Isaiah

March 22 – Faithfulness – Jesus died for sinners

Read Romans 5:6-11, Isaiah 53:4-5 & 1 John 1:9

I can’t keep promises. I don’t think I’m known as an irresponsible person but I do let people down. I let myself down. I don’t follow through. I get lazy. Forgetful. Defiant.

I can’t be 100 percent anything. God, on the other hand, is 100 percent faithful, 100 percent pure, 100 percent good, 100 percent forgiving.

Do you trust that? It took me a long time.

I spent years confessing the same sin over and over. I was wearing it. Remembering it. Under it. Until God opened my eyes to my unbelief. If you would have asked me if I thought I was forgiven, I would have said, ‘yes’. If you would have asked me if there’s any sin Jesus couldn’t forgive, I would have said, ‘There isn’t.’

But saying and living are two different things. In my head, I was guilty. There was weight in my steps. I wasn’t free.

I was a slave.

Until, I let go of it and believed that what God said was true.

As I loosened my grip on any power I thought I had in deserving His love and admitted my pride, I was unhooked from the how-could-I-have-been-so-stupid train of thought for the last time. I clung to my Savior of compassion that has always known all of the missteps I would and still will take. He died for them. He’s not surprised by them.

And He is faithful and just to forgive them as I confess them.

Once you were alienated from Christ and enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now, He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death and resurrection to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation. (Col. 1:21-22) I knelt down that day blinded by accusations. But belief raised me to see the invitation to take Jesus at His word. I was free to rest in His righteousness and surrender my memories. As I did, He reminded me they were also leaving His memory, as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103).

Earlier, I mentioned that I’m not 100 percent anything. However, through faith in the Faithful One, I’m 100 percent forgiven. Will you confess the sin you’re carrying and step into the freedom Jesus has secured for you?

Shelly Eberly

March 20 – Faithfulness – He heals us – One person’s story

Read Psalm 34:17-19, Isaiah 41:10 and 1 Peter 5:10

In February of 2016 I was diagnosed with MDS, sometimes referred to as pre-leukemia. Let’s just call it cancer. In 2003 my sister, my only sibling, died of cancer and, after a few months of watching cell levels go lower and lower, I have to say I was afraid. I was confident that, when I died, I would be in Heaven with Jesus but I was afraid of the process of dying. I just plain didn’t want to die.

A good friend heard about my situation and came over to encourage me. He took my Bible and marked Psalm 34:17 – 19. This meant so much to me because I was “crushed in spirit”. This caused me to start writing and reading encouraging verses every day, memorizing many of them. This, in conjunction with so many people praying for me, started making a positive difference.

I needed a bone marrow transplant but the doctors couldn’t find an appropriate donor. They finally decided to use my youngest daughter and set a transplant date.

I had been battling depression through this process and knew I needed to hand it all over to Jesus, trusting Him completely. November of 2017, 3 months before the transplant, I was listening to a message on fully trusting Jesus. He said the first step was to have a pure heart. This caused me to literally get on my knees and start taking responsibility for things in my past, confessing and asking for forgiveness in a way I had never done before. It was literally as though a tremendous weight was lifted from my shoulders. I was no longer so down and I had much more hope. I since have prayed hundreds of times that He would lift me up and He always does (Isaiah 41:10).

This is really just the beginning of the story. I would love to spend hours giving much more detail of God’s faithfulness during my healing but here is the abbreviated version.

February 2018, I had the transplant, which requires a lengthy recovery period and a lot of faith as they wipe out your immune system and your body’s ability to produce blood cells. God brought me through the transplant and recovery amazingly well with few side effects. I was able to start working some about the middle of May.

All was well until early July when I contracted pneumonia and spent several weeks in the hospital. I found out later that all of the doctors but one had given up on me when I was in the ICU. But God healed me so quickly that they were amazed and couldn’t explain it. We knew it was God.

Another bout of pneumonia came in Jan of 2020 that had me back on quite a bit of oxygen. I left the hospital and came home, still needing oxygen. God did it again and I’ve experienced a complete 180 over the past year in spite of COVID. Praise God!

So, my advice, when you’re in trouble, is to turn to our Heavenly Father and trust Him completely. You may have to turn to Him every hour of every day but that’s OK. He will never leave you or forsake you (1 Peter 5:10).

I don’t know God’s timing on this for you, maybe not even in this life. But, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, I know He will fulfill this promise for you!

Mike Molter

March 9 – Hard Questions 2.0 – “What makes you so sure God exists?”

Read Psalm 19:1 and Isaiah 40:25-26, 28.

“What makes you so sure God exists?”

This is a question as old as time. If you’re like me, you’ve probably asked yourself this question and have probably also been asked this question. 

For me, personally, I have seen the ways that God has come through. The times that He has protected my family or opened an opportunity. The people that He has brought into my life who point me to Him. I’ve also seen His majesty through His magnificent sunsets and the intricate nature of an insect. 

God exists because He says so. This can be hard to take, because we tend to like detailed reasoning, but with God – who created the heavens and the earth – there is no need. He exists because He is the great I AM (Genesis 3:14-15). Jesus then reaffirms this in the New Testament, saying “Before Abraham was, I Am” (John 8:58).

The beauty of the Bible is that proof of God is woven throughout every line.

While faith is trusting in what we cannot see, God knows the people that He has created. He does not have to give us proof, but He knows that we like evidence. So, while we cannot know or see everything, His evidence is all around. He has made Himself abundantly clear to those who are willing to look. His handiwork is everywhere, from the amount of hairs on a head (Luke 12:7) to the vast skies and the unique sunrises and sunsets (Psalm 19:1). He uses every little – or big – thing to proclaim His glory. The key is, you have to be willing to look. 

Next time you get a chance, look up at the sky. Think about the billions of stars. Isaiah 40 says that they are like an army. God knows each one by name. He is strong in power and does not miss a thing. Isaiah 40:28 tells us that He is everlasting and created the ends of the earth. His understanding is unsearchable, but He gives us what we need in order to trust. 

As you go about your day, where can you see God’s handiwork? Where is the evidence in your life that God exists? 

God loves us so much that He has given us more than enough evidence to know that He not only exists, but that He loves us. He loves us so much that He sent His son to live, die and come back to life so that we can be united with Him (1 John 4:10). And the life of Jesus has been historically proven. 

What impact does God’s existence have in your life? Your faith? The world?

God is real and alive, friends. Live in that power today. 


Chloe Boucher

December 10 – Anxiety – The Promise of God’s Presence

Read Isaiah 43:1-3

As I sit for a moment before work, watching Mattie eat his breakfast, I pray that he grows to know the Lord but, not just that, that he grows to know and live in the confidence that Christ is always with him. Since I was a young girl, I always knew and believed who Jesus was, but it wasn’t until I surrendered my life that the confidence of God’s presence always being with me was the truth for my life.

Before surrendering, I doubted often that He was with me, I feared often that He would leave me and I cried often that I had done too much or seen too much to be considered holy. I pray and plead that Mattie and our soon-to-be-born, Emma, never go through what I did when it comes to knowing that Jesus is close. 

As I watch Mattie, I think of the song “It is well” by Bethel. Some of the lyrics go “far be it from me to not believe even when my eyes can’t see and this mountain that’s in front of me will be thrown into the midst of the sea. Through it all, through it all my eyes are on You. Through it all, it is well”. 

I sing this, or think of this, because, when it comes to things that he and Emma may one day face, I want them to know the truth that, no matter the mountain or waves that they face, they will be okay because their eyes will be fixed on Jesus. 

This is hard to do; it takes practice and constant renewing of your mind and heart. For someone who struggles with anxiety, it is especially hard to keep eyes fixed on Jesus because it means surrendering all of yourself, all of your control in order for Him to move within your life. 

The holiness in that brokenness is that, as my life began to change, my faith began to grow as did my knowledge of God’s character. I have grown to know that He will never leave me or forsake me. I’ve grown to live in the confidence that His presence is accessible because He is always near. I’ve grown to know that nothing will separate His love and care for me because He does love and care for me and has proven it time and time again. Sometimes I just have to open my mind, heart and eyes to see just how much He has come through. His faithfulness has outweighed the outcome of my anxiety and I’m able to rest on His word, His truth and His love. 

There have been people in my life that have asked me, “How do you just know that God is there?” My answer often points back to the promises of His word but also just the fact that the gift of faith has grown as I have grown in Him. 

The gift of faith is something that does not come easy for me either. I am a doubter -a big-time worrier – and I often question the motives of most everyone. It took a long time for me to realize and practice that faith and logic do not go hand and hand. Once I was able to realize and stand firm in the truth that, no matter what is happening around me, the Lord is with me, my anxiety dissipates. 

So, if you too, struggle with anxiety, if you struggle with the emotions that render from the unknown, I ask you to reread Isaiah 43:1-3. Read it over and over again until your mind clicks. Until you are able to read those words and stand firm, acting on that truth. 

I pray and plead that, through it all, your eyes are fixed on Jesus.

Kelly Lawson

December 8 – Anxiety – Trusting God

Read Isaiah 26:3-4 and Proverbs 3:5-6

Peace.

The very thought of peace brings with its expectations of unhurried serenity. It is freedom from the pressures and anxieties of life. Peace is not necessarily the absence of howling winds of turmoil that might surround us. It is, however, the calm that is possible in the eye of the hurricane. Most all of us yearn to experience more peace. But real peace is not the result of changing our circumstances. Instead, it is the byproduct of changing our focus and attitude.

Isaiah describes it like this:

“You will keep in perfect peace
    those whose minds are steadfast,
    because they trust in you.“

(Is. 26:3)

According to Isaiah, God is the source of peace. If we try to generate it by controlling our environment, we will work frantically and, ultimately, in vain. Although God can use the insights and counsel from others to calm our anxious thoughts and wandering hearts, He is the definitive source.

Isaiah also outlines a description of those who receive His peace. They are those who trust in Him. These are children of God confident in the care of a loving Father (1 Jn. 3:1), Who gives good gifts to His kids (Matt. 7:7-12). Those who receive peace recognize that even adversity gives way to the good that God is working in them (Rom. 8:28).

But the trust required here is a steadfast conviction. It is a relentless posture where the person’s thoughts continuously come to rest on the immoveable and reliable Rock eternal. He alone can sustain us. He alone can calm our fear and infuse peace in its place.

So, what is the rock on which your mind comes to rest? I am not proud of the fact that my mind regularly seems to settle on the most recent concern about the unknown and fears about the “what if…” I must discipline myself to focus on the promises, character, and goodness of my Heavenly Father. He alone is the Rock eternal whose peace can replace my anxiety.

What about you?

Steve Kern

November 10 – Attributes of God – Holiness

Read Isaiah 6:3

When you think of God’s holiness, do you see what Isaiah does?

In ancient Israel, only the high priest was able to walk into the “Holy of Holies”. Why do you think that is? Well, think of Moses, when he asked God to show him His Glory (Exodus 33:18) …it’s too much that we can’t bear it. After the fall, the Lord set up boundaries in order to see His holiness.

Fast forward to Moses in the desert and the Lord giving him the law. Not just laws to abide by but laws on how to treat each other, what to eat, what not to eat. All of this in order to set His people apart. All of it to show the world that God’s people are different than the rest. That they are God’s people, set apart.

Holy.

To be holy is to be set apart. In every aspect of God’s character, there stands holiness. Every story, every relationship we read about in scripture, consistently and constantly points to God’s holiness. It’s hard to sum up this attribute, but I will try.

From the very beginning, God had a plan. To send His ONE Son to offer His life so that we may truly live where we were intended to be. Now, looking at Jesus’ life before the act of the cross, He was different than all of the rest. He didn’t act or speak like anyone else; He was resembling holiness.  And when He chose the cross, He approached the Holy of Holies and sacrificed Himself for us to be justified. This act alone nothing else on earth can offer.

When you look at the characteristics of God such as loving, caring, protecting, and providing, all of the characteristics point back to His holiness because He is like no other. No one and nothing else compares.

You see, since nothing compares, since there is NO equal to our God, He is Holy.

He is apart from all the rest. His love, care, peace, provision, protection…it’s all different because it is all holy.

Reading Isaiah’s vision in chapter 6, we get a glimpse of Christ on the throne and the singing of His praises and pronouncing His holiness. Isaiah sees himself and his unworthiness.

And what happens? An angel comes before Isaiah and shows him that, because of Christ, he is saved, he is called holy.

Being set apart is not an easy task in our world, but we are called to be set apart. We are called to be like Christ, we are called to be holy.

Be holy for He is holy (Leviticus 11:44).

What does that mean? When I was just beginning my walk as a follower of Christ, I started with the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Do you know why Paul calls this list “Fruit of the Spirit”?

Short answer: When we are living life hand in hand with Jesus, we begin to look like Him. Our life begins to look like no one else on this earth, but begins to look like our Savior and people see Him instead of us.

If you could look at this list, what would you find within yourself?

He is holy and we are called to be.

Kelly Lawson

September 27 – Hard Questions – Are Old Testament prophecies really accurate?

Read Deuteronomy 18:22 and Isaiah 41:22-23

What do you think of when you hear the word “prophecy”? Perhaps the name Nostradamus and his various prophecies come to your mind. Or maybe you think of the Mayan calendar that pegged the end of the world to occur in 2012. The year 2012 came and went, but the world did not end. There have been numerous prophecies throughout history that have ended in nothing.

When I hear the word “prophecy”, I think of the New Testament book of the Bible called Revelation. But did you know that the Old Testament is full of prophecies that have come true or that will come true in the future?

You may be asking yourself right now, “How can I trust the prophecies in the Bible when so many prophecies throughout history have failed?”. That is a valid question and one that God answers for us in Deuteronomy 18:

“But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death. 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, so do not be alarmed.” – (v. 20-22)

God gives us four truths regarding false prophets in the verses above:

  1. A false prophet will speak presumptuously or arrogantly in God’s name commandments that He has not given (v.20).
  2. A false prophet will speak in the name of other gods (v. 20).
  3. A false prophet’s prophecy will not come true because it is not from God (v. 21).
  4. Do not be afraid of or be alarmed by false prophets (v. 22).

These four truths can be boiled down into one statement: you can trust God’s prophecies because they always come true. Nostradamus’s prophecies did not come true because they were not from God. The Mayan’s prophecies did not come true because they were not from God.

There are numerous Old Testament prophecies and there is no way we could cover them all here. But I do want to end with one of my favorites which says, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14 NIV). This prophecy is talking about the birth of Jesus. Jesus was born of a virgin named Mary and He was called Immanuel, which means “God with us”. But don’t just take my word for it, you can find the fulfillment of this prophecy in Luke chapters 1 and 2.

Jesus, the Son of God who died for the sins of the world, who rose again on the third day, and who wants you to turn away from your sins and trust in Him as your Savior, was a fulfillment of prophecy. You can trust God’s prophecies because they always come true.

Because God’s prophecies always come true, we can trust Him. He is always faithful. We shouldn’t fear the future because it’s in His hands. What are some things in your life that you are anxious or fearful about? Cast those things on God and trust Him that He is in control of the future!

Ethan Cline

September 26 – Hard Questions – What does “the Word of the Lord came to me” actually mean?

Read Isaiah 20:3, 30:2 and Jeremiah 37:17

If you know my Dad, you know that he is very logical and matter of fact. I remember a time where I was following a bus to a retreat. I had just lost my debit card so when I got to a toll road, I pulled off the side and found an alternate route to the destination. When I pull up to yet another toll road, I begin to panic. How am I supposed to get there if I can’t pay for the toll? I’m in this car by myself in the dark and I don’t know what to do. My breath gets shortened and as sweat begins to fall, it’s almost like I heard Dad say “You got this, buddy. Take a breath, get control and figure something out.” I had to route the path (which apparently only went through toll roads) and zoom out and run my little blue dot parallel to the outlined path until I got to the resort.

I had heard Dad’s logic and level headedness for so many years that it was almost like he was in the car with me.

In the Old Testament, there is a common theme among the prophets:

“The Word of the Lord came to me…”

What does this actually mean? Was it like Dad seemingly being in the car with me? Did God actually and audially speak to these prophets? Does this same thing still happen today?

First off, it’s important to understand what the role of an Old Testament prophet was. As Moses was preparing his ministry, God told him and Aaron that He would “put my words in his mouth”. This means that these prophets would be a mediator between God and the people, or Pharaoh in Moses’ instance. In Old Testament times, the word of God would come audially (i.e. the burning bush etc.) and their primary goal was to accurately pass on the message to the people to whom they were ministering to. The stress was on the action coming from the divine source not the prophet who was the recipient. As we all know, many followed the command of God while others did not.

Sound familiar?

When Jesus came, He fulfilled the law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17) and became our Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). Because of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and the sending of the Holy Spirit, we have immediate access to God if we repent of our sins and commit to follow God. We have the access to God that only prophets did back in the day. Also, because of the canonization of the inspired Scripture, there is nothing that prophets can tell us that isn’t already in there.

How amazing is it that we have God with us at all times? Don’t waste this access. Spend time getting to know God and growing in your faith. When you have experience to fall back on, your faith will be strong. Just as I fell back on what I heard my dad say for years, you’d be surprised how God can being truths and lessons to your mind when you need them most.

Jake Lawson

September 15 – Life Verses – Isaiah 24:5-6

Read Isaiah 24:5-6

A few years ago, I flew on an airplane for the first time in as long as I could remember. I was with a couple of friends and am certain that, of the three of us, I was the one most fearful of flying. The night before we flew out, my mom sent me a text with the verse Isaiah 26:3-4 which says, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD himself, is the Rock eternal.” I memorized Isaiah 26:3-4 and I remember reciting it every time my thoughts would drift towards fear and the unknown. As I fixed my mind on reciting that verse, He gave me real and unexplainable peace as we flew. To this day, reciting these two verses in my mind when I am anxious has been God’s way of helping me navigate many of life’s challenges.

Isaiah 26 is a song of praise to God for deliverance of His people from destruction. To help you understand the context of this song of praise, recorded just two chapters beforehand, Isaiah prophesies about the devastation that is to come on the earth in the last days. This includes the judgment and destruction that will come to those who have deliberately chosen to disobey or reject God by the time of His return (Isaiah 24:5-6). Though this time of judgment will bring great devastation, the Lord is to be praised because of His faithfulness to those who choose to trust and obey Him. Those who choose to trust and obey Him can have true peace of mind. Believers will not experience the punishment that nonbelievers will experience in the last days, and Isaiah is praising God for it in chapter 26.

In a world of people who experience anxious thoughts daily, believers have access to peace that goes beyond understanding through trust in God. When worries creep into our mind, we have the power through Christ to fix our mind on the truth of God’s Word by memorizing and reciting Scripture rather than dwelling on our worries. Our circumstances may not get better, but in the middle of them we can choose to focus on the eternality of God and praise Him like Isaiah did. The road to having peace of mind is found in training our mind to think on the things of God even when our circumstances are devastating.

Sidney Rupp

July 1 – Names of Jesus – Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace

Read Isaiah 9:6-7

Think of a person who has never failed you.

Can you name even one?

There is no one on this earth who will not fail you. As sinful people, we will always let each other down.

Now, think about the glory of Jesus. Your Wonderful Counselor, your Mighty God, your Eternal Father, the Prince of Peace.  He will never let you down. He will never leave you.

He is there for every single one of His children. He is your Wonderful Counselor. As such, He wants you to come to Him with all of the hardships that you’re battling (Matthew 11:28-29). He wants you to let Him in your life.

He wants you to worship Him with all that you have, for He is mighty to save (Zephaniah 3:17).

I love this combination of Jesus’ names. It is the perfect mixture of the way our Savior comforts us while simultaneously being the most powerful being in the Universe.

I’m going to ask you to do something a little out of the ordinary…I want you to close your eyes and simply sit in the greatness of Jesus. I want the power of Jesus to captivate your heart and mind in this moment and throughout the rest of the day.

As you go through the rest of your day, meditate on at least one of the names of Jesus that we’ve talked about. Let His glory fill you up today and rest in the comfort of His presence.

Chloe Boucher

Questions to consider:

  • What does this name of Jesus mean to you?
  • Which one of these names resonates the most to you?
  • In what way are you going to use this name to rest in the comfort of His presence today?