(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)
(Isaiah 43:1-26)
1 But now, this is what the Lord says, He who is your Creator, Jacob,
And He who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, 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 will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
4 Since you are precious in My sight,
Since you are honored and I love you,
I will give other people in your place and other nations in exchange for your life.
5 Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
And gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring My sons from afar
And My daughters from the ends of the earth,
7 Everyone who is called by My name,
And whom I have created for My glory,
Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”
8 Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes,
And those who are deaf, even though they have ears.
9 All the nations have gathered together
So that the peoples may be assembled.
Who among them can declare this
And proclaim to us the former things?
Let them present their witnesses so that they may be justified,
Or let them hear and say, “It is true.”
10 “You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And My servant whom I have chosen,
So that you may know and believe Me
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
And there will be none after Me.
11 I, only I, am the Lord,
And there is no savior besides Me.
12 It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed,
And there was no strange god among you;
So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And I am God.
13 Even from eternity I am He,
And there is no one who can rescue from My hand;
I act, and who can reverse it?”
14 This is what the Lord your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says:
“For your sake I have sent to Babylon,
And will bring them all down as fugitives,
Even the Chaldeans, into the ships over which they rejoice.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,
The Creator of Israel, your King.”
16 This is what the Lord says,
He who makes a way through the sea
And a path through the mighty waters,
17 Who brings out the chariot and the horse,
The army and the mighty man
(They will lie down together and not rise again;
They have been extinguished, and have gone out like a wick):
18 “Do not call to mind the former things,
Or consider things of the past.
19 Behold, I am going to do something new,
Now it will spring up;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.
20 The animals of the field will glorify Me,
The jackals and the ostriches,
Because I have given waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My chosen people.
21 The people whom I formed for Myself
Will declare My praise.
22 “Yet you have not called on Me, Jacob;
But you have become weary of Me, Israel.
23 You have not brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings,
Nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings,
Nor wearied you with incense.
24 You have not bought Me sweet cane with money,
Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices;
Rather, you have burdened Me with your sins,
You have wearied Me with your wrongdoings.
25 “I, I alone, am the one who wipes out your wrongdoings for My own sake,
And I will not remember your sins.
26 Meet Me in court, let’s argue our case together;
State your cause, so that you may be proved right.
27 Your first forefather sinned,
And your spokesmen have rebelled against Me.
28 So I will profane the officials of the sanctuary,
And I will turn Jacob over to destruction and Israel to abuse.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
And He who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, 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 will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
4 Since you are precious in My sight,
Since you are honored and I love you,
I will give other people in your place and other nations in exchange for your life.
5 Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
And gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring My sons from afar
And My daughters from the ends of the earth,
7 Everyone who is called by My name,
And whom I have created for My glory,
Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”
8 Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes,
And those who are deaf, even though they have ears.
9 All the nations have gathered together
So that the peoples may be assembled.
Who among them can declare this
And proclaim to us the former things?
Let them present their witnesses so that they may be justified,
Or let them hear and say, “It is true.”
10 “You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And My servant whom I have chosen,
So that you may know and believe Me
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
And there will be none after Me.
11 I, only I, am the Lord,
And there is no savior besides Me.
12 It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed,
And there was no strange god among you;
So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And I am God.
13 Even from eternity I am He,
And there is no one who can rescue from My hand;
I act, and who can reverse it?”
14 This is what the Lord your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says:
“For your sake I have sent to Babylon,
And will bring them all down as fugitives,
Even the Chaldeans, into the ships over which they rejoice.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,
The Creator of Israel, your King.”
16 This is what the Lord says,
He who makes a way through the sea
And a path through the mighty waters,
17 Who brings out the chariot and the horse,
The army and the mighty man
(They will lie down together and not rise again;
They have been extinguished, and have gone out like a wick):
18 “Do not call to mind the former things,
Or consider things of the past.
19 Behold, I am going to do something new,
Now it will spring up;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.
20 The animals of the field will glorify Me,
The jackals and the ostriches,
Because I have given waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My chosen people.
21 The people whom I formed for Myself
Will declare My praise.
22 “Yet you have not called on Me, Jacob;
But you have become weary of Me, Israel.
23 You have not brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings,
Nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings,
Nor wearied you with incense.
24 You have not bought Me sweet cane with money,
Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices;
Rather, you have burdened Me with your sins,
You have wearied Me with your wrongdoings.
25 “I, I alone, am the one who wipes out your wrongdoings for My own sake,
And I will not remember your sins.
26 Meet Me in court, let’s argue our case together;
State your cause, so that you may be proved right.
27 Your first forefather sinned,
And your spokesmen have rebelled against Me.
28 So I will profane the officials of the sanctuary,
And I will turn Jacob over to destruction and Israel to abuse.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
This chapter explains the entire message of how we are all sinners and how we all need to be saved. Jesus came as Israel's King, but they did not recognize Him and rejected Him! But through this, by putting Him on the cross as prophesied, He willingly died for all sin and rose again to conquer death, in order to offer salvation to whoever believes in Him.
There is only one God, and there is only one way to salvation. And it is a free gift to everyone. Anyone can make Jesus their personal King, Lord and Savior. In doing so, one repents and the Lord forgives all their sins and chooses to remember them no more. And as verse 13 states, we cannot lose our salvation! He loves us, choosing us to adopt as His children, to have eternal life with Him.
Because of everything God has done for us and does for us and will do for us, we should not be wearied by the thought of worshiping and serving our King, Lord and Savior. Consider what mankind all does to serve their manmade gods and idols, whether it be a piece of wood or gold, or whether it be their career or leisure time, or whether it be sex. drugs or gambling, or... People dedicate their entire lives and put in extreme amounts of time, money and effort into serving their false hopes...
All the Lord wants from us is our hearts and our willingness to honor and glorify Him!!!
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