How far did you think you would get?

Day 213 Isaiah 64-66!

The New Heavens and the New Earth.  Listen I am not smart enough (yet) to peel all these Scriptures apart to know when Isaiah is talking about the first time Christ comes or the second time Christ comes but here is what I do know:  these chapters clearly state that the faithful and the disobedient will be separated with eternal life for the faithful, and eternal punishment for the rest.

In the New Testamanet we will read about this in many places, one being 2 Peter

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.  That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. (2 Peter 3:10-14)

In 5 months we will have finished the Bible.  I sat outside about 45 minutes ago thinking about that.  That in 5 small months I will have actually read all of God’s Bible.  I am in awe of that.  Anyway, on that last day we will be reading this very topic.  The climax of the Bible will be awesome vision written by John of the New Heaven and Earth.  John was actuallyexiled to a deserted island for ly purpose of writing Revelations.  If I remember correct, God actually lowered Heaven down so that John could write about exactly what he sees.  Anyway, Chapter 66, the last book of Isaiah will match Book 66 the last book of the Bible.

Day 212 Isaiah 59-63

This is tough isn’t it.  Prophecy books in the middle of summer.  If it were not for you ladies, and God pushing me forward I would have piddled out this summer.  Yet here we are, some a little behind BUT still here.  Can I get a WOW from everyone.

So in this part of Isaiah, the prophet points out to Israel (us) that our sin is what is separating us from God.  They seek Him but cannot find Him.  Why?  Sin.  Why can some hear, feel, see and  God and others not at all.   Yes we all have sinned and will sin. However, what the Lord is saying is you have two paths. One is the road you are on, the other is to acknowledge the sin (confession) and REPENT, agree with God that that the sin is wrong and CHANGE our lives accordingly. 

The Redeemer will come to Zion,
       to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”
      

Chapter 60 gives a picture of a transformed Jerusalem (us). The end of Chapter 60 grabbed me because I recognized some of my favorite visions in Revelations.  I love reading scripture about Heaven not needing a Sun or a moon becasue there is no such thing as darkness.  It will always be bright from God’s Glory!

Chapter 61. I want you to STOP and Picture Jesus reading scripture in the Temple.  This Chapter actually.    He is reading from the book of Isaiah, a prophecy of the coming Savior.  Can you picture it? Jesus is reading about himself.  This next section is from the Gospel  Luke 4, speaking of Jesus.

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 
 ”The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
      because he has anointed me
      to preach good news to the poor.
   He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
      and recovery of sight for the blind,
   to release the oppressed, 
    to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

READ 61.  I know for sure you will just see our Savior Jesus in every verse!  A Righteous Oak, a Double Portion, a Crown of Beauty, a Robe of Salvation!

Chapter 62.  Many of you know the Lord’s Prayer from Matthew. “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done”..  Now read 61:verse1.  For the Kingdom’s sake (Zion) I will not remain quiet!!  Till all the nations (and my friends and family) see His glory in me.  The Fire that is burning inside of me! I will not keep quiet in this politically correct world!  The rest of the chapter I feel like God is describing the NEW ME, the one that knows Jesus.

Chapter 63. God’s Vengeance and Redemption.  I wish I had more time to dig into this, but I feel like the Praise and Prayer is a Summary I could read to someone that would catch them up on the last 212 days.

Day 211 Isaiah 54-58

I am not going to pretend I know the hearts of you woman but what I do know is that you will get Chapter 55.  An Invitation to the Thirsty.  You don’t read over 200 days of the Bible straight through seeking the Lord without having something in you that is drawing you to it.

Seek the LORD while he may be found;
       call on him while he is near.

While He is near…I know you feel it.  You can’t have the year you are having without feeling that this might be the closest you have ever felt to  Him.  And for many, the ironic thing is,  this might be our toughest most challenging year.

Very interesting Chapters today.  I seemed to take each one separately, yet they all seemed to apply to me.

Chapter 54: Israel is compared to a Baron woman. In these days this was a disgrace.  Children were the only way for a family to continue and survive.  He promises to restore them and redeem them, and compares that promise to the promise He made Noah.  We know that every promise God makes is bound forever, never to be broken.  So we know that everything in Chapter 53 WILL happen.

Chapter 55, An Invitation to the Thirsty (covered above) and a reminder that His thoughts are better than ours, His ways are better than ours.  We need to strive to have less of us and more of Him.  How do we do that? We have to let the old stuff that does not belong in us die.  Not to come back.  As we get rid of all that junk, those thoughts, those motives, those desires, it leaves more rooom for God to fill us with good stuff, like joy and peace.

Chapter 56. Salvation is for ALL the nations!  And the accusations of the wicked.  Now remember the word wicked is not like what we think of on Halloween, in the  lens of God it is people that plan and scheme to get ahead in life with no incorporation of the Lord.  Self reliant.  Self sustained.  Rely on money.  Self Centered.  Ummmm Would you call most of the nations on earth wicked right now?

Chapter 57.  An awesome Scripture starts this Chapter that will often be needed to answer the WHY…

Good people pass away;
      the godly often die before their time.
      But no one seems to care or wonder why.
   No one seems to understand
      that God is protecting them from the evil to come.
  For those who follow godly paths
      will rest in peace when they die. (Verse 1-2, NLT)

By the way, maybe you are not the thirsty I was talking about earlier.  Maybe you are teh low in Spririt.  Feeling Broken.  Chapter 57 14-21 speaks directly to you.

Chapter 58: Fasting.  Read this chapter carefully.  Isaiah talks about what fasting is NOT and what it IS.  Isaiiah then gives content that is “If you do this”…”Then this will happen”.  SO as you read it, if you want to have the “Thens” jot down the “Ifs”.  But don’t expect one without the other.

Day 210 Isaiah 49-53

Up till know in Isaiah we have read about 5 major themes

1. The Lord is Sovereign.  God is the Lord, Isaiah is repeating it over and over.  There are no other gods but Him.
2. God is Holy. Isaiah said in Chapter 6 “Holy , Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty, the whole earth is filled with his Glory”.  God is like no other, He is set apart. 
3. The doctrine of Sin.  Isaiah knew that sin separated us from the Lord, However, he also knew that meaningless sacrifices were not the remedy.  Only turning our hearts to the Lord, was the key.
4. To place Faith in teh Lord.  Faith is not knowing there is a Lord, but trusting in the Lord.  When we put God as the commander of our ship, it will get where it needs to get, regardless of the path it takes.
5. The Doctrine of the remnant.  You have heard me use that phrase several times.  Remnant.  God’s judgement would be so severe that all that would be left would be a remnant in Judah.  We know this has to be because of our next point.  We know that since Genesis the Lord says He will bring a Savior through the line of Judah.

SO now we are at one of the most popular reading in all the Bible.  The Prophecy’s of these chapters were written 7 centuries before teh event of Calvary, yet through Isaiah God was able to lay out His plan for Salvation.  And People do you ever stop to  think how much God Loves us to do all this. 

So read these chapters closely.Take a few days if you have to.  Go to the Library if you can.  As each chapter gets closer to 53 the cross references will have more and more New Testament References.  Luke, Matthew, Romans, John, 1 Peter.  Actually you will see in these 4 Chapters everything from Genesis to Revelations!

(I posted this early.  Check back later for more of my thoughts if you wantP

Day 208 Isaiah 44-48

I have been dry this week.  Not really wanting to read.  I am tired, sick, busy…and just not “feeling it”.  I have a very weak prayer time, to know me is to know that I don’t sit still and I rush, always thinking of the next hour.  Yesterday I took some time to STOP, and prayer for specific things.  The other day the Lord gave me a great reminder that prayer matters (Hezekiah’s illness) and that when we pray, things happen.  SO in my list of 100 details one of them was to be hungry again to read.  To not want to skim.  For the reading to be personal and applicable. Well, he changed my alarm clock time.  Not kidding.  And when it went off I heard Him say ” read like you used to.  It’s quiet.  Your alone.  Don’t worry about sleep”.  SO I got up like I used to and read every word.  Not one was skimmed (like I used to).

 If I were to write down every verse that WOWed me, the blog would be longer than the reading.  And that was a long reading.  Enjoy the reading today.  There is no doubt a few scriptures will be underlined!  But as you read it be in awe that it is a prophecy.  Some who still wrestle with this might say “How do you know? Maybe it was some guy who was just speaking”.  Later I will detail all the prophecies that Isaiah made and the revelation of ALL of them but for now go back to Deuteronomy 18:

You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD ?”  If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.

Isaiah prophesied from 740 to 681 B.C. and called Cyrus BY NAME 150 years before he even ruled (559-530 B.C.)  God will use a Gentile as an instrument for His work.  I am not going to go Chapter by chapter because I have so many notes I would bore you to death.  The read  is so good, if you get to one that you “don’t get” PLEASE e-mail me or comment.  Also, find the one scripture that God is using to talk to you!  I had many, like 48:9-11.  It was loud.

At camp this week.

Hi.  I am going to camp with Elliot, my oldest daughter for 3 days.  While at camp we are not allowed ANY technology.  Of course I will have my crackberry back at the cabin and any comments you sweet ladies post I will get to read in my quiet time at night.  I was able to steal some hours this weekend and get a little ahead so the next 2 days are covered.  Wednesdays will be posted at night.  We are getting closer and closer to the New Testament ladies.  We have made it so far!  Keep with it! I promise, that by the end of the year we will be exhausted but we will know God’s Full Picture.

Please write me comments this week, even if just a knock knock joke.  Will be looking for ya!

Day 207 Isaiah 40-43

This is the Shift if the book of Isaiah.  It is obvious by the scriptures and the tone.  As we are reading God will reunite Israel and Judah and restore them but they are still in captivity.  Judah still had 100 years of trouble before Jerusalem would fall, then 70 years of exile.  So God is comforting them during those times, as he does ours.  Chapter 40 referrers to the restoration after the exile.  God will use Cyrus as an instrument to deliver them.

PLEASE  take note to some of the cross references, especially if they sound familiar.  Matthew Chapter 3/Isaiah 3.

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
   ”A voice of one calling in the desert,
   ’Prepare the way for the Lord,
      make straight paths for him.’

Isaiah40:8  vs 1Peter1:24

   ”All men are like grass,
      and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
   the grass withers and the flowers fall,
    but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.

The rest of Chapter 40 was INCREDIBLE.  Read it not as words but as acknowledgement straight to the Lord.  Sometimes we need a little reminder if who God is, well Chapter 40 is it!

Chapter 41, I am sure many of you have heard scriptures before and loved them as ‘stand alone’ scriptures.  You know in a study, or on a mug, or as a word of encouragement.  Well, now I can read them and know exactly who God is referring to and why.  How we can see that it really does take Him putting us in our own exile or dessert to finally see Him.  Anyway, in 41, the man from the East is actually Cyrus.  God is going to use the king of a foreign nation, Persia, as a tool to release the Israelites from captivity, and He continues to comfort His people of reminder all the way back to Abraham, that He has been with them and not forsaken them the WHOLE time.

Chapter 42 700 years before Jesus is born Isaiah describes His coming in such great detail. These words could only be from God through Isaiah.  Look at Chapter 42 and then look at this:

“Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
      the one I love, in whom I delight;
   I will put my Spirit on him,
      and he will proclaim justice to the nations. 
 He will not quarrel or cry out;
      no one will hear his voice in the streets. 
 A bruised reed he will not break,
      and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
   till he leads justice to victory. 
 In his name the nations will put their hope.” Mt 12:18-21

I don’t need to past verse 6 in that Chapter for you to know that us Gentiles were always included in God’s plan.

CHAPTER 43.  READ this as God is speaking to YOU.  That is the purpose.  This is a chapter we need to keep that little ribbon in all the time.  I am going to read it again.  PLEASE share the one verse that really popped out at you.  Underline it.  Date it.  Smiley face it. Know that He is talking to Jew and Gentile, for those who believe in the Savior Jesus this message is written.

Isaiah 37-39, Psalm 76

Sometimes when we read the Bible it is normal to have moments where it is so good and then times when we feel dry.  Don’t get discouraged by the roller coater emotions of being in the Word.  If the reading is not “grabbing you”,  clear your head and be still.  Then read. Don’t always get stressed about who these Kings are, what is going on exactly, where were we again.  Just understand that on every page God has a plan for Jesus to come into our lives to give us the Holy Spirit to discern and guide us through this world.  Clearly we can see that without it, we are hopeless.

Today’s reading could mean something different to everyone.  That’s the best part about it.  God is personal.  One on One.  For me the read today God wanted me to know that PRAYER matters!  Prayer is a gift that has been given to us that most people never take out of the box.

Remember the overview in Isaiah (I barely do) but I remember the part about this book being mini format of the bible.  Well what we are finishing today is the Old Testament part.  The first 40 chapters were Words of Judgement (OT) the  next 26 Chapters will be Words of Comfort (NT).  SO this is it.  The pivot.

Chapter37 was beautiful to read.  Hezekiah did what Isaiah has been preaching for 36 Chapters.  Turn to the Lord.  And He does.  In verse 4 he prays for a remnant to survive out of Judah.  (we already know where this is going, JESUS!) Anyway, Hezekiah prays and acknowledges that He ALONE is God.  (Key word there, they never denied there was a God, just that they had adopted all the pagan Gods too) and Hezekiah asks for victory….why?? Verse 20, did you catch the SO THAT.  So That all the kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, Oh Lord, are God. Not for personal gain or any other reason.

I could not pass up this cut and paste

Once more a remnant of the house of Judah
       will take root below and bear fruit above.

 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,
       and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.
       The zeal of the LORD Almighty
       will accomplish this.

Chapter 38.  The death of Sennacherib was prophesied in 4 prior chapters in Isaiah and is recorded in 2 Kings 19 which we will read about on Tuesday. The Hezekiah’s illness occurs.  The difference today is that Jesus made us aware that He has prepared a place in Heaven for us.  Hezekiah, didn’t know that would be where he was going so the thought of death ha a real sting.

39.  I had to look up the word Envoy, just in case it was something more than it was.  The definition is A representative of a government who is sent on a special diplomatic mission.  Merodach-Baladan was a Babylonian Prince.  He was planning a revolt against Assyria and was forming his alliance.  He probably hoped to  convince Hezekiah to join his side (wouldn’t you want the Lord’s power on your team??)  Hezekiah feeling honored  and maybe his head was help a bit too high showed the envoys his treasures, But Isaiah had warned the king not to trust Babylon because some day they would turn on Judah and steal all that wealth!  Hezekiah may have been just showing them all that God could bring to someone but still, this gesture has a huge consequence that we will read about in Daniel and 2 Kings 25

Day 205 Isaiah 35-36

Two Chapter.  Two VERY important Chapters so take your time today.

35: Joy of the Redeemed.  We have spent 34 Chapters in Isaiah speaking about Judgment of Judah, Israel, Neighbors and the whole World.  We have read it as Historical Prophecy as well as current Prophecy.  So as you read Isaiah, it will speak you you personally in one of three ways.  Would love to know which one was for you.

• As God in one swift move collapses the most  powerful nation in the World, the Assyrians, so that His People, the ones He loves even thought they have sinned and sinned and sinned can now be redeemed.  And as they enter back into the Holy Land, they see all God’s Splendor!  In verse 4, He has come to Save them.
• The message God may have for you is personal.  Our personal Redemption.  As we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, nothing, I mean Nothing  is the same again.  Our Blind eyes are opened, our deaf ears can now hear!
• Last, there will be a Final Redemption.  When the whole world will be judged and the remnant will be taken up to Zion, the largest battle will happen and God will win (If you have not read the end of the bible, sorry to ruin it for you…LOL!) 

Chapter 36.  The defeat of the Assyrian Army is recorded 3 times in the Bible.  Here in Isaiah, 2 Kings 18-19, and 2 Chrons 32.  When you think of Miracles, this should be  near the top of the list.  In one night the Assyrian Army is destroyed by God.

Let’s pick through  the Chapter though.  Sennacherib is the King of Assyria, he is reigning at the same time of Hezekiah.  Sennacherib has completely captured all cities of Judah and now has a taunting message for Judah basically laughing at them for aligning with Egypt (God wasn’t the only one who realized how stupid that was).  SO then the messenger even says “God told us to destroy you”.  (easy to fool someone that does not know the Lord, that is why we need to KNOW our Bible!  so we filter advice!)