Powerful Words from the Prophets“I will brighten the darkness before them and smooth out the road ahead of them. Yes, I will indeed do these things; I will not forsake them.” – Isaiah 42:16(b)“Dark Places And Rough Roads” Dark places and rough roads. Does that sound like where YOU are at today? As I read this passage from Isaiah, I thought about all the conversations I’ve had this past week with d...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“I will lead blind Israel down a new path, guiding them along an unfamiliar way.” – Isaiah 42:16 (NLT)“Take What’s Behind the Door” There is a game show that’s been around since 1963 called “Let’s Make a Deal.” I was fascinated with it when I was a kid. If you’ve seen it, contestants have to pick what’s behind one of three doors. Often, after they’ve picked one, the...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“I will lead blind Israel down a new path, guiding them along an unfamiliar way.” – Isaiah 42:16 (NLT)“Unfamiliar Paths” I’m currently doing a sermon series called “Deeper.” It’s a series based on Luke 5:1-11, where Jesus tells Simon Peter to take his boat out to deeper waters and let his net down for fish. I’m challenging our people to say “Yes” to the “deeper wate...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“I will lead blind Israel down a new path, guiding them along an unfamiliar way.” – Isaiah 42:16 (NLT)“What Path Are You On?” This promise of God is one of the richest verses of scripture in the Bible. I want to spend the next few days unpacking it from a few different perspectives. Today, I want to look at the idea of God helping us off of the destructive path we’r...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“And you will be a light to guide the nations. You will open the eyes of the blind. You will free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeons.” – Isaiah 42:6-7 (NLT)“Our Guiding Light” Today’s verse is one of those that most of the people in Isaiah’s day didn’t really understand. Jesus was coming to “be a light to guide the nations.” He wasn’t...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them.” – Isaiah 42:6 (NLT)“This Much” God keeps His promises. Way back in Genesis, God entered into a covenant with Abraham, who was the founding patriarch of the Jewish nation. In Genesis 15, Abraham is struggling to believe that God will keep His w...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“I, the LORD, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness.” – Isaiah 42:6 (NLT)“Reflections of Righteousness” I watched a video of a pastor last week who shared a story of how he lost it on a hotel clerk. When he called down to let her know his room didn’t have running water, she simply said, “I know. I don’t know why, but your room is the only room that doesn’t...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“God, the LORD, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth.” – Isaiah 42:5 (NLT)“The ‘Big God’ Theory” One night, a few years ago, I was talking to my grandson about the idea of evolution—how some people think that the universe just “happened” without any ki...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“He will not shout or raise his voice in public. He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle.” – Isaiah 42:2-3 (NLT)“Leading Like Jesus” I saw a video some time ago that was really disturbing. It was a pastor who was using the pulpit to give people a good tongue-lashing. He wasn’t just speaking in harsh generalities. This guy was calling people...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“I have put my Spirit upon him. He will bring justice to the nations.” – Isaiah 42:1(b) (NLT)“God’s Work Requires God’s Spirit!” In the Old Testament, whenever God raised up someone to do His work, He put His Spirit upon them. The Spirit is who empowered Moses to perform miracles. The Spirit is who gave Samson his strength. The Spirit is who gave the prophets the wo...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Look at my servant, whom I strengthen. He is my chosen one, who pleases me.” – Isaiah 42:1 (NLT)“Chosen and Pleasing” Let’s focus on the second part of verse one today. “He is my chosen one, who pleases me.” What a powerful prophecy about the coming of Jesus. Jesus was indeed “The Chosen One.” He was chosen by God to be the full expression of His Divine Being to th...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Look at my servant, whom I strengthen.” – Isaiah 42:1 (NLT)“Look to Jesus!” When I sat down with our verse today, I laughed. Because as I walked and prayed this morning, I asked God to help me keep my eyes fixed on Him. I find it’s so easy to be distracted and focus on all the wrong things. It’s easy to focus on the problems rather than the Powerful One. It’s easy ...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“For I hold you by your right hand—I, the LORD your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.” – Isaiah 41:13 (NLT)“Will You Let God Help?” As I read our verse for today, I sat with that last phrase for a little bit. “Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.” Though those are wonderfully endearing words that the Lord speaks to us, it sparked sev...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10 (NLT)“God’s Got This” A few years ago, I had two profound events that reminded me of God’s power and provision. One was in a time when circumstances hit that left me sure that we would nev...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the LORD will...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.” – Isaiah 40:26 (NLT)“You’re More Than a Star” Did you know that you can name a star? It’s true. For a minimum of around $50, you can go to a website cal...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Who is able to advise the Spirit of the LORD? Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him? Has the LORD ever needed anyone’s advice? Does he need instruction about what is good? Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of justice?” – Isaiah 40:13-14 (NLT)“Remember to Whom You’re Talking” When I was in college, I had a Greek professor who was ab...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Yes, the Sovereign LORD is coming in power. He will rule with a powerful arm. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes. He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.” – Isaiah 40:10-11 (NLT)“A Powerful Gentleness” My father was one of the mos...

Powerful Words from the ProphetsA voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has sp...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God. “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone, and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the LORD has punished her twice over for all her sins.” – Isaiah 40:1-2 (NLT)“Run to God’s Arms of Comfort” I had a friend who told me about a time when he got punished by his father for something he didn’t do. Something at ...