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Daily Bible thoughts 789: Monday 12th January 2015: Isaiah 65:1-17

When God ‘’called’’ to His people they ‘’did not answer’’; when He ‘’spoke’’ they ‘’did not listen’’ (12). We know from our reading of this great prophetic book thus far that if we do not listen when God speaks to us, we cannot expect Him to listen when we try to talk to Him in prayer. He calls us to turn from our own sinful ways that are displeasing to Him (12b). Think back to Friday’s notes on chapter 64 (verses 4-7 especially).

God takes the initiative in salvation (1). But so many of the people He revealed Himself to turned away from Him to idols and disgraceful practices (2-5), for no religion can be better than its gods! So the Lord was going to bring punishment upon His sinful people (6, 7, 11 and 12).

But, thankfully, this is far from being the entire story. Amidst the prevalent unfaithfulness there was a godly remnant (8-10). There were those who genuinely did seek the Lord, and He promised His blessing to them. God would take care of them. Beyond the inevitable exile there would be a new dawn; a new beginning for God’s chosen people.

This chapter is headed ‘’Judgment and Salvation’’ in the ‘New International Version’ of the Bible. It is true that both ‘options’ are ‘on offer’ here (13-17). We can turn from our sins, to the Lord, and find blessing; or we can turn from Him to our idols and have judgment. Someone observed that ultimately all God does in judging people is to confirm the choices they have already made. So be wary of what you desire for it will surely be yours. As C.S. Lewis said, in the final analysis there are only two kinds of people in this world – ‘’those who say to God, ‘Your will be done’; and those to whom God says, ‘Your will be done.’ ‘’

Thought: What is God saying to me today? What am I doing about it? What am I going to do about it?

Prayer: Lord God, help me to approach you with a clean heart. I want to repent of all my sin so there is no blockage in the prayer channel.

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Daily Bible thoughts 787: Thursday 8th January 2015: Isaiah 63:7-19

‘’…many good things…many kindnesses.’’ (7)

We too have experienced God’s immense blessing: ‘’Compassion lavished, love extravagant.’’ The Message. He has done great things for us and we are glad. How should we respond? a.) By telling (7a); by praising (7a), and by not rebelling (10). We surely don’t want to grieve His Holy Spirit, which is always a possibility (Ephesians 4:30). He has been so good to us, carrying us through all the days of our lives, just as He did for Israel (9). We don’t want to disappoint Him (8), or in any way turn our Divine Friend into a Foe (10).

But God’s disciplinary acts are meant to bring His people to their knees in prayer, intensely seeking Him afresh. This is what we see in (11-14). It’s a prayer for revival, or, at least, the preliminary to it. When God turned away from His people, they ‘’recalled the days of old.’’ (11). They asked, ‘’Where is he?’’ ‘Where is our great wonder-working God who visited us in such power in days gone by, and who magnificently glorified His Name?’ They longed for their God to return to them as in the past. ‘’And what happened to the One who set his Holy Spirit within them? Who linked his arm with Moses’ right arm, divided the waters before them. Making him famous ever after…’’ The Message.

At verse 15, Isaiah’s prayer on behalf of Judah begins. It continues throughout chapter 63. It is a prayer for God to ‘’Return’’ (17). That in essence, is what prayer for revival is, and there are a number of examples of such prayers in the Bible. ‘’Isaiah’s prayer reflects the feelings of a people who have rebelled against God, lost His protection and blessing, and now recognize their sin. They feel abandoned; they remind God that they are His children and He is their Father. And they ask Him to return to them as before. Many believers have uttered similar prayers, and we know that God hears them; God will never abandon His children, His servants (verse 17), who confess their sins and place their trust in Him.’’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1069.

Prayer: Revive your mighty work among us O Lord our God, for the honour of your Name.

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Daily Bible thoughts 786: Wednesday 7th January 2014: Isaiah 63: 1-6

This bloody, but triumphant picture is one of God in His judgment of the nations. It is a portrayal that lots of people find repulsive, and even as believers we can struggle with it. But the reality is that God is the Judge of all the earth. He will only ever do what is right and just and fair. But He will judge all people. However, the prophetic books, like ‘Isaiah’, show that this will not happen until there has been ample warning. God is longsuffering and sends back His prophets repeatedly, calling people to repent. He does not close the door of the ‘ark’ until a long period of preaching has elapsed. The day of opportunity to turn to God and be saved is a long one. But it is not open- ended. It will come to a close. God is ‘’mighty to save’’ (1b), but He is also mighty in judgment. His enemies will not triumph over Him; He will conquer them.

There is coming a day when all the things in the world we wish were judged are going to be. Every wrong will be righted; each injustice will be overturned. The problem for us is that there are things we don’t want to have judged, like our sins. But they too will come under judgment if we don’t trust in Christ.

But here also is our hope, and I believe we pick up in this passage a number of echoes of Jesus. His garments are ‘’stained crimson’’ but He is also ‘’robed in splendour.’’ He trod ‘’the winepress alone.’’ He went to the cross for our sins so that we can be free from their condemnation and judgment, if we trust in Him. The cross is about salvation for all who believe because it is also about God’s judgment on sin. The cross does not overlook sin, but condemns it, showing how exceedingly sinful it is. It demonstrates both God’s justice and love. It shows that God is just and does not overlook sin. It also reveals that He is love and wants to save sinful people. It is through Christ alone that anyone can be saved (3, 5).

‘’ It is a victory obtained by the grace of God in Christ over our spiritual enemies. We find the garments dipped in blood adorning him whose name is called The Word of God, Rev. 19:13. And who that is we know very well; for it is through him that we are more than conquerors over those principalities and powers which on the cross he spoiled and triumphed over.’’ Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

Prayer: Thank you Lord Jesus for your glorious triumph at the cross.

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Daily Bible thoughts 784: Monday 5th January 2015: Ephesians 4: 7-16

In his commentary on ‘Ephesians’, John Stott makes the point that not only is there ‘saving grace’, by which we come to faith in Christ; there is also such a thing as ‘serving grace’ by which we express our faith in Christ in particular ministries (7). I believe we could paraphrase this verse by saying, ‘But to each one of us gifts have been given…’ Each part of the body of Christ has a job to do (16). In an atmosphere of honest love, the church grows, and ‘’builds itself up’’ as each member is fully and appropriately employed (15, 16). But it all comes ‘’From him…’’ i.e. the Lord Jesus who is ‘’the Head’’ of the church (15). In the earlier part of the passage it is made clear that the victoriously ascended Lord Jesus gives these ‘grace gifts’ to the church. The Jesus who ‘’descended’’ in the incarnation has also ‘’ascended’’ and His presence fills ‘’the whole universe.’’ (9, 10). The quote in verse 8 is from Psalm 68:18. That psalm pictures God returning to the heavenly sanctuary following the overthrow of Israel’s enemies. Because He is the conqueror, He has a booty; a largesse to distribute. These words are applied by Paul to Christ. They clearly are significant in what they say about Paul’s view of the identity of Jesus. He is none other than God. He has come through death victorious, and the gifts He gives are the spoils of victory. (It’s interesting to note that when a Roman General returned from battle as a winner, he would have a triumphal procession through the streets of Rome. The streets would be thronged with cheering crowds. His defeated foes would walk, heads bowed in shame, behind the conquering army, and the General would throw out the booty, the spoils of battle to the people on both sides of the road. What a picture this is!)

In particular, Paul speaks about the ascended Lord Jesus giving the gift of leaders to His church (11). There are a variety of leadership gifts. These people all lead, but not necessarily in the same way. They don’t all do the same things. But here is the key point. Why have they been given to the church? The answer is in (12): ‘’to equip the saints for the work of the ministry’’ as one translation puts it. Stott says that leaders are not given to the church to monopolise the ministry but to multiply the ministries. Leaders are there to help God’s people detect, develop, discipline and deploy their gifts. As they use them the body of Christ, the church, will be ‘’built up’’ (12).

What will it look like for the church to be ‘built up’? It will mean two things in particular: unity and maturity. The unity is ‘’in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God…’’ As the spokes of a wheel get closer to the hub, the closer they get to each other. So it is with Jesus and the church. The maturity is about Christlikeness – the church becoming more and more like Jesus.

When David Watson was rector of ‘St. Michael Le-Belfrey in York, he was one of the most famous clergymen in the United Kingdom. But he told his congregation, ‘’When people come in here and ask who the minister is, say ‘We all are’.’’ Such a comment beats in time with the rhythm of this passage.

Jesus is Lord and He is building His church through the ‘spoils of war.’ Praise God for all His gracious gifts. We go from victory to victory as we use them in the power of the Spirit.

Prayer: Thank you Lord Jesus for giving my life such eternal significance.

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Daily Bible thoughts 780: Tuesday 30th December 2014: Isaiah 61:1-3

Isiah 61:1-3

These great words apply to the Messiah. We know this because Jesus spoke many of them about Himself at the beginning of His ministry (Luke 4:14-21). If the words did apply to Isaiah it was in a secondary sense. Maybe to some degree they did relate to his obviously anointed ministry. But there was a much deeper meaning and intent in them. Whatever your situation or need may be today, you will find what you require in Jesus. He has an answer. He is your answer. Verse 3b is similar to chapter 60:21b. Jesus has come to make strong, sturdy, stable people; men and women, and boys and girls who are right with God and who live right, and who, in so doing, bring glory to God.

In the first place, Isaiah was again writing about a physical, literal deliverance from exile in Babylon. The ‘’captives’’ would be freed. The ‘’prisoners’’ would come home. There was going to be a new day in ‘’Zion’’ (3). The whole atmosphere of Jerusalem would change as the city was restored. People’s hearts and lives would be transformed. That happened about 150 years after Isaiah wrote these words. But at a much deeper level, Isaiah was anticipating the coming of the Messiah who would ‘’release’’ many prisoners from darkness’’, setting them free from bondage to sin. Jesus came about 700 years later.

I think this word of explanation from Tom Hale is important: ‘’When Jesus quoted verses 1-2, He omitted the last part of verse 2 about proclaiming the day of vengeance of our God. Jesus did not come to earth to proclaim vengeance; He came to proclaim salvation – the year of the LORD’s favour (see Isaiah 49:8). However, when He comes a second time, it will be to gather his elect and to proclaim judgment (vengeance) on all the rest of mankind (Mark 13:26-27; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10). Christ is both Saviour and Judge. Now He is Saviour of those who believe; soon He’ll be Judge of those who do not. In a very real sense, these centuries between Christ’s first coming and His second coming can be called the ‘’year of the Lord’s favour,’’ the period during which we are offered salvation. For each person this ‘’year of favour’’ ends at death; our choice in this life will determine whether Christ becomes our Saviour or our Judge.’’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1066.

If Jesus needed the anointing of the Holy Spirit to fulfil His ministry, how much more do we need the Spirit of God for ours? We are faced with a dark, sad and broken world, full of needy people. We cannot serve them as we should, in Jesus’ Name, without being clothed with power from on high. But with the divine equipping what power we will know to see people utterly transformed.

Prayer: Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me; fill me anew.

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Daily Bible thoughts 778: Friday 26th December 2014: Psalm 111

Ponder and remember! (2, 4)
We can’t see it in our English translations of the Bible, but this is an acrostic poem. Each line begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It is a song of praise to God for His faithfulness to His covenant people. The psalmist shows that what God says He also does. His Words and His Works always go together. We Christians know this even better than the ancient Israelites. How thankful we should be.
With Christmas day now over for another year, we will start to turn our attention to the next 365 days and thoughts of what they may hold. Before doing that, however, why not take some time during the next week to ponder and remember? Look in the ‘rear view mirror’. Think about what God has done in your life during the past year. In fact, you might like to deliberately set aside some time to mentally work your way through the now disappearing twelve month period and thank God for specific blessings. When you try to ‘’count’’ them and ‘’name them one by one’’ you will find that you are genuinely ‘surprised’ at what the Lord has done. Think about it and thank Him for it! Remember the wonderful miracles He has done (2-4a; 7a); His manifestations of power (6). Consider His generous provision (5a), giving you far more than you could ask or imagine (6b). Think about what His faithful truth has meant to you (7b, 10). Rejoice in His covenant (5b), meditating on the redemptive sacrifice at the heart of it (9). As you look back, and turn all this over in your mind, your heart will surely burn, and you will give your God fervent praise (1, 10) and revere His ‘’awesome’’ (9b) Name. (See also 10). This year may have had its ‘ups and downs’. Most of them do. But as you reflect, you will surely come to the conclusion that God has been so good to you. That’s how I feel anyway, and I’m deeply grateful.
Here are some words from this psalm as found in The Message. (If you get chance to read the entire psalm in this modern version of the Bible you will almost certainly find it rewarding to do so.)
‘’Hallelujah! I give thanks to GOD with everything I’ve got – Wherever good people gather, and in the congregation. GOD’s works are so great, worth A lifetime of study – endless enjoyment! Splendour and beauty mark his craft; His generosity never gives out. His miracles are his memorial – This GOD of Grace, this GOD of Love…All his products are guaranteed to last…’’
‘’Probably this will be our employment in eternity; ever passing into deeper and fuller appreciation of the works of God, and breaking into more rapturous songs.’’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Great verses through the Bible’, p.235.
‘’…the unmerited grace and passionate love which flowed out first in redemption, brought the Lord’s people within the embrace of his covenant where they experience his providential care in daily needs, his power over all the power of their enemies, and his word by which they live.’’ J.A. Motyer: ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.561.
Prayer: Thank you so much for the blessing of belonging to your covenant people; for redemption with all it means; and for your constant care and power at work in my life.

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Daily Bible thoughts 775: Tuesday 23rd December 2014: Isaiah 59: 20, 21

As we saw yesterday, God’s judging work would prepare the way for what Derek Kidner calls a ‘’kingdom of converts.’’ We can be judged for our sins, or we can repent and be forgiven. We get to choose (20).
God’s Spirit and His Word go together. There cannot be a genuine work of the Holy Spirit that dismisses or undermines the importance of the Bible. In a truly Pentecostal or Charismatic church, God’s Word will be honoured and taken seriously. The Scriptures will be searched. They will be faithfully, meticulously and systematically taught.
As a prophet of God, Isaiah was speaking Spirit inspired words. Here God gives him the encouragement that these words will be repeated by his ‘’children’’ and ‘’their descendants from this time on and for ever.’’ (21). There will be an enduring impact.
God’s Word should be in our ‘’mouths’’. We need to speak it to ourselves and to others. It is important to speak in line with it and according to it; to allow God’s wonderful Book to shape our speech. ‘’We must receive the Holy Spirit, and we must utter the words which He puts into our lips.’’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Great verses through the Bible, p.291. Meyer goes on to quote Acts 2:4: ‘’All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak…’’ I heard a preacher say that when a bath gets full, the water goes out through a hole called an ‘overflow’. He went on to say that we are all fitted with an ‘overflow’. It’s a little hole beneath the nose called a ‘mouth’. He argued that if you work your way through the book of Acts you will find that when anyone got filled with the Holy Spirit, they overflowed, in some way, through the mouth.
‘’Here God gives His people two great covenant gifts, His Spirit and His words, and they will not depart from His people. These two gifts are given to us today – through Jesus Christ, God’s greatest gift of all.’’
‘’In verse 21, God says His Spirit and His words will not depart from the people’s mouth (see Joshua 1:8). Neither will they depart from the people’s hearts, because the new covenant will be written on their hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). Heart and mouth go together; the mouth expresses what flows from the heart (Matthew 12:34; 15:18; Romans 10:9-10).’’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary, p.1064.
Prayer: Thank you Lord for your mercy to the genuinely repentant. Thank you too for the gift of your Spirit and your Word, showing us a new direction to walk in, and giving us the power to do so.

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Daily Bible thoughts 773: Friday 19th December 2014:

 Isaiah 59: 1-8

The unavoidably sad truth is that sin separates. The vertical dimension of sin is the most serious of all. Sin separates us from God. But as the passage progresses the horizontal aspect comes ever more clearly into view: sin separates man from man. Isaiah highlights the social injustices the people of his day had been guilty of. In Romans 3:15-17 Paul quotes from verses 7 and 8 to show that everyone is guilty before God (even the Jews themselves).

‘’Your hands are drenched in blood, your fingers dripping with guilt…They trust in illusion. They tell lies, they get pregnant with mischief and have sin-babies…They compete in the race to do evil and run to be the first to murder. They plan and plot evil, think and breathe evil, and leave a trail of wrecked lives behind them. They know nothing about peace and less than nothing about justice.’’ The Message. Sin hurts God and harms people. It divides us from our Maker, and from one another.

But there is another truth that we have to face. It is that sin can separate our prayers (and even fasting, as we saw yesterday) from God. If we cherish sin in our hearts the Lord will not listen. However much we love religious exercises, our prayers are likely to be ineffective if we refuse to wash our ‘muddy’ hands. The people in Isaiah’s day were tempted to lay the blame on God for their difficulties, saying that His arm was ‘’too short’’ to help them or His ear ‘’too dull’’ to hear (1). ‘’But to blame God is always wrong. Whenever God seems distant and His blessings few, we need to look to ourselves to find the cause: it is our own iniquities that separate us from God.’’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1063.

‘’If God seems far away, guess who moved!’’

‘’God’s hand is unable to work when our hands are defiled with sin. Our prayers accomplish nothing (Ps.66:18), and His power is absent from our lives and ministries.’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word, p.488

‘’Look! Listen! GOD’s arm is not amputated – he can still save. GOD’s ears are not stopped up-he can still hear. There’s nothing wrong with God; the wrong is in you. Your wrongheaded lives caused the split between you and God. Your sins got between you so that he doesn’t hear.’’ The Message.

It was to bridge that unbridgeable chasm between God and people that Jesus came into the world and died for our sins. His cross is the ‘Bridge’ over that immense gulf. Have you walked across it from darkness to light, and from death to life? You will find there is no other route.

Prayer: Help me Lord God to put down my favourite sins and cling only to Jesus’ cross.

 

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Daily Bible thoughts 772: Thursday 18th December 2014:

 Isaiah 58

‘’You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.’’ (4b)

There is nothing wrong with fasting. It is part of the normal Christian life. Jesus showed this in His ‘Sermon on the Mount’, saying, ‘’When you fast…’’ (Matthew 6:16). There is no ‘if’ about it; it’s ‘when’. (See also Matthew 6: 2 and 5. Jesus expected His disciples to give, pray and fast. If you want to look at this subject more deeply, I suggest reading John Piper’s excellent book, ‘A hunger for God.’)

However, there is a way of fasting that is totally wrong and Isaiah 58 points this out. Someone who fasts can ‘’seem eager’’ (2b) spiritually, and we may be impressed with their intensity. It as ‘’as if’’ they were very saintly. But God has ‘x-ray’ vision and sees past the appearance of things. ‘’ When you strive to be a spiritual person, you fight the constant battle of ‘’ritual versus reality.’’ It is much easier to go through the external activities of religion than it is to love God from your heart and let that love touch the lives of others.’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p.488. Here are three ways in which your fasting can be ineffective:

  • If you do not turn from your sin. God had been calling again and again to His people through Isaiah; pleading with them to repent. The majority would not. You cannot expect fasting, important as it is, to cut any ice with heaven while you are holding on to your favourite sins. Psalm 66:18 provides an important comment on the whole subject.
  • If you still continue to do it your way (3b, 13). This is closely related to the above point. If you go to church on a Sunday (or give yourself to some other special set aside time to seek God), but return home to live as you did before, going your own way and doing your own will, don’t expect any prayer and fasting to bring about the desired change in your circumstances. It doesn’t work like that. Without submission to the Lordship of God you are merely going through an empty religious ritual. Fasting was intended to be a means of self-humbling before God. ‘’The orthodox faith was popular in Judah at that time, and people enjoyed learning the Word and even participating in fasts (vv.2-3). But when the services were over, the worshippers went back to exploiting people and pleasing themselves.’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p.488.
  • If you do not care about issues of injustice in the world and take appropriate action; serving the poor and needy as you have opportunity.

‘’The kind of fasting you do won’t get your prayers off the ground.’’ The Message.

That is all negative. However there is a way in which we can be ‘’heard on high’’ as we pray and fast. We should not miss this point. Those who genuinely seek God with fasting, turning from their sinful ways and their own wilful paths; serving all around them who need their help; such people will experience immense blessing from God (6-14). As Wiersbe says, your life can become a ‘’watered garden, not a dismal swamp.’’

Prayer: I choose not to give up on fasting, but to give up on sin and self-pleasing.

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