Isaiah

February 5 – Faithfulness – He 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

February 3 – 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

December 22 – Word Became Flesh – Foretold Birth

Read Isaiah 7:14

I will never forget the moment I learned I was going to be an aunt! Every day leading up to the birth of my first niece, I was preparing myself to be the greatest aunt that has ever lived. I started purchasing baby clothes, baby socks, baby bibs, baby shoes, baby toys, and I even made a baby blanket (keep in mind, I am by no means a seamstress). There was so much excitement and anticipation that I literally could’ve burst at any moment. But nothing, absolutely nothing, beat the joy I had when we got the phone call that she was here and we could come meet her! My life changed the moment I held her in my arms and looked into those big, blue eyes.

Isn’t it amazing how someone’s life, no matter how long we’ve known them, can make such a significant difference in our lives? As we approach the day to celebrate the birth of our Savior, I can’t help but imagine how thrilling it must have been for those who knew the power and life change that would come with that unexpected, yet highly anticipated, baby boy.

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” 

Whoa! This simple verse that we read every Christmas season is jam packed with incredible promise…there was promise that the Lord himself would send a sign, that a miracle would occur through a virgin birth, and that this baby would be called Immanuel. As if the buildup wasn’t enough, the verse ends with a name that would transform mankind for all eternity:

Immanuel.

Immanuel means “God with us”. The many years prior to this moment, people had heard from God and experienced Him in supernatural ways, but in this verse, Isaiah tells us that the same God that the Israelites had known all those years before would soon come in the flesh. God Almighty would be genuinely with us, choosing to experience life on earth as fully man and still fully God. Seriously, what an unbelievably exciting time to watch God lay out His intricate plan of salvation for every person!

Today, we are living in that reality of having confidence in our salvation through Christ’s death and resurrection. So, as we inch closer to Christmas day, take a moment to thank God for His plan to send Jesus and for how Jesus’ life has changed yours!

Becca Harbaugh

December 17 – Importance of the Old Testament – Introduced to the Messiah

Read Isaiah 52:13—53:12

On the day that Jesus rose from the dead, He spoke of the value of Old Testament words like those in today’s reading. He was traveling along with two disappointed men headed to Emmaus. The men were leaving Jerusalem, disenchanted because Jesus had been crucified and it was the third day since His death. Christ’s identity was somehow veiled from their recognition, so their raw discouragement shines through. In response, we read what Jesus did: “…beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” (Luke 24:27).

As we continue to explore the many reasons why the Old Testament is important, we discover, then, incredible value in the fact that it introduces us to the Messiah.

In today’s reading alone, we read prophecies pointing us to such realities as Christ’s brutal death (52:14), His unassuming appearance (53:2), His rejection and opposition (53:3), His substitutionary death (53:4-6), His sinless nature (53:9), the nature of His grave (53:9), and His death satisfying the eternal plan and wrath of God (53:10-12).

This is but one of many passages that offer us a prophetic glimpse of the coming Messiah. Elsewhere, Old Testament readers like us can learn that Jesus would

  • Be victorious over Satan (Gen 3:15)
  • Be a descendant of Eve (Gen. 3:15), from the line of Judah (Gen 49:10), and the family of David (2 Sam 7:16).
  • Be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14)
  • Be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)
  • Spend time in Egypt (Hos 11:1)
  • Speak in parables (Ps 78:2–4)
  • Be a priest in the order of Melchizedek (Ps 110:4)

These are but a sampling of the many things we can learn about Jesus from the Old Testament. Jesus, you see, was not an afterthought in the mind of God. Our Father had planned and prophesied His coming. He faithfully keeps His promises.

Steve Kern

December 4 – The Songs We Sing – “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”

Read Isaiah 26:3

 Turn your eyes upon Jesus

Look full in His wonderful face

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim

In the light of His glory and grace.

I love this song for its simple message. Look at Jesus. Go on, just look at Him! You’ll soon find that the things that arrested your attention and focus just seem to fade in importance.

So many things arrest our attention. In good seasons, we can be lulled into excess and pleasure, entwining our heart with what makes us happy. That’s idolatry. And it’s far less than the best God desires for you.

In difficult seasons, fear and anxiety can obstruct our view of God. We lose faith and hope dwindles because we’ve turned our eyes on our troubles.

How thrilling, then, that all this can melt away as we turn our eyes to look at Jesus.

Isaiah 26:3 puts it best: “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”

Perfect peace is ours if we turn our eyes to Jesus and trust Him. So how do you do that?

  1. Get to know what He’s like.

 Read the gospels. Read what Jesus said, how He lived and acted. Be curious about the middle eastern man who came to our earth to love and save us.

  1. Make it personal.

 The gospels are history books. But the main character is still alive. He’s with you. If He changed Peter’s life, then, today, He can change yours. If He embraced Mary in the midst of her mess, He’ll embrace you, too. If He raised Lazarus to life, He can resurrect what’s dead in your life, too.

So, look at Him full in the face today. Perhaps, take a quiet moment to ask the Lord to sanctify your imagination (or as Ephesians 1:18 says “enlighten the eyes of your heart”) and help you picture the face of Jesus that you know from the scriptures. Imagine looking into His eyes. What are His eyes telling you today?

I’ve looked into those eyes a lot this past year during the hardest times. They’ve told me: “You’re loved. You’re cherished. To me, you were worth the price.”

Ben Framstad

November 28 – The Songs We Sing – “It Is Well with My Soul!”

Read Isaiah 26:3-4 and Colossians 2:14

I like when things go well… like the project I’m working on goes according to plan, the people in my family are healthy and my friends are in a good place.  Sometimes, God allows trials in our life. You are probably familiar with the song “It is Well with My Soul.” The song was originally a poem penned by Horatio Spafford back in 1876.

The story behind the poem was that Horatio’s wife and 4 daughters were traveling across the Atlantic Ocean when their ship collided with another vessel and sank.  In the accident, all 4 of Horatio’s daughters died.

In the aftermath of the accident, instead of bitterness and anger, there was peace as Horatio knew his children were with Jesus.  Over the next few years he penned the lyrics to the song we sing in difficult times.

“When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrow like sea billows roll.  Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, “it is well, it is well with my soul.”

What I love about this song is that each verse tells a story.  Verse one reminds me of God’s perfect peace we read about in Isaiah 26:3,4. (This would be a great time to read Isaiah 26:3,4 and thank Jesus for the perfect peace He offers).

Verse three is my favorite…

“My sin O the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin not in part but the whole.  Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more, praise the Lord, praise the Lord O my soul.”

In these words, Horatio refers to Colossians 2:14 where Paul writes that God has cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, He took it all away, nailing it to the cross.  This is the very reason Horatio could have that perfect peace.  I love this! I love the idea that I don’t have to shoulder my sins but God has gathered them up, placed them on the very body of the sacrificial lamb – Jesus Christ – and has taken them as far as the east is from the west!  Unbelievable!  (This is a great moment to stop and thank Jesus for His sacrifice for us.)

The last verse is wrapped up in triumph.

“And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend

Even so, it is well with my soul”

One day, those who call Jesus their Savior and Lord will have their faith rewarded as we will be standing in the presence of our King. I Peter 1:9 says it so well: “For you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (This would be a great time to give Jesus praise for His power and for the place that He is preparing.)

So, the next time you are facing an impossible situation, remember we serve a God who provides perfect peace through His blood shed for us and promises an incredible eternity in His presence.

Randy Moomaw

October 1 – 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, 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

June 17 – Peace – Prince of Peace

Read Isaiah 9:1-7

For many, verses 6 and 7 were very familiar. In fact, you may have read them or heard them in the days leading up to Christmas. They were prophetic statements about the birth of Jesus…and yet, they were made nearly 700 years prior to His entrance into the world.

This was a time of animosity between the Jews themselves. The once unified nation had split into 10 northern tribes called Israel and 2 southern tribes called Judah. What’s more, there was animosity between the northern tribes and Assyria. In addition, Isaiah predicted future conflict between Judah and Babylon. In many ways, “peace” was a foreign concept.

It can certainly be said that animosity describes our world today. Over the last years, racial issues have arisen that I thought had long been in the rearview mirror. Threats of terrorism have us on edge. There is an undercurrent of fear that has forced people to introduce precautions and protocols in schools, sporting arenas, and other public places. Tensions between nations bring with them bloodshed and accusations. Yes, “peace” is in many ways a foreign concept for us as well.

Isaiah’s prophecy, however, pointed to a light on the horizon for the nation of Israel. It was a coming day when God would fulfill his promises extended to Abraham and to David. It was a day when conflict would be foreign. It was a day when a child would be born who would be God in the flesh, King over Israel, and Prince of Peace.

But the Prince of Peace will not only benefit God’s chosen descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  This peace will not only permeate a relatively small parcel of land on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It will be universal and endless.

But there are two important details about this peace that we must understand:

  1. That peace is not for all. It will only be those who have come to faith in Christ that will experience it. Will you experience it?
  2. That peace is yet future. Although the Prince of Peace entered the world 2000 years ago, at His second coming He will reign and bring with Him this harmony and tranquility. Are you anticipating it?

Steve Kern

April 12 – Jesse Tree – Holiness

Read Isaiah 1:10-20; 6:1-13

“’Come now, let us reason together,’ says the LORD. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.’” Isaiah 6:18

Have you ever seen a blood drop on fresh white snow? It stands out. How about a nice, clean white tablecloth with a grape juice stain on it? You notice the stain.

Now, imagine what Isaiah experienced in Isaiah 6. He saw God in the temple building in Jerusalem. God was seated on a throne like a king while Isaiah just stood or sat in a normal seat. The Lord’s throne was lifted up high while Isaiah was at floor level. God was wearing an impressive royal robe of honor while Isaiah wore plain clothes. Angels hovered around the Lord while…who knows…maybe insects buzzed around Isaiah. As the angels spoke, they drew attention to the Lord’s purity and glory by saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (v. 3)

Isaiah stood out. He was much different from God. More than ever, he was suddenly aware of something that is true of all of us. He understood how imperfect he was and how unworthy he was to be in the presence of God who is holy. But God did something to change that. An angel touched Isaiah’s mouth with tongs holding wood from a fire and his sin and guilt were gone.

The tongs and fire did for Isaiah what only Jesus can do for you. They removed sin. When you believe in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection for your sin, you are changed from imperfect and unworthy to forgiven and part of God’s family! He makes you acceptable to God.

Steve Kern

February 24 – People of the Earth – All People Praising God in Jerusalem

Read Isaiah 66:10-28

Isaiah had been prophesying Israel’s captivity since chapter 40 of his book. But, don’t worry, God made sure he told them, I will restore the nation I love! In fact, I will bring all nations to Jerusalem, and all the people of the earth will bring glory to My name.

After their exile and captivity, God would extend peace to (Zion) like a river, He promised, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream (v12).

The nation of Israel had been the exclusive children of God, the sole recipients of His abundant inheritance. They grew comfortable with that idea to the point that they refused to believe other nations, non-Jews, could have any part in what God would accomplish — bringing glory to His name.

So when Isaiah proclaimed the Lord will execute judgment on all people (v16), I imagine the Israelites had no problem believing it. But, according to the first few verses of this chapter, all people meant even the Jews. Yes, even the Israelites would face God’s fierce judgment if they refused to come humbly to Him, trusting His Way (Jesus Christ) alone for their salvation.

It follows, then that all people who trust in Jesus Christ, God’s only way to true salvation and real life, will bring glory to His name — all Israelites as well as Gentiles. The purpose for which all men were made will indeed one day come to fulfillment by the mercy of God.

The Israelites whose religion had them performing ceremonies out of mere ritualistic motivation would face God’s wrath because Almighty God demands humility, true dependence on Himself. He alone is worthy of the glory anyone’s life can give.

And one day all men and women on earth will bow down before Him and bring Him praise.

I want to be on the right side of that praise. Don’t you? In fact, I want to live solely in honor of the One worthy of the honor. I’m done with pretending to be some awesome religious person. Rather, I want to live surrendered to God because Jesus Christ made a way for me to live for the glory of God’s name.

Bria Wasson