Tag: prophet isaiah

Isaiah 43:1-7

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            There are times when our souls can become parched and dry, times when it seems no one quite understands, and as if circumstances might overwhelm the spirit.  The best remedy to such times is to fill oneself full of God, his grace and love.  Today’s Old Testament lesson is the perfect prescription for those passing through difficulty and/or wondering what lies ahead, fearful of the future.  As I do often, here is my translation and interpretation of this encouraging passage of Holy Scripture; may it fortify your soul today and lead you through the sticking points of life:
 
Now listen up to what the LORD says, the One who created you and formed you:
“Don’t be afraid, because I’m the God who has bought you from the auction block with the ultimate price;
            I have called you by name, and you are now mine.
When you are in water over your head, I want you to know that I will be with you;
            and when it seems like you are drowning, please understand that I’ve got you;
when you walk through fiery trials, I want you to know that you will not be burned,
            and the circumstance will not consume you and burn you out.
This will all be true because I am the LORD your God,
            the Holy One, your Savior.
I put everyone around you in their place,
            and there is no one who is in a position to buy you back from me.
Because you are infinitely precious in my eyes,
            and honored, and I love you,
there is nothing I would not give for you,
            nothing I would not do to keep you with me.
Don’t be afraid, because I am with you always;
            I will gather all my children from the east and from the west,
            so that you will never be alone on this earth.
In fact, I will command all the ends of this planet of yours
            to not withhold, to bring together every son and daughter from the farthest reaches,
everyone who is called by my name,
            whom I created for my glory,
            whom I formed and made.
You are all in this life together,
            and I, the LORD, am watching over each and every one of you. 

 

Bank on it.”

Isaiah 61:1-7

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
             All of Scripture is God-breathed and his self-revelation.  Yet, there are some passages of the Bible that, although not any more significant, control other parts of Holy Scripture.  I call these “boss” verses; they are sections that bring light and authority to the entirety of the Bible.  Today’s Old Testament lesson is a “boss” section of Scripture.  It both encapsulates the message of the Bible as well as projecting an intentional focus of life and ministry for us.
 
            “The Spirit of the LORD God is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor… to comfort all who mourn.”  The Lord Jesus picked up these verses and read them in the inauguration of his ministry to his fellow Jews in the synagogue.  He did so because God’s message would be fulfilled in the person of Jesus.  This, then, is an overarching message which is like a big tent idea that controls all of Holy Scripture.
 
            There ought really to be no doubt, of even the casual reader of the Bible, that God is deeply concerned with the poor, the needy, the grieving, and the spiritually destitute whose souls require hope and rescue.  Jesus proclaimed the year of the Lord’s favor; he preached the good news of God’s kingdom.  He blessed the poor in spirit and those who mourn.  Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, Christians have a message of good news to proclaim.  Just as Jesus came in the flesh to rescue the needy, so we who have been delivered from sin’s prison, are to embody the message of redemption to others in desperate need of rescue.
 
            Who is in need of God’s good news in your relational sphere of influence?  How might you bring Christ to them both in speech and in the flesh?  What needs are in their lives which Jesus might fulfill?  Will you intentionally and fervently pray for them every day for the next two weeks?
 

 

            Merciful God, your grace has saved me from myself and an empty way of life.  May I never lose sight of what you have done for me.  Anoint me to proclaim the good news of Jesus so that many others might be rescued from their desperate plight.  Amen.

Isaiah 6:1-5

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            Isaiah saw a vision of God in his throne room.  It was a grand, majestic, and transcendent vision of a God who dominates the entire setting.  The train of God’s robe filled the temple.  This is Isaiah’s way of saying that the vision he saw was a really big one.  God is immense and huge.  It is vital that we see the bigness of our God.  Gaining a vision of the hugeness of God is what causes our human problems to be seen as small.
 
            We are to take our cues from the seraphs that were worshiping God.  They were in the presence of God’s immensity and the seraphs gave unceasing praise.  A seraph is an angel with the job description to glorify God with continual adoration.  The seraphs physical description symbolizes their function:  covering their face symbolizes humility in God’s presence; covering their feet identifies that they are on holy ground; and, flying symbolizes their work to do God’s bidding. 
 
            So, then, the seraphs have two-thirds wing power for worship, and one-third wing power for work.  If this is any kind of indication how God’s creatures are to conduct their lives, we as humans have a great deal of life-adjustment to make in order to accommodate the worship of God into our lives. 
 
            Perhaps we see our problems as so large because we have a small view of God.  This must be inverted so that we see a big God who can take care of our puny situations.  The only way this is going to happen is if we have a vision of God, and the only way having a vision of God is going to occur is if we put ourselves in a position to see God. 
 

 

            Holy God, you are very large and very in charge over all your creation.  When I contemplate your bigness, I realize how small I am and how much I really need you.  My life is yours.  Here I am.  I belong to you. Amen.

Isaiah 11:1-9

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            No more appropriate Scripture could be highlighted during the season of Advent:  “And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.”  As Christians, we believe this is a prophecy of Jesus in whom all of these virtues exist in wonderful perfection and practice.
 
            Jesus has so clearly identified with us that we are in a vital union with him.  He still exists here on earth in the person of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus was sent by the Father.  With the Father and the Son, the Spirit was sent to press the redemptive events of Jesus into the believer’s heart.  This is basic robust Trinitarian theology.  But these are not abstract ideas.  Prayer, discernment, and listening are the pathways forward to discovering the wisdom, counsel, and knowledge we need in order to live and serve well as Christians.
 
            In many quarters of Christianity the church exists as a mere stump of its former existence.  In many Christians’ daily experience the Spirit has been supplanted by individual ingenuity, hard work, and getting ahead through accumulation of more and more.  Basic Christian spirituality is a mere shadow of its former influence.  If we again desire the Spirit of the Lord to rest upon us, we will seek Christ as of foremost importance.  Let this Advent season be a time of renewal as we take the prophecy of Isaiah to heart.
 

 

            Righteous God, you have not forgotten your people.  Thank you for fulfilling all your good promises to us in Christ.  I seek you for everything so that I might do your work and implement your will instead of trusting in my own abilities.  May Jesus be glorified and praised through the work of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.