Powerful Words from the Prophets“Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the LORD that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.” – Isaiah 55:7 (NLT)“Getting What We Don’t Deserve” Don’t you just love it when people get what they deserve? I mean, like in those “instant karma” videos on YouTube. A guy pulls...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.” – Isaiah 55:6 (NLT)“Immediately Obedient” One of the prayers I find myself praying these days is asking the Lord to help me be “immediately obedient” when He speaks. There are a few reasons why I’ve found this to be important on my own journey of faith.One reason is that I’ve discovered how co...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“You also will command nations you do not know, and peoples unknown to you will come running to obey, because I, the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious.” – Isaiah 55:5 (NLT)“Glorious” I just got back from preaching at a Campmeeting in Southwest Ohio. Wanda and I had a fantastic time. The theme for the week was “Made for More.” So I unpacke...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.” – Isaiah 55:3 (NLT)“Positioned to Listen” This verse really challenged me today. I have to confess that I’m not always a good listener. If someone’s trying to talk to me while I’m doing somet...

Powerful Words from the ProphetsIsaiah 53“A Grateful Rebel” Who has believed our message? To whom has the LORD revealed his powerful arm? 2 My servant grew up in the LORD’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. 3 He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!” – Isaiah 52:7 (NLT)“The ‘Beautiful Feet’ People” Have you ever noticed how much bad news there is? We had the television on while I was checking my email, and it was one bad news story after another. The w...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Will you remain in constant dread of human oppressors? Will you continue to fear the anger of your enemies? Where is their fury and anger now? It is gone! Soon all you captives will be released! Imprisonment, starvation, and death will not be your fate! For I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea, causing its waves to roar. My name is the LORD of Heaven’s Armi...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“The LORD will comfort Israel again and have pity on her ruins. Her desert will blossom like Eden, her barren wilderness like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found there. Songs of thanksgiving will fill the air.” – Isaiah 51:3 (NLT)“The Other Side” Every once in a while, Wanda and I will struggle with each other. I know that’s hard for you to believ...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance—all who seek the LORD! Consider the rock from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were mined. Yes, think about Abraham, your ancestor, and Sarah, who gave birth to your nation. Abraham was only one man when I called him. But when I blessed him, he became a great nation.” – Isaiah 51:1-2 (NLT)“What’s In YOUR Quarr...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Who among you fears the LORD and obeys his servant? If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the LORD and rely on your God. But watch out, you who live in your own light and warm yourselves by your own fires. This is the reward you will receive from me: You will soon fall down in great torment.” – Isaiah 50:10-11 (NLT)“Beware of Smoke and Mi...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will. And I know that I will not be put to shame.” – Isaiah 50:7 (NLT)“Set Your Face Like A Stone” I want to pull a sentence out of our passage today for you. “I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will.” Does that statement...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“I offered my back to those who beat me and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard. I did not hide my face from mockery and spitting.” – Isaiah 50:6 (NLT)“He Chose That for Me” Spend a little time with this passage today. Reflect on the events leading up to the cross. Imagine the crown of thorns being crushed down upon Jesus’ head. See the blood running down His...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“The Sovereign LORD has given me his words of wisdom, so that I know how to comfort the weary. Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will. The Sovereign LORD has spoken to me, and I have listened.” – Isaiah 50:4-5 (NLT)“To Live FOR God, Be WITH God!” Most commentators agree that these words in Isaiah are spoken about Jesus. It becomes esp...

Powerful Words from the ProphetsYet Jerusalem says, “The LORD has deserted us; the Lord has forgotten us.” “Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.” – Isaiah 49:14-16 (NLT)“Tattooed on His Heart” What a beautiful reminder today of h...

Powerful Words from the ProphetsHe says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” – Isaiah 49:6 (NLT)“A Light to the Unlikely” Can you imagine how this prophecy of Isaiah hit the people of Israel? As God’s “Chosen People,” it would be extremely difficult for them to wrap their mind...

Powerful Words from the ProphetsHe said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, and you will bring me glory.” I replied, “But my work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose. Yet I leave it all in the LORD’s hand; I will trust God for my reward.” – Isaiah 49:3-4 (NLT)“Leave It in the Lord’s Hands” Sunday in my sermon, I challenged our people to seize the “higher callin...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Yet even now, be free from your captivity! Leave Babylon and the Babylonians. Sing out this message! Shout it to the ends of the earth! The LORD has redeemed his servants, the people of Israel.” – Isaiah 48:20 (NLT)“Yet Even Now” Take a deep breath and let it out. Today is a New Day. It is a Clean Slate. You can’t do anything about yesterday, and tomorrow is not he...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Oh, that you had listened to my commands!...Your descendants would have been like the sands along the seashore—too many to count! There would have been no need for your destruction, or for cutting off your family name.” – Isaiah 48:18-19 (NLT)“Generational Blessings” I was talking with a man this week who has been struggling. As we talked about his problems and how...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.” – Isaiah 48:18 (NLT)“Follow the Instructions” One of my favorite stories to tell on myself is when my wife bought a bookshelf years ago and asked me to put it together. I’ll confess from the get-go that I am ...

Powerful Words from the ProphetsThis is what the LORD says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow.” – Isaiah 48:17 (NLT)“Let God Guide You” GPS is wonderful. Until it’s not. Most of us who have used it have had the frustration of following it to a place that was not our destination, even t...