Week 27 - Day 1

Isaiah 21-23

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Isaiah 21-23 YouVersion(NIV)

In chapter 22 Isaiah calls Jerusalem the “Valley of Vision” because God had sent many prophets to them, and message after message from God they kept failing to hear.  There were a couple things that stood out to me in this chapter.  First of all verse 4:  “Therefore I [Isaiah] said, ‘Turn away from me; let me weep bitterly.  Do not try to console me over the destruction of my people.” 

God wants us to care about the things He cares about.  He wants us to care about our cities and our nations; He wants us to see the needs and destruction in the people around us.  And instead of looking the other way or saying, “That’s really sad” as we continue to go about our daily normalcy, we should be heart broken, to “weep bitterly” and seek God for His intervention as well as His guidance in how we can be used to make an impact. 

Then a little later in that same chapter, in verses 8-11, Isaiah describes how Jerusalem had assessed their weaknesses in their defenses.  They stored up water and strengthened the wall, which in themselves were not bad moves to make, but not once did they look to God.  “You looked and looked and looked, but you never looked to Him who gave you this city, never once consulted the One who has long had plans for this city.”

Instead of trying to patch up my own weaknesses, I need to look to the strength of my creator.  Apart from Him I am limited, but with God all things are possible.  “For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.  But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men.”  (Acts 5:39) 

Week 26 - Day 6

Isaiah 17-20

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Isaiah 17-20 YouVersion(NIV)

Being a prophet could be a tough job.  Isaiah, as well as other prophets, had to be the bearer of bad news much of the time.  He could see the end results of bad choices, and it took its toll on him.  “So I weep, as Jazer weeps, for the vines of Sibmah.  O Heshborn, O Elealeh, I drench you with tears!” (16:9)  “My heart laments for Moab like a harp, my inmost being for Kir Hareseth” (16:11).  God would also ask prophets sometimes to act out the prediction in a way.  Isaiah, who was well educated and quite comfortable among the nation’s leaders, had to walk around stripped and barefoot as a slave to warn against an alliance between two nations.

But there was another side to the job as well … Isaiah could also see the hope in the future as well as a higher purpose in the bad news he had to share.  He points to that hope as often as he can.  He even named his son Shear-Jashub, which meant, “a remnant will return.”  He speaks of Israel fading in chapter 17, but that a small group will remain that God will use to restore the nation. 

So why did God send Isaiah to share these messages?  I think, just as we talked about yesterday, this shows God’s perfect combination and balance of justice and mercy.  He wanted the nations, who were very far from God at that point, to know that He could not and would not overlook the evil and darkness they were living in, but He also wanted to show there was hope for those who would believe and trust in Him. 

Week 26 - Day 5

Isaiah 13-16

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Isaiah 13-16 YouVersion(NIV)

The book of Isaiah contains several prophesies against different cities.  I think it is easy when reading these to quickly skip past reading about God’s wrath and fierce anger and to just not think about that.  It is much easier to just think about how God is a loving and merciful God.  And God is loving and He is merciful, but He is also just and does not overlook evil. 

Justice and mercy might seem to contradict one another … it seems many people think God is one or the other.  Like He is either a dictator with rules to follow and punishments if you don’t, or He is like a gentle grandfather who always gives and never disciplines.  But it is not one or the other, but rather, they go hand in hand.  God perfectly balances both … justice and mercy, and I think it is important to see both of these characteristics in God.

God is a perfect righteous God who is angered by sin and who has incomprehensible power, but in His mercy He provides a way for us to escape His wrath.  Isaiah once again points to Jesus when he says, “He will rule with mercy and truth.  He will always do what is just and be eager to do what is right.” (Isaiah 16:5 NLT)  

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; mercy and truth go before Your face.” (Psalm 89:14 NKJV)    

Week 26 - Day 4

Isaiah 9-12

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Isaiah 9-12 YouVersion(NIV)

Any musician will recognize part of these verses in Isaiah from Handel’s Messiah, one of the best known and most frequently performed pieces of music in history.  The text for Handel’s Messiah is all from Scripture, both from the Old and New Testaments.  There are several verses from Isaiah, the prophet.

Isaiah, some 700 years before the birth of Jesus, is given by God visions of the coming Messiah, the promised eternal king from the line of David.  The “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  The “great light” for those “walking in darkness.”

I find it interesting that Handel completed his composition for Messiah in just 24 days.  (The entire thing takes about three hours to perform!)  When he received the Scriptures compiled by his friend Charles Jennens, it is recorded that he shut himself in and worked day and night often going without food.  It is rumored that as Handel was working on this composition one of his servants was calling him and there was no response, so he went into Handel’s room to find him bent over weeping.  When he asked what was wrong, Handel held up his work on Messiah and said, “I thought I saw the face of God.”  He ended his manuscript with the letters SDG, as Johann Bach is known for doing at the beginning and end of his pieces – “Soli Deo Gloria,” which means “To God alone the glory.”

I’m fascinated first of all by the very idea of prophecy and how God gave Isaiah this gift to see and paint the picture for others what was going to happen hundreds of years later.  I’m also fascinated by how, I believe, God inspired Handel as he wrote what became the masterpiece of the oratorio Messiah and how the power of that music and the scriptures within it have impacted people all over the world for hundreds of years. 

Week 26 - Day 3

Isaiah 6-8

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Isaiah 6-8 YouVersion(NIV) 

Isaiah gets a glimpse into heaven at the Throne of God.  This is the same vision that John describes in Revelation chapter 4.  His first reaction is fear and shame, but then it says he is cleansed – “your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”  He hears the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?”  Isaiah says, “Here am I.  Send me!”  So God makes him a prophet and uses Isaiah to spread His message. 

I find this very inspiring and very challenging.  First of all, God is speaking of a need to fill and a desire to send someone.  He is God; He can do all things and doesn’t really need us, but He desires to work through us.  So Isaiah … not knowing exactly what he’s going to be doing or where exactly he’s going to be going or what it is going to cost him … speaks up.  “Here am I.  Send me!”  This was not a timid response.  He was bold.  He was ready and willing no matter what.

There are needs all over this earth – injustices, poverty, evil and darkness, sickness, indifference, ignorance – so many different things for which God wants to work through His children.  He is asking “Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?”  I want to be like Isaiah and boldly respond, “Here am I.  Send me!” 

Part of being able to do this is being still and quiet enough to hear Him asking, not letting the world around me drown out His voice.  It is also being close enough to Him to know where He is leading.  And to respond like Isaiah, I also have to let go of my life.  Saying “Here am I” also says “I am Yours.” 

No matter the cost … send me.       

Week 26 - Day 2

Isaiah 3-5

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Isaiah 3-5 YouVersion(NIV)

Isaiah is a mix of warnings of God's coming judgment and visions of a hopeful future when the Messiah, Jesus, will come.  We see this in these chapters. 

What stood out to me in Isaiah’s warnings in these chapters was his warning toward women in chapter 3.  “The Lord says, ‘The women of Zion are haughty, walking along with outstretched necks, flirting with their eyes.”  It says the Lord will take away their finery – all the jewelry, perfumes, fine clothes and purses. 

It is so easy for women in our culture to get consumed with the importance of appearance.  1 Peter 3:3-4 says, “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.  Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”

Then I love in the midst of all his warnings of judgment is the hope of the day of the “Branch of the Lord,” which is a title of the Messiah.  The Lord will wash away all the filth and violence.  “Then God will bring back the ancient pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night and mark Mount Zion and everyone in it with his glorious presence, his immense, protective presence, shade from the burning sun and shelter from the driving rain.” (Isaiah 4:5-6 The Message) 

When God used Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt into the Promised Land He led them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.  They didn’t move until the cloud moved.  He did this to show He was always there and to guide them where they needed to go.  I love that this example is used when talking about Jesus because through Him we have the Holy Spirit who is just like the cloud and fire leading the Israelites.  He helps us know He is always there and is guiding us each day. 

Week 26 - Day 1

Isaiah 1-2

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Isaiah 1-2 YouVersion(NIV)

Isaiah was a prophet, a messenger that God used to speak to His people, in the time when the Kingdom of Israel had split into the northern (Israel) and southern kingdoms (Judah).  Isaiah paints a picture of how things are going in Isaiah 1.  People have an abundance.  There is no shortage of sacrifices or celebrations.  But there is a lack of compassion on others.  Some of their actions and how they look on the outside might be good, but their heart is not. 

Isaiah does not sugarcoat God’s word for them.  “Stop bringing meaningless offerings!  Your incense is detestable to me.”  Everything was for appearance and just going through the motions.  Their worship was not real; it was not transforming.  This reminded me of the passage in Revelation, the message to the church in Laodicea: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold, nor hot.  I wish you were either one or the other!  So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” (3:15-16)

God wants a life of worship, not just to show up on Sunday doing and saying all the right things and to forget about it and live how you want the rest of the week.  He wants us to experience His presence and to be changed by it … for every part of our lives to reflect His image and His love. 

“Quit your worship charades.  I can’t stand your trivial religious games: Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings – meetings, meetings, meetings – I can’t stand one more!  Meetings for this, meetings for that.  I hate them!  You’ve worn me out!  I’m sick of your religion, religion, religion while you go right on sinning.  When you put on your next prayer-performance I’ll be looking the other way.” (Isaiah 1:13-15 The Message)

God does not want religion.  He does not want the performance.  He wants it to be real. 

Week 25 - Day 6

Song of Songs 5-8; Psalm 119:65-72

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Song of Songs 5-8 YouVersion(NIV)

Psalm 119:65-72 YouVersion(NIV)

As we finish up the book of Song of Songs today, I’m posting the second part of my pastor’s teaching from the Bible on the subject of sex.  It is from a series our church did called, “The Talk: Love, Marriage, Sex, and Kids” from earlier in the year.  I watched it again today and was once again appreciative for the real, honest, open, Biblical, and life-applicable teaching. 

Bret Nicholson talks about valuing sex, the boundaries for it and the reasons for them, as well as how married people can have a great sex life.

The part that really got to me was when he talks about a woman who teaches abstinence in schools saying that the number one question she hears is, “Why would I want to save myself for marriage when marriage doesn’t last anyway?”  It breaks my heart that so many young people do not have the example of a good strong happy marriage to look to and to look forward to.  It is time Christians change that. 

Here is the link to watch "The Talk": One Life Church - The Talk: Part 5 - Bret Nicholson

Week 25 - Day 5

Song of Songs 1-4; Psalm 119: 57-64

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Song of Songs 1-4 YouVersion(NIV)

Psalm 119:57-64 YouVersion(NIV)

If you have never read all the way through the Bible before, you might be surprised when you get to Song of Songs, or Song of Solomon.  As The Student Bible states, “Plenty of people are shocked to find an explicit love song in the Bible – complete with erotic lyrics.  But Song of Songs is exactly that.”  It is a poem that “helps us develop a Biblical attitude toward married love.  Song of Songs reminds us that God created us male and female in order to bless us with shared joy and enable us to bring new lives into his world,”  (The Discovery Bible) which is a pretty way of saying that sex, the way God intended it within marriage, is not a bad or dirty thing, it is a beautiful thing. 

At the beginning of this year our church did a series called, “The Talk: Love, Marriage, Sex, and Kids.”  I remember such great teaching from our pastor Bret Nicholson on these subjects.  I’m posting the links to his messages on the topic of sex both today and tomorrow.  It is well worth the time to watch them. 

If He is Lord of your life; He should be Lord of all your life, including this area. 

Here is the link to watch "The Talk": One Life Church: The Talk: Part 4 - Bret Nicholson

Week 25 - Day 4

Ecclesiastes 10-12

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Ecclesiastes 10-12 YouVersion(NIV)

There are a few bits of wisdom from Solomon’s writings that I loved today, especially the wording from the New Living Translation:

~Chapter 10, Verse 4: “If your boss is angry at you, don’t quit!  A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes.” 

Other translations use the word “calmness” instead of “quiet spirit.”  This is something that is very hard to do at times.  It is much easier to be defensive, to get angry, and to mouth off to people, or even to call out others’ mistakes instead of owning your own.  A calm quiet spirit can make the biggest difference.  I’ve learned this from experience as a teacher, as an employee, as a wife, and as a mom.  If I fly off the handle and lose my temper, in the end I feel guilty, the situation escalates even more, and whatever relationship involved gets weakened.  If I can remain calm even in the face of someone who is angry with me, I end up better off, the situation fizzles out much quicker, and the relationship involved gets strengthened.   

~Chapter 11, Verse 4:  “Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant.  If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.”

You can always come up with a reason not to do something.  The timing or circumstances will never be perfect.  Stop waiting!

~Chapter 12, Verses 13-14:  “That’s the whole story.  Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey His commands, for this is everyone’s duty.  God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.” 

Solomon has said over and over, “Meaningless! Everything is meaningless!” but with his conclusion I can’t help but to think that he might not truly and completely believe that.  If everything really was meaningless, then why fear God?  Why obey Him if nothing matters?  We fear (respect, honor, revere) God and follow His ways because it does matter.  It is not meaningless.  He knows everything about us including every secret that no one else knows.  He loves us in spite of our failures and has a purpose for our lives.  Meaningless?  With God as the Lord of your life?  No way! 

Week 25 - Day 3

Ecclesiastes 7-9

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Ecclesiastes 7-9 YouVersion(NIV)

“For death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.”

The reality that every one has to face is that death is part of life.  We have one life and it is but a breath, and no one knows when their time on this earth is over.  If you knew you only had 5 years to live what would you do differently? What if it was 1 year? 1 month?  What would matter most?  What type of legacy would you leave behind?

God gives each of us a purpose as well as special gifts.  He leads us to certain places at certain times to use us to impact the world for Him and His Kingdom.  I don’t want to waste the time and the life He’s given me. 

“You do not even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” (James 4:14)

“Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”  (Ephesians 5:15-17a)

Week 25 - Day 2

Ecclesiastes 4-6

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Ecclesiastes 4-6 YouVersion(NIV)

“... a chasing after the wind.”

Solomon had chased after wealth, women, status … all had left him feeling empty and worthless.  It was never enough; he always wanted more.  He realizes a little later in his life that everything had been a chasing after the wind.

It is interesting to keep in mind that God had given Solomon great wisdom.  He didn’t always apply that wisdom to his own lifestyle, but he did have wisdom as a gift from God.  Some of that wisdom comes through in these chapters, such as “two are better than one … If one falls down, his friend can help him up.”  And what stood out to me most today – Solomon’s advice to “stand in awe of God.”  “God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.”

Solomon’s writings remind me of personal stories I’ve heard from people of their lives before they came to know Jesus.  Chasing after things of the world and coming up empty; then finding purpose in their life with Christ.  Trying to be in control, but then finding freedom when surrendering to Him.

There is actually a collection of people’s stories like this in video form called “I am Second.”  You can check it out at www.iamsecond.com.  Story after story of how people have given God control of their lives and the freedom and sense of purpose they have found in following Jesus. 

“You are God.  I am man.  You are Sovereign.  Finally I surrender.” 

(“Finally I Surrender”: Misty Edwards)

Week 25 - Day 1

Ecclesiastes 1-3

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Ecclesiastes 1-3

The book of Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon, who if you remember, was the son of David and the King of Israel who built the Temple of the Lord.  He was the king who had the most wisdom as well as the most wealth.  He got so consumed in his wealth and ridiculous number of wives and their false religions that he turned away from God.  This book records his journey to find the meaning for life.  His conclusion is that everything is meaningless under the sun.

When reading Ecclesiastes it can seem very pessimistic and cynical and even depressing … at first.  Until you remember that Solomon is only considering things “under the sun.”  When you consider the things not of this earth is where you find the hope hidden in this book.

I can’t help but to reflect on Ecclesiastes 3:1 as it has always been one of my dad’s favorite verses in the Bible, and I think this speaks of his great faith.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”

Solomon wrote this as a complaint – everything is already determined and set into motion and there’s nothing you can do to change it, so what’s the point?  But a man of faith can read this verse and cling to the hope within it, knowing that the God of the universe who loves us is in control of everything and has a purpose for everything. 

Jesus said, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mark 8:36).  He also said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

In a way Solomon’s conclusion is true: everything under the sun is meaningless.  But when you add belief and faith in God to the picture, the opposite of Solomon’s conclusion is also true: nothing is meaningless.

Readers' Reflections: A Guest Post from Cindy Weaver

In Response to Week 24 – Day 3 (Job 22-24)

As you have well stated Emily, Satan so comes at times if we aren’t careful as Christians to pump us up with pride as he did with Job’s friends and make us think we have all the answers to someone else’s problems.  Satan also comes to attack us, as he did Job, that God has spoken into us that He will never leave us.

As I read Job’s response to his friends in Job chapters 23 and 24, I hear him saying to his friends, “So you think that God only allows trails and suffering on those who have sinned,  and that I surely must have done something to deserve everything that’s happened to me.  So you guys just go right ahead thinking what you want to think!  But you are wrong!  God allows suffering on both the just and the unjust.  On the just He has a purpose for it, and it isn’t our business to know what His purpose is in our suffering.”  In Job 24:25 Job says to his friends, “If this is not so, who can prove me false and reduce my words to nothing?”

God has a purpose in our suffering that is for His glory.  It’s hard to accept that as humans.  Our immediate response to all suffering is why is this happening to me.  I think especially for those of us who are Christians.  I think we sometimes have this false idea that if we are living a Christian life, reading our Bibles everyday, praying, giving to others, going to church, etc, that our lives will be smooth sailing.  This is not what the Bible teaches us.  The Bible teaches us that suffering will come to us.  Suffering has two purposes: it brings glory to God if we respond with thankfulness in all things, and it also refines us and molds us into the image of Jesus if we respond with thankfulness in all things.  God will deliver us from suffering … may not be the way we expect Him to deliver us, but He will deliver us as He did with Job. 

The passages below have helped me understand a lot more about the suffering in my own life.

1 Peter 1:3-9

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  By His great mercy He gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, that is into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.  It is reserved in heaven for you, who by God’s power are protected through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  This brings you great joy, although you may have to suffer for a short time in various trials.  Such trials show the proven character of your faith, which is much more valuable than gold – gold that is tested by fire, even though it is passing away – and will bring praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  You have not seen Him, but you love Him.  You do not see Him now but you believe in Him, and so you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, because you are attaining the goal of your faith – the salvation of your souls.”

Psalm 145:17-19

“The Lord is just in all His actions, and exhibits love in all He does.  The Lord is near all who cry out to Him, all who cry out to Him sincerely.  He satisfies the desire of His loyal followers; He hears their cry for help and delivers them.”

**To share your own thoughts and reflections email me at ejmushlock@gmail.com **

Week 24 - Day 6

Job 38-42

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Job 38-42 YouVersion(NIV)

Wow!  The Lord Speaks!  These are some crazy and awesome chapters. 

God not only takes away Job’s afflictions; He blesses him more than he was ever before!  But before that, what God says might be a little surprising.  All along Job has stayed faithful believing in God, but the one thing he keeps asking for is to see God face to face to ask Him why.  God shows up and tells Job to brace himself … almost like, well, you asked for it, so here it goes! 

God actually doesn’t tell Job the why for his suffering.  He could have.  He could have let him in on the conversation that went on with Satan in the beginning of the book, but He didn’t.  Instead, He offers Job perspective.  God reminds him that He is the designer, creator, and keeper of the whole world and everything in it.  So how can a man understand God’s ways?

I love that God uses sarcasm!  “Surely you know, for you were already born!  You have lived so many years!”  Yikes!  I also love to hear how God speaks of His awesome creation.  He designed and is mindful of every little detail in nature. 

What God says might seem a little harsh toward Job after all his suffering; especially knowing that God is still pleased with Job.  He calls him “my servant,” and commends Job for speaking “what is right.”  Job had wanted to know the why for all his suffering; God knew that what Job needed was to know that God was in control.  Job wouldn’t be able to have everything all figured out all the time because he was not God.

I’m not the one who has the whole world in my hands, so I will trust in the One who does. 

Week 24 - Day 5

Job 32-37

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Job 32-37 YouVersion(NIV)

Elihu who?  Job and the three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, have been conversing back and forth for a while now.  Out of nowhere comes Elihu.  He has apparently been there the whole time just listening and now decides to speak.  It is interesting that when God rebukes the friends at the end of the book, He does not include Elihu.  Elihu is the first to point out that God is not necessarily punishing Job.  “God may use suffering to teach or instruct and thus ultimately to bless!” (Discovery Bible). 

I felt God leading me to another story in the Bible after I read this today.  The story in the New Testament where Jesus heals a man born blind: 

“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.  His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”

(John 9:1-3)

People always want to know the why to suffering.  Maybe sometimes God will reveal the why; maybe sometimes we won’t understand the why on this side of heaven.  But these words from Jesus can bring comfort and strengthen faith: “this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”