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 25
about Shelter from the Storm.
On Tuesday, we learn from
Isaiah 26 about Rock of Ages.
On Wednesday, we learn from
Isa 28 about Sure Foundation.
On Thursday, we learn from
Isaiah 30 about Source of Strength.
On Friday, we learn from Isaiah 33
about Lawgiver, Judge and King.
Let us humble ourselves and pray
and seek His face…In Jesus’ name.
As Isaiah continues to study
the prophetic horizon, he sees
more than coming calamity.
True, the prospects are not pleasant
for the rebellious people of God.
But there is also a coming King
who will bring peace like a river,
freedom for the captives, justice
for those suffering oppression,
and judgment upon heaven & earth.
In the light of His sure coming, the
people of God are urged to watch
and wait expectantly & purposefully.
Their redemption is nigh.
Lord, be merciful to us,
for we have waited for You…
In that day He will be your
sure foundation, providing a rich
store of salvation (Isaiah 33:2,6)
Lord, You will see Zion
as a place of holy festivals.
You will see Jerusalem,
a city quiet and secure…
The Lord will be our Mighty One.
He will be like a wide river
of protection that no enemy
can cross, that no enemy ship
can sail upon. For the Lord is
our judge, our lawgiver and our
King. He will care for us and
save us (Isaiah 33:20-22).
O Lord, be gracious to me;
be my strength each day and
my salvation in times of distress.
For You O Lord are the sure
foundation for all times. And
since You Lord are a rich storehouse
of wisdom and knowledge,
keep me from wandering away
from the truth of Your word, and give
me an understanding heart and a love
for You, that grows each passing day.
These I ask in Jesus name, Amen
Lord, as my creator, You have the
right to be my lawgiver and judge.
As my King, You have the right
to demand my allegiance.
Yet You choose to come as my
Saviour and win my affection.
You have loved all of humanity
enough to not write us off for
our rebellion. Let me be moved by
this incredible act of love one again.
Let me believe this truth not only
in words but in my core being. Amen
Glorious things of thee are
spoken, Zion City of our God;
He whose word cannot be broken
Formed thee for His own abode:
On the Rock of Ages founded,
What can shake thy sure repose?
With salvation’s walls surrounded,
Thou may’st smile at all thy foes.
With salvation’s walls surrounded,
Thou may’st smile at all thy foes.
Isaiah’s prophecies begin to focus
on the approach of the Assyrians.
Ephraim (northern kingdom) reels
like a drunkard, oblivious to the
danger & falsely confident in Egypt
to deliver her in time of trouble.
Ariel (Jerusalem, symbol of the
southern kingdom) stands next
in line for judgment if her citizens
follow Ephraim’s sorry example by
relying upon Egypt for protection.
Lord, You Strengthen & Direct Us:
This is what the Sovereign Lord
says: In repentance & rest is your
salvation, in quietness and Trust
is your Strength (Isaiah 30:15).
The Lord longs to be gracious to
you; therefore He will rise up to
show you compassion. Blessed
are all Who Wait for Him (v18).
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).
Lord, forgive me for trusting
in anyone or anything but You.
Give me wisdom to see a satisfying
life is possible only when I look to U.
Sensitive my spirit to Your voice; for
I have set my heart to listen to You.
And I set aside my anxieties, plans
and impatience to hear from You.
So in my quietness, be my Strength.
Deliver me from trouble; and grant
me Strength to Trust You. Amen.
Lord, thanks for being true & faithful
and that You are Waiting to show me
love and compassion. Forgive me
for looking elsewhere for help; and
acting as though I am in charge.
You reward those who seek You;
and I need and want to turn to You.
Give me the resolve, the courage
and the tenacity to Wait for You.
And Strengthen my faith to see
Your faithfulness in my life. Amen.
Lord, Your Will is a place of safety
for me and I need to know I am
headed in the right direction.
So speak to me about Your Will
so that I can aspire to walk in it.
Help me hear Your voice speaking
to my heart telling me what to do,
especially with regards to the decision I need to make each day.
In Jesus’ precious name. Amen.
Isaiah’s prophecies begin to focus
on the ominous approach of the
Assyrian armies. Ephraim (northern
kingdom) reels like a drunkard,
oblivious to the danger and falsely
confident in the armies of Egypt
to deliver her in time of trouble.
Ariel (Jerusalem, symbol of the
southern kingdom) stands next
in line for judgment if her citizens
follow Ephraim’s sorry example by
relying upon Egypt for protection.
Lord, You are Sure Foundation:
So this is what the Sovereign Lord
says: See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a tested stone, a precious corner-
stone for a Sure Foundation; the
one Who Relies on it will never
be stricken with panic (Isa 28:16)
When a farmer plows for planting,
does he plow continually? Does
he keep on breaking up & working
the soil? When he has levelled the
surface, does he not sow (v24-25)
This also comes from the Lord of
hosts who is wonderful in counsel
and excellent in guidance (v29).
Lord, Your Word says we don’t
have to panic because we have
You as our Sure Foundation. But
there’s times when we are at the
end of resources & fear beckons.
Being in impossible situations,
we will desperately need Your help.
Instead of trying to solve dilemmas
myself, I ask You to help me. Grant
me Your favour and favor of men
and show me the way to go. Amen
Lord, we recognise from scripture
that plowing illustrate God’s work
in our lives to prepare us produce
a harvest. The season of plowing
to break up the going is messy
and can be painful. You are a Good
God and You won’t plow the ground
where You are not going to plant.
So I surrender to Your work in my life
as You plow the ground of my heart.
For I know the plowing will not go on
forever & harvest will come. Amen.
Lord, we are Your children
Chosen and called by Your name
With one heart & mind we gather
To glorify You and proclaim that
You Lord are our Sure Foundation
We will not be afraid
When the storm comes
we will not be shaken
For by Your hand we are saved.
O by Your hand we’re saved. 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.
In Isaiah 24-27, Isaiah steps back to
survey the landscape & what he sees
causes him to respond in jubilation.
Earth and heaven experience God’s
sifting judgment. The redeemed
ones, vindicated at last, break forth
in spontaneous song, exalting
the Lord of the universe. Though
downcast, the people of God now
have something worth singing about
refuge, deliverance and ultimate
triumph in the Holy One of Israel.
O Lord, I will honour and praise
Your name, for You are my God.
You do such wonderful things!
You planned them long ago, and
now You have accomplished them…
For You have been a strength to
the poor, a strength to the needy
in his distress, a refuge from
the storm (Isaiah 25:1, 4).
You, Lord God, will swallow up death
forever, and You will wipe away
the tears from every face; You will
remove the reproach of Your people
from the earth. And it will be said
in that day: “Behold, this is our
God; we have waited for Him and
He will save us” (Isaiah 25:8-9).
My Lord who provides, bring to
my mind all the good You have
caused in my life, so that I can
fully honour and praise Your name.
I humbly thank You for helping me
to stop living a lie and for silencing
mean people who surround me.
And thank You Lord for all You
still plan to accomplish through
me for Your kingdom. Amen.
Lord, by faith I make You my Shelter,
accept Your Presence and receive
all other blessings that You offer.
Grow my faith O Lord to be as
big as the gifts You want to give.
And having experienced You,
I will declare to everyone, what
wonderful things You’ve done for me.
I love and adore You Lord for You are
more precious than anything. Amen
Lord, Your word affirms that
we will rise from death and that
death is not the end of existence.
We praise You because You are
the resurrection and the life.
And those who believe in You
will never die; at least not in the
ultimate sense. Thank You Lord
for the hope of the gospel; for
because of You, death has lost
its sting. In Jesus’ mighty name.
Isaiah’s national call for repentance
is so urgent that even his personal
call and commission to prophetic
office must wait until chapter 6.
The task set before Isaiah is an
unenviable one, for God promises
from the start that the people will
be spiritually deaf & nearsighted.
But armed with confidence in his
Immanuel, Isaiah begins to declare
harsh words from on high in the
courts and palaces of Judah.
All Praise be to Immanuel:
The Lord spoke again to Ahaz
saying: Ask a sign for yourself
from the Lord your God…
Then Isaiah said: Hear now, you
house of David! Is it not enough
to try the patience of men?
Will you try the patience of my
God also? Therefore the Lord
Himself will give you a sign:
Behold, a virgin will be with child
and bear a son, and she will call
his name Immanuel (Isa 7:10-14).
Immanuel, God with us. The most
perfect being – the Creator of all
things, chose to dwell among us.
Lord, You are fully God but also
fully man & You took on the sin of
all humanity to offer us salvation.
You Lord are the King of kings,
in a manger – the humble King,
who came to reveal the heart and
character of Father to us. Amen.
Immanuel, we focus much on You
during Christmas and give You
the honour rightly due to You.
But often throughout the rest of
the year, we forget the significance
of Your name – God with us!
Forgive me for being so easily
distracted that I fail to give You
the honour due You each day.
Forgive me for looking elsewhere
for that which only You can supply:
meaning & purpose of life. Amen.
Immanuel,strengthen Your followers
to live lives that reflect Your glory
& point people to U as God with us.
May Your name spread in such
a way as to draw people to You.
May we experience You more
fully and intimately each day.
May You not be to us a distant God,
but truly know You as God with us.
And May I know You as Immanuel,
God with me. In Jesus’ name.
For 11 chapters Paul has set forth
the doctrine of the Christian faith.
The balance of his letter moves
into the practical outworking of
that faith. For every assignment,
there is a enablement from God.
The letter closes with Paul’s stating
his plans, a long series of greetings,
an admonition followed by doxology.
Lord, we will Defend the Gospel:
Brothers and sisters, I ask you
to look out for those who cause
people to be against each other
and who upset other people’s faith.
They are against the true teaching
you learned, so stay away from them.
For those who are such do not serve
our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 16:17-18).
Everyone knows that you are
obedient to the Lord. This makes
me very happy. I want you to see
clearly what is right and to stay
innocent of any wrong (v19).
And the God of peace will crush
Satan under your feet shortly.
The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ be with you. Amen (v20).
Lord, make us be faithful to the
gospel in our area of influence.
Help us to be watchful for those
who undermine sound doctrine.
Lead us be wise and discerning
so that we could recognise
what is good and what is evil.
Prompt us to want to do good
and make us be willing servants.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.
Lord, help me to travel life’s
road seeing things clearly
and living innocent of wrong.
Help me Lord to depend fully
on the light of Your Son Jesus.
Help me see the path You have
for me and through the truth of
Your Word leads me gently on it.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.
Lord, we realize the more we
yield to sin, the more enticements
to sin we seem to encounter.
But the more consistently and
firmly we resist temptation, the
stronger our resolve becomes.
Lord, the enemy is strong and
sinister; but You are stronger.
Give me the grace to recognise
the attacks of the enemy; and the
strength to spurn his offers. Amen.
Backgrounder: What you believe
will always affect how you behave.
For 11 chapters Paul has set forth
the doctrine of the Christian faith.
The balance of his letter moves
into the practical outworking of
that faith. For every assignment,
there is a enablement from God:
Serve one another using the gifts
God has given you; be subject
to the higher authorities, using
the Savior’s attitude of love and
submission; be sensitive to the
needs of weaker brothers in
matters of conscience; be united in
purpose, having the mind of Christ.
Lord, thanks for Paul’s practical
guidelines for believers in Rom 12-15.
Help us not only just merely know
the gospel; but also let it really
transform our lives and let You
impact every aspect of our lives.
Lord, help us be Living Sacrifice;
help us be Instrument of Peace &
grant us Joy, Peace & Hope. Amen
Lord, we will be Living Sacrifice:
Dear brothers and sisters, I plead
with u to give your bodies to God.
Let them be a living and holy
sacrifice – the kind He will accept.
When you think of what He has
done for u, is this too much to ask?
Don’t copy the behaviour and
customs of this world, but let God
transform you into a new person
by changing the way you think.
Then you will know what God
wants you to do, and you will know
how good and pleasing & perfect
His will really is (Rom 12:1-2).
Lord, I don’t know what these days
will hold, but I want to give myself to
You as a living sacrifice. Renew and
transform my mind with Your truth.
Make me Lord a new person, and
show me what You want me to do,
the person You want me to minister.
And all glory be unto You. Amen.
Lord, make us Instrument of Peace:
Each of us shall give account of
himself to God. Therefore let us
not judge one another… For
the kingdom of God is (about)
righteousness and peace and joy
in the Holy Spirit… Therefore
let us pursue the things which
make for peace and the things
by which one may (build)
each other up (Rom 14:12-19).
Lord, help us not to be critical and
to dispute over doubtful things.
Help us not to judge one another &
resolve not to be stumbling block.
Show me Lord where I can be Your
peacemaker; and grant me grace
to be willing to pay the price. Amen.
Lord, fill us with Joy, Peace & Hope:
May the God of hope fill you
with all joy and peace as you
trust Him, so that you may
overflow with hope by the power
of the Holy Spirit (Rom 15:13).
Gracious Lord, help me to resist
the things that will minimise
my strength or deplete my soul.
Fill me instead with Your hope,
peace and joy, so much so that
they overflow from me to others.
I praise You Lord for who You
are and thank You that as I do,
Your Spirit pours new life into me.
Fill me Lord afresh with Your Spirit
this day and in Your mercy take all
hopelessness away. In Jesus name.
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 4
about the Branch of the Lord.
On Tuesday, we learn from
Isaiah 7 about Immanuel.
On Wednesday, we learn from
Isa 9 about Wonderful Counsellor.
On Thursday, we learn from
Isaiah 9 about Mighty God.
On Friday, we learn from
Isaiah 9 about Prince of Peace.
Let us humble ourselves and pray
and seek His face…In Jesus’ name.
