Tag: God's Word

A Great Promise, Plus more…

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After a bit of a hiatus from my blogging during Lent, I am looking forward to continuing and finishing the book of Isaiah. The passage for today is Isaiah 55:10-13. God has been telling the Israelites, who will be exiled to Babylon, that their days there will end and that they again will flourish.

“The rain and snow come down from the heavens
    and stay on the ground to water the earth.
They cause the grain to grow,
    producing seed for the farmer
    and bread for the hungry. The seasons will come and go replenishing the earth and providing fruit. It is like God is telling them- things will return to normal and go on as before your exile. You will live, enjoy the land and flourish- just like I planned. Like my land and seasons God continues in verse 11, my Word will be sent out and will always produce fruit! It will do exactly that which God desires it to do among men.


11 It is the same with my word.
    I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
It will accomplish all I want it to,
    and it will prosper everywhere I send it. This is an amazing promise we can claim in our lives. We can trust God to produce results from giving out His Word. We don’t have to worry about where it is going or to whom, our job is to give it out. I claimed this verse for my first book, Fearless Living. I can trust God to fulfill His promise and use His Word in the lives of men. Praise God!


12 You will live in joy and peace.
    The mountains and hills will burst into song,
    and the trees of the field will clap their hands!
13 Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow.
    Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up.
These events will bring great honor to the Lord’s name;
    they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.” Isaiah’s words of prophecy were to be like a balm to the exiled Jews. They were given hope and reassurance that God’s love and power will remain and bring forth good things for them again.

Where do you need that hope today? Are you thinking things are futile and the cycle you are caught in is endless? The Jews must have thought that too, but God gave them hope by looking at the seasons and reassuring them fullness of life would return. Look around and see where God is sending encouragement into your life. Are you concerned about ministry and where you are giving out God’s Word? Be encouraged and don’t fret over the who and where, just trust God to bring the harvest when the Word is given out. He is a Promise-Keeping God! Are you looking for times of joy and restoration? Look to Jesus as He alone can and will restore us. Pray for restoration and pray for the faith and restoration of other Christians as Peter asked in 1 Peter 5:5-9 “Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.” Pray, pray, pray.

In accordance with Isaiah 55:11-13: live with and in hope, continue giving out God’s Word and pray for restoration for the areas of weakness in your own life and in the lives of others.

Linda

God’s Word Protects

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The majority of our time this week will be spent in Isaiah 53, or the 4th Song within Isaiah. However, before we get to Isaiah 53 we encounter some incredibly rich and beautiful passages in Isaiah 51-52. Isaiah 51:7-8 is where Isaiah encourages the Israelites to have a NO Fear attitude towards the adversities that surround them now and those they will face in the future.

“Hear me, you who know what is right,
    you people who have taken my instruction to heart:
Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals
    or be terrified by their insults.
8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment;
    the worm will devour them like wool.
But my righteousness will last forever,
    my salvation through all generations.”

I love the fact that God’s Words that He has given us to live by in the Bible are our protection against those who would seek to intimidate or ridicule us. God says they will be devoured and His righteousness will endure forever. Take lessons to heart from this passage and be encouraged.

  • Knowing God and having His words in my heart protects me!
  • Others seek to put me down, scorn, terrorize and hurt me, but God promises to deal with them, devouring them.
  • God promises to put holes in them, either literally or figuratively, so that the will be destroyed.
  • God promises His righteousness and salvation are eternal.

What do you know about God’s Word? Here are a few verses to show you that the Word of God has power. *Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” God’s Word gives guidance and direction.

Psalm 119:120 “My flesh trembles in fear of you;  I stand in awe of your laws.” God’s Word is worthy of our awe.

Psalm 18:30 “As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.” God’s Word is our flawless shield provided by God.

Ephesians 6:17-18 “ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” God’s Word is included in the armor given to all believers and it is one of our offensive weapons to strike at the heart of unbelief.

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” God’s Word is alive, penetrating and helps us discern truth.

1 Peter 1:23 “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” God’s Word is eternal; it will never be out of date in any circumstance.

God and His Word will last forever and He will be victorious over any and all circumstances we may encounter in life. Fear does not come from God. He wants us to stand for Him with NO FEAR in our hearts and minds.

Linda

God’s Lessons are Eternally True

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Isaiah Chapters 1-35 are filled with chastisement from God over the sinfulness of Judah and the surrounding nations. In addition to warnings from God there are multiple prophesies about the coming Savior, Messiah, and reasons from God as to why the people should have Hope in Him, the Holy One of Israel. Chapters 36-39 provide an interlude and present us with current happenings in the life of Isaiah the prophet and the job God called him to do it is Isaiah in action so to speak. I love the story in Chapter 36 and 37 which focuses on King Hezekiah and the impending attack by Sennacherib, the king of Assyria. The story can also be found in 2 Kings 18 and 19.

The commander of the Assyrian army came to Jerusalem and delivered a message to King Hezekiah and his people. They spoke in the common language of the people so that all the citizens would be terrified and want King Hezekiah to succumb to their demands. The commander said it was futile to resist as the Assyrian army had not been beaten and had defeated all the neighboring countries. The Assyrian commander claimed they could not depend upon their God to rescue them. Isaiah 36:18 “Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Have the gods of any nations ever delivered their lands from the hand of the king of Assyria? Eliakim, the palace administrator, returned to relay the message to King Hezekiah. When King Hezekiah heard the message, he tore his clothes in mourning and asked them to find Isaiah the prophet.

Isaiah 37:5-7 When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Listen! When he hears a certain report, I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.’”

What lessons was God teaching them, and us too, in this situation? Here are a few I gleaned from this passage and God’s reply through Isaiah.

  • When you hear disparaging news, you need to give it to God as He does not want us to be fearful. He wants us to be confident in His ability to overcome obstacles in our life’s pathway. Turn to Him and do not succumb to your fears.
  • God has a plan for victory. Here, He shared it with King Hezekiah to help relieve his distress. God’s Words will soothe, comfort and assure us of God’s might and sovereignty.
  • God will fight our enemies and assures us that they will be dealt with as He deems appropriate.
  • God will defend His name for His name’s sake.
  • Faith in God’s ability, might, sovereignty and power will help us overcome our fear and trust in Him.

Where are you facing difficult circumstances that are threatening to overcome you? Take a lesson from King Hezekiah and ask God to intervene, trust in His response and let God deal with it. Know that God has a plan! All things work for believers for our good and His glory. Claim Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” All believers belong to Him and He is working for our good. We have to trust Him to work all things out.

God promises to fight for us, I claim Isaiah 49:25b “I will contend with those who contend with you,
    and your children I will save.” God has our back. Isaiah 49:16 “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.”

God has us surrounded and protected. Rest in John 10:28 “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

The Lord’s name is precious and He will defend His own name and His honor. Psalm 109:21 “But you, Sovereign Lord, help me for your name’s sake; out of the goodness of your love, deliver me.”

Jesus himself reminded us to have faith. Mark 11:22-23 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23 “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.”

Which situation speaks to you today? Life is a constant battle but take heart Jesus tells us in John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Linda