The readings for today are;
Psalm 89 An Ethan Prayer
Isaiah 46 This Is Serious Business, Rebels
Isaiah 47
The Party's Over
You're Acting Like the Center of the Universe
Isaiah 48 Tested in the Furnace of Affliction
Philippians 4:2-13
Pray About Everything
Content Whatever the Circumstances
Thursday, July 23
Psalm 89:1-8
Isaiah 46:1-48:6; Philippians 4:2-13
The Lord will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage.
Psalm 94:14
God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Romans 11:2
Loving One, you know us better than we know ourselves and yet you continue to
love and care for us. How can we possibly thank you for all that you have done
for us through your son, Jesus Christ, our Savior? Lead us to live lives that
reflect our gratitude toward you. Amen.
Verses that caught my attention....spoke to my heart or make me see God's character clearly!!
Isaiah 46
4I've been carrying you on my back ( oooh Lord thank You so much...sorry for the times i was so heavy with all the burdens and extra weight)
from the day you were born,
And I'll keep on carrying you when you're old.
I'll be there, bearing you when you're old and gray.
I've done it and will keep on doing it,
carrying you on my back, saving you.( Lord you are so faithfull in keeping your word to me what a trust worthy father are you Lord)
5-7"So to whom will you compare me, the Incomparable? ( I can't compare you Lord!!)
Can you picture me without reducing me? ( Your so right father and wise.....)
People with a lot of money
hire craftsmen to make them gods.
The artisan delivers the god,
and they kneel and worship it!
They carry it around in holy parades,
then take it home and put it on a shelf.
And there it sits, day in and day out,
a dependable god, always right where you put it.
Say anything you want to it, it never talks back.
Of course, it never does anything either!
8-11"Think about this. Wrap your minds around it.
This is serious business, rebels.( Father i don't want to be an rebel!!) Take it to heart.
Remember your history,( Yes i remember you carry methrough deserts...,water and fires.....you dust me of and polish me up...Thank You Lord)
your long and rich history.
I am God, the only God you've had or ever will have—
incomparable, irreplaceable—
From the very beginning
telling you what the ending will be,
All along letting you in
on what is going to happen,
Assuring you, 'I'm in this for the long haul,
I'll do exactly what I set out to do,'
Calling that eagle, Cyrus, out of the east,
from a far country the man I chose to help me.
I've said it, and I'll most certainly do it.
I've planned it, so it's as good as done.( Father keep my eyes clear on You in my history and every day of my Life)
12-13"Now listen to me:
You're a hardheaded bunch and hard to help.( please Lord don't give up on me mold me form me..........break through this head!!)
I'm ready to help you right now. ( ooooh Father Yes come to my help to my rescue deliver me from myself....)
Deliverance is not a long-range plan.
Salvation isn't on hold.
I'm putting salvation to work in Zion now,
and glory in Israel."
Isaiah 47
4-13Our Redeemer speaks,
named God-of-the-Angel-Armies, The Holy of Israel:
"Shut up and get out of the way,
daughter of Chaldeans.
You'll no longer be called
'First Lady of the Kingdoms.'
I was fed up with my people,
thoroughly disgusted with my progeny.
I turned them over to you,
but you had no compassion.
You put old men and women
to cruel, hard labor.
You said, 'I'm the First Lady.
I'll always be the pampered darling.'
You took nothing seriously, took nothing to heart,
never gave tomorrow a thought.
Well, start thinking, playgirl.
You're acting like the center of the universe,
Smugly saying to yourself, 'I'm Number One. There's nobody but me.
I'll never be a widow, I'll never lose my children.'
Those two things are going to hit you both at once,
suddenly, on the same day:
Spouse and children gone, a total loss,
despite your many enchantments and charms.
You were so confident and comfortable in your evil life,
saying, 'No one sees me.'
You thought you knew so much, had everything figured out.
What delusion!
Smugly telling yourself, 'I'm Number One. There's nobody but me.'
Ruin descends—
you can't charm it away.
Disaster strikes—
you can't cast it off with spells.
Catastrophe, sudden and total—
and you're totally at sea, totally bewildered!
But don't give up. From your great repertoire
of enchantments there must be one you haven't yet tried.
You've been at this a long time.
Surely something will work.
I know you're exhausted trying out remedies,
but don't give up.
Call in the astrologers and stargazers.
They're good at this. Surely they can work up something!
14-15"Fat chance. You'd be grasping at straws
that are already in the fire,
A fire that is even now raging.
Your 'experts' are in it and won't get out.
It's not a fire for cooking venison stew,
not a fire to warm you on a winter night!
That's the fate of your friends in sorcery, your magician buddies
you've been in cahoots with all your life.
They reel, confused, bumping into one another.
None of them bother to help you." ( Father i thank you so much that you make me see things cleary...........I prayed and prayed for my oppressors my daily enemies to take care of them to free me out of there hands..........You had also a plan for them just as for me.Your such a loving God but always honest ......)
Part of Isaiah 48
Tested in the Furnace of Affliction
1-11 "And now listen to this, family of Jacob,
you who are called by the name Israel:
Who got you started in the loins of Judah,
you who use God's name to back up your promises
and pray to the God of Israel?
But do you mean it?
Do you live like it?
You claim to be citizens of the Holy City;
you act as though you lean on the God of Israel,
named God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
For a long time now, I've let you in on the way I work:
I told you what I was going to do beforehand,
then I did it and it was done, and that's that.
I know you're a bunch of hardheads,
obstinate and flint-faced,....................You've never been good listeners to me.
You have a history of ignoring me,
A sorry track record of fickle attachments—
rebels from the womb.
But out of the sheer goodness of my heart,
because of who I am,
I keep a tight rein on my anger and hold my temper.
I don't wash my hands of you.
Do you see what I've done?
I've refined you, but not without fire.
I've tested you like silver in the furnace of affliction.
Out of myself, simply because of who I am, I do what I do.
I have my reputation to keep up.
I'm not playing second fiddle to either gods or people.