Isaiah 52-53

7-9  He was beaten, he was tortured,
    but he didn’t say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
    and like a sheep being sheared,
    he took it all in silence.

Being that is the start of Easter season.....I pulled this portion of the read.  This is really a "drop-the-mic" segment.  It sums it all up in a few short lines.

Yesterday you wrote about how we don't need to worry.  Today is the reason why we don't need to worry.  He took it all.  All the stuff we are afraid of....he took it for us.

tp

Isaiah 50-51

51:12-16 “I, I’m the One comforting you.
    What are you afraid of—or who?
Some man or woman who’ll soon be dead?
    Some poor wretch destined for dust?...


This one hit me because I'm a worrier at work.  Not that I'm actually afraid of others but in effect when I worry about stuff, like being concerned with how others will judge me its kind of like being afraid of them.  Now if I'm not doing my share or my best work that is one thing but if I'm doing what I know is right really what do I care about what others think?  It does seem kind of ridiculous for anyone to be afraid of the thoughts of others when you put it in context of they are just a person with a beginning and an end here on earth just like every other person.  Just be faithful and trust in God and there really isn't anything to worry about at work.  must have work on the mind.

knut

Isaiah 48-49

49:8 This is what the Lord says:

“In the time of my favor I will answer you,
    and in the day of salvation I will help you;
I will keep you and will make you
    to be a covenant for the people,
to restore the land
    and to reassign its desolate inheritances,


just a quick thought today, but a reminder God has a plan for me.  That plan though is  'In the time of His favor'...not my time.  Be patient and faithful each day and don't worry about tomorrow.  Something I need to keep in mind right now.

knut

Isaiah 47

“Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,
    lounging in your security
and saying to yourself,
    ‘I am, and there is none besides me.

This REEKS of western culture....doesn't it?
This is where I sit, mentally, a lot.  I was just saying to Kim last night that we are sniffing a milestone in our "work" 401K.  That is something I really pay close attention to.  The security is more important than it probably should be.  And if there is a lover of pleasure, or of the leisure...its me.  
At their core, I don't think there's anything wrong with the examples I wrote down.  But, if they become the priority rather than my relationship and reliance on God, then there's a problem of the heart.

I'm slogging through these chapters.  Maybe we need a change for a bit.
What do ya think?  There are 66 chapter in Isaiah.  Or we just double em up and be done in 2 weeks.

tp

Isaiah 46

11 From the east I summon a bird of prey;
    from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
    what I have planned, that I will do.

He has a plan and has since the beginning.  He's made it clear how this world ends.  He's made it clear we have one path to Salvation.  We can look back in history and see what he has said is occurring.  Timing is unknown to us, but should be able to see there is no reason to doubt the inevitable.  Yet collectively as humans we sure have a large amount of doubt, sad and scary for those who do not believe.

knut

Isaiah 45

22 “Turn to me and be saved,
    all you ends of the earth;
    for I am God, and there is no other.

He was pretty clear over 500 years before Jesus was born.  This morning I was just reflecting on His word that has endured for thousands of years. 

Here's a nugget i found--At the top of the list, unsurprisingly, is the Bible. The Guinness Book of World Records estimates that more than 5 billion copies of the Bible have been printed.

Other religious texts are also high on the list: the Quran with 800 million copies, the Book of Mormon with 120 million. China's "Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong" has several hundred million copies in print, as well.

Pretty amazing numbers from a book written before there was any ability to mass produce.

just reflections no real take today.

knut

Isaiah 44

20 This lover of emptiness, of nothing, is so out of touch with reality, so far gone, that he can’t even look at what he’s doing, can’t even look at the no-god stick of wood in his hand and say, “This is crazy.”

I wasn't getting much today.  I thought the Message verse 20 was kind of funny, like how stupid can you be you make a nice looking idol statue and then worship it like it has power.  So I don't think we probably do that today but we do make things/activities/events that consume our time energy and thoughts and risk diverting our attention from God.

knut