Isaiah 46-48

August 5

 Isaiah 46-48

 God created humanity with a desire to worship Him. In our fallen state, we still have the innate desire to worship something, but we try to fill that desire with idols or false gods. Nothing but God can fill that desire. The Israelites attempted to follow the gods of the people around them. They formed idols out of stone, wood, or precious metals. The idols only heaped more burdens upon the people. They did not rescue the people from their burdens.

 God had other plans for Israel and for all the nations. His plan was to redeem Israel and all the nations and set them free even from the burdens they had placed upon themselves. He reminded Israel that He alone is God. There is no other God and nothing else can give us the fulfillment we find when we pursue a relationship with the One Who pursues us.

 Jesus said; "“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”" (Matthew 11:28-30, NIV)

 We, like the Israelites, fill our lives with things that we pursue in the attempt to fill the void that can only be filled by God. Those pursuits, whether they be wealth, cars, houses, hobbies, whatever they may be, only bring a greater burden upon us. There is nothing wrong with any of these things in and of themselves, but when we try to use them to replace God, we get loaded down instead of set free.

 God knows us better than we know ourselves and He wants what is best for us. Jesus came to bring us into a right relationship with the Father. He came to bring us correction, redemption, and salvation. If we will listen to Him, He will give us rest. Jesus is our Redeemer.

 "This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea." (Isaiah 48:17-18, NIV)

Isaiah 44-45

August 4

Isaiah 44-45

The false gods, the idols of the nations do not pursue a relationship with people, people have to seek them out and pursue them. God, the true God is different. He pursues people. He promised to pour His Spirit out on His people and He has, beginning at Pentecost. Jesus came to reveal the Truth of God to a lost and broken world. As we read Isaiah 44-45, we hear God calling His people to come to him. He promises to be there if they will only return to Him. They have rejected Him and His Word, but He continues to call them to himself.

God has put a desire for a relationship with Him in the hearts of people, but people try to fill that desire with all kinds of idols. Israelites made idols; today we build big houses and drive fancy cars, or see how much money we can accumulate. Whatever we use to try to fill the emptiness in our lives other than a relationship with Jesus is an idol.

God pursues us, but He does not force us into a relationship. He redeems us, but He does not force us to take the gift He offers. He knows us before we are even born, He promises to walk with us throughout our lives and to bless us and to protect us, but He does not make us walk with Him. He even uses those who do not know Him and reject Him to accomplish His purposes.

God desires a relationship with us. He used Israel to reveal what a covenant relationship with Him would look like. They rejected His grace. Jesus came to reveal God to a broken world. He was rejected and killed. God sends the Holy Spirit to call us into a relationship with Him. How will we respond?

"“Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other." (Isaiah 45:22, NIV) 

Isaiah 42-43

August 3

Isaiah 42-43

Isaiah gives us a glimpse of the servant God will send to redeem and restore the nations. "“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness." (Isaiah 42:6-7, NIV)  Jesus is the covenant for the people and the light not only for the gentiles but also for the nations. Jesus said; “I am the light of the world.”

Jesus fulfilled each of the things Isaiah wrote down that the servant of God, the Messiah would fulfill. He did not come in flamboyant fashion. He did not yell and scream. He lived as the son of a humble carpenter. He traveled with a band of common people. He preached Good New, he healed, he forgave, he set sinners free. Jesus continues to do the same things he did while he was walking this earth. He continues to heal and restore broken people.

On the night he was betrayed Jesus “took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." (Matthew 26:27-28, NIV) He became the new covenant. Through our relationship with Jesus, God restores us into the people He created us to become. Through His blood we are cleansed.

Isaiah wrote the words God gave him to share with Israel. Israel took his words and hung on to them looking for the Messiah to come, but when He arrived, He did not look like they expected and they missed Him. Jesus is the servant written about in Isaiah who came to shine a light into a dark world, to set the captives free, to make the blind see, and the deaf hear. He came to bring life to humanity and glory to God.  

Isaiah 40-41

August 2

Isaiah 40-41

"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:29-31, NIV)

People come and people go. Isaiah speaks of men being like grass, they are here today and gone tomorrow. It does not sound very positive until we realized that our time on earth may be short, but God has bigger plans for us. He has an eternal perspective. Though people live relatively short lives when you look at eternity, the word of God stands forever. (40:8)

People grow tired over the years. Stress and strain wears us down. We lose energy, we may lose our drive, but when we depend on God he renews and restores us. When we focus on Jesus instead of focusing on the things of the world, He increases our strength. Paul wrote; "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." (2 Corinthians 4:16, NIV)

Life wears us down. Our bodies waste away over the years, but when we lean on the Lord we can be renewed inwardly day by day. Where we put our hope directs where we put our future.

Isaiah 37-39

August 1

Isaiah 37-39

Hezekiah held off the Assyrians and held off death because he was a man of prayer. The Assyrians were a powerful nation. They were conquering nation after nation as they expanded their kingdom. They did not see Jerusalem as much of a problem. Jerusalem was nothing in comparison to the power, the men, and the weaponry of Assyria. But Hezekiah did not fear the Assyrians because he knew God. Instead of calling for help from other nations, he called on the Lord.

The great Assyrian mistake is that they saw the God of Israel as the same as the god of the other nations they had conquered. They did not realize that Yahweh was the God of all nations, the creator of the universe, and the protector of Jerusalem. When the king of Assyria threatened Jerusalem, Hezekiah prayed. When he prayed God moved. One hundred and eighty five thousand from the Assyrian army died without Hezekiah and his men even picking up a weapon. God is more powerful than the armies of the earth no matter how powerful they may appear.

Hezekiah, because of his experience with God, knew where to turn when he was told his illness was terminal. He cried out to God who heard from heaven and added fifteen years to his life. Hezekiah did not fear death, he called on the Lord. Just as the nations enemies were crouching at the door of Jerusalem, death was crouching at the Hezekiah’s door. But God is more powerful than all our enemies, even death.

God wants to hear from us. He hears our prayers and responds. He does not always respond the way we want Him to respond, but He always gives us what we need instead of what we may want. He is a loving Father in heaven who walks through life with us and escorts us into His eternal presence when our life on earth is over. Prayer is our communication with God. He hears from heaven and responds with grace. As we pray, we gain confidence in prayer. As we see God move in our lives, we realized that He is with us as we pursue a life of righteousness, to give Him glory.