Isaiah 33-36

July 31

Isaiah 33-36

"O Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress." (Isaiah 33:2, NIV)

It is only a few words, but they make up a prayer with great power. “Be gracious to us.” There is nothing more we need than God’s grace. Grace is getting what we do not deserve. It is receiving God’s approval, though we do not deserve it by our actions. God’s grace accepts us in spite of who we are and what we have done. Because of God’s grace, He accepts us just as we are. Through Jesus Christ, God’s grace transforms us from sinners into children of God. In Isaiah’s day, God’s grace would protect and restore Israel, though she had rebelled against God and His covenant with them.

When we realized our in adequacy to save ourselves and our need for God’s salvation, we long for Him. We realize our need for a Savior and we can cry out to Him and know He hears us and responds to our cries. When we begin to realize Who God really is and get a glimpse of His love for us and the grace He extends to us, we cannot help but long for Him. Each day is a new day, each day we need more of Jesus. Like salt drives us to drink more water, just a glimpse of Jesus, makes us want more.

He is our strength and our salvation every day. God just wants us to turn to Him. He wants to help us. He wants to lead us. He wants to give us all we will ever need. He wants to create us into the people He created us to be. But we have to be willing to allow Him to work in us and on us. He is our strength and will empower us to live each day to its fullest. He is our salvation and will lead us through the difficult times in life. He forgives us of our sins and saves us for His glory.  

Isaiah 30-32

July 30

Isaiah 30-32

Sometimes people just do not want to hear the truth. They believe that in some way by not knowing the truth it is not true. When we think rationally, we know this is not the way the world operates. Ignorance is not bliss. Children will cover their ears and make noise so they cannot hear what they do not want to hear, but that does not remove them from accountability for the message they received.

Israel was tired of hearing God’s words of discipline. They wanted the prophets to give them good news. They wanted to hear things that pleased them, that made them feel good. But God was trying to correct them to spare them destruction. They did not want to hear the truth. "They say to the seers, “See no more visions!” and to the prophets, “Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!”" (Isaiah 30:10-11, NIV)

Because they would not listen to God’s messengers or messages, He brought judgment upon Israel. The good news is that when God brings judgment, He also brings grace. "Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!" (Isaiah 30:18, NIV)

Many people do not want to hear the truth from God’s word. They want to live the way they want to live and see God as an oppressor. But God wants what is best for us. He wants us to live full and fulfilled lives free of the consequences of sin. He warns us and encourages us to turn from our sin and to turn toward Him. Watering down the word of God or covering our ears and not listening, does not change its truth. God is calling us into a loving relationship with Him. He is not trying to oppress us, but wants to set us free.

Isaiah 27-29

July 29

Isaiah 27-29

"The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men." (Isaiah 29:13, NIV)

God is getting fed up with Israel’s focus on the rules. They say one thing and do another, but with their lips they praise God. Many people think of the Old Testament as following a list a rules, but that was not God’s intention. God, since creation, wants a relationship with His creation. He made us for relationships.

When sin became a reality, relationships were broken; the relationship with God and with other people. But God was not satisfied with this brokenness, and from the beginning God had a plan. He would lay a precious cornerstone, Jesus is that cornerstone. He is the foundation on which true faith is built. Not a faith built on rules, but a foundation built on a relationship. God had a plan to restore and re-create through this new relationship.

When the rules are put aside and the relationship becomes the focus, the rules are obeyed not because we have to obey, but because we want to walk in obedience with our God whom we love. Then we come near to God and honor Him with our lips because He has filled our hearts with love for Him and love for other people. Worship becomes worship. 

Isaiah 24-26

July 28

Isaiah 24-26

Our lives and all we do are in the hands of Almighty God. We can rebel. We can go our own way, but in the end we will all face God’s judgment. Jesus came to give us the gift of eternal life. We all deserve death and hell, but Jesus came to give us life and heaven. God is our refuge, He is our place of safety in a world of evil. He invites us to come to Him and to find peace.

The greatest enemy we all face is the reality of death. But when Jesus came out of that grave, He conquered sin and death. Isaiah prophesied; "he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The Lord has spoken." (Isaiah 25:8, NIV) The first part of this prophesy was fulfilled at Jesus’ resurrection the second part will be fulfilled when He comes again.

John wrote of his vision in Revelation; "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 21:3-4, NIV)

There are consequences for sin. Individuals face consequences for their sin, but all of creation is affected by and will face the consequences of sin. Isaiah speaks of God’s coming judgment. Some of that judgment has already been administered, some is yet to come. But there is also grace. Those who turn to God for their refuge, who turn to God for their help and hope, those who trust in jesus as their Lord and Savior, will be saved and will join at a great banquet at the end of the world as we know it and the beginning of eternity with God.

"On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines." (Isaiah 25:6, NIV)  You have received the invitation, will you be attending? RSVP by receiving Jesus as Lord and walking in obedience to Him. 

Isaiah 20-23

July 27

Isaiah 20-23

Trouble was near. God was bringing His discipline against Jerusalem because they had turned from God and put their trust in other nations. They did not trust God, serve Him, or obey Him. Even when their backs were against the wall, they trusted in their own abilities. Their leaders had fled and been captured by the enemy. They stored up water to provide their needs during a blockade. They strengthened their walls and built a reservoir between the walls, but they neglected their best defense. "You built a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the Old Pool, but you did not look to the One who made it, or have regard for the One who planned it long ago. The Lord, the Lord Almighty, called you on that day to weep and to wail, to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth." (Isaiah 22:11-12, NIV)

God called the Israelites to repentance, but they continued to try to take care of things themselves. When they realized they had no hope, they threw a party and waited for the enemy to overtake them. No matter what the consequences, they refused to repent, to turn from their sin and to turn to God for help.

They were not much different than many people today. We do not like to admit our faults. We do not like to admit that we need help. Many people will not turn to God, even if it means death and destruction. God loves us, He provides a way out of our sentence of eternity in hell. We cannot save ourselves, so God came in the flesh to save us. But we have to be willing to turn from our sin and to turn to Him and seek His help.

When we look to Jesus as our Savior, we find life in the face of death. We find hope in the face of hopelessness. We find the way out of our slavery to sin. But we have to be willing to turn from ourselves and turn to Him.