God's Word For Every Day

Psalm 136:1-26   ‘His love endures for ever’. This is the great message contained in every single verse of this Psalm. It’s a message worth repeating – over and over again! God’s love is an everlasting love – ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love’ ( Jeremiah 31:3 ). God’s love is an unfailing love – ‘My unfailing love for you will not be shaken’ ( Isaiah 54:10 ). Let us ‘give thanks’ to God for His love ( Psalm 136:1-3 , 26 ). In His love, the Lord has provided for us ‘an everlasting salvation’. His ‘salvation will last for ever’ ( Isaiah 45:17 ; Isaiah 51:6 ). We must not be like those who refuse to love the Lord – ‘Pharaoh… great kings… mighty kings …’ ( Psalm 136:15 , 17-20 ). Those who reject God’s love will not receive ‘eternal life’. Their future will be very different – the ‘raging fire that will consume the enemies of God’ ( John 3:16-18 ; Hebrews 10:26-27 ).

Isaiah 7:1-25 We thank You, Lord, that Jesus, Your Son, is “Immanuel” – “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). We look forward to the Second Coming of Immanuel: “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them” (Revelation 21:3). When our thoughts turn to the Return of Christ, may we think of His urgent call to faith: “When the Son of man comes, will He find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8). Lord, give us strength to “stand firm in our faith”, to “believe and be saved” (Isaiah 7:9; Hebrews 10:37-39).

There is a great contrast between the true God and false gods (Isaiah 31). God brings great blessing into our lives. He does this through the gift of the Holy spirit – “the Spirit is poured upon us from on high” (Isaiah 32:14). In Him, we receive “peace” (Isaiah 32:18). In Him, we receive “the riches of salvation”, which “are wisdom and knowledge” (Isaiah 33:6). We look away from ourselves in “the fear of the Lord.” We find our “treasure” in “the Lord” – “our Judge, our Lawgiver, our King, our Saviour” (Isaiah 33:6,22).

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" (p. 125). Even in confessing God's salvation, faith acknowledges that it does not know everything about God (pp. 120-121, especially  the reference to Isaiah 45:15 - " Truly You are a God who has been hiding Himself,  the God and Saviour of Israel."). Although our knowledge of God in Christ is confessed to be true and reliable, we must not presume upon complete knowledge (p. 124 - especially the reference to John 14:9 - "He who has seen Me has seen the Father."). The attempt to attain to complete knowledge is admonished for its spiritual pride, when Christ speaks of these things which...

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty” (Isaiah 6:3); “Your sins are forgiven” (Isaiah 6:7). “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I am the worst of them” (1 Timothy 1:15). — Awesome holiness: It was my sin which sent Christ to the Cross. Amazing love: Christ has taken my sin to the Cross. I receive His forgiveness.

Isaiah 12:1-6 "God is my salvation ... He has become my salvation ... You will joyfully draw water from the springs of salvation" (Isaiah 12:2-3). To understand the full meaning of salvation, we must look beyond Isaiah, the prophet, to Jesus, the Saviour. The prophets can take us so far - and no further. When they have said all that they have to say, there is more to be said and done. There is One who must come, after all the prophets have spoken all their words. There is Jesus, our Saviour. He is our Saviour. He becomes our Saviour. We drink His living water - His salvation.

“The Lord will save us” (Isaiah 25:9). This is our hope, as we await the “Day” of the Lord. This our cause for joy and gladness. Death shall not triumph over us. Our hope is in the Lord – “He will swallow up death in victory” (Isaiah 25:8). The message of the Gospel comes to us as a declaration of God’s saving power – “The Lord, the Lord alone, is an everlasting Rock.” It comes to us as a call to put our faith in the Lord – “Trust in the Lord always.” In the Lord, there is “everlasting strength” (Isaiah 26:4). In our “pain”, we receive strength from the Lord. It is the strength which comes from knowing that, beyond our present suffering, there is eternal life (Isaiah 26:18-19). As we consider how great our God is and how much He has loved us and done for us, we “will come and worship” Him, giving all the praise and glory to Him (Isaiah 27:13).

Isaiah speaks, prophetically, of the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, who is also known as “Immanuel” (“God is with us”) (Isaiah 7:14).  “God is with us” - These words are spoken to God’s people in every situation of our life (Isaiah 8:10). Isaiah’s prophetic message concerns the transformation which brings “glory”, where there is “gloom”: “But there will be no more gloom ... But in the future He will bring glory” (Isaiah 9:1). This “glory” comes through our “Wonderful” Saviour, who is the “Mighty God” (Isaiah 9:6). In Him, we have “peace”, “wise counsel” and “everlasting” life. Praise God! To Him be the glory! He has brought us to know Himself, as our Father, through Christ, His Beloved Son. What will it mean, for us , to know God? It will mean being changed by Him. He is teaching us to walk with Him. He is teaching us to follow Jesus. He is teaching us “to refuse the evil, and choose the good” (Isaiah 7:15). Standing upon the promise - “God is with us” - does not mean that we...

What "joy" there is in the Lord's "comfort" and "compassion" (Isaiah 49:13). He reaches out to us in compassion. He reaches out to us with His comfort. We rejoice in Him - the God of compassion, the God of comfort. "The Almighty Lord helps me" (Isaiah 50:7,9). What help there is in the Lord! The Maker of heaven and earth is our Helper. "The people ransomed by the Lord will return. They will come to Zion, singing with joy" (Isaiah 51:11). How does the Lord help us? He has "ransomed" us. We have been "bought with a price" (1 Corinthians 6:20). We have been "redeemed with the precious blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:18-19).

Isaiah 4:1-5:17 “Those who are left … will be called holy” (Isaiah 4:3). Lord, we hear worldly people speaking of ‘the holy people who need to learn to live in the real world.’ They speak with contempt. When You, Lord, call Your people “holy”, You speak with affection. You look upon us in love. You tell us that we are special to You. You tell us that we are precious in Your eyes. Lord, You’re calling us to be holy. Help us to look beyond this world, to catch a glimpse of “the things that are unseen and eternal”, and to “press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (2 Corinthians 4:18; Philippians 3:14).

"Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,  who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots  and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel,  or seek help from the Lord" (Isaiah 31:1). "Egypt" had been, for God's people, the place of oppression. The Lord had delivered His people from their bondage in Egypt. Why go back to "Egypt"? What can "Egypt" offer to God's people? Leave your past where it belongs - in the past. God has more to give to you than "Egypt" ever can.   

"For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, a nd 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 positively to his message. If Isaiah was expecting the majority of his hearers to welcome his preaching, he would have been discouraged by the poor response that he received from so many people -  The land is utterly desolate ... a nd the forsaken places   are   many in the midst of the land" (Isaiah 6:11-12) .  Isaiah needed to receive encouragement from the Lord. This is the encouragement he was given - " But yet a tenth   will be   in it ...  As a terebinth tree or as an oak, w hose stump   remains   when it is cut down.  So   the holy seed   shall be   its stump" (Isaiah 6:13). If we read...

Isaiah 2:1-5 The Word of God encourages us to look beyond the here and now. It gives us a glimpse of "the last days" (Isaiah 2:2). God knows the end as well as the beginning - and He show it to us (Isaiah 2:2). We say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord ... He will teach us about His ways so that we may walk in His paths ... Come and let us walk in the Lord's light" (Isaiah 2:3,5). Our world would be a very different world if more people were looking to the Lord and learning from Him, turning to the Lord and travelling with Him. What about you? Are you looking to the Lord? Are you learning from Him? Are you turning to the Lord? Are you travelling with Him? These are the questions that the Word of God puts to every one of us. Will we give the answer of faith and obedience? I cannot answer this question for you. You cannot answer it for me. Each one of us must answer for ourselves. What will your answer be?

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 written many years before the birth of Christ. Some people will tell us that we're reading into Isaiah's words more than is really there. I invite you to read the words of Isaiah 53, and ask yourself the question, "Is this God speaking to us, through Isaiah, concerning Jesus Christ?" "Who has believed our message      and to whom has the arm of the  Lord  been revealed? 2  He grew up before him like a tender shoot,      and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,      nothing in his appearance that we should desire...

Isaiah 3:1-26 Lord, You call us to make our choice. Will we follow the way of “the righteous” or the way of “the wicked” (Isaiah 3:10-11)? We recall the words of Jesus: “Enter by the narrow gate … only a few find the narrow gate, the hard way that leads to life. His words are not popular. Many don’t like it when Jesus says, “the gate to hell is wide and the road that leads to it is easy, and there are many who travel it” (Matthew 7:13-14). Help us, Lord, to listen to all that Jesus is saying to us – and not only the ‘nice’ things that we like to hear.

Isaiah 8:1-22 “Immanuel … God is with us” (Isaiah 8:8,10). Lord, we read these words – and we thank You that Jesus has come to be with us so that we may go to be with Him. He has come from heaven to earth so that we might go from earth to heaven. He died for us so that we might live with Him. Thank You, Lord, for Jesus, our great Saviour.

God’s Word for hard times: “Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31).

Isaiah 11:1-12:6 We thank You, Lord, for Jesus Christ – ” a Banner for the nations”, “the Saviour of the world” (Isaiah 11:12′ John 4:42). We thank You that He has “died for the sins of the whole world.” This is “Good News” for “all the world.” It’s a call to receive the “forgiveness of sins.” It’s a call to become His “disciples” (1 John 2:2; Mark 16:15; Luke 24;27; Matthew 28:19). As we look to Jesus, our Saviour, may our personal faith – “I will praise You, O Lord … God is my Salvation … The Lord is my Strength and my Song …” – become our public testimony – making Christ “known among the nations,” telling “all the world! what the Lord has done for us (Isaiah 12:1-2,4-5).

In the Lord, we have joy - the joy of His salvation: “I will find joy in the Lord. I will delight in my God. He has dressed me in the clothes of salvation. He has wrapped me in the robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10). This joy of salvation comes to us through our Saviour, Jesus Christ. God has fulfilled His gracious promise: “The Lord has announced to the ends of the earth: Tell My people Zion,Your Saviour is coming” (Isaiah 62:11). In the Lord, we have victory. We rejoice in Him. He gives us the victory. He announces His victory - “It is I, the Lord, I am coming to announce my victory. I am powerful enough to save you” (Isaiah 63:1).

"These also  who erred in spirit will come to understanding, a nd 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 living Word, speaks to us through the Bible, God's written Word. As we feed our minds on God's written Word, Jesus Christ, God's living Word, becomes more real to us, and we become more like him.  --- When you're reading the Word of the Lord, here's a link to a song which can be your prayer to the Lord -  Open Our Eyes - YouTube . God will answer your prayer. He will lead you to Jesus. More and more, you will come to know him as "the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6). The more you learn of him, the more you will want to know him, love him and serve him. Here's a link to another song, which is another prayer you can bri...