Isaiah 42

Isaiah 42 starts with God describing his servant and messenger.  He has high praise for Isaiah and then makes this statement which needs to be our charge: “I have called you to live right and well…and provided you as a lighthouse to the nations”.  We have a purpose for living.  You may remember the old song “This little light of mine”.  I’m gonna let it shine.  God has called us to shine and be a lighthouse for people to see His power and glory and grace.  But we can’t do that if we hide it under a bushel.  We have to let our light shine, and it really has to shine brightly to compete with all the other stuff people are being distracted with today.  The competition for even a little attention is pretty fierce.  The key for us to be a lighthouse is consistent living day after day with all those we are able to touch.  We need to let God have His way with us each moment.  People are watching.  We can’t separate our spiritual life from our work life from our home life from our church life.  Our spiritual life is who we are.  It is how we become His lighthouse.  We have to let it shine in everything we say and do. 

 

Isaiah also says these words: “You’ve seen a lot, but looked at nothing.  You’ve heard everything, but listened to nothing”.  Does that describe you?  Is that how your marriage is?  How about your prayer time or Bible reading?  God is speaking to us constantly but are we listening.  He shows us things continually but we are not looking.  We have to pay attention to what God is up to.  We need to put our spiritual antennae up and get connected with God.  The chapter closes with these words: “Their whole world collapsed but they still didn’t get it; their life is in ruins but they don’t take it to heart”.  Is this today?  Is God trying to tell us something and we just aren’t paying attention?  We need to wake up and look and listen.  God is alive and talking to us.

Isaiah 41

Isaiah 41 is a testimony to the faithfulness of God.  Isaiah writes about God’s promise to His people.  Things have been rough – enemies have caused pain and damage and God is now letting the people know that He has not left, and in fact – He is restoring them to Himself.  This chapter is a series of promises and descriptions of how God is faithful to His people.  We need to cling to what He tells us, because we serve and are loved by and claimed by the same God today.  His promises are real and dependable for us.  He says: “I, your GOD, have a firm grip on you and I’m not letting go”.  God is holding on to us.  He never lets go.  That doesn’t mean we can’t pull away and stray and seem like we are out there on our own, but He will “never leave nor forsake us”.  It is not in His nature.  Check out the words God uses to show His faithfulness.  All action words – things He is doing and does for us today:

1. I’m first on the scene
2. I pulled
3. I’ve picked
4. I haven’t dropped
5. I’m with
6. I’m your God
7. I’ll give
8. I’ll help
9. I’ll hold
10. I’m right here
11. I’ll open
12. I’ll place
13. I’ll plant

 

Pretty impressive list of things God is up to.  He is not a passive God that just sits there and lets us flounder around on our own.  He is active and alive and involved in our lives and this world we live in.  Are you joining God in His work, or resisting Him at every turn.  We need to observe what He is up to and join Him.  We need to see where He is working and get on board.  We need to watch what is happening and be part of His work.  God is alive.  He is active in your life and mine.  He is the great I AM.  Are you living in alignment with His activity in your life?  What a blessing when we get on His page.  He will not let go.  Let’s join Him and let Him have control in our lives today!

Isaiah 40

Isaiah 40 contains comfort and the reality of the awesome God we serve.  Isaiah writes: “who comes close to being like God”?  The answer is no one does.  God is who He is and there is none like Him.  He created the universe and is worthy of our praise.  He “sits high above the earth” and is in control of all.  He is the creator of all that is and ever will be.  And yet, He is a personal God who cares about the very details of your life and mine.  That is the amazement of God for me.  How He cares about every little detail and all the things that I am dealing with – but He knows each one and is right there in the middle of it all with me.  One of the most important verses Isaiah pens in this chapter is this: “the grass withers and the wildflowers fade, but our God’s Word stands firm and forever“.  What God has recorded on the pages of scripture will never change.  We can depend on them being the same forever.  And forever is a very long time.  So we need to learn them well.  We need to spend time understanding His Word.  It is the blueprint for life for eternity.  Investment made there is never wasted.  Because that Book contains the very Word of God and is golden for eternity.  Are you reading it?  It is imortant and a very valuable investment of your time!

Isaiah 39

Isaiah 39 is a short chapter with a somewhat strange set of events.  The King of Babylon sends his messengers to visit King Hezekiah in an apparent well wishing mission.  These men came and brought gifts and a message of goodness.  But in reality, they were there to case out the place and Hezekiah showed it all to them.  He fell for it hook line and sinker.  They had a complete tour and saw all the riches of the kingdom.  Scripture tells us “There was nothing in his house or kingdom that Hezekiah didn’t show them”.  Of course, it seems apparent they were there to gather intelligence for the future when they would wage war and capture all these things.   Isaiah shows up and asks who they were and what they were doing there and discovers the facts.  His response was that the day was coming when they would come and take it all as well as Hezekiah’s sons into captivity.  When Isaiah asked what had happened, we get a glimmer into the motive for opening the palace to these strangers: “I showed them the works, opened all the doors and impressed them with it all”.  Does the word pride come to mind for you?  He wanted to impress his guests with all his stuff.  And the result was he showed them why it would be worthwhile to come capture it all and take it away.  Really a short sighted action.

Hezekiah doesn’t act concerned in that he clings to God’s promise that “surely nothing bad will happen in my lifetime. I’ll enjoy peace and stability as long as I live”.  That was the promise God gave when He extended his life.  But the shortsighted approach really is not the right one.  Hezekiah allows his desire to be stroked and feel powerful and show off his riches to cloud his judgment for the future of his family and kingdom.  He lost common sense and allowed self to become the controlling factor in how he lived.  What a tactic of the enemy – to get us to put self first.  That is one of the biggest ways we get pulled away from God’s plan.  When I become the focal point, when my status is more important than anything else, bad decisions happen and the result is not good.  Hezekiah loses sight of legacy and allows pride to become the driver of his actions.  We have to keep our eyes on what matters.  And that is not me.  It is the living God of the universe and His Son.  Are you living for legacy?

Isaiah 38

Isaiah 38 is an interesting exchange between Hezekiah and God.  Isaiah comes and delivers the news that Hezekiah is “about to die”.  As you might expect – Hezekiah is a bit upset but immediately – while Isaiah is still there delivering the news – deals with it.  Check out what scripture tells us: “Hezekiah turned away from Isaiah and, facing the wall, prayed to GOD”.  Remember the progression from the last chapter – Hezekiah asked Isaiah to pray, and then the next big event, he himself prayed.  This time, he immediately prays.  His plea to God: “Remember how I’ve lived….faithfully….out of a heart that was totally yours…the good that I have done”.  He wept and sought God with earnestness.  And God heard and has Isaiah let him know that there will be 15 years added to his life. God backed up the clock that day – literally the Word says the sun dial backed up 10 notches and Hezekiah was granted 15 more years.  What a blessing from God.

Scripture captures some of the words Hezekiah wrote after he was healed of the disease that was going to take his life.  He makes these statements: “it was good for me to go through all those troubles. Throughout them all you held tight to my lifeline. You never let me tumble over the edge….my sins you let go of….The dead don’t thank you…Those buried six feet under don’t witness to your faithful ways”.  We need to be in the game to be able to experience God and then share that with others.  Dead people don’t share much about God’s faithfulness.  We need to use our time to speak the truth of God’s love and faithfulness to us.  He does love us.  He is always faithful.  Are you faithful to Him?

Isaiah 37

Isaiah 37 reveals the faithfulness of God.  You may recall that the king of Assyria had threatened Hezekiah and put forth a plan to wipe them out.  He mocked God and pretty much just said it is time to roll over because they were coming to town.  “When Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes”.  He was bummed and that is how they showed it in his day.  Public display of being overwhelmed by the situation.  Probably good we don’t do that any longer as I would run out of clothes if I tore them everytime I felt overwhelmed.  But Hezekiah knew enough to run to Isaiah and asked him to “pray for us Isaiah”.  Isaiah does and gives him God’s message that it is going to be ok.  But the king of Assyria sends more communication that the end is coming – things are not ok and he is going to conquer.  Another attempt at strong arming them into surrender.  But this time note what happens: “Then Hezekiah prayed to GOD”.  Do you see the difference?  First time it was Hezekiah running to Isaiah to seek God.  This time he goes himself and seeks the Father.  It has moved from God being his second level friend to being a first level friend in his Facebook.  Hezekiah seeks God and guess what?  God answers and answers in a big way.  He assures him and just for the sake of backing up His word, 185,000 Assyrians died with out Hezekiah’s army even lifting a sword.  They fell at the hand of “the Angel of God”. 

 

We need to be connected to the Father.  Is God a first level friend in your Facebook or Linked In page?  Not literally, but you get the drift.  We spend time connecting with people using a computer and web tool, but how much more important that we spend time connecting face to face with the living God and Creator of the universe.  Here is a newsflash – Facebook will never save you from anything.  But God can and will – He still listens and answers prayers.  He still loves us with all His being.  He wants a relationship and is passionate about you and me.  That only happens when we seek Him and spend time with Him.  No other way – and not via the web.  Get with God today.  He loves you!

Isaiah 36

Isaiah 36 captures a story of King Hezekiah and the attempt by Sennacherib, the king of Assyria to humiliate him and his people.  The king from Assyria sent some of his men to warn Hezekiah and the people that they were coming to town to wipe them out.  At first glance it looks pretty true.  They are superior and Hezekiah and the boys really can’t match up.  They stand outside the city and speak loudly as to discourage all the people.  They warn and threaten and make predictions of what will happen.  They even try to say that it is God’s idea (which is not exactly the truth).  The reality is they are trying to win the war by words and discouragement, rather than having to fight at all.  Our enemy, the devil, tries the same with us.  His tactics are to discourage us, tell us what God says doesn’t really matter, separate us from the body and get us isolated so we have to stand alone.  But his desire is the same as the King of Assyria was for these folks – to kill, steal and destroy. 

 

We can learn from the response of the three leaders who Hezekiah sent to meet with the enemy.  After listening to the threats, they heard the offer which sounded rather appealing: “Make peace with me. Come and join me. Everyone will end up with a good life, with plenty of land and water, and eventually something far better. I’ll turn you loose in wide open spaces, with more than enough fertile and productive land for everyone”.  Satan works the same way on us today.  Promise us the world if we give up life.  But how did these three respond?  Pay close attention: “They said nothing, for the king had already commanded, “Don’t answer him.””  They did not fall for the trap – they listened and went back to the king with the information.  We don’t have to respond when the enemy attacks.  We just need to carry it to God.  The battle is His, today and for Hezekiah.

Isaiah 35

Isaiah reminds us of the God we serve in chapter 35.  He talks of God’s “glory” and calls God “awesome….and….majestic”.  Do you spend time recognizing the power and glory of the God of our universe?  Have you praised Him today?  Is He sitting in the right place in your patch?  On the throne, recognized as who He is?  Well here is Isaiah’s news flash: “God is here, right here, on his way to put things right”.  God is not somewhere out there.  He is right here, right now.  He is involved in our lives and in this world we live in, no matter how screwed up it may seem.  He doesn’t make it that way, we do.  But He doesn’t leave us alone either, even when we completely ignore Him and act like we don’t need or even want Him around.  Lots of challenging lessons from the book “The Shack” around these kinds of thoughts – if you haven’t read it – you should.

 

But the exciting thing is how Isaiah describes the God we serve.  And He is alive and active and doing the kind of things Isaiah describes here.  Check it out.  God will: “redress all wrongs….save you….blind eyes opened….deaf ears unstopped….lame men and women will leap….voiceless break into song….streams flow in the dessert….hot sands become cool….barren grasslands flourish”.  That is the power of the God we serve.  And it wasn’t just in Isaiah’s time.  We serve the same God.  He is just as much alive and part of our world as He was when Isaiah penned this chapter.  He wants to be part of our lives, and He is, the question is do we recognize and acknowledge Him.  We need to embrace God and put Him on the throne He belongs on.  He is our God.  He is in complete control.  He is awesome and majestic and worthy of our praise!

Isaiah 34

I love how Isaiah 34 starts, and I think we need to heed the words shared.  Isaiah writes:

1. “Draw in close
2. Listen carefully
3. Pay attention”

Are you picking up what he is putting down here? (not sure what that means exactly buy daughter Laurie says it to me all the time so it must be hip)  We need to focus on hearing God.  We need to wake up and get concentrated on what God has told us.  We need to draw close, like sitting together across the table and scoot up closer so we can hear Him speak truth into us.  We need to lean forward and listen carefully.  God is talking to us through His Word and through answered prayer – if we are listening.  He doesn’t shout it from the mountaintop most days.  He consistently gives us truth and we need to get into His Word and read it, and get on our knees and seek it.  How much time are you spending with God each day – reading, studying, listening, memorizing and meditating on His Word?  For those of you with some Navigator background – you know those are the 5 fingers of the Hand illustration for how we need to handle God’s Word each day.  Try and pick up your Bible with one finger, or two.  Pretty tough and likely not possible at all.  We need to take God’s Word in through multiple inputs.  We need to spend time learning the truth each day.  Are you doing that?

 

How about prayer?  There is a prayer hand illustration as well.  We need to be on our knees regularly – in adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication and intercession – focused on the very face of God.  Are you spending time in prayer each day?  Are you seeking God’s face, or just His hands?  We need to be praying for our country, our leaders, each other.  God wants us to get in the game with Him.  He wants us close, focused and listening.  We need to pay attention.  We do that through prayer and being in His Word.  Are you committed to that?

Isaiah 33

Isaiah 33 talks about the God we serve and just how awesome and amazing He is.  I love how Isaiah has Him in the proper place.  Check out some of what He says: “You’re our only hope”…. “God keeps your days stable and secure – salvation, wisdom and knowledge in surplus”…. “God makes all the decisions here.  God is our king.  God runs this place and He’ll keep us safe”.  Doesn’t that sound like an amazing God?  He is our only hope.  He is our only source of stability.  He is in control.  What great reminders about the God we love and serve.  He is our security and the rock on which we can depend.  And we need to cling tightly and trust completely.  “God is supremely esteemed”.  Is He esteemed in your life?  Do you live with God as the center, or is He just in the corner on call for when you think you need Him.  For too many of us, that is how we treat God.  Keep Him around for emergencies, but otherwise we have it under control.  Oh how foolish that is.  We need to put God in the center, on the throne, and in control of our life.  It is His place and we need to put Him there.

 

Isaiah also gives us the simple answer for how we “can survive this firestorm”.  Check out the list he gives in his response: “The answer’s simple: Live right, speak the truth, despise exploitation, refuse bribes, reject violence, avoid evil amusements”.  Seems pretty simple doesn’t it.  Just do the right things and life is good.  Well the scripture goes on to say this: “This is how you raise your standard of living! A safe and stable way to live. A nourishing, satisfying way to live”.  Did you catch that?  Safety….stability….nourishing…satisfying.  Those are some very appealing results for most of us.  How we live matters, and who we put in charge of our life matters even more.  We need to heed God’s Word and be in obedience to it.  We need to walk humbly with our God – in obedience to His will and direction.  When we do – scripture tells us over and over that good things happen.  It doesn’t say it will be a rose garden, but it does promise that He will never leave nor forsake us.  Are you living with God in the center of your universe?  Or have you put self in that center pivot?  If your universe revolves around you, hold on, tough times are coming.  Only God can have that spot.   Put Him there today!