“Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do that day, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly. then the Lord will be your delight. I will give you a great honor and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob. I, the Lord, have spoken!” (vv. 13-14, NLT)
Author: cackywalker@yahoo.com
Excerpts from Isaiah Chapter 57
“Good people pass away; the godly often die before their time. But no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to understand that god is protecting them from the evil to come. For those who follow godly paths will rest in peace when they die.” (vv. 1-2, NLT)
God Forgives the Repentant
“God says,’Rebuild the road! clear away the rocks and stones so my people can return from captivity.’ The high and lofty one who lives in eternity, the Holy One says,’I live in the high and holy place with those who spirits are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.
For I will not fight against you forever; I will not always be angry. I was angry, so I punished these greedy people. I withdrew from them, but they kept going their own stubborn way. I have seen what they do, but I will heal them anyway! I will lead then. I will comfort those who mourn, bring words of praise to their lips. May they have abundant peace, both hear and far,’ says the Lord, who heals them.
‘But those who still reject Me are like the restless sea, which is never still but continually churns up mud and dirt. There is no peace for the wicked,’ says my God.” (14-21, NLT)
Blessings of All Nations, Excerpts from Isaiah, Chapter 56
“This is what the Lord says,’Be just and fair to all. do what is right and good, for I am coming soon to rescue and to display My righteousness among you. Blessed are all those who are careful to do this. Blessed are those who honor my Sabbath days of rest and keep themselves from doing wrong.'” (vv. 1-2, NLT)
“‘I will also bless the foreigners who commit themselves to the Lord, who serve Him and love His name, who worship Him and do not desecrate the Sabbath day of rest, and who hold fat to My covenant. I will bring them to my holy mountain of Jerusalem and will fill them with joy in My house of prayer. I will accept their burnt offerings and sacrifices, because My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations. For the Sovereign Lord, who brings back the outcasts of Israel says; I will bring others, too besides my people Israel.’ ” (vv. 6-8, NLT)
Invitation to the Lord’s Salvation, Excerpts from Isaiah Chapter 55
“Seek the Lord while you can find Him. Call on Him now while He is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that He may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for He will forgive generously.
‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts are higher than your thoughts.'” (vv. 6-9, NLT)
The Lord’s Suffering Servant, Excerpt from Isaiah Chapter 53, Part III
“But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush Him and cause Him grief. Yet when His life is made an offering for sin, He will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in His hands. When He sees all that is accomplished by His anguish, He will be satisfied. And because of His experience, My righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted as righteous, for He will bear all their sins. I will give Him the honors of a victorious soldier, because He exposed Himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.” (vv. 10-12, NLT)
The Lord’s Suffering Servant, Excerpts from Isaiah Chapter 53, Part II
“He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet He never said a word. He was led like a lamb to slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open His mouth. Unjustly condemned, He was led away. No one cared that He died without descendants, that. His life was cut short in midstream. But He was struck down for the rebellion of My people. He had done no wrong and He had never deceived anyone. But He was buried like a criminal; He was put in a rich man’s grave.” (vv. 7-9, NLT)
The Lord’s Suffering Servant, Excerpts from Isaiah Chapter 53, Part I
“Who has believed our message? To whom has the Lord revealed His powerful arm? My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about His appearance, nothing to attract us to Him. He was despised and rejected – a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on Him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.
Yet it was our weakness He carried; it was our sorrows that weighed Him down. And we thought His troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for His own sins! But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow on our own. Yet, the Lord laid on Him the sins of us all. “(vv 1-6, NLT)
Deliverance for Jerusalem, Excerpts from Isaiah Chapter 52
“This is what the Sovereign Lord says,’Long ago My people chose to live in Egypt. Now they are oppressed by Assyria. what is this?’asked the Lord. ‘Why are My people enslaved again? Those who rule them shout in exultation. My name is blasphemed all day long. But I will reveal My name to My people, and they will come to know its power. Then at last they will recognize that I am the one who speaks to them.’
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns! The watchmen shout and sing for joy, for before their very eyes they see the Lord returning to Jerusalem. Let the ruins of Jerusalem break in to joyful song, for the Lord has comforted His people. He has redeemed Israel. The Lord has demonstrated His holy power before the eyes of all nations. All the ends of the earth will see the victory of our God.” (vv. 4-10, NLT)
A Call to Trust the Lord, Excerpts from Isaiah, Chapter 51
“Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance – all who seek the Lord! Consider the rock from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were mined. Yes, think about Abraham, you ancestor, and Sarah, who gave birth to your nation. Abraham was only one man when I called him. But when I blessed him, he became a great nation.
The Lord will comfort Israel again and have pity on her ruins. Her desert will blossom like Eden, her barren wilderness like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found there. Songs of thanksgiving will fill the air.
Listen to Me, my people. Hear me, Israel, for My law will be proclaimed and My justice will become a light to all the nations. My mercy and justice are coming soon. My salvation is on the way. My strong arm will bring justice to the. nations. All distant lans will look at Me and wait in hope for my powerful arm. Look up to the skies above, and gaze down on the earth below. For the skies will disappear like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a piece of clothing. The people of the earth will die like flies, but My salvation lasts forever. My righteous rule will never end!” (vv. 1-6, NLT)
The Lord’s Obedient Servant, Excerpts from Isaiah Chapter 50
“The Sovereign Lord has given me this words of wisdom, so that I know how to comfort the weary. Morning by morning He wakens me and opens my understanding to His will. The Sovereign Lord has spoken to me, and I have listened. I have not rebelled or turned away. ” (vv. 4-5, NLT)
“Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my fact like stone, determined to do His will. And I know that I will not be put to shame. He who gives me justice is near. Who will date to bring charges against me now? Where are my accusers? Let them appear! See, the Sovereign Lord is on my side! Who will declare me guilty? All my enemies will be destroyed like old clothes that been eaten by moths!
Who among you fears the Lord and obeys His servant? If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God. But watch out, you who live in your own light and warm yourselves by your own fires. This is the reward you will receive from me: You will soon fall down in great torment.” (vv. 7-11, NLT)