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...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal? Some people pour out their silver and gold and hire a craftsman to make a god from it. Then they bow down and worship it! They carry it around on their shoulders, and when they set it down, it stays there. It can’t even move. And when someone prays to it, there is no answer. It can’t rescue anyone from trouble.” – Isaia...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Listen to me, descendants of Jacob, all you who remain in Israel. I have cared for you since you were born. Yes, I carried you before you were born. I will be your God throughout your lifetime—until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.” – Isaiah 46:3-4 (NLT)“All the Way to the End” The other day, as ...

Powerful Words from the ProphetsThe people will declare, “The LORD is the source of all my righteousness and strength.” – Isaiah 45:24 (NLT)“It’s All Him” As I sat with our verse for today, it resonated deep within me. God is speaking through Isaiah about a time when everyone on the earth will ultimately bow before Him. It’ll be the time when there will be no doubt who God is and that He is the Ki...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Let all the world look to me for salvation! For I am God; there is no other.” – Isaiah 45:22 (NLT)“No Pain, All Gain!” I saw a documentary some years ago that was really disturbing.  It was an Eastern religious group that had a very unusual ritual/celebration.  They paraded from the center of their village to a temple in honor of their god.  But the parade was one ...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“I publicly proclaim bold promises. I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner. I would not have told the people of Israel to seek me if I could not be found.” – Isaiah 45:19 (NLT)“God’s Not Hiding” Today is a Sunday. In fact, it’s Mother’s Day. And even though it’ll be a more highly attended Sunday than usual for most churches, there will still be many more p...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“For the LORD is God, and he created the heavens and earth and put everything in place. He made the world to be lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos.” – Isaiah 45:18 (NLT)“Stopping the Slide into Chaos” The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that, left to themselves, things tend toward disorder and chaos. It’s called entropy. You see it all around you. Let me...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Truly, O God of Israel, our Savior, you work in mysterious ways.” – Isaiah 45:15 (NLT)“God’s Mysterious Ways” In February 2013, 18-year-old Casey Charf and two of her friends were driving to a gathering when a skunk walked across the road in front of them. Casey swerved to miss the skunk, causing the car to flip over and roll several times. The teens survived but w...