The Everyday Prayer

RE Verse reading–Isaiah 10:5-27, 11:1-10 (day four)  “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse”  (11:1)  It is a characteristic strength of Isaiah’s life.  In moments of despair he saw the Lord and found hope.  In happened in Isaiah 6 (last week’s Re verse reading).  It happens again in Isaiah 11.  In chapter 6, Isaiah sees God the Father, God on the throne of Heaven.  In chapter 11, he sees God the Son, coming at some point in the future.  Isaiah calls Him ” a shoot out of a stump”–a beautiful word picture of Christ’s life rising up out of the spiritual deadness of Israel.  In Hebrews 12, the Bible tells us that we are to ” run with perseverance the race set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus” (12:1-2)  Friends, do you see the Lord today?  When, like Peter, we can look through the waves and see the Lord, the pressures and their powers fade away.  May the Lord teach this lesson to every weary heart.

RE Verse reading–Isaiah 10:5-27, 11:1-10 (day three)  “What then?  Are we better than they?  Not at all. . .as it is written, ‘there is none righteous, not even one’ ” (Romans 3:9-10)  It is an insight that helps me forgive others.  None are righteous.  Including me.  The reason I can, I should, I must forgive is that God holds me accountable for my attitude and actions, even in times when I feel that I have been mistreated.  I do NOT want to be found resisting God because I am angry with others  who have resisted me.  The full circle of His wrath, the fairness of it, is strange comfort.  God will judge Judah.  He then will judge Assyria. See today’s lesson–vs 12.  ALL of us must finally surrender and receive a mercy we did not earn or deserve, a righteousness in Christ.   It is not just the “bad guys” who need to hear the warning of His love.  There are none righteous.

RE Verse reading–Isaiah 10:5-27, 11:1-10 (day two)  “When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, ‘I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart.”  (vs 12)  One thing that Isaiah knows with certainty is that God will eventually judge Assyria.  Israel will not be alone in this experience.  All nations and people will appear before Him.  This ought to give us comfort.  Sometimes I struggle with the lessons God is teaching me because I am distracted by other people and the lessons that I think God should be teaching them.  Like Peter in John 21, I need to be told regularly “Let me worry with John, you follow me!” (free translation of John 21:22)  It is liberating to release all other people (particularly the ones that frustrate me) to the management of God.  “Vengeance is MINE (not yours) says the Lord.”  (Romans 12:19) What a relief!  Judgement is not my job.

RE Verse reading–Isaiah 10:5-27 (day one)  “But this is not what he intends, this is not what he has in mind; his purpose is to destroy” (vs 7)  Isaiah is certain that judgement is coming to Judah at the hands of the Assyrians.  This cruel nation would be God’s instrument of wrath, and then later judged by God for their part in the destruction of Jerusalem.  Is this fair?  How may God use the Assyrians and then later hold them accountable for their actions?  Isaiah’s answer is that God will judge their motives–that they intended to hurt, intended to destroy.  The New Testament has the same thought.  “Wait until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God” (1 Corinthians 4:5)  He is an amazing God!  He looks past what we do. He sees the intentions of the heart.

RE Verse reading–Isaiah 6 (day seven)  “I saw the Lord. . .and I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ ”  (vs 1, 8) Isaiah is different than we are.  Different historical moment.  Different gifts.  Like every person,  He is (was) an uncopied creation of an infinitely creative God.  No one is exactly like him. (No one is like you either)  In another way, however,  Isaiah is very much like us.  He gets afraid.  He needs reassurance when things get uncertain. As we prepare for worship today, will reflect on Isaiah’s experience  as a template for God’s work in your own life? ” I saw the Lord.”  “I cried, ‘I am ruined.’ ” I said, ‘Here am I. Send me.’ ”  I said, ‘ How long, O Lord?’ ”  There is great benefit in the stories of the saints gone before.  What does an encounter with a Holy God look like?  Isaiah’s story provides us with answers and inspiration. May God give us grace for the journey!

RE Verse reading–Isaiah 6 (day six)  “With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying” (vs 2)   Men ancient and wise used to say that the Seraphim had six wings, “two that they might not see, two that they might not be seen, and two that they might flying immediately to the task commanded of them by God”.  Interesting thought.  Excellent subject for reflection.  All three purposes would be expressions of humility before God.  We must be careful when we have a desire to be seen, a need to be the center of attention.  It is an evil thing.  John the Baptist said, “He must increase, I must decrease”.  Those who consciously or unconsciously seek to draw attention to themselves have not learned the lesson that even angels know.  “If my people who are called by MY NAME will humble themselves and pray. . .I will heal their land.”

RE Verse reading–Isaiah 6 (day five)  “And they were calling to each other: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory’ ” (vs 3)  It is unexpected.  A foreign thought, actually.  The WHOLE earth is FULL of His glory.  Perhaps Heaven is FULL of His shining radiance,  but earth? the WHOLE earth?  Does that include the home where abuse is happening?  Is God’s glory there?  Do the angels see God in a church that is divided and angry?  A nation torn by war?  Yes!  Something only spiritual eyes can see.  Even in the worst situations of a sinful planet, the Spirit of the Lord is near.  In the light and the dark His redemptive love shines.  “Where can I go from Thy Spirit?  Or where can I flee from your presence?” (Psalm 139:7)  The angels know the answer.  There is no place on this planet where God isn’t.  The whole earth is full of His glory.

RE Verse reading–Isaiah 6 (day four)  “Then the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send?’. . .  And I said, ‘Here am I.  Send me!’ ” (vs 8)  It is the sure sign that the human heart has been softened by the Spirit.  We volunteer.  Our wills bend to His.  We desire to do His will.  Having seen God and having been convicted/cleansed of sin, Isaiah takes the next step.  He volunteers for service.  Paul asks the same question. (Acts 22:10)  Jesus always had this characteristic. (John 4:34)  Psalm 110:3 says ” Your people will volunteer freely in the day of your power”.  God does not force us to love Him.  He does not force us to serve Him (ultimately these two are the same).  He declares His purpose and waits for the softened heart to volunteer for usefulness.  “Perfect submission, all is at rest; I in my Savior am happy and blessed”–Fanny Crosby.  No credit to us, just a sign that we have seen God.

RE Verse reading–Isaiah 6 (day three)  “Above him were seraphs. . .and they were calling to one another:  ‘Holy,holy,holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory’ ” (vs 2-3)  When Isaiah SAW the Lord, he HEARD seraphs.  Seraphs are not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible.  Perhaps an order of angels.  We really don’t know.  What impressed Isaiah was their words.  Part song, part statement the seraphs spoke of God’s unique identity and worth.  To do so was a high, holy privilege.  Perhaps this explains Isaiah’s conviction of sin– particularly sins of the lips.  Unclean lips are those which, unlike the seraph’s, are used for every other purpose but speaking OF  God, FOR God.  Unclean lips are those that speak of sports and family and doctor’s appointments and presidential elections. . .but somehow in it all,  stay silent about the one subject that truly matters.  The seraph’s  words convicted Isaiah of sin.  Lord, open our eyes, open our mouths!

RE Verse reading–Isaiah 6 (day two)  ” ‘Woe is me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips’ ”  (vs 5)  A real encounter with God is much harder than we normally think.  For all the promise of eternal life and mind-boggling peace, a friendship with the Holy One comes with a cost.  When Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, his first feelings were of danger and vulnerability. The temple shook and filled with smoke–like an earthquake or a house fire.  Disturbing!  He also experienced guilt.  Peter felt the same in his first encounters with Christ. (see Luke 5:8)  Painful?  Yes!  Life-giving?  Yes, yes!  Jesus said, “The way is DIFFICULT that leads to life” (Matthew 7:14)  Perhaps we should read it “The way is difficult that leads to LIFE”   No discouragement here.  Just honest truth.  Walking in friendship with God is hard start, hard assignment with a great finish!