Author: Chiasochris

God Keeps His Promises

Backgrounder on Isaiah 5-7:
Wickedness has permeated Judah
and Isaiah’s call for repentance is
so urgent that even his commission
was delayed. The task before Isaiah
is unenviable, for God had said the
pple will be spiritually deaf & near
-sighted. But having encountered
God, Isaiah begins to declare harsh
words from on high with confidence

Lord, You Keep Your Promises:
(God said): Ask me for a sign,
Ahaz, to prove that I will crush
your enemies As I Have Promised…
But the king refused… Therefore
the Lord Himself will Give you
A Sign. The virgin will conceive
and give birth to a son, and will
call him Immanuel (Isa 7:11-14).
Continue reading “Prayer Thot for the Day (Mar 20)”

God Who Is On the Throne

Backgrounder on Isaiah 5-7:
Wickedness has permeated
every fiber of Judah – a condition
which God finds intolerable.
Isaiah’s national call for repentance
is so urgent that even his personal
Call & Commission to the prophetic
office must wait until chapter 6.
The task set before Isaiah is an
unenviable one, for God said the
people will be spiritually deaf and
nearsighted. Having encountered
God, Isaiah begins to declare harsh
words from on high with confidence
in the courts and palaces of Judah.

Lord, You are In Control:
I saw the Lord Sitting on a Throne,
high and lifted up… Above it stood
seraphim… And one cried & said:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts
The whole earth is full of His glory!
Woe to me, I cried: For I am a man
of unclean lips, and my eyes have
seen the King, the Lord Almighty.
Then one seraphim flew to me,
having in his hand a live coal from
the altar. And he touched my mouth
& said: Your iniquity is Taken Away
and your sin purged (Isa 6:1-6).
Continue reading “Prayer Thot for the Day (Mar 19)”

God Is In Sovereign Control
(Prayer Walk thro Esther 1-10)

Backgrounder: Beautiful Esther
is among the many Jews whose
family chooses to remain in Persia
following the return of Israel to
Jerusalem with Zerubbabel, Ezra
and Nehemiah. Selected as queen
she discovers a court official’s plot
to kill her and her countrymen.
In a dramatic turn of events,
God uses the roll of the dice and
a king’s sleeplessness to save
the day and preserve His people.

Dear Lord, through the Israel
history recorded in the book of
Esther, we learnt that You are
in complete control of situations.
Help us to Be Available to You;
Help us to Wait for Your Timing &
Help us Remember Yr Goodness.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.
Continue reading “Praying thro Esther (Mar 18)”

Return From Exile (Mar 18)

We have been covering the Bible
by time sequence, phase by phase
OT1: Five Books of Laws incl Job.
OT2: History Up to King David
from Joshua to 1 Chron + Psalms
as well as Reign of King Solomon
in 2nd Chron & Wisdom Poetry.
In OT Phase 3, we see decline
of the two Divided Kingdoms.
OT3A: 1 Kings & minor prophets.
OT3B: 2K1-17 & Prophets incl Isaiah
up to Israel’s Dispersion in 722BC.
OT3C: 2K18-25 & Prophets incl Jer
up to Judah’s Dispersion in 586BC.
Followed by Ezekiel & Daniel.

Continuing, we will meditate on
three Israel historical books on
the return from exile, over two
weekends. Listed below are the
background condition and issues
during that period of time.

Esther (483-473BC)
The real life drama of Esther pits
a beautiful heroine against a
hateful villain. Beautiful Esther
is among the many Jews whose
family chooses to remain in Persia
following the return of Israel to
Jerusalem with Zerubbabel, Ezra
and Nehemiah. Selected as queen
she discovers a court official’s plot
to kill her and her countrymen.
In a dramatic turn of events,
God uses the roll of the dice and
a king’s sleeplessness to save
the day and preserve His people.

Ezra (538-457BC)
After 70 years of exile, God fulfills
His promise to return His people
to their home-land. Under His
direction, King Cyrus of Persia
now rules Babylonia, and the Jews
are free to go home. The first
group of returnees rebuild the
temple in Jerusalem (chap 1-6).
58 years later, Ezra leads a second
group (mostly priests & Levites)
back to Jerusalem to rebuild
the spiritual and moral character
of the people (chap 7-10).

Nehemiah (445-420BC)
A rebuilt temple stands in
Jerusalem, but only crumbled walls
surround the Holy City. Clearly,
there is much work to be done!
For the task of rebuilding the city
walls, God raises up Nehemiah
to lead the third and last expedition
of Jewish returnees from Persia.
In spite of stiff opposition to the
reconstruction efforts, Nehemiah
and his band of bricklayers
complete the job in only 52 days.
Nehemiah’ zeal extends not only
to reconstructing the city, but also
to reforming its citizentry – a task
which demands inspired leadership

Friends, Look out for the expository
meditation as it shows God is
in control of situations and will
strengthen our faith in Him.
Shalom/chris

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Significance Reinstated (Mar 17)

Dear Friends,
We have completed four months
of devotion on God’s Promises,
following three earlier series on
Adoring God thro Thanksgiving,
Knowing God’s thro His Names
and Praising God thro Hymns.
Before continuing in the series,
let’s pause to note the significance
of Imploring God on His Promises.

There are so much to pray about:
our dreams, hopes and plans.
But often we are held up by our
own doubts: Does God really
care about this request of ours?
How assuring to pray back to God
the promises found in His Word.
Then we no longer wonder if this
is something God cares about,for
He brought it up in the 1st place.
Continue reading “Imploring God thro His Promises:”