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Isaiah

We Don’t Need To Be Scared

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Even If It Is Halloween

As I write this, tomorrow is Halloween. There are a lot of scary decorations in yards and on houses as I drive through town. There are a lot of scary movies on TV. Kids will be dressing up in costumes and trick or treating. There will be scary sounds and scary things as they go from house to house.

 As scary as this can be, most people will know that there’s no real danger with these decorations and sounds…but it’s nice to know there are others close by that have our backs.

As scary as Halloween is, there is something else that’s scarier.

In Matthew 10:28 we are told, “Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the soul. Instead, be afraid of the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell.” We should be afraid of Satan. Matthew goes on in verse 31 and tells us, “Don’t be afraid…”

We have Christ’s protection available to us every day. If we acknowledge Jesus before people, He will acknowledge us before our Father in heaven. But if we deny Christ, He will also deny us before God. (Matthew 10:32-33)

As a parent you’ve probably had situations where your kids are hounding you about something. You tell them no. They keep asking and asking. You continue to tell them no.

Then comes the question…why?

And the answer…

Because I said so!

This is because you as the parents know more than them as the kids.

This is the same thing Jesus tells us. He knows more than we do.

As we’ve been going through Isaiah, we’ve heard him warning the people and telling them what to expect if they don’t quit doing the things they are doing. As scary as this is, they don’t seem to be taking it seriously.

He goes on to tell them the peace they can have if they believe and change.

It can be hard to believe if we don’t have proof. These people were being told to believe something and they didn’t have any proof…yet. We do.

In Isaiah 61:1-2, we see what Isaiah told the people they could expect from Christ. The Lord’s spirit is upon Him. He was sent “to bring good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim release for captives, and liberation for prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and a day of vindication for our God, to comfort all who mourn…”

In Luke 4:14-21, Jesus has returned to Nazareth, where He had grown up. One Sabbath when He was at the synagogue, He was given the book of Isaiah to read from. He unrolled the scroll and read:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me to preach good news to the poor,
    to proclaim release to the prisoners
    and recovery of sight to the blind,
    to liberate the oppressed,
    and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

He sat down and everyone was looking at Him. He told them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled just as you heard it.”

Like little kids we’re continually asking why. Why is this so hard? Why did this bad thing happen? Why…

And the answer…

Because Jesus said so.

The world can be a scary place. It doesn’t have to be. Jesus is our protector. We need to trust Him. He knows more than us.

Remember to Say Thank You

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We Take Gifts for Granted

We are surrounded by blessings. We can get so used to them as a part of life that we forget to be thankful. We need to slow down and be intentional about seeing the blessings and being grateful.

As we have been going through the book of Isaiah, we have seen how the people were warned of the impending disaster if they didn’t change their ways. But there is hope if they do. (This is pretty much the message throughout the Bible.)

Isaiah spells it out for the people.

What you’re doing is wrong. If you change, the punishment won’t come. If you don’t, it will.

In Chapters 40 – 52 there is a message of hope. This is the hope of the coming Messiah and the price He will pay for our deserved punishment. Isaiah tells them in Chapter 53, verses 1-9 what’s going to happen 600 years in the future.

Who can believe what we have heard? He possessed no splendid form for us to see, no desirable appearance. He was despised and avoided by others; a man who suffered, who knew sickness well. Like someone from whom people hid their faces, he was despised.

 It was certainly our sickness that he carried, and our sufferings that he bore, but we thought him afflicted, struck down by God and tormented. He was pierced because of our rebellions and crushed because of our crimes. He bore the punishment that made us whole; by his wounds we are healed. Like sheep we had all wandered away, each going its own way, but the Lord let fall on him all our crimes.

He was oppressed and tormented, but didn’t open his mouth. Like a lamb being brought to slaughter, like a ewe silent before her shearers, he didn’t open his mouth. Due to an unjust ruling he was taken away, He was eliminated from the land of the living, struck dead because of my people’s rebellion. His grave was among the wicked, his tomb with evildoers, though he had done no violence, and had spoken nothing false.

Even though this had not happened yet, it was being told by Isaiah as though it had already happened.

Granted, it might be hard to believe someone telling you things that hadn’t happened yet. We have no excuse, because it did happen, just like Isaiah said it would.

We need to remember to say thank You for this gift that we have been given by Jesus.

We say thank You by accepting it.

The World is Full of Miracles

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Why Do We Overlook Them?

John the Baptist was put in prison by Herod for sharing the message of Jesus. John had spent his whole life declaring the message of the coming Messiah. As he was trapped there in prison, he may have been having second thoughts about this. Had he got this wrong? Was Jesus really the Messiah?

While he was in prison, John sent two of his disciples to Jesus to find out. When they went to Jesus, they found Him curing people who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirts. Also, he was giving sight to many who were blind. (Luke 7:21)

They asked Jesus, “Are You the one who’s coming, or should we look for someone else?” (Luke 7:20)

He answered them, “Go back, and tell John what you have seen and heard:

Blind people see again, lame people are walking, those with skin diseases are made clean, deaf people hear again, dead people are brought back to life, and poor people hear the Good News.” (Luke 7:18-23)

Jesus was telling these disciples and John the things they had been taught. These things had been predicted in Isaiah.  

Last week we looked at Isaiah telling us about the Messiah in chapter 9. Between chapter 9 and chapter 34, Isaiah is telling the people of the harsh judgement to come. That’s a lot of chapters about what the people can expect because of how they have been living.

In chapter 34, Isaiah switches it up.

He goes back to the message of hope for restoration.

He tells the people that God is coming. Deserts will become green. The Lord will display His glory. He is coming to strengthen those who have tired hands and encourage those who have weak knees. He will say to those with fearful hearts,

“Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.”

And when He comes, this is what it will look like:

“He will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland. The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived.” (Isaiah 35:1-10)

These miracles that Isaiah predicted happened.

We’ve heard of these miracles that Jesus did. The Bible is full of examples of Jesus performing miracles.

Miracles just happened in the Bible though…right? Wrong.

The world around us is full of miracles. It’s nothing but miracles.

Miracles don’t have to be some miraculous healing (not that they can’t be). Doctors, nurses and medicine are miracles. Technology that allows us to communicate virtually with people around the world is a miracle. The fact that the sun comes up right on schedule every morning, as it has for thousands of years, is a miracle.

I think Albert Einstein summarized it will when he said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

The world is a miracle full of miracles. We just need to open our eyes and see them.

We’re All Given a Name

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And He Shall Be Called…

What’s in a name? This is a question that is often not given much thought. I know I haven’t given much thought to what my first name means or why I was named Mark. I just know who I am.

However, my middle name is Eugene which was my dad’s middle name. This name I’ve thought about. I am proud of this name. It’s also who I am. I’ve shared this name with my oldest son.

The reasons names are given to people by parents are all over the map. There are family names. People named after singers, actors, characters in movies, TV shows or books. Or maybe they are just a clever “play on word” name. Some of them make me scratch my head, “What were these parents thinking?”

I’ve known people, for whatever reason, didn’t like their names.

How do you feel about your name?

Are you living out who you were named to be?

In the Bible we find people named for a variety of reasons. Many of these were significant.

For example:

  • Moses means drawn from the water, son, deliverer – this is a pretty accurate description of who he was and who he became.
  • Abraham means father of a multitude – it started as Abram which just means father until God changed it to Abraham.
  • Jacob means grasping the heal – which is what happened when he was born. It also means deceiver, underminer and sneaky. All of which he was.
  • Benjamin was originally named Benoni by his dying mother which means son of my trouble or sorrow. After his mother died, Jacob changed it to Benjamin which means son of my right hand. This second name seems to be a more positive name.

Isaiah tells us that God named his first son Shear-jashub – a remnant will return (Isaiah 7:3). This was looking to the future and what they could expect in the future. God gave Isaiah’s second son the name Maher-shalal-hash-baz – swift to plunder and quick to carry away (Isaiah 8:1-4). This is what they could expect first.

Isaiah followed up with a message of hope in chapter 9 verses 2-7. He tells them about the Messiah. That darkness and despair will not last forever.

He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

These names mean – there will be restoration, going back to the way things were in the beginning.

Names mean something.

In Exodus 3, Moses encounters the burning bush. When he goes to take a closer look, God called to him. Moses answered, “Here I am.”

I don’t know about you, but if a burning bush called my name…I’m not sure that I wouldn’t have turned and run.

But Moses stayed and it’s good that he did.

God went on to say, I am the God of your father – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” (Exodus 3:6) God went on to tell Moses to go rescue the Israelites from the Egyptians. But Moses protested and said, “Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”

God told Moses that He would be with him. Moses still pushed back and didn’t feel that he could do this.

Don’t we all feel like this when God calls us to do something that we feel uncomfortable doing.

Moses asked God, if I tell the people that the God of their ancestors has sent me, they will ask, “What is his name? Then what am I to tell them?”

God replied to Moses, “I Am who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations.”

This name says it all. It tells us who God is and who He will always be.

Where Does Our Arrogance Come From?

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It Comes from Our Humanity

The ability as humans to think and plan sets us apart. The tendency is to assume we have everything all figured out. This power of choice that we’ve been given can lead to arrogance.

The further we get from God, the more arrogant we become.

In chapter seven of Isaiah, King Ahaz of Judah is freaking out that they are going to be attacked by Isreal with the help of Syria. God told Isaiah to go to King Ahaz and tell him to stop worrying. The Lord promised that this wasn’t going to happen.

He said, “But, if you don’t trust me, you will be defeated.”

King Ahaz was afraid to test God. Then Isaiah said, “Listen, every one of you in the royal family of David. You have already tried my patience. Now you are trying God’s patience by refusing to ask for proof. But the Lord will still give you proof. A virgin is pregnant; she will have a son and will name him Immanuel. Even before the boy is old enough to know how to choose between right and wrong, he will eat yogurt and honey, and the countries of the two kings you fear will be destroyed. But the Lord will make more trouble for your people and your kingdom than any of you have known since Israel broke away from Judah. He will even bring the king of Assyria to attack you.” (Isaiah 7:1-17)

We see humanity’s arrogance throughout the Bible. It started in the Garden of Eden and continues today. We are given free will and we abuse it. Then we beg for forgiveness. We do better for a little while and then…we abuse it again.

We get cocky and think we know what’s best.

Just like King Ahaz was given the opportunity to trust God, we are given this opportunity. This is why God sent His Son to earth. To pay for our mistakes. But we must choose to trust God. This makes us feel like we’re giving up control and we don’t like giving up control.

It doesn’t have to be one or the other.

It’s about making the right choice.

Just like the virgin birth of Jesus was a miracle…so is our ability to be who we are intended to be even if we choose to follow Jesus.

God can do anything…He is God. The supernatural is natural to God.

Our humanity comes from God, it’s up to us to remember this and not become arrogant, thinking we’re more than we are.