October 1, 2023
“We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6 NLT). This is the problem with the idea that we can live a good enough life to please God and earn entrance into heaven–– our righteous acts are like “filthy rags.” We make
September 22, 2023
“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31 NLT). There is a kind of fatigue that afflicts both young and old. Days off and vacations seem to have no
September 15, 2023
“In that day Egypt and Assyria will be connected by a highway. The Egyptians and Assyrians will move freely between their lands, and they will both worship God. In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth” (Isaiah 19:23-24 NLT). The Lord spoke
September 10, 2023
“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’)” (Isaiah 7:14 NLT). Isaiah gave King Ahaz of Judah this sign from God to show that within only a few years, the kingdoms of Israel and Syria would be gone.
December 4, 2022 | Isaiah 9:1-7 |
Do you feel a sense of anticipation as Christmas approaches? For many, Christmas has become just another secular holiday, albeit the biggest of all holidays. But rather than having a sense of happy anticipation, some have a sense of dread or complacency. But remember when we were children? Christmas was so mysterious and wonderful then. Wouldn’t you love to rediscover the anticipation of Christmas?
What’s your perspective on Christmas this year? Has inflation limited your Christmas giving? Maybe you lost your job and don’t know how to have Christmas for your family this year? Perhaps you recently lost a loved one and there’ll be an empty seat at your Christmas dinner this year? Or your family has gone through a divorce and Christmas has gotten too complicated? Or maybe all the focus on shopping and spending has sapped your joy? I have good news. There’s a better way. Let’s rediscover Christmas together this year!
In Isaiah 9, the prophet proclaimed a word from the Lord concerning the coming of the long anticipated Messiah. We can rediscover the anticipation of Christmas by looking back in faith at Christ’s partial fulfillment of that prophecy by His first coming and looking forward in hope for His soon return.
September 28, 2022
ARE YOU SPENDING FOR THINGS THAT DO NOT SATISFY? The Lord questioned Israel as to why they labored so hard for things that did not satisfy. Why not come to the Lord and freely receive His food and drink? But Israel had fallen into idolatry. They pursued the blessings of God, rather than God Himself.
September 27, 2022
GOD HAS LAID OUR SINS UPON CHRIST JESUS Seven hundred years before Christ Jesus, the Lord gave the prophet Isaiah a description of His coming. There are two types of Messianic prophecies revealed in the Old Testament. Both are seen in Isaiah. The first is the Messiah as conquering king, who will rule the nations
September 26, 2022
CHRIST’S LOVE FOR US IS STILL WRITTEN ON HIS HANDS When Israel accused the Lord of forsaking them, He replied saying that He could never forget them. He compared Himself to a mother, saying, “Can a woman forget her nursing child?” Then, He said that He had “engraved” them on His hands. The word “engraved”
September 25, 2022
ARE YOU BOWED DOWN BY IDOLATRY? God gave Isaiah a prophecy against Babylon and its idol worship. It is sarcastic in its imagery, predicting that Babylon’s idols will “bow” down as they are lowered onto ox carts and carried away by the very people who used to “bow” down before them. Even the oxen are
September 23, 2022
GOD IS THE SOURCE AND SUSTAINER OF LIFE A worldview built on any other foundation than the dual truth that God is both Creator and Sustainer of life, will surely lead to false and foolish conclusions. The prophet Isaiah declared this dual truth and more. For the Lord revealed to him the coming of the