28th December
Read Psalm 141
If you don’t have a bible at home you can find the readings on a website such as www.biblegateway.com or an app such as YouVersion
David prays to God to set a guard over his mouth to stop his heart being drawn to evil. He is very aware of the possibility of those things happening in his life. Quite different from the phrase people sometimes use, “Oh that’s not in my nature”. No? We don’t know your nature then. David says, “Let a righteous man strike me – that is a kindness”, in other words, I’m ready for correction. We need to learn from David.
As you read the Bible Stop; Read; Ponder; and Pray.
Monday Isaiah 30:18-33
“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you” starts v18 showing that despite God’s judgements on them his longing is for their wellbeing. He tells them that when they cry for help God will hear them and they will then see and hear what has been God’s word to them all along. There are hinst of the Holy Spirit’s presence in the believer when Isaiah says, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (v21). They will turn from their idolatrous ways and they will find blessings in their harvests
God’s power in saving and delivering his people will be seen and heard by other nations (v28&30) and the current power – Assyria – will be committed to a fire pit of destruction but these things are for the future, he hasn’t finished with his challenges to the nation yet as we will see in the next chapter.
Tuesday Isaiah 31:1-9
In Chapter 31 Isaiah warns of the danger of seeking help from the Egyptians who are mere mortals and not God (v3) saying that their horses are flesh and not spirit). He counsels them to seek their support from God – “Return, you Israelites, to the One you have so greatly revolted against”( v6). He tells them that the great power Assyria will fall but not by human sword. His counsel for his contemporary Israelites is a good and worthy word for God’s people in all ages. We are constantly in danger of seeking our salvation at our own hands in whatever predicament we fall into. Read and pause whenever you are about to panic about things in your own life.
Wednesday Isaiah 32:1-20
This chapter speaks of a King who would rule in righteousness and the people would be blessed by such a King. In Isaiah’s time he could be speaking about Hezekiah who was a good King and and brought a settled time under his reign although there was always the threat from outside lurking. Isaiah speaks to the women who were inclined to be complacent and he warns them not to feel so secure because troubled times could come. There is always a background in Isaiah of good and ill, times of blessing and times of threat and destruction. We should always be wary in our own lives of complacency. Yes, God is often good to us but our eyes must always be on Him and not on ourselves or our own plans for our wellbeing.
Thursday Isaiah 33:1-17
When we read Isaiah, and some of the other prophets in the Bible, we need to remember that much is written in poetic form, they are not prose and we need to listen for the feeling as well as the fact. As we go down chapter 33 we come across the verses saying things in a poetic way like verse 1 which if it were prose would say that those who act in wicked ways will face their own wickedness. There are prayers (eg v2) followed by statements of praise (v5) and declarations of the power of God which will burn up all the wickedness of men yet in the midst of this the creation of God will survive (see the last verses). The Kingdom of God isn’t just about facts but about feelings and the Word of God is not just prose to us but also poetic declaration.
Friday Isaiah 34:1-17
In chapter 34 we hear of God’s anger and coming judgements on all the nations (v2). The verses are quite apocalyptic – the stars in the sky being dissolved and the heavens rolled up like a scroll (v4) – and point to the time of great tribulation mentioned by Jesus and seen in the book of Revelation (Mathew 24, Revelation 6 / 8-9 / 16-18). This is end-time prophecy, the day of vengeance of the Lord and in particular, as if to single out one who’s behaviour shows what all are like who are against the Lord and his people, the nation of Edom is mentioned. Edom of course is the descendant people of Esau and shows the hatred of those not chosen against those who are, Jacob’s children, the Israelites. This choice however does not mean that God cares not for one left – the story of Cain in the Book of Genesis should remind us of that. “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it” (Genesis 4:7)
Saturday Isaiah 35:1-10
What a wonderful chapter this is, headed “the Joy of the Redeemed “by some Bibles. It wonderfully relates what will be the end picture of God’s people at the close of time. The desert bursts into life, the weak enjoy new strength, the blind see and the deaf hear, the lame leap and the mute tongue shouts with joy.
A foretaste of it all will be had when those who were captives in Babylon were released and returned home to Jerusalem at the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. That was still in the future but Isaiah prophesies of it and of its further conclusive end when Christ returns to lead his people full of joy into their eternal life with him. Read over the chapter whenever you feel down and be reminded of what God has in store for those who love him.