July 7–Isaiah 10-13

“Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him. . .He will delight in the fear of the Lord”(11:1-3).

Isaiah lived for God in a period of Spiritual disorder and decline. His nation was crumbling. Weak leaders and even weaker faith created instability. The future looked dark. A new crisis almost every week. Sound familiar?

Assyria was ascendant. Proud. Cruel in battle and governance. Nations in the ancient Middle East (from Persia to Egypt) lived in fear of these ruthless people. It was a narrative the Assyrians themselves perpetuated. “By the power of my own hands and by my wisdom I did this,” they said of themselves. See 10:13. They were arrogant. Brutal and proud of it.

Isaiah saw/told a different story. The bible often calls prophets “seers” because they could see God at work. Behind and beneath the headlines, Isaiah (having followed His own advice of “gaining strength by waiting on the Lord”) could see a bright future of hope.

He saw the coming of Christ. Chapter 11. Beautiful image! Even after the great oak (Judah) was cut down (dead by all appearances), a shoot would eventually grow out of it. A new king from the house of David. Jesus!

Under the good government of this new king, Isaiah found assurance that the restoration of the world would come. See 11:4-10. He also saw a coming day of complete judgment. See 12:6-16. For all the uncertainty of his day, Isaiah was neither discouraged nor confused. He saw the future of God. Do you, friend? Do we?

If “faith is the assurance of things hoped for” (Hebrews 11:1), every believer needs a supernatural and confident vision of the future. Spending time with the Father, we must hear His hope and hold to it with stubborn courage.

“Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary” (Isaiah 40:31).

“Hope itself is like a star–not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only discovered in the night of adversity” (Charles Haddon Spurgeon).

July 6–Isaiah 6-9

“For a child will be born to us; a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace”(9:6).

“A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on”(Carl Sandburg).

True of every infant. Even more true of Christ. Babies bring hope. Their arrival causes us to dream possibilities. To rescue the human race, God sent a baby. His son. Our savior. A child was born to us.

Years before it actually happened, Isaiah predicted this amazing event. To a people under the judgement of God, a baby would be born. The child’s name (meaning, message, significance) would be, “God with us”. We have not been abandoned. That’s what His life means. God is willing to be involved in our lives. The baby was (is) proof.

In chapter 9, Isaiah calls the child, “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” The words pose a huge logical and theological problem! How can a vulnerable infant be, at the same time, Mighty God? Paradox! Both things cannot be true, but they are! A baby with a birthday would also be (in some inexplicable way) The Eternal Father.

Years later, when God came to Joseph to insure his faithful participation in the nativity story, the angel quoted these words from Isaiah! “Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son and she shall call His name, Immanuel”(Matthew 1:23, Isaiah 7:14). Please note how aware the angels are of our Bible! How puzzled they must be as they observe our neglect and unbelief!

Friend, do you believe that God still loves the world? That He has NOT given up hope for the world, and that the proof of His determined love is Christ? Will you open your heart to Him today?

“Veiled in flesh the God-head see, hail the incarnate Deity! Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Immanuel”(Charles Wesley).

July 5–Isaiah 2-5

“For the Lord of hosts will have a day of reckoning against everyone who is proud and lofty. . .the pride of man will be humbled and the loftiness of men will be abased; for the Lord alone will be exalted in that day”(2:12, 17).

Humans are future-oriented. Consciously or unconsciously, we all have a mental picture of what is ahead. “Without a vision, the people perish,” says Proverbs 29. What we see on the horizon shapes us! Inspires or depresses us. Influences our daily choices.

Isaiah faithfully predicts the “day of the Lord” as the ultimate horizon for all people. Fierce judgement for God’s enemies. Soul-satisfying reward for the righteous.

With great consistency Scripture points to this coming day. The end of the story will not be human success, human dominance. The last note in this great symphony will be God’s vindication, God’s glory.

“For that DAY belongs to the Lord of hosts, a day of vengeance, so as to avenge Himself on His foes”(Jeremiah 46:10).

“For behold, the DAY is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze”(Malachi 4:1).

“Many will say to me on that DAY, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name?’. . .and I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’ “(Matthew 7:22-23).

The Spirit and Scripture are certain! A great DAY of judgement (both wrath and reward) is coming. Do our children know this truth? Our grandchildren? Do our preachers help us to have and to hold this great vision? Dear one, may the Lord give us eyes to see the coming Day of the Lord.

“Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God?”(2 Peter 3:11-12).

July 4–Song of Solomon 7-8, Isaiah 1

” ‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says the Lord. . .’if you consent and obey, you will eat the best of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. Truly the mouth to the Lord has spoken’ “(Isaiah 1:18-19).

Sin is illogical. Sold to us with the promise of pleasure, it actually brings destruction. It is the worst decision! The most unreasonable of all choices.

The Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, understood this truth. Through the reigns of four kings, with Spirit-opened eyes, he saw a sin-damaged nation. “From the soul of the foot even to the head. . .only bruises, welts and raw wounds”(v 6). Crisis after crisis, God was disciplining Israel. Encountering only stubbornness, He was running out of places for further spanking.

“How is that working for you?” asks a famous modern talk-show counselor. When consequences came (nation overrun with foreign armies, cities burned with fire, hearts of fear and anxiety) shouldn’t Israel have considered the Spiritual cause?

They were unwilling to do so. “They have forsaken the Lord,” thundered the prophet in v. 4. Modern readers will recognize the similarity to our own nation.

With great kindness, the Lord summoned His people to a better path. “Come and reason,” He said. The Hebrew word is yakah, “to decide together, to judge.” With great patience and mercy, God called them (calls us) into union with Him. Into partnership. Into reverent conversation. The promised results for those who seek God, yield to God, are positive. Always.

What if the best way to celebrate July 4 is not a family picnic or a fireworks show? In a day of similar discipline on our nation, shouldn’t we prioritize God’s gracious call into relationship with Him?

Sin is irrational. The logical path is seek the Lord, His will, His friendship. “Come,” calls the Savior, still. “Let us decide the direction of your life together.”

“If a sparrow cannot fall without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?”(Ben Franklin).

“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord”(Acts 3:19).

July 3–Song of Solomon 1-6

“May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine”(1:2).

“My beloved is mine, and I am his”(2:16).

If you are puzzled reading the Song of Solomon, you are not alone.

It is a book with a long history. Many Jewish teachers regarded it as a picture and affirmation of conjugal love, a glorification of married sexual life, with all of its powerful attraction and satisfaction.

Through the centuries, however, other spiritually minded people have seen something different and deeper. To them, this book is primarily a narrative of God’s (the bridegroom) love for the church (His bride).

I recommend you view it both ways. Read it literally. Follow the story of a young shepherdess who catches the attention of King Solomon. Consider what it meant for her to accept/understand his attraction. To be loved by such a suitor! Listen as he promises to return to make her his bride. Learn to discern the various voices that tell the story. Sometimes the bride is speaking. Sometimes the bridegroom. Sometimes an unnamed chorus of observers.

Read it redemptively. Spiritually. Symbolically. Open your heart to a love (and a Lover) that you never imagined nor deserved. What would life/eternity be if this great King loved YOU?! Pursued YOU?! Desired YOU?!

At the center of the Universe is a LOVE STORY. God’s love for the human race. The Universe sings a song of great affection! Deep attraction! Of learning to submit and trust! May the Spirit of God use this book to guide us to the life-altering LOVE.

“Do you love me because I am beautiful or am I beautiful because you love me?” (Kate McGahan).

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such things; but that it should be holy and without blemish”(Ephesians 5:25-27).

July 2–Ecclesiastes 9-12

Dear friend, thank you for your interest in threepagesperday. I am grateful to have you near as we consider His excellent word together. As a reminder and encouragement, please be certain to read the words of Scripture before you consider my comments. Nothing substitutes for your own encounter with God’s word. Nothing! Thanks for joining me on this journey.

“For I have taken all this to my heart. . .wise men and their deeds are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him. It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked. . .this is an evil in all that is done under the sun”(9:1-3).

Two things seem unfair to Solomon. No matter how hard you work, or what you achieve, life can never be certain (there is no predicting or controlling it). The ONLY certainty is death. Solomon struggles to accept this truth. It is “evil”he mutters in frustration.

His is a common protest. An expression of pride, actually. Despite the malignant promises of the serpent, and the frenzied efforts of our own will, we cannot be like God. Not in what He knows. (See 11:5.) Not in permanence. (See 12:13.) We are not independent or self-sufficient. God is both.

Peace, therefore, can never be found in striving to be “more” than we were created to be. Peace comes in the humble and joyful union with God.

“He’s got the whole world in His hands.” In TRUST we find peace with being human. We are NOT in control. He is.

Years ago, I read the poem, Invictus, by William Ernest Henley. His words capture Solomon’s futile and proud struggle.

“Out of the night that covers me, black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul. . .It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”

Pride is a hard road. For Henley. For Solomon. Claiming independence we find only anxiety. Humility is better. “Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up”(James 4:10).

Dear one, are you struggling like Solomon or finding peace in the plans and hands of the Lord?

July 1–Ecclesiastes 4-8

“It is good that you grasp one thing and also not let go of the other; for the one who fears God comes forth with both”(7:18).

Some people don’t like Ecclesiastes. They avoid it. Life is depressing enough on its own. Who needs Solomon’s sadness?

Allowing our reluctance to engage in this emotionally complicated discussion, Solomon still urges us to listen. He calls himself “the Preacher”( 1:1). It’s a name taken from a Hebrew word that means “to gather an assembly”. Similar to the Greek word for church (ecclesia, thus Ecclesiastes, the English name for this book). Solomon isn’t just griping and groaning. He has a sermon. Something he wants to say. Something of value.

Humans (all of us) have a difficult and glorious assignment. We are created to be both material and Spiritual. Made of dust. Animated by God’s very breath (Spirit). Our lives make sense only when we embrace BOTH sides of our identity and hold them in proper balance/tension.

Material things matter! Family and friendship. Money and laughter. Professions and pleasures. All these give us context and joy. They are, however, insufficient reasons for life. Easily and often they become idols.

Our highest identity and assignment is Spiritual. It is a calling that requires focus and time. Solomon urges us to come into God’s presence with humility. “Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth; therefore, let your words be few” (5:2). Humble yourself. Wait. Do not rush this pursuit.

It is a beautiful balance we saw in our Lord. Up early to pray. Then later, the same day, out with crowds, teaching and healing. He did both, and He will teach us to do both, too!

“I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world”(Jesus, John 17:15-16).

“Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

June 30–Ecclesiastes 1-3

“All things are wearisome. . .the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear filled with hearing. . .that which has been is what will be. . .there is nothing new under the sun”(1:8-9).

A sad story. At the end of life, Solomon was an empty and discouraged man.

Ecclesiastes is his testimony. The sad report of “the wisest” man who ever lived! A reminder to us all. Human wisdom is VERY limited.

For all of his giftedness, Solomon drifted into a very negative space. He began to exclude God from the center. His priority shifted from revelation and faith to making sense of life,”under the sun” (i.e. with a primary focus on material things, human logic).

Like modern secularists, Solomon attempted to use only logic and science to understand the world and his place in it. Gradually, he lost interest/confidence in God as a basis for life.

Life does not work under these terms! Can’t. No satisfying answers can be found when the search is carried on “under the sun” (Under the umbrella of a material-only focus.) Without God, all things, family and friendships and achievements, eventually decay into “vanity”. Hebrew, hebel, “vapor, breath, something insubstantial, empty of permanent value”.

“If you try to live out Proverbs without Christ you get Ecclesiastes”(Andy De Hart).

Friend, do you have a place in your heart (in your schedule and priorities and thoughts) for invisible realities? Do you realize that you NEED God? Not only because it is right to praise Him, but because life does not WORK any other way?

“Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on the earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God”(Colossians 3:2-3).

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him and he with Me”(Revelation 3:20).

June 29–Proverbs 28-31

“A man who hardens his neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy”(29:1).

Godly reproof is a gift. It is evidence of love. (Please see yesterday’s blog.) Correction, however, is beneficial only when it is received. God’s grace comes to the humble, the repentant.

Proverbs 29 warns against “hardening of the neck”. Vivid picture. Stubborn mule. Doesn’t want to move forward. Resists the pressure to do so by stiffening his neck. Pulling back against the owner’s tugging rope. “Kicking against the goads,” is a similar Biblical phrase for this familiar and foolish obstinance. See Acts 26:14.

God is patient. Slow to anger. Even so, consequences eventually come to those who resist His will. A point-of-no-return is reached, and the threatened destruction suddenly comes. No further warnings given.

As Solomon wrote this proverb, I wonder if he thought of his father. Reproved by Nathan (2 Samuel 12), David received the correction with a humble heart and open confession. By humbling himself, David saved his kingdom and his soon-to-be-born son (Solomon). David did NOT harden his neck! Such wisdom!

Am I a stubborn mule? Proud? Hard to convince? Do I resist the Spirit? The “old man” in me does not submit to the Law of God. He is not able (and never will be able) to do so. See Romans 8:7.

Only as I walk in the Spirit do I receive the corrections of God with a soft and pliable heart. God reproves those He loves. Those who love Him listen and yield.

“He who conceals his transgression will not prosper; But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion” (Proverbs 28:13).

“Have Thine own way, Lord. Have Thine own way. Thou art the potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me after Thy will, while I am waiting yielded and still” (Adelaide Pollard).

June 28-Proverbs 25-27

“Like an earring of gold and an ornament of gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear”(25:12).

It is a gift of love. It can, however, be painful and has the potential to “go badly”. We, therefore, avoid it more often than we should. Scripture teaches us to reprove each other.

The Hebrew word is yakach. It means “to get in front of.” The current version of this idiom is, “to get in his face”.

“Judge not,” does not forbid every kind of moral discernment. “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk,” goes the modern proverb. Sincere love demands from us the courage to help each other correct moral mistakes, avoid moral dangers.

Reproof must be done with wisdom. Carefully. Without any hint of criticism or arrogance. “You who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted”(Galatians 6). Much prayer is required. The wise reprieve must deal first with his own arrogance and pride. “Take the beam out of your own eye, then deal with the speck in my brother’s eye,” said Jesus with considerable insight.

It must also be done with balance. Nine parts encouragement to one part reproof is a wise ratio. If a child (or a friend) only hears criticism, he will stop listening altogether.

Think of our Lord reproving the disciples for their unbelief (Matthew 8:26). Think of Him challenging Peter for his opposition to the cross (Matthew 16:22). Reproof isn’t the absence of love. It is often the proof of it.

Easier to stay silent? Yes. Required by genuine love? Yes.

“Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another”(27:17).

“All Scripture is inspired by God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work”(2 Timothy 3:16-17).