Isaiah

God prefers the "handyman special."

God prefers the "handyman special."

Isaiah 66

If there was one thing my parents loved to do together, it was remodeling. When I was 10, we moved into the house my mom still lives in, and I don’t think there was one square inch of it that didn’t need remodeling. Consequently, there is now no square inch of the house that doesn’t have a remodeling “story” attached to it. No matter where I look, I will always see my mom and dad when I walk through the house and remember how, for much of my childhood, we could only watch Sunday morning cartoons if we were simultaneously using the heat gun to strip the paint off of old windows. (My mom says she doesn’t remember that part, ha ha.)

God always loses at hide-and-seek.

God always loses at hide-and-seek.

Isaiah 65

Many years ago, the Christian band Newsboys released a song titled, “God is Not a Secret to Be Kept.” And there’s a lot of truth to that. Those of us who know and love God shouldn’t keep Him to ourselves, and frankly, it would be quite hard to do so. When you’ve found something awesome, you want to share it with others!

God helps those who...

God helps those who...

Isaiah 64

You can finish that sentence, right? God helps those who help themselves. But where did we ever get that idea? Certainly not from Isaiah 64. Here, he says quite the opposite: “Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.” (vs 4)

God will make it all better.

God will make it all better.

Isaiah 61

I’ll never forget when our oldest daughter first began to find her feet. For quite some time, she would pull herself up into a standing position at the sofa and take a tentative step to the right or left, only to come quickly crashing down on her behind. But then, one day, she started “cruising,” walking smoothly around the perimeter of the sofa while holding onto the cushions.

God loves multiplication.

God loves multiplication.

Isaiah 60

I have seen many stories of late about the declining number of Christians in North America. In recent years, many denominations have been faced with the problem of how to “keep” the members they have, let alone trying to find ways to attract new ones. And now, this year, with all the Covid shutdowns, some churches are in worse shape than ever before!

God is not weak.

God is not weak.

Isaiah 59

This chapter touches on one of the greatest theological questions of our time: how can there be an all-loving, all-powerful God when there is so much suffering in the world? For, certainly, if we had the power to end the suffering of someone we loved, wouldn’t we do it? That’s how many people come to the conclusion that (a) God must not be all-powerful and, thus, cannot do anything about our suffering or (b) God must either not love us or not exist at all.

God acts.

God acts.

Isaiah 58

In this chapter, God exposed the Israelites’ empty practice of two religious rituals—fasting and Sabbath-keeping: “On the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high… If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, (vs 3-4, 13-14)

God is not a snob.

God is not a snob.

Isaiah 57

To me, one of the most wonderful things about God is that He isn’t a snob. No matter who we are, no matter where we’ve come from, no matter what we’ve done, when God looks at us, He sees one of His precious children. There is nothing in Him that is aloof or standoffish. He has no interest in maintaining a pecking order in His creation. He will stoop to relate to His creatures anywhere, anytime.

God loves outcasts.

God loves outcasts.

Isaiah 56

In this chapter, God addresses two groups of people who were considered outcasts in Israel: the eunuchs and the foreigners. Back in Deuteronomy 23, both groups had been forbidden from entering “the assembly of the Lord.” Incidentally, that phrase is only used three times at the beginning of Deuteronomy 23… and nowhere else in the Old Testament. So, all scholars don’t agree on what “the assembly of the Lord” means, but it likely had something to do with taking part in ceremonial or religious practices.

God must be odd ('cuz He never gets even).

God must be odd ('cuz He never gets even).

Isaiah 55

I stole the title of this blog from the title of a chapter in my father’s book, Freedom Fighter: How God Wins the Universal War on Terror. That chapter is all about God’s amazing forgiveness. (I invite you to read the chapter online.) In many ways, God’s forgiveness does seem odd to us, because unlike most of us, God never holds a grudge. Ever.

God is beautifully unattractive.

God is beautifully unattractive.

Isaiah 53

Wow, talk about a jam-packed chapter. I feel like I could write a blog about every single verse! But I decided to focus on one of the things that I have always found most amazing about God: “He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” (vs 2)

God wants to know what you're afraid of.

God wants to know what you're afraid of.

Isaiah 51

I’ve never been one to beat around the bush much. Unless I’m indulging in “girl talk,” I like to get down to business, straight to the point. I think that’s why I was so drawn to the plain talk in this chapter: “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? You’ve forgotten me, God, who made you, who unfurled the skies, who founded the earth. And here you are, quaking like an aspen before the tantrums of tyrants who think they can kick down the world. But what will come of the tantrums?” (vs 12-13)

God sometimes keeps us in the dark.

God sometimes keeps us in the dark.

Isaiah 50

When we talk about God, one of the first things that comes to mind is light. Jesus is described in the Gospels as the Light of the World (Jn 8:12) and the true light that gives light to every person (Jn 1:9). In fact, the Bible begins with God saying, “Let there be light!” (Gen 1:3). So, that’s why it seemed a bit odd to come to the end of this chapter and discover that, sometimes, those who follow the Lord walk in the dark:

God is a slave.

God is a slave.

Isaiah 49

There are so many ironies in the Christian life, and this is one of them: to be a slave to others in love is the highest expression of freedom. Yeah, that probably bears repeating: to be a slave to others in love is the highest expression of freedom. And in this chapter of Isaiah, that’s exactly what we learn about God—He is a slave to others in love.

God's revelation is progressive.

God's revelation is progressive.

Isaiah 48

In this chapter of Isaiah, God rails against the Israelites who have either been slow to respond or have not responded at all to His personal revelation in their lives: “I foretold the former things long ago, my mouth announced them and I made them known; then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass. For I knew how stubborn you were; your neck muscles were iron, your forehead was bronze. Therefore I told you these things long ago; before they happened I announced them to you so that you could not say, ‘My images brought them about; my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’ You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not admit them?” (vs 3-6)

God shatters all our delusions.

God shatters all our delusions.

Isaiah 47

Several years ago, English teacher David McCullough Jr. made national headlines when he told the graduating class from Wellesley High School, “You are not special. You are not exceptional.” Almost immediately after the words left his mouth, the reactions began to roll in from all sides. Surprisingly, the feedback was mostly positive, although there was very strong criticism from some corners.