4).

There is a future and a hope and a home for those who love the Lord. Hang in there, remain faithful to Jesus because you will not regret it.

Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to see a glimpse of heaven and eternity, the new heaven and earth You will create, fills my heart with strength. Like catching a glimpse of the finish line while still in the midst of the race, I am filled with both awe for Your love, compassion, and new found energy to keep running the race. Thank You and bless You for this gift this morning. Praise be to the One who has secured the future. Alleluia, Amen.

 

Monday, November 7: Isaiah 64- Remembering my place.

I found myself thinking I could… should… would pray verses 8 & 9 as my own prayer. Yet, O LORD, you are [my] Father. [I am] the clay, you are the potter; [I am] the work of your hand. Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD; do not remember [my] sins forever. Oh, look upon [me], [I] pray, for [I am] yours.

I prayed it, I owned it, I pondered it even more…

I am clay in my Heavenly Father’s hands.  Mold me, Father ,to be the man you desire me to be. Shape me for service, to be whatever You need or want me to be. I will be a latrine pot or a goblet, only let me be useful in Your service, O, Lord, my God…

I am deeply scared and imperfect, my sin abounds. I hate admitting my sin.  I feel small and weak, which I am. My sins are part of the reason Jesus needed to die. I am depraved. O, Father don’t hold my sins against me forever, I am in deep need of forgiveness. Jesus, my Lord and my God, thank You for nailing my sins to the cross. Oh, what a gift! Forgiveness, I will not take my pardon lightly, I will sing of Your great love.

I am Yours.  Yes, I am Yours, I surrender to You, Oh, my Lord and God, I humble myself before you!

My heart rends… I am so deeply grateful.

Praise to the Lord the Almighty the King of creation. Oh my soul praise Him, for He is my health and salvation! All you who hear, now to His temple draw near; Praise Him in glad adoration….

Praise to the Lord, Oh, let all that is in me adore Him! All that has life and breath, come now with praises before Him. Let the Amen sound from His people again, Gladly for aye we adore Him.

 

Saturday, November 5: Isaiah 63- Return of the King.

Tomorrow I will gather with my church family and we will come to the Lord’s Table. There, in the Bread and Cup, we will remember what Jesus did for us when he died on the Cross for our sins, offering us atonement. His life and flesh and blood were given for mine. Taken by itself, crucifixion is a brutal picture.  However, when it is understood in light of the sacrifice Jesus, God’s son and my Lord, made for me and all who believe in Him, it fills me with gratitude… the amazing gift Jesus gave.

As I stand at the Table, I also realize again that sin –my sin, your sin, our sin- has a penalty and must not be taken lightly. Sin earns judgment. Believing in Jesus and acknowledging his payment for my sins lifts the burden and wrath of sin. But without faith in Jesus, the guilt of sin remains and judgment will come…

These are the thoughts which coursed through my heart and mind as I read the opening of Isaiah 63. Garments dipped in blood, wrath poured out, battle fought, wicked judged and given their deserved penalty… this is no pretty sight.

The return of the king has two distinct outcomes. For his people the king’s return is a time of joy and dancing and triumph and praise. But for those who stood opposed to him it is a time of wrath, punishment and death.

I invite you, on behalf of Jesus, to choose life, choose Jesus, to acknowledge him Lord and God of your life and live. Otherwise the opening of Isaiah 63 is your date with destiny. Think about it…

Lord, reveal Yourself to those who do not yet believe that they may choose You and choose life. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

 

Friday, November 4: Isaiah 62- New Names.

As I read this chapter, I kept asking God what’s here for me to grab onto devotionally. Spirit speak to me. After reading the chapter I went through it again. The second time, as with the first, the closing verse drew my attention.

Verse 12: They will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the LORD; and you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted.

I found myself thinking about the 4 names… applying them to myself. Thinking about what God might be saying by calling His people, calling me, by these names.

Holy People: a set-apart-for-God people. That’s a rich name… being set apart for God is an honor. What a calling!

Redeemed of the Lord: the Lord cares for us so much He redeemed us, He rescued, He ransomed us. I found myself wondering why God would do that for me. What does God see in me? I found myself sitting in awe of God and His graciousness toward me.

Sought After: my first thought was God seeking after me or others… I bounced to what are the things people seek after….valuable things, meaningful things, important things… that’s what people seek after. God was saying that ‘we’, His people, are valuable, meaningful and important to Him. Amazement dawned as I thought about God saying He sought after me (you, us). God seeking after me… humbling.

No longer deserted: at first I thought that this is an odd name, more powerful in the original context as God spoke earlier about His judgment of Jerusalem. Now He was restoring their dignity. God restoring dignity… that became my mediation point. It is a name of blessing, God would take that which was once empty and fill it up. I began thinking about how Jesus has filled my life with the presence and wonder of God.

Before I prayed, I sat awed by what God thinks of His people… what God thinks of me. Another set of names came to mind from 1Peter 2:9: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Lord, I pray that the names You have given me (us) would lead me to live more vitally and intentionally for You… that I would declare Your praises and Your good news to those I meet… I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

Thursday, November 3: Isaiah 61- A garment of praise.

What an incredible chapter. I am familiar with verses 1&2, Jesus quotes them in Luke 4 and they have particular meaning to my home church. Because 1&2 were familiar, I paid special attention to what followed, reading the other verses slowly and often repeating lines. Rich, awe-inspiring, I soaked them in.

So many of the word-pictures grabbed me. Because of a myriad of issues circulating in my extended family, life has been draining the last month or more. Verse 3 was salve for my soul, 3 …the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. Thank You, Lord, You provide what I need… the oil of gladness, a garment of praise! Please, Lord, send them special delivery, Oh, how I could use both…

Oil of gladness, I stopped and reflected upon the many blessings I have seen and received during the last month or more. Wow, even in this tough time God is there providing and blessing. I have so much for which to be glad! God is lubricating my gladness!

And as gladness seeps in and gratefulness blooms, I find praise for God growing within me. Is this God’s garment of praise?

My soul was heavy when I came to the Lord today. It feels a bit lighter now.

O, God, our help in ages past, our hope in years to come; our shelter from the stormy past and our eternal home… Yes, my heart sings, sings the praises of the Lord.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above you heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost!

Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness. Praise Him! Praise Him! Ever in joyful song!

Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His love endures forever.  Give thanks to the God of gods, His love endures forever…  (Ps 136). Amen.

 

Wednesday, November 2: Isaiah 60- Light into the darkness

The chapter begins, "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn (1-3). The image of light took me back to words from Isaiah 9.2,6:

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. … For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

I sit and it is pitch black outside in my back yard, a cloud covered night.  I can barely see my hand in front of my face. I cannot make out one feature of my back deck, much less my yard. Travel, work, safety would be precarious at best. Darkness is fraught with danger when there is no source of light.

Martin Luther reminds us that “our world with devils filled threatens to undo us.” Life is filled with pitfalls and dangers. But God’s promise of light is a way through the treacheries of life.

Jesus, the light of the world, the child promised in Isaiah 9, and the servant of the Lord from the latter chapters of Isaiah, is God’s Light. Jesus will lead us back to the Father. His gift of forgiveness and restored relationship with God, the Father, is the Glory of the Lord that has risen upon us!

Take a few minutes today and consider your relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. Do you believe in Jesus? Have you put your faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord of your life? Are you walking and following Jesus? He is the light of the world and whoever follows Him will never walk in darkness (John 8:12).

Jesus, thank You for revealing God’s light to me. Please send the Holy Spirit so that I, with courage and determination, will follow You, serve You and love You, to the glory of God, the Father. In Your name, I pray. Amen.

 

Tuesday, November 1: Isaiah 59- Unconfessed sin.

God understands that we are far from perfect. He offers forgiveness from sins to all who call on Him. 1John 1:9 assures us of God’s cleansing (If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.). And yet sin does carry its consequences. Isaiah 59:1-2 paints a vivid picture of sin’s consequence: Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. Sin separates us from God and puts a barrier between God and us. Yes, confession of sin removes the barrier but as long as we let sin linger, we bear its consequences.

I have been reading the Westminster Confession lately and I found its authors comments succinct and helpful on this point when they wrote:

… the temptations of Satan, the world, and their old carnal nature, along with neglect of the means of their preservation, may lead believers to commit serious sins and to continue in them for a time. They consequently displease God and grieve his Holy Spirit, have some of the fruit of God’s grace and his comforts taken away from them, have their hearts hardened and their consciences wounded, hurt and offend others, and bring temporal judgments on themselves. (17.3)

It is never pleasant to ponder the pain I face when I choose to live in sin…

Lord, as I consider this, I realize all the more what a gift forgiveness is. Thank You, Jesus, for establishing the way for us to be forgiven… Your death on the cross and the call to repent and confess.  Thank You, O God, that when we confess You are faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. And thank You that Your forgiveness is complete and that You purify us from ALL unrighteousness.

You are so good, Lord. My heart just wants to sing Your praise. Praise the name of Jesus. Praise the name of Jesus. He’s my rock. He’s my fortress. He’s my deliverer, in Him will I trust. Praise the name of Jesus… Amen.