When God sends out His Word

Isaiah 55-57 When God sends out His Word, He sends it with a promise; "My Word... will not come back to Me without results, but it will accomplish whatever I want and achieve whatever I send it to do" (Isaiah 55:11). The Lord is looking out. He's looking beyond those who are already worshipping Him. …

Let the light of Christ shine.

Season of Epiphany: Epiphany of the Lord – Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12 Let the light of Christ shine. ‘Arise, shine; for your Light has come... the Lord will be your everlasting Light’ (Isaiah 60:1, 19-20). Jesus Christ is ‘the Light of the world’. When we ‘follow Him’, we ‘will not …

Full salvation

Gen 3:10–15, Isa 64:6, Rom 10:11, 2 Cor 5:21, 1 John 1:9 Through Christ's Death On The Cross, God Has Provided For Us A Full Salvation! Having chosen the way of sin, we are ‘naked’ and ashamed (Genesis 3:10). The Gospel teaches us that ‘there’s a way back to God from the dark paths of …

When the enemy shall come in like a flood

1 Kings 16:29-18:16 Things were getting desperate: ‘Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him’ (1 Kings 16:33). What did God do about this? How did He respond to this situation? God sent His prophet, a man who would stand …

There is only one Foundation for our faith.

Isaiah 28:1–22 There is only one Foundation for our faith - Jesus Christ. Build your life on Christ, the solid Rock. Jesus Christ is 'the precious Cornerstone'. He is 'the sure Foundation' (16). Jesus is the Name of our salvation - 'Salvation is found in no-one else...there is no other name...by which we must be …

Called to be holy

"Be holy, because I am holy" (Leviticus 11:44). The call to holiness - where does it come from? Does it come from the church? Does it come from the preachers? or Are we to look beyond the church and the preachers? Are we to look to the God of perfect holiness? God calls us to …

Isaiah

ISAIAH 1:1-31  –  God invites us to ‘come’ to Him and receive salvation – ‘though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow’. He also warns us – there will be judgment ‘if you refuse and rebel’ (18-20). God speaks to us of His great purpose of salvation: ‘God did not …

Whiter than snow

"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18). As I was thinking about the wonder of God's forgiveness, my thoughts turned to the gospel song, "What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus." We ask our question - "What can wash away my sin?" God …

I’ll not forget you.

“The Lord has forsaken me,  the Lord has forgotten me.’ (Isaiah 49:14).Sometimes, this is what we say to ourselves. “I will not forget you!” (Isaiah 49:15).Always, this is what the Lord says to us. Here's a song of faith, hope and encouragement. Before you watch the video, you should read the lyrics. You will read about Sarah and …

Our God reigns.

"Your God reigns" (Isaiah 52:7). This is the encouraging message that comes to us from the prophet, Isaiah. Let's bring our song of praise to the Lord - Our God reigns. https://youtu.be/_lQRmFXNA2Q

Read the written Word of God – and feed on Christ, God’s living Word.

"These also who erred in spirit will come to understanding, and those who complained will learn doctrine." (Isaiah 29:24). Before there can be a change in our way of living, there needs to be a change in our way of thinking. This is a change which comes to us through our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Jesus, God's …

Weak in ourselves, strong in the Lord – this is meekness, and it is blessed by the Lord.

"The meek shall increase their joy in the Lord" (Isaiah 29:19).  "Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth" (Numbers 12:3). "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5). The work "meek" rhymes with the word, "weak" - but the two words are …

Where are you?

"Where are you?" (Genesis 3:9).Everything had started out so well, It was such a promising beginning. Then something went wrong, something serious, something that changed everything. What does God do about it, when things start going wrong? He starts looking for us. Why is He looking for us? It's because He loves us.Jesus tells us …

A remnant: The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

"For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and those who escape from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this" (Isaiah 37:32). A remnant - When Isaiah was called by God to the prophetic  ministry, he was given a warning. He was told that only a small minority of his hearers would respond …

Be still

"Their strength is to sit still" (Isaiah 30:7). When I read these words, my thoughts turned to two other verses of Scripture: "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10); "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord" (Exodus 14:13). How wonderful it is to know that God is God - and …

It’s spreading.

"He led me through water that was ankle-deep ... 4 He led me through water that was knee-deep ... He led me through water that was up to the waist. 5 Now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in – a river that no one could …

The Lord’s “strong hand” is the strong hand of his love.

"For the Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people" (Isaiah 8:11). We tend to think of God, leading us by his loving hand. Here, we read about his "strong hand." What we must understand, if we are to be led by the …

A Light To The Nations

Isaiah 49:1-13  God is calling us to listen to Him, and to pay attention to what He says to us (Isaiah 49:1). He's calling us to be His torches. We're to shine for Him - "I will also make you a light to the nations" (Isaiah 49:6). What kind of light are we to be? …

The promise of God’s blessing

Isaiah 63:1-65:16; Ephesians 4:17-5:7; Psalm 112:1-10 The cry of God’s people: “Oh that You would rend the heavens and come down … to make Your Name known to your enemies” (Isaiah 64:1). The promise of God’s blessing: “I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did …

I Will Sing.

“I will sing for the one I love” (Isaiah 5:1). Isaiah speaks here of our love for God. When we speak of our love for God, we must always remember this: God’s love for us comes before our love for Him. We sing to the One who has loved us. The song we sing to Him …

A debtor to mercy alone

"The older son shall be the servant of the younger son" (Genesis 25:23). Grace isn't defined by human expectations. Human wisdom gives priority to the older son. God chooses the younger son, Jacob - to carry forward his great plan of salvation. Why did God choose Jacob? Was Jacob better than Esau? We won't find …

Never to be forgotten

In 1996, Willie McDonald died at the age of ninety. I had only known him for a short time. I will always remember him as a man who loved the Lord deeply. He was small of stature, but he was a man of “strength”: real, spiritual strength (Psalm 90:10). He was “strong in the Lord”, …

Salvation comes before service.

We do not begin with the question, "What are we to do for God?" We begin with the question, "What has God done for us?" Grateful to the Lord for all that he has done for us, we give ourselves to him, committing ourselves to a life of serving him. Here, we highlight the vital …

Revised Common Lectionary – Year B: First Sunday of Advent – Isaiah 64:1-9; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37

Revised Common Lectionary Year B - First Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 64:1-9; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37 Jesus Christ is God’s Answer to our prayer. We confess our sins to God - ‘We sinned... All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy …

I am the Lord your God who teaches you what is best for you.

Isaiah 48:1-22  ‘I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go’ (Isaiah 48:17). God knows what is best for us. He helps us to say, ‘As for God, His way is perfect’ (Job 23:10; 2 Samuel 22:31). How does God help …

Remembering the Lord, rejoicing in Him and looking forward to His return

Easter Sunday Evening: Isaiah 25:6-9; Psalm 114; 1 Corinthians 5:6b-8; Luke 24:13-49 Remembering the Lord, rejoicing in Him and looking forward to His return ‘O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your Name... You have done marvellous things’ (Isaiah 25:1). We remember what God has done for us. He sent …

As the waters cover the sea

“As the waters cover the sea”: These words come from the Old Testament prophets, Isaiah and Habakkuk. Isaiah says this: “The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (11:9). Habakkuk adds something else. He speaks about being “filled with the knowledge of the glory of the …

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time: Isaiah 8:23-9:3; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13,17; Matthew 4:12-23 "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light" (Isaiah 9:2). The prophecy has been spoken - ‘To us a Child is born, to us a Son is given...’. The prophecy has been fulfilled - ‘Today in the town of David …

Special Days – All Saints: Revelation 7:9-17 or Isaiah 51:1-6; Psalm 34:1-10, 22; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12

Looking at things with Christ’s eyes Christ invites us to ‘come’ (Revelation 6:1, 3, 5, 7) - and look at things through His eyes. With Him, we look at earth. With Him, we look at heaven. Troubled world, tremendous worship - These are the things we see when we look through the eyes of our …

Seek the Lord while He may be found.

Isaiah 55:1-13   The Word of God is spoken - ‘Seek the Lord while He may be found...’ (Isaiah 55:6-7). No one seems to be listening. What are we to do? We must remember God’s promise: ‘My Word will not return to Me empty’ (Isaiah 55:11). We do not see all that God is doing. He …

Thank You, Lord, For Jesus, Our Saviour.

We thank You, Lord, that You have given to us words of prophecy, wonderful words that point us to Jesus Christ, crucified for us - ‘the Lord has laid all our sins on Him’ - and risen from the dead - ‘After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life’ (Isaiah …

Looking back and looking forward

Special Days – Remembrance Day: Isaiah 25:1-9; Psalm 20; Revelation 22:1-5; Matthew 5:38-48 Looking back and looking forward ‘O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your Name... You have done marvellous things’ (Isaiah 25:1). We remember what God has done for us. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be …

There’s one thing that doesn’t change. It’s the love of God.

Isaiah 54:1-17‘The Lord’ is not only ‘the Holy One of Israel’. He is ‘the God of the whole earth’ (Isaiah 54:5). The Gospel is for ‘all nations’. The ministry of Christ’s apostles began in ‘Jerusalem’, but it did not end there. The Gospel was to be taken ‘to the ends of the earth’ (Luke 24:46-47; Acts …

There are better things to come.

"See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered,  nor will they come to mind" (Isaiah 65:17). "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth ...  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God ...  He will wipe …

The Highway Of Holiness

"The Highway of Holiness" (Isaiah 35:8) - It's  the highway of the heart. It's the highway of hope. It's the highway to heaven.   * Holiness is more than external conformity to a set of moral teachings. Holiness begins to grow in us when our hearts belong to Jesus, when Jesus lives in us. * Holiness …

The coming Saviour and the coming Kingdom

Isaiah 10 speaks of a divine judgment, in which the only “survivors” will be those who “depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 10:20). Isaiah 11 contains a Messianic prophecy. These are words, which point forward to our Saviour, Jesus Christ. They are words of the coming Kingdom (Isaiah 11:1-10). Isaiah 12 …

Lift Up Your Eyes!

Isaiah 26:1-4 "Trust in the Lord forever .... the Lord is an everlasting rock!" (Isaiah 26:4). Forever, everlasting - We must never lose sight of this eternal perspective.

Think of God’s faithfulness – and count your blessings.

Comfort (Isaiah 40:1) - This comes from God's great faithfulness (Lamentations 3:23). In our past, present and future, we see the faithfulness of God - "His mercies never end. They are new every morning" (Lamentations 3:22-23). Think of God's faithfulness, and "count your blessings." Think of this, that and the other blessing (good things in …

When God looks upon us, he cannot see beyond this – he loves us.

"Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. 8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. 9 “As …

Be still … Sit still … Stand still …

Following a post in which I quoted from Isaiah 30:7 - "Their strength is to sit still", I was asked for some comment on the rest of the chapter. Here are some comments on Isaiah 30:15-16 - ‘In returning and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none …

The Lord is exalted, but He is also the God who draws near to us.

Isaiah 43:1-44:23; Galatians 3:26-4:20; Psalm 108:1-5 What a majestic description of God we have in Isaiah 44:6 – “This is what the Lord says – Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty; I am the First and I am the Last; apart from Me there is no God.” This is the God to whom we pray, “Be …

Prophecy, looking forward to Christ’s resurrection and His return (Isaiah 25:6-9)

Here, we have prophecy, looking forward to Christ's resurrection and His return. We look back to His resurrection - and we look forward to his return. We have "the foretaste of glory divine" - but we still look forward to the complete fulfilment of God's promises: "He will destroy" (Isaiah 25:7-8), "On that day, it …

From Good Friday to Easter Friday (14): In the prophet’s words, we hear the Word of love, eternal love, the love of God.

Welcome to the fourteenth stage of our journey from Good Friday to Easter Sunday: In the prophet's words, we hear the Word of love, eternal love, the love of God. Isaiah 55 The Lord says, “Come, everyone who is thirsty—    here is water!Come, you that have no money—    buy grain and eat!Come! Buy wine and milk—    it will cost you …

Light in the darkness

"Your Word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105). Without the Word of the Lord, we're stumbling around in the dark; We're trying to make sense of life, but it's not quite working, There's something missing. The Word of the Lord comes to us. It brings light into …

G. C. Berkouwer On “Election And The Hiddenness Of God”

In his discussion, "Election and the Hiddenness of God" in Divine Election (Chapter Four, pp.102-131), G. C. Berkouwer emphasizes that God's hiddenness is not to be set over against His salvation. He rejects a concept of God's hiddenness which "separates the God of revelation from our lives and mitigates the absolute trustworthiness of that revelation" …

Waiting on the Lord

Wednesday in Holy Week: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 70; Hebrews 12:1-3; John 13:21-32 Waiting on the Lord, witnessing for Him and winning others for Him ‘The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him that is weary. He wakens me morning …

“If you do not stand firm in your faith… “

"If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all" (Isaiah 7:9). When I read those words, I found myself thinking, "That's a bit depressing." Our faith is never all that it could or should be. Sometimes, our faith seems to be strong. At other times, our faith is very …

Patience and pride – There’s a big difference between the two.

"The end of a thing is better than its beginning; the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit" (Ecclesiastes 7:8). We are to wait patiently on the Lord (Isaiah 40:31; Psalm 40:1). The emphasis is on the Lord - not ourselves.  Pride says, "I don't need the Lord. I'll do things my way."  Teach us, …

You get nothing for nothing … ?

"You get nothing for nothing. You only get what you pay for." Is this cynicism - or realism? Let's think together about something else - something that lifts us above all of this - the love of God, the grace of God, the mercy of God, the gift of God, the peace of God, the …

Teach Us, Lord, To Pray For Revival In This Generation.

‘Awake, awake!... O arm of the Lord; awake, as in days gone by... The ransomed of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them... I am the Lord your God... I have put My words in your mouth...’ (Isaiah 51:9,11,15-16). Teach …

Giving glory to the Lord …

"Let them give glory to the Lord" (Isaiah 42:12). Giving glory to the Lord - this is what life is all about. If we fail to see this, we have missed the point of life. How are we to give glory to him? Is this just about singing songs of praise to him? No! It's more …

Waiting on the Lord isn’t easy …

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.30 Even youths grow tired and weary,     and young men stumble and fall; 31 but …

Praying Through God’s Word: Isaiah

Isaiah 1:1-31 We thank You, Lord, that You invite us to “come” to You and receive salvation – “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” Along with Your promise, there is also Your warning: “if you refuse and rebel … ” (Isaiah 1:18-20). You call us to believe in …

Make Sure That You Belong To Christ.

Praying through God's Word: Isaiah 65:13-66:4 Help us, Lord, to see clearly the great contrast between those who belong to Christ - ‘My servants will sing out of the joy of their hearts’ - and those who have refused to come to Christ for salvation - ‘You will cry out from anguish of heart and …

The Word and the words (15): The way to the Father … the way of love and holiness … the way to heaven

“Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later " (John 13:36). "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go …

Lord – give us strength. Give us your strength.

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; …

Link to Rev James Philip’s notes on Isaiah

Isaiah

Finding Christ in the Old Testament

At the heart of the Old Testament, there's a remarkable prophecy concerning Jesus Christ, our Saviour. It's found in Isaiah 53. When we read these words of Isaiah, it almost seems to us that these words were written after the death and resurrection of Christ. The remarkable thing about Isaiah's words is this: they were …

With God, we shall gain the victory.

Isaiah 44:24-46:13; Galatians 4:21-5:6; Psalm 108:6-13 “I am the Lord, and there is no other” – This truth is repeated several times over in this part of Isaiah (Isaiah 48:5-6,14,18,21-22; Isaiah 46:9). The contrast, in Isaiah, is between God and the gods. The contrast, in Galatians, is between Christ’s salvation and other ways of salvation (Galatians …

With God, we shall gain the victory.

Isaiah 44:24-46:13; Galatians 4:21-5:6; Psalm 108:6-13 “I am the Lord, and there is no other” - This truth is repeated several times over in this part of Israel (Isaiah 48:5-6,14,18,21-22; Isaiah 46:9). The contrast, in Isaiah, is between God and the gods. The contrast, in Galatians, is between Christ’s salvation and other ways of salvation …