Author: PGC Administrator

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+043

 

Chapter 43 (ESV)

¹ But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
³ For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
⁴ Because you are precious in my eyes,
and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
peoples in exchange for your life.
⁵ Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you.
⁶ I will say to the north, Give up,
and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the end of the earth,
⁷ everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage? What is your emotion as you read this word or phrase? How is that related to your current situation? What does God tell you to do?
3. On what base do you base your sense of self-worth? How do you feel about being the object of the loving statement in this passage?
4. What does it mean for you to be created by God and for His glory?
5. Allow the words of verse 2 to be a personal encouragement to you from the Lord as you go to Him in prayer.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Fear Not, For I Have Redeemed You – youtu.be/MN7CiQm7I5A

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+042

 
Chapter 42 (ESV)

¹ Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
² He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
³ a bruised reed he will not break,
and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
⁴ He will not grow faint or be discouraged
till he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his law.

⁵ Thus says God, the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
⁶ “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
⁷ to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
⁸ I am the Lord; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.
⁹ Behold, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth
I tell you of them.”

 

REFLECTION:

1. This is the first of four Servant songs (that refer to Jesus as the servant) in Isaiah. This song has been quoted in part in Mt 12:18-21 with reference to Christ.
2. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
3. What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage?
4. Does this passage give you a fresh understanding of the Lord Jesus and all that he went through? How do you feel when you picture Christ as a servant? In what way does this passage challenge you – your character, your service? How can you begin imitating Jesus’ servant attitude in your own life?
5. We often have a difficult time knowing how to handle situations where we are being taken advantage of. Jesus’ example is one of meekness and humility. Why is this a difficult example to follow? Why might it be important to do so?

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

The Servant King – youtu.be/A0FSZ_iSYO8

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+041

 
Chapter 41 (ESV)

⁸ But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
⁹ you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are my servant,
I have chosen you and not cast you off”;
¹⁰ fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

¹¹ Behold, all who are incensed against you
shall be put to shame and confounded;
those who strive against you
shall be as nothing and shall perish.
¹² You shall seek those who contend with you,
but you shall not find them;
those who war against you
shall be as nothing at all.
¹³ For I, the Lord your God,
hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Fear not,
I am the one who helps you.”

¹⁴ Fear not, you worm Jacob,
you men of Israel!
I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord;
your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
¹⁵ Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge,
new, sharp, and having teeth;
you shall thresh the mountains and crush them,
and you shall make the hills like chaff;
¹⁶ you shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away,
and the tempest shall scatter them.
And you shall rejoice in the Lord;
in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. Isaiah prophesied that the Israelites would be exiled to foreign lands far from their homeland. There were rumors of a new power rising in the East. And the people were in panic.
3. What are you afraid of right now? Afraid of what’s happening in the world? Terrorism? Economic Collapse? Nuclear proliferation? Your children? Your way of life?
4. With your fears in mind as you read this passage, what is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage? What is your emotion as you read this word or phrase? How is that related to your current situation? What does God tell you to do?
5. Make your prayer to God based on these “do not fear…do not be afraid” phrases (verses 10, 13, 14). What would you say to the Lord? What does God want you to do?

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Whom Shall I Fear – youtu.be/qOkImV2cJDg

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+040

 
The Second Book of Isaiah — Book of Deliverance

Chapter 40 (ESV)

²¹ Do you not know? Do you not hear?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
²² It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
²³ who brings princes to nothing,
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

²⁴ Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows on them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

²⁵ To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
²⁶ Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name;
by the greatness of his might
and because he is strong in power,
not one is missing.

²⁷ Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
²⁸ Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
²⁹ He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
³⁰ Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
³¹ but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.

 

REFLECTION:

1. If the weather permits, find a quiet spot in a park or an outdoor location. Use your creative imagination to meet God today.
2. What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage? What is your emotion as you read this word or phrase? How is that related to your current situation? What does God tell you to do?
3. What “idols” (for instance, money, power or sex) do you use as a source of comfort for your fears? Confess your sin to God and ask Him to free you to obey His word for you today. Make your prayer to the Lord based on verses 28-31.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Everlasting God – youtu.be/yubLGTOcm8c