Category: “Listening to God” Devotional

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+066

 
Chapter 66 (ESV)

¹⁸ “For I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, ¹⁹ and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. ²⁰ And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the Lord, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. ²¹ And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the Lord.

²² “For as the new heavens and the new earth
that I make
shall remain before me, says the Lord,
so shall your offspring and your name remain.
²³ From new moon to new moon,
and from Sabbath to Sabbath,
all flesh shall come to worship before me,
declares the Lord.

²⁴ “And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. This last passage ends on the hope of Israel’s future which points to the ultimate new heavens and new earth (Rev 21:1-2). It also clarifies the difference between a true servant of the Lord and one of His enemies.
3. How do you feel about the new heavens and new earth? What about the final destiny of those rebelled against God to the end?
4. The most important lessons from the book of Isaiah can be summed up in the three reminders that (a) there is a God, (b) he is coming back, and (c) our eternal destiny is determined by our response to Him in this life.
5. If, by this time, you are still confused or not certain about God’s will and your eternal destiny, speak to a pastor, a group leader or some mature Christians and ask them to pray for you.

 

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:

Even So Come – youtu.be/4s0Zb189Sco

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+065

 
Chapter 65 (ESV)

¹⁷ “For behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind.
¹⁸ But be glad and rejoice forever
in that which I create;
for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
and her people to be a gladness.
¹⁹ I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people;
no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping
and the cry of distress.
²⁰ No more shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not fill out his days,
for the young man shall die a hundred years old,
and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.
²¹ They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
²² They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
²³ They shall not labor in vain
or bear children for calamity,
for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord,
and their descendants with them.
²⁴ Before they call I will answer;
while they are yet speaking I will hear.
²⁵ The wolf and the lamb shall graze together;
the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
and dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain,”
says the Lord.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. In this joyful passage God promised a bright future for those who love and trust the Lord. And this new creation comes into being for us through Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:17); our new lives will be holy and godly (2 Pet 3:11-13); and ultimately we will be in the new heaven and earth with God for eternity (Rev 21:1-5).
3. What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage? Which of the New Testament application of this heavenly vision especially strikes you now? Why?
4. Try to picture your life without any of the causes or results of grief, sin and pain. What would that free you to be? How would this vision of what God will bring about affect the way you deal with the struggles you do face now?

 

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:

New Heavens and a New Earth – youtu.be/dgg5Y5XZEUY

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+064

 
Chapter 64 (ESV)

¹ Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains might quake at your presence—
² as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil—
to make your name known to your adversaries,
and that the nations might tremble at your presence!
³ When you did awesome things that we did not look for,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
⁴ From of old no one has heard
or perceived by the ear,
no eye has seen a God besides you,
who acts for those who wait for him.
⁵ You meet him who joyfully works righteousness,
those who remember you in your ways.
Behold, you were angry, and we sinned;
in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?
⁶ We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
⁷ There is no one who calls upon your name,
who rouses himself to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.

⁸ But now, O Lord, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
⁹ Be not so terribly angry, O Lord,
and remember not iniquity forever.
Behold, please look, we are all your people.
¹⁰ Your holy cities have become a wilderness;
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
¹¹ Our holy and beautiful house,
where our fathers praised you,
has been burned by fire,
and all our pleasant places have become ruins.
¹² Will you restrain yourself at these things, O Lord?
Will you keep silent, and afflict us so terribly?

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. Repeat reading this chapter several times to allow the words sink into your heart. Each time when you read, make it your plea, confession and petition for mercy to God.
3. 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?
4. Based on this chapter, write a prayer to God for your church and members of your church.

 

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:

God Be Merciful to Me – youtu.be/TF8jJTSNyzo

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+063

 
Chapter 63 (ESV)

⁷ I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord,
the praises of the Lord,
according to all that the Lord has granted us,
and the great goodness to the house of Israel
that he has granted them according to his compassion,
according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
⁸ For he said, “Surely they are my people,
children who will not deal falsely.”
And he became their Savior.
⁹ In all their affliction he was afflicted,
and the angel of his presence saved them;
in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

¹⁰ But they rebelled
and grieved his Holy Spirit;
therefore he turned to be their enemy,
and himself fought against them.
¹¹ Then he remembered the days of old,
of Moses and his people.
Where is he who brought them up out of the sea
with the shepherds of his flock?
Where is he who put in the midst of them
his Holy Spirit,
¹² who caused his glorious arm
to go at the right hand of Moses,
who divided the waters before them
to make for himself an everlasting name,
¹³ who led them through the depths?
Like a horse in the desert,
they did not stumble.
¹⁴ Like livestock that go down into the valley,
the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest.
So you led your people,
to make for yourself a glorious name.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. Isaiah emphasizes the faithfulness of God against Israel’s unfaithfulness. Even though people cannot attain righteousness on their own, God makes it available to them through the work of His Servant.
3. 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?
4. What is the “exodus event” (v.11-14) that you fondly recall in your life when it was clear that God was working in you? How do you feel now when times of spiritual emptiness occur? Will you recall the past to get encouragement?
5. Talk with God about your present struggles and listen to His response.

 

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 Steadfast Love Of The Lord Never Ceases – youtu.be/fBX_YvQ8BKE

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+062

 
Chapter 62 (ESV)

¹ For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet,
until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
and her salvation as a burning torch.
² The nations shall see your righteousness,
and all the kings your glory,
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.
³ You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
⁴ You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you,
and your land shall be married.
⁵ For as a young man marries a young woman,
so shall your sons marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.

⁶ On your walls, O Jerusalem,
I have set watchmen;
all the day and all the night
they shall never be silent.
You who put the Lord in remembrance,
take no rest,
⁷ and give him no rest
until he establishes Jerusalem
and makes it a praise in the earth.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. When you read the second time, reverse all the “you” to “I and me”.
3. What is the word or phrase that touches you today as you read and meditate on this passage? Tell God how it makes you feel to know that He delights in you and is happy with you.
4. Rest in the truth that God delights in you. If you wish, imagine situations when you feel anything but special (i.e., when you are hard on yourself, when someone puts you down, or when you get back a test, or work review that isn’t so great). See yourself responding to the situation by saying, “Yes, this is true, but God delights in me.”

 

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:

God Delights In You – youtu.be/gw2RafIuRdw

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+061

 
Chapter 61 (ESV)

¹ The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
² to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
³ to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
⁴ They shall build up the ancient ruins;
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.

⁵ Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks;
foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;
⁶ but you shall be called the priests of the Lord;
they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;
you shall eat the wealth of the nations,
and in their glory you shall boast.
⁷ Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;
instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;
therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;
they shall have everlasting joy.

⁸ For I the Lord love justice;
I hate robbery and wrong;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
⁹ Their offspring shall be known among the nations,
and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.

¹⁰ I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
¹¹ For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to sprout up before all the nations.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. What words or phrases stand out to you? How do you feel about being called a priest (v6)? What would it mean for you to live like a priest this week? Do you serve with “delight in the Lord” or with joy in results or feelings of success? What’s the difference?
3. Ask God for guidance in how you serve. As you serve someone today, be present to the reality that you are doing this with God’s hand, under His power. This is His work and you get to be a part of it!

 

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:

Heart of a Servant – youtu.be/zvTbXbaQZ94

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+060

 

Chapter 60 (ESV)

¹⁷ Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
and instead of iron I will bring silver;
instead of wood, bronze,
instead of stones, iron.
I will make your overseers peace
and your taskmasters righteousness.
¹⁸ Violence shall no more be heard in your land,
devastation or destruction within your borders;
you shall call your walls Salvation,
and your gates Praise.

¹⁹ The sun shall be no more
your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon
give you light;
but the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
²⁰ Your sun shall no more go down,
nor your moon withdraw itself;
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your days of mourning shall be ended.
²¹ Your people shall all be righteous;
they shall possess the land forever,
the branch of my planting, the work of my hands,
that I might be glorified.
²² The least one shall become a clan,
and the smallest one a mighty nation;
I am the Lord;
in its time I will hasten it.

 

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?
3. This is a glorious promise that the captives, though in exile, will return and rebuild Jerusalem. Nations will bring gifts, Jerusalem will be prosperous and full of glory. We, too, look forward to a time when “the Lord will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light and your days of sorrow will end” (vv19-20).
4. What is your emotion as you read this word or phrase regarding your glorious future? How is that related to your current situation? What does God tell 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:

Look To The Son – youtu.be/-oLeXo3n2Lc

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+059

 
Chapter 59 (ESV)

⁹ Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not overtake us;
we hope for light, and behold, darkness,
and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
¹⁰ We grope for the wall like the blind;
we grope like those who have no eyes;
we stumble at noon as in the twilight,
among those in full vigor we are like dead men.
¹¹ We all growl like bears;
we moan and moan like doves;
we hope for justice, but there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.
¹² For our transgressions are multiplied before you,
and our sins testify against us;
for our transgressions are with us,
and we know our iniquities:
¹³ transgressing, and denying the Lord,
and turning back from following our God,
speaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.

¹⁴ Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far away;
for truth has stumbled in the public squares,
and uprightness cannot enter.
¹⁵ Truth is lacking,
and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.

The Lord saw it, and it displeased him
that there was no justice.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Silence – Read/Listen – Meditate – Pray – Contemplate
2. As you read the passage aloud, replace “we” with “I”, and “our” with “my”. What might God be thinking as He hears you read this?
3. 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?
4. Now, make a list of sins – big and small – that you’ve committed in the past week. In prayer, go through your list item by item, admit to God that you should not have participated in such wrongdoing. Do this with a humble and repentant heart. Ask God to help you not to focus any longer on your sin, but to be free to focus and turn toward Him.
5. As you go through today, make a point to confess your sins to God. As you do this, be as specific as you can about your sins, acknowledging your desperation and futility in attempting to live apart from Him.

 

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:

Lord, to You I Make Confession – youtu.be/UWKILhyFR6Y

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+058

 
Chapter 58 (ESV)

³ ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,
and oppress all your workers.
⁴ Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to hit with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
will not make your voice to be heard on high.
⁵ Is such the fast that I choose,
a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
and a day acceptable to the Lord?

⁶ “Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
⁷ Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
⁸ Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
⁹ Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
¹⁰ if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.

 

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?
3. Have you ever fasted? Why or why not? What benefits did you experience?
4. Fasting or any one of the religious activities that we’re “supposed” to do, do us no good when we engage in it for the wrong reasons and with the wrong attitude. In which religious activities do you find yourself just going through the motions: Attending church? Reading the Bible? Prayer? Communion service? Fasting? How are these activities affecting you now? What attitudes are needed for these activities to be “acceptable to the Lord”?

 

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:

Renew My Heart – www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PD2_i4cP8k

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+057

 
Chapter 57 (ESV)

¹⁴ And it shall be said,
“Build up, build up, prepare the way,
remove every obstruction from my people’s way.”
¹⁵ For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
¹⁶ For I will not contend forever,
nor will I always be angry;
for the spirit would grow faint before me,
and the breath of life that I made.
¹⁷ Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry,
I struck him; I hid my face and was angry,
but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.
¹⁸ I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;
I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners,
¹⁹  creating the fruit of the lips.
Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the Lord,
“and I will heal him.
²⁰ But the wicked are like the tossing sea;
for it cannot be quiet,
and its waters toss up mire and dirt.
²¹ There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

 

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?
3. How do you feel of this God who is both far off and dwells on high, yet keeps company with the humble, the contrite, and the poor in spirit?
4. Do you know someone who is sad and depressed? Decide a way that you can show God’s love to this special person and make plans to carry it out.

 

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 Love Of God – youtu.be/oWnvmKoLWUU