Thoughts From The Book Of Isaiah

Thoughts from the book of Isaiah-39

The path of the righteous is level; O upright One, you make the way of the righteous smooth. (Isaiah 26:7)

Fact or fiction; this statement from Isaiah? Not only during the prophet's times, even now, the Christian's journey can be bumpy, so the statement seems like a paradox.

The fact remains that God can make the way of the righteous smooth. Among the many "I will" statements by God, this one is wonderful.......
I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. (Isaiah 42:16)

Yes, God can make rough places smooth, because he is Almighty. There are seasons in every believer's life, where the path that they walk in may not be level and their ways not be smooth, but God is able to remove the hindrances and make their path level and their way smooth.

The one point that stands out in the title verse here is that God is the "Upright One".
The Psalmist sang with confidence....
"The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him." (Psalm 92:15)
Since he is upright, he watches over them who are upright too and grants them victory.....
He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless.....(Proverbs 2:7)
Praise be to his holy name.
 
Thoughts from the book of Isaiah-40

Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. (Isaiah 26:8)


A faithful believer will make known the name of Jesus Christ to others; his renown will be the desire of such a person's heart. Are we being faithful in this task? is a question we must ask ourselves time and again. Of course, many may excuse themselves saying, they are not gifted for this. But that's a very lame excuse. Our testimony of how Jesus has loved us and of his saving and healing grace itself can work wonders in another person's life.

The Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians,
For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. (2 Corinthians 2:15)
Acknowledging Christ before others, especially among them who are perishing, is so very important. We do it, not because of compulsion by others, but because we love Jesus and how he sacrificed all for our sake.

John, the Apostle, writes,
The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. (1 John 1:2)
In our generation, God is seeking men and women who will proclaim what he has done for them through Jesus Christ.
God will strengthen with the Holy Spirit, them who are willing to step out of their comfort zone or fear zone and proclaim his name and renown.
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. (2 Corinthians 2:14)
Praise God.
 
Thoughts from the book of Isaiah-41

Isaiah 26:9 NIV
My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.

Yearning and longing for the Lord......Is this how we can describe our life?
If yes, how blessed a life that is.
Thirsting for God like the psalmist sings in Psalm 42....
Psalm 42:1-2 NIV
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
No better refreshing experience than meeting with God, though we may not see his bodily form. Waiting and meeting him at his appointed time.
But often we tend not to wait because of the busyness of life.
Psalm 5:3 NIV
In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.
Waiting expectantly, for the one with faith knows that he will surely come.
We must earnestly seek him as the Psalmist did....
Psalm 63:1 NIV
You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.
We can find fulfillment in life despite all our troubles and sorrows by being in constant fellowship with the Almighty.
Psalm 27:8 NIV
My heart says of you, “Seek his face! ” Your face, Lord, I will seek.
Let this be our decision too.
 
Thoughts from the book of Isaiah-42

Isaiah 26:12 NIV
Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.


A different kind of peace; one that stays put, during the storms of life, is what God gives to them who trust in him.
To say that God fights for us against our enemies is a fully time tested fact and he is the one who establishes peace for us.

Job, the Old Testament saint lost almost everything he had including his health because of the repeated attacks of satan, yet God eventually established peace for him and gave him much more than he had at first.
Isaiah, the prophet acknowledges that whatever Israel had accomplished was God's doing and he glorifies God for it.

We may achieve many things in life, but we must never forget that it is only because of God's goodness in our lives that we are able to do it.

When Israel was about to enter the promised land after trekking 40 years through the wilderness, God told them that he was going to prosper them in the new land, but also warned them not to become proud and haughty.
Deuteronomy 8:17-18 NIV
You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

Let us then, as believers, always acknowledge that it is only the grace of God and his goodness that keeps us going in this strife torn world.
Psalm 100:5 NIV
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
 
Thoughts from the book of Isaiah-43

In that day; "Sing about a fruitful vineyard: I, the Lord, watch over it; I water it continually. I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it."(Isaiah 27:2, 3)


God desires that his chosen ones be fruitful; that his church be a fruitful vineyard; so He watches over it, waters it and guards it. In a world filled with chaos and confusion, God's vineyard is kept safe by God, despite furious and repeated attacks of the enemy.

Everyday thousands accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and the Church is growing. God waters the Church by His Word spoken by His servants. The Holy Spirit watches over the church and the angels of God guard it day and night. There are constant wars in the heavenly's involving the body of believer's with Satan and his cohorts fighting against the angels of God. Sometimes the Church suffers loss, but the Church remains strong, protected by the blood of the Lamb.

We are to be a fruitful vineyard to the Lord, not warring against each other, but following God's greatest command to love each other, despite our differences in doctrines.

Jesus emphasized this when he spoke about him being the "True Vine" in John Ch.15...

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. (John 15:12)

This is my command: Love each other. (John 15:17)

God's desires regarding His Vineyard will be fulfilled and His name will be glorified forever; that's for sure. As branches of the "True Vine- Jesus", let's be fruitful at all times.
 
Thoughts from the book of Isaiah-44

So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic. (Isaiah 28:16)


Stone....Tested stone....Precious cornerstone......None other than Jesus Christ, who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father. What a great privilege it is to serve the living God.

The prophet writes..... the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic. The NKJV says....... Whoever believes will not act hastily.


For whatever reason it be, those who wait on the Lord will be rewarded eventually. Waiting on the Lord is very important for every believer.
The Psalmist David sings..... In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.(Psalm 5:3)
The Apostle James writes.... As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. (James 5:11)

Let us then wait upon the Lord for all our needs, for he who has called us is faithful and he will never leave us nor forsake us. He will answer our prayers.
 
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