July 24–Jeremiah 2-3

“What injustice did your fathers find in Me, that they walked away from Me, and walked after emptiness and became empty?”(Jeremiah 2:5).

It is an irrational decision! People who disobey God do so without logic or reason. No cause and no benefit. It only brings hardship. Sin makes no sense!

In Jeremiah 2, God asks the obvious question. WHY? What injustice did Israel experience in Him? What failure on His part did they encounter that would explain their disloyalty? Very similar to America in the last fifty years. Blessed by God, recipients of His care, why have we turned to a world of secular thought and humanism? It doesn’t make sense!

Scripture teaches that the human heart has a deep flaw. We carry an illness in our hearts. After the fall (Genesis 3), we are partial to sin. Prefer it. Resonate with it. “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.”

In each of us exists a deep tendency toward the dark, the dishonest, the selfish, the cruel. We are proud and demand our own way. “The mind of the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so” (Romans 8:7).

Some deny this teaching of inborn sinfulness. They argue that it is pessimistic and self-fulfilling. As an alternative, they propose humans as basically good.

Scripture never waivers its somber testimony. History provides proof. The human race is sin-sick.

Against this background, the great love of God shines with greater glory. “For God so loved the world.” To know Christ is to marvel at God’s grace. His patience! His mercy! His love!

Friend, today will you reflect on the illness of your natural heart? Will you confess your own disloyalty and dishonesty? Will you allow this reflection to send you running to Christ in gratitude and praise?

“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5).

“Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole, I want Thee forever to live in my soul; break down every idol, cast out every foe; now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow” (James Nicholson).

July 23–Isaiah 66-Jeremiah 1

“But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word”(Isaiah 66:2).

Those who love God must also fear Him. The Spirit and Scripture constantly call us to an inner balance of God’s great love and God’s great wrath. “They went on in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Spirit,” says Acts 9:31. ” ‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, ” says John Newton.

God looks for people who tremble at His word. People who react to the voice of God with appropriate reverence and humility, those who realize the scope and seriousness of a relationship with God and respond at a visceral level. To tremble is the opposite of apathy!

Contrite is a similar term. The Hebrew word is nakeh and meant “lamed or maimed”. It is what Jesus called “poor in spirit”. As I hear God’s word, it wounds and weakens my pride. Contrition is the opposite of self-sufficiency.

In Jeremiah 1, God puts the young prophet through a probationary period. He tests Jeremiah to observe whether he will accurately report what he sees without adding or subtracting anything. See Jeremiah 1:11-16. In this case, trembling at His word means a deep caution in the communication of God’s word. We reject our own ideas or preferences. We accurately and faithfully communicate God’s word without fear of the opinions of men. Neither needing the approval of others, nor fearing their rejection, the duty of the believer is to speak God’s word.

“For behold, the Lord will come in fire and His chariots like the whirlwind, to render His anger with fury. . .and those slain by the Lord will be many” (Isaiah 66:15-16).

I once was blind. Truth be known, I was also numb. Dear one, do you tremble?

“Were you there when they crucified my Lord? O, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble”(American spiritual song).

“Who understands the power of Your anger and Your fury, according to the fear that is due You”(Psalm 90:11).

July 22–Isaiah 62-65

“The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; and you will be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord will designate”(62:2).

We encounter this idea in Scripture. Often. When the world is restored, those who belong to God will receive a new name from Him. A better name. A larger/better/truer identity. He has always known who we truly are. On that day, we will finally know it, too.

Recall, please, the moments in Scripture. Abram is renamed Abraham. Jacob becomes Israel. Cephas becomes Peter (the Rock). It is one of the sweet surprises for those who know God! As you walk, with Him, He reveals a “new you”, to you.

Isaiah envisions this coming day for Israel. They will be called Beulah which means married (62:4). In the ancient world, an unmarried woman was vulnerable and often victimized. Marriage, then and now, is a way for a woman to be protected, defended and loved.

For her sin, God abandoned Israel to her enemies. She was (for a time) desolate and weak. Ultimately, praise God!, a time would come for her restoration. She would become the Bride of Christ. In Jesus, this prophesy is fulfilled. Israel is married, secure and strong.

Friend, do you know God has a new name for you? A vision of you that is higher and more noble than you can conceive! What prevents you from rushing toward the One who knows this true you? What hinders you from opening your heart to such remarkable, redeeming love?

“Beulah land I’m longing for you, and some day on you I’ll stand. There my home shall be eternal. Beulah land, sweet Beulah land”(Squire Parsons).

“To him who overcomes. . .I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it”(Revelation 2:17).

July 21–Isaiah 59-61

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners. . .to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning”(61:1,3).

Seven hundred years after these beautiful words were written, Jesus quoted them to begin His public ministry. Taking hold of Isaiah’s prophecy, Our Lord called it His own, claimed that He, Himself, was the fulfillment. See the beautiful story in Luke 4.

Isaiah prophesied joy! He saw a coming day when GOOD NEWS would be preached to brokenhearted people. To a mourner with ashes on his head, One would come to smooth the ashes out of his hair, place a garland around his neck, anoint him with oil and invite him to a feast! Neither mourning nor defeat is the plan of God. JOY is God’s plan.

At one level, Isaiah had in mind the GOOD NEWS that came to the exiles of Judah in 539 BC. King Cyrus allowed them the opportunity to go home. GOOD NEWS! Liberty from captivity!

At a deeper level, Isaiah saw a coming Servant who would fill the prophecy of joy to its fullest meaning. A Messiah, anointed by God with the Spirit (for which oil is the symbol) would make GOOD NEWS accessible to all people. In Jesus, captives find freedom. Brokenhearted people experience hope.

Friends, have you grown weary, defensive, grumpy? Eyes on self and situation rather than on the Savior, walking in flesh and reaping the harvest of it? Since both Isaiah and Jesus predicted JOY to be the outcome and proof of Christ’s presence, shouldn’t the people of God know JOY and announce it to others? Without it, aren’t we still captives?

“The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”(Romans 14:17).

“Joyful, joyful, we adore You, God of glory, Lord of love; Hearts unfold like flow’rs before You, Op’ning to the sun above. Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away; Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!” (Henry Van Dyke).

July 20–Isaiah 55-58

“They seek Me day by day and delight to know my ways, as a nation that has done righteousness and has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, they delight in the nearness of God. Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice? Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire (58:2-3).

In Isaiah’s day, the people of Judah were very religious. Great crowds gathered on holy days. They viewed themselves as faithful believers. It led them to a perplexing question. Why isn’t God answering our prayers? Specifically for the growing threat of Babylon.

It was Isaiah’s unenviable task to explain the problem. It was (still is) possible to do religious things, religiously, but with an unchanged heart. It is possible to pray, but with a inward and undeniable priority on SELF rather than GOD. When this is the case, prayer will be unheard, unanswered.

As a pastor for many years, I have real appreciation for (and investment in) religious things. Our Savior participated in the patterns and disciplines of religion and taught others to do so. He was no critic of religion.

Even so, (and every pastor knows this truth) religion is a sign-post to God, but a poor substitute for Him. Unless God is first, until the Spirit displaces the self in the human heart, religion is an empty thing.

For all of their religious devotion, the people of Judah were slow to face this reality. They fasted but still “desired” the same things (58:3). They observed the Sabbath but, at the deepest level, were doing so in search of their own “pleasure or profit” (58:13). The poor were ignored. Self was still the goal.

When the Holy Spirit comes, believers are given a new heart. A beautiful and different “you” is born. Every day, every believer must deny the still-present-self and walk forward in the new man. If we turn back to the old man and his empty pursuits of comfort and credit and control, our prayers will be unanswered.

Friend, how is your prayer life? If there is no power in it, the problem may be in your heart (ambitions).

“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, italics mine).

“Pray, then, in this way; Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10).

July 19–Isaiah 51-54

“Look to me, you who pursue righteousness. . .look to the rock from which you were hewn. . .look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain; when he was but one I called him, then I blessed and multiplied him” (51:1-2).

Are you ever discouraged? Timid? Self-protective in your prayers? Do you ever lower your expectations to avoid being disappointed? Will you consider your faith-ancestors?

As people of faith, we benefit when we think back. “Ancestry.com” in a spiritual sense. When we recall the stories of Scripture, courage comes. Gods’ people are made of strong stuff. We are cut from a rock! Endurance is part of our heritage.

We are cut from the rock of ABRAHAM AND SARAH. All alone, without any encouragement from those around them, they believed God. He blessed them for it! He multiplied them. From them came millions! We have the same infinite potential for bearing fruit.

We are cut from the rock of PROPHETS AND PREACHERS. Continuing the figure in chapter 53, we consider Isaiah and his brother prophets. Such a hard and thankless task they performed! “Why should we continue to preach, Lord? No one believes us!” Even in the face of near-universal criticism, they persevered. We have the same infinite potential for faithfulness to God in generation of unbelief.

We are cut from the rock of the SUFFERING SERVANT. See chapter 53. Jesus is not only our Savior, He is also our example. In union with Him, we are called and empowered to carry a cross. We have the same infinite potential for loving God and others.

Will you look back, dear one? Will you see your true identity and potential, your true DNA? We are not defeated and discouraged people, rather overcomers and members of an eternally successful family! We are cut from a rock!

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us”(Hebrews 12:2).

July 18–Isaiah 48-50

“It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light to the nations so that My salvation may reach to the ends of the earth”(49:6).

In the future, Isaiah prophesied a glorious EXPANSION of God’s focus and activity. He predicted a day when, through the Messiah (Spirit-anointed Servant), the Father would effectively bless all nations. Rescuing Israel, as significant as this is, is “too small” a task for the Messiah. Working through a redeemed Israel, Christ would be the light of the WORLD. In this beautiful verse, Isaiah heard and reported the Father giving this HUGE assignment to His much-loved Son.

Remember the amazing story in John 12? Holy Week. Days before the cross. Greeks (secular people, not necessarily from Greece, but people whose culture and assumptions were more Hellenized) came seeking Jesus. They wanted to speak with Him, ask questions.

Earlier in the gospels, Jesus restricted His ministry to the JEWISH NATION ONLY. Aware of this, Philip hesitated to give access to these Greeks. Hearing the news, Jesus declared it a sign. The time for the prophesied shift had come! “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified”(John 12:23). On the cross, Jesus would open the door of salvation to the WHOLE WORLD. See Pentecost. See the book of Acts.

As we read Isaiah today, will you consider the Son’s large assignment must also be ours? How easy, how common, for us to concentrate on small and near projects, leaving the prayer and the planning for the LARGE ENTERPRISE almost entirely ignored. Go to a prayer meeting (if there even is a prayer meeting in your church) and listen to what believers ask. Is the focus narrow and near? Prayers for our families, our church, our needs? Little else, usually.

Have we not fallen short of God’s true vision? Go make disciples of all nations! Anything else is a job too small!

“If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?”(David Livingstone).

“Not failure, but low aim, is crime” (James Russel Lowell).

July 17–Isaiah 45-47

“Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker–an earthenware vessel among the vessels of the earth! Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ “(45:9).

Trust is the center of our relationship with God. “Abraham believed God (yielded to His plans, received His direction, rested in His character as good and true). God counted it as righteousness.” See Genesis 15:6.

Faith is how our relationship with the Eternal One begins. It is also how it proceeds forward.

The opposite of faith is self-sufficiency. Pride and fear. Stubbornness and self. Rather than trust God’s plan, I trust me, my emotions, my perceptions. Eve did the same in the garden. To choose SELF over GOD is the sad story of our race. Independence is our sin.

In 45:9, Isaiah described a common scene. Rather than trust God, we resist and question Him. We “quarrel” with our Maker. Entertaining the slander from Satan (that God is not sufficient or kind), we act on the false idea that safety and success can only be achieved through self-assertion. Is clay smarter than its Maker? Isn’t God worthy of our trust?

Friend, are you presently resisting or resting ? If we believe that salvation is by grace through faith, must we not daily teach ourselves that every step after salvation must be blessed by the same principle? If we trust Him, shouldn’t we trust Him?

“Do not let your heart be troubled, believe (trust) in God, believe (trust) also in Me” (John 14:1).

“Does the Father truly love us? He does. Does the Spirit move among us? He does. And does Jesus, our Messiah, hold forever those He loves? He does. Is anyone worthy? Is anyone whole? Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll? Is He worthy? Is He worthy? Is He worthy of this? He is!”(Andrew Peterson/Ben Shive).

July 16–Isaiah 42-44

“Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put my Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry or raise His voice. . .a bruised reed He will not break. . .Behold, the former things have come to pass, now I declare new things; before they spring forth I proclaim them to you”(42:1-2,9).

Isaiah 42 is the first of what scholars call the “Servant songs”. As Isaiah peers into a God-shaped future, his eyes focus on ONE whom God calls “My Servant”. See 42:1-4, 49:1-6, 50:4-9, 52:13-53:12.

700 years before the birth of Jesus, Isaiah could see the coming Messiah in EXACTING detail.

Notice Isaiah’s description of the gentleness of Christ. No need for noise or pressure tactics. His success will be accomplished by the Spirit, the invisible and real work of God in the world!

Will you consider the implications of this amazingly accurate picture of Jesus? God sees the future. Before it happens. Prophecy is proof. God foreknows the story in specific and accurate detail! Will you stop for a moment and open your mind to this amazing idea? The direction of this world is not a product of chance. A deep mind and a large heart shape history.

Maybe God’s foreknowledge creates questions in your mind. Are all outcomes predetermined? Does prayer matter? Are we free in any sense? Even allowing these unanswered (not fully answerable) questions, what cannot be debated is that God’s full knowledge of the future is part of His praise-worthy character.

Friend, would you fear the future less (not at all) if you knew that God already knows where things are going?

To those who draw near, He gives assurance and confidence. “Before they spring forth, I declare them to you.” We are moving toward a future He knows.

July 15–Isaiah 40-41

“Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news, lift up your voice mightily. . .say to the cities of Judah, ‘Here is your God!’ “(40:9).

Isaiah 40 is a turning point. It is the beginning of what some scholars call his, “second” book. Different in mood and outlook, these chapters reflect a maturing, deepening in Isaiah’s own heart and outlook. Holy people grow and change. We must. It is God’s way. The miracle of sanctification.

Chapter 40 begins with mysterious voices. “Other prophesies begin with symbolic visions, but here the ear takes the place of the eye” (Maclaren).

God is the first speaker (v 1). He calls the prophet to comfort His people. Jerusalem’s failure was not final! Sin brings discipline, but it does not separate those who belong to the Father from His enduring love. “The captivity is over,” He instructs Isaiah to announce. Captivity in Babylon. Captivity to sin. God’s kindness creates a new space and calls His people to enter in.

The second speaker is unnamed. See v. 3. Seven hundred years later we recognize John the Baptist. Out in the wilderness, alone with God, he heard God, knew what needed to be said. He called the people to moral preparation as predicate for Christ’s coming. Apart from inner conviction of sin and hunger for righteousness, no person is ready to receive Christ.

In v 6, still another voice calls out. What message does this unidentified speaker bring? The frailty of men and the permanence of God’s word! A great correction of human pride. We are not big deals. God is a big deal!

In v 9, the prophet speaks. He calls Jerusalem to “get yourself up on a high mountain.” A prophecy of the church. Like the exiles of old, we who have been rescued are called to tell the good news. We are to find the highest platform and shout the message with the loudest voice.

Believers have a high privilege. We are to declare God to the nations. As rescued Zion told the cities of Judea, “Behold your God,” Christians are to shout to the nations, “Behold the Lamb!”

“How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14)