The purpose of Isaiah is to
call the nation of Judah back
to God and to tell of God’s
salvation through the Messiah.
This week we understand God better
thru His revelation of names, mostly
related to His ability to meet needs.
On Monday, we learn from Isa 40
about Kadosh The Holy One.
On Tuesday, we learn from Isa 42
about Light to the Nations.
On Wednesday, we learn from
Isa 49 about The Lord Your Saviour.
On Thursday, we learn from Isa 60
about The Lord Your Redeemer.
On Friday, we learn from
Isa 61 about Spirit of the Lord.
Let us humble ourselves and pray
and seek His face…In Jesus’ name.
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Backgrounder on Isaiah 58-62:
Isaiah catches a glimpse of the
Glorious Future awaiting the people
of God. A day is coming when
darkness will be swept away,
affliction will cease and the
glad tidings of salvation shall
be proclaimed throughout Zion.
God has not forsaken His people
& groaning has given way to glory.
Lord, You Turn Mourning to Joy:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me…
to heal the brokenhearted…
to comfort all who mourn…
to give them Beauty for Ashes,
the oil of Joy for mourning,
the garment of praise for the
spirit of heaviness (Isa 61:1-3).
You will be called Ministers of God.
U shall eat riches of Gentiles (v6).
I am Overwhelmed With Joy
in the Lord my God! For He has
dressed me with the clothing of
salvation and draped me in a robe
of righteousness (v10). Amen.
Lord, I don’t know how much I must
have lost or the blessings I have
forfeited because I have lived
my way instead of Your way.
But I confess my sins of thought,
word and action to You now.
Grant me Lord beauty instead
of ashes, gladness instead of mourning and a garment of
praise instead of despair. Amen.
Lord, I know being called to the
ministry and in fact we all are!
Help me to be an effective go-
between standing in the space
between You and a needy world.
Help me to correctly do that
in my family, among friends,
in church and in the community.
Enable me to represent You well to
others & lift up others to You. Amen
Lord, grant me a glimpse of Your
presence which gives Fullness
of Joy. And reveal and show me
the power of proper perspective:
not be defeated but to overcome;
not be victimised but victorious.
Help me live life such that my
attitude and internal state of
mind are impacted more by You.
Clothe me in Joy and celebration
of what You have already done
in me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
As Israel looks at his contemporary
situation, there is little to commend it.
Empty ritual, meaningless fasts,
and broken fellowship mark the
spiritual life of the nation. But Isaiah
catches a glimpse of the glorious
future awaiting the people of God.
A day is coming when darkness
will be swept away, affliction
will cease, violence shall no more
be heard and the glad tidings
of salvation shall be proclaimed
throughout Zion. The desolate land
shall be inhabited and prosperous,
prompting praise to the ends of
the earth that God has not forsaken
His people after all. Groaning
has indeed give way to glory.
Praise be Jehovah Goelekh:
Arise, shine, for your light
has come, and the glory of
the Lord rises upon you.
See darkness covers the earth,
but the Lord rises upon you
and his glory appears over you…
You will drink the milk of nations
and be nursed at royal breasts.
Then you will know that I the Lord
(Jehovah) am your Saviour,
your Redeemer (Goelekh),
the Mighty One (Isa 60:1-2, 16).
Lord, I know my Redeemer lives
and You have sent redemption
to me thru Your Son, Jesus Christ.
In Your grace, You sustain me
in so many things including
provision, health and relationship.
And I praise You because You have
delivered me time and time again
from the hand of the enemy. Amen
Jehovah Goelekh, forgive me
for taking Your redemption
too lightly at times and not
living in the light of that truth.
I confess lack of understanding
of all the dangers You have
rescued me from; for You are
always working things out
behind the scenes. Amen.
Lord, be our constant Redeemer
and ever-present help in trouble.
Redeem us from doubt, sinful
propensities and indulgences.
Give us the grace of virtues
and mould us into the person
You have purposed us to be.
Grant us fruitfulness & blessing
according to Your will for the advancement of Your kingdom.
Use us as vessels of redemption
to those in need. In Jesus’ name.
For the people of God, the path
of restoration is the path of
servanthood and suffering.
There is coming One who
will pardon iniquity and will
restore righteousness to Zion.
In contrast to the rebellion of Israel,
this Servant will come willingly
and humbly to offer Himself as
a sacrifice for many. Therefore,
the faithful ones are called
upon to hearken to God’s voice
for righteousness is near.
Praise be Jehovah Moshiekh:
Thus says the Lord: I will contend
with him who contends with you,
and I will save your children.
I will make your oppressors eat
their own flesh; they will be drunk
on their own blood… Then all
mankind will know that I, the
Lord (Jehovah), am your Saviour
(Moshiekh), your Redeemer,
the Mighty One (Isa 49:25-26).
Lord Jehovah Moshiekh, You are
indeed our Saviour. Thank You
for paying the price for our sins
when Jesus Christ suffered on
the cross to afford us not only
eternal salvation but also
sanctification in our daily life.
You have already conquered our
greatest foe – Satan. We praise
You for being the ultimate victor
over all, and save us from that
which seeks to destroy us. Amen.
Lord, forgive me for failing to share
the good news of Your salvation
with as many people as I can.
Give me the grace to sense when
You are opening doors in the life
of someone, so that I might sow
seeds of kindness and tell them
of Your goodness and mercy.
And help me pray for the lost
so that they may come to know
You as their Saviour. Amen.
Lord Jehovah Moshiekh, make
me a vessel of Your salvation
to those who need to know You.
Show me how to live; and make
my life a living testimony that
speaks of Your grace and mercy.
And pray that when others see
Your salvation in our lives, they
will be encouraged to receive it
in theirs as well. In Jesus’ name.
The book of Isaiah has been
likened to the miniature Bible,
its 66 chapters paralleling the
66 books of the Bible. Beginning
Isaiah 40, the final 27 chapters of
Isaiah, like the 27 books of the
New Testament, proclaim a message
of comfort and hope. The Messiah
is coming to be the Saviour of sinful
people. Therefore, Comfort ye my
people, says your God (Isaiah 40:1).
All Praise be to Or Goyim:
My Servant whom I uphold.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice…
I am the Lord, I have called You
in righteousness, I will also hold U
by the hand and watch over You,
And I’ll appoint You as a covenant
to the people, as a light to the
nations (Or Goyim) – Isa 42:1,6.
To open blind eyes, to bring
out prisoners from the prison,
those who sit in darkness…
Behold the former things have
come to pass, and new things
I declare (Isaiah 42:7-9).
Lord Or Goyim, You’re a light to
the nations and You are a covenant
to the people. In Your righteousness
we find our salvation. Thank You
Lord for opening up Your goodness
and grace to all who trust in You.
Thank You for redeeming us
and drawing us into Your light,
for in Your righteousness
we will find our own. Amen.
Lord, I come to You on behalf of
each of us in the body of Christ
who has failed to do all we can
to take Your name to the nations.
So many people are lost because
they haven’t heard about You.
Send us to those who do not yet
know about You. And Show us how
to take Your name to those in need
& give the light of Your hope. Amen
Lord Or Goyim, may people from
all tongues lift up Your name
and seek Your face for salvation.
Send Your kingdom servants
to proclaim the message of the
covenantal love Jesus died to
provide for those who trust in Him.
Raise up a generation to proclaim
that You are the light of the nations.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen!
The book of Isaiah has been
likened to the miniature Bible,
its 66 chapters paralleling the
66 books of the Bible. Beginning
Isaiah 40, the final 27 chapters of
Isaiah, like the 27 books of the
New Testament, proclaim a message
of comfort and hope. The Messiah
is coming to be the Saviour of sinful
people. Therefore, Comfort ye my
people, says your God (Isaiah 40:1).
All Praise be to Kadosh:
To whom then will you liken Me,
Or to whom shall I be equal?
says the Holy One (Kadosh).
Lift up your eyes on high, and
see who has created these things…
He calls them all by name,
by the greatness of His might…
Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
Creator of the ends of the earth.
He gives power to the weak. And
to those who have no might, He
increases strength (Isa 40:25-29)
Kadosh, in the year King Uzziah
died, Your prophet Isaiah saw You
seated on the throne (Isaiah 6).
Holy, holy, holy, are You; and the
whole earth is full of Your glory.
I am unclean, and I live among
a people who are unclean; yet
You have cleansed me and made
me holy. Thank U for Your merciful
love, which enables me to know
You and be accepted by You. Amen
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts,
the whole earth is full of Your glory.
Holy Lord Kadosh, forgive me
for failing to respond to Your
holiness at the level due You.
Forgive me Lord for dismissing
the purity of who You really are.
May I respond in total praise
and humility as You make me
aware of Your holiness. Amen.
Kadosh, let Your holiness manifest
itself in us; and may it transform
our thoughts, speech and actions.
You have purchased us our purity
at such a great cost; & we don’t
want it to be wasted in our life.
Help us honour You in all we do
& help us focus on Your holiness.
And empower us to live a life
that is set apart to you!
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
In Isaiah 24-27, the redeemed ones
vindicated at last, break forth
in spontaneous song, exalting
the Lord. Though often downcast,
the people of God now have some
-thing truly worth singing about:
refuge, deliverance and ultimate
triumph in the Holy One of Israel.
All Praise to the Rock of Ages:
You will keep in Perfect Peace
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they Trust in You.
Trust in the Lord forever, for
the Lord, the Lord Himself is
the Rock eternal (Isaiah 26:3-4).
O upright One, You make the way
of the righteous smooth. Yes Lord,
walking in the way of Your laws,
we Wait for You (v7-8). Amen.
Lord, You promise Peace to those
who Trust in You & set their minds
on You. Lord, You are my rock, You
are dependable and worthy of my
full trust. And I know as long as
I look to You, I cannot be shaken.
Though my heart may be troubled,
I choose to focus on You, believe
Your Word, pray Your Word & stand
on it. Help me make Your promises
the foundation each day. Amen.
Rock of Ages, Thank You for Your
promise that Your perfect peace
will guard my heart and mind.
In Christ I can be relaxed and be
at peace in the midst of confusion
and perplexities of this life. I need
Your peace as the list of tasks
and challenges replay in my head.
Help me do these things and trust
You with all my heart. And keep me
praying instead of worrying. Amen.
Lord, in accordance to Your Word,
I can have peace about the future
because I Wait upon U. Although
I don’t know the details about
what is to come, You know every-
thing & my future is in Your hands.
Help me to walk faithfully with
You each day in Your Word and
in prayer so that I can move into
the purposes You have for my life.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.
Beginning with chapter 7, Paul
answers a series of questions
raised by the believers in Corinth:
Is celibacy better than marriage?
Is it permissible for Christians
to eat meat offered to idols?
Is it proper for a minister of
the gospel to derive his living
from the ministry? If an action is
lawful, is it therefore permissible?
Building on Old Testament quotations
and Christ’s teachings, Paul
sets forth God’s perspective on
marriage and Christian liberty.
Paul in 1Cor 7–10 taught freedom
of choice on practices not
expressly forbidden in Scripture.
We are free in Christ, yet we must
not abuse our Christian freedom
by being insensitive to others; or encourage others do wrong; but
instead let love guide our behaviour.
Lord, we Let Go Abusive Indulgences;
we Seek fruit of Self-Control; and
we purpose to Flee Idolatry. Amen.
Lord, we Let Go Abusive Indulgence:
Those who use the things of
the world should not become
attached to them. For this world
as we know it will soon pass away.
I want you to be free from the
concerns of this life (1Cor 7:31-32)
I am saying this for your benefit,
not to place restrictions on you.
I want you to do whatever will help
you serve the Lord best, with as
few distractions as possible (v35).
Lord, whether married or single,
one can only find contentment
in Christ; for one can’t expect even
loved ones to meet our every need.
Lord Jesus, excess and concerns
of this life can cause me to stumble.
Give me what I need to surrender
those things that are my appetite’s
abusive indulgences. Amen.
Lord, we Seek fruit of Self-Control:
Do you not know that those who
run in a race all run, but only one
receives the prize? Run in such
a way that you may win. And
everyone who competes in the
games exercises self-control in
all things. They then do it to receive
a perishable (prize) but we an
imperishable (1Cor 9:24-25).
Lord, thank You for helping me
to press on. I proclaim that I am
exercising self-control in all
things in order to win the prize.
Help me not to give way to
negative thoughts and help me
to run the race with endurance.
And Father, engrave Your Son
Christ Jesus in my heart that I may
bring forth the fruit of holy living
to the honour of Your name, Amen.
Lord, we purpose to Flee Idolatry:
Therefore let him who thinks
he stands take heed lest he fall.
No temptation has overtaken you
except such as is common to man;
but God is faithful, who will not
allow you to be tempted beyond
what you are able, but with the
temptation will also make the way
of escape, that you may be able
to bear it. Therefore my beloved
flee from idolatry (1Cor 10:11-13).
Lord, we need Your help to order
our loves so that our desires
will not become demands.
To get rid of our idols, we need
Your help in identifying them.
Use whatever means You see
fit to reveal to us what we have
come to love and depend on more
than You Lord. In Jesus’ name.
Churches aren’t perfect because
churches are full of imperfect people.
Paul writes to the believers at Corinth
to correct errors in their public
and private behaviour which
are detracting their gospel witness.
These include factions, immorality
and lawsuits between believers.
In an orderly fashion, Paul
set forth godly guidelines for
conduct consistent with the
grace of God given by Christ.
Dear Lord, we recognise the
tendency of the church to fall
into divisiveness and disorder.
Help us Lord to be concerned over
unity in our local churches; and
not mistake cordiality for unity.
Lord help the church leadership to
squarely address such problems.
Help us Seek to Be of One Mind;
Help us Seek Your Insight and
Help us Seek Your View. Amen
Lord, we will Seek to be of One Mind:
I appeal to You by the authority
of the Lord Jesus Christ to stop
arguing among yourselves. Let
there be real harmony so there
won’t be divisions in the church.
I plead with you to be of one mind,
united in thot & purpose (1Cor1:10)
Lord, we realise that divisions
usually occur when our focus
shifts away from You Jesus.
Help us to stay focused and work
at agreeing with one another.
We recognise there will always be
people with whom we’ll disagree.
But let the love of God control
our relationship so that we can
see others’ perspectives and
even agree to disagree. Amen.
Lord, we will Seek Your Insight:
What we have received is not the
spirit of the world, but the Spirit
who is from God, so that we may
understand what God has freely
given us. This is what we speak…
in words taught by the Spirit,
explaining spiritual realities with
Spirit-taught words (1Cor2:12-13)
Lord, thank You that You have
given me Your Holy Spirit.
Give me spiritual ears to hear &
teach me how to listen to You.
And I need to better understand
grace, forgiveness & eternal You.
Keep me from the distractions
of busyness and draw me
closer to You each day. Amen.
Lord, we will Seek Your View:
Look at Apollo’s and me as mere
servants of Christ…Now a person
who is put in charge as a manager
must be faithful… It matters very
little what you or anyone thinks…
Be careful not jump to conclusion
whether or not someone is faithful.
When the Lord comes, He will
bring our deepest secrets to light…
If you pay attention to scriptures,
you don’t brag at the expense
of another (1 Cor 4:1-6).
Lord Jesus, what a privilege to
be Your servant in Your kingdom.
Help us be good stewards of the
tasks You have entrusted us and
faithfully proclaiming Your message
Help us not to be Judgmental.
Help us not to be too concerned
about what others think; but
instead be very concerned about
what You God thinks. Amen.
As the Bible is arranged by genre,
to enhance understanding context
we had been meditating scripture
by time sequence over 3OT phases:
OT1: Five Books of Laws & Job
OT2: Conquest to United Kingdom,
including Psalms & Wisdom Poetry.
OT3: Divided Kingdom, Exile, plus
Post-Exilic period & the Prophets.
Then we meditated on the gospels
ending with John where we learnt
Jesus Christ as Son of God and
believing we have life in His name.
Acts records fulfilment of Jesus’
Commission as Spirit-transformed
disciples spread the gospel. And in
Romans, Paul gives a sample of his
message before he arrives in Rome.
Next First and Second Corinthians.
In New Testament times, Corinth
was famous as the commercial hub
of southern Greece. But it was also
infamous as a center of immorality.
Despite that, Paul established
a church there near the end of
his second missionary journey
(Acts 18:1-17). Though the church
was in Corinth, Corinth was also
in the church, infecting its fellowship
and witness. Paul recognises
the gifts and strengths of the
church but he also deals decisively
with the problems plaguing it.
His goal is that all things be done
decently and in order (1Cor 14:40).
Paul’s troubles with the Corinthians
continued. After his first letter,
Paul’s teaching, character and
motives were brought under attack.
Paul writes back to set forth
his credentials and vindicate
his conduct, thanking those
who support him and appealing
to the rebellious minority. The book
is heavily autobiographical, offering
glimpses into the life of Paul:
his preconversion background,
his visions from Goa, his thorn
in the flesh and his persecution
for the cause of Christ.
We’ll meditate I&2 Corinthians over
4 weekends in following divisions:
1C1-6: Problems of Factions
1C7-10: Perspectives on Liberty
1C11-14: Perspectives on Worship
1C15-16: Perspectives on Resurrectn
2C1-5: Minister of the Gospel
2C6-9: Motivation in the Gospel
2C10-13:Authority as Gospel Minister
Lord, You are a holy God and
we recognise the importance that
all things be done decently and
in order. Grant us Lord the grace
of wisdom and strength to do so.
In Jesus’ precious name we pray.
