Category Archives: Gospel

ISAIAH 42:1-8

Gospel, ,

As we progress through this second part of Isaiah, the figure of the Servant of Jehovah gradually comes into focus through the so-called “Servant Songs.”  We actually read more descriptions of His character in these chapters than we do in the New Testament.  As we read on, we begin to form a “fingerprint” of the Messiah which perfectly matches Jesus whom we meet in the New Testament.

ISAIAH 42:1-8

See my servant, Christ, my chosen;

He’s the one whom I uphold:

My delight, I’ve put my Spirit

On him, He will make him bold.

He’ll reveal my truth and justice

To the nations of the earth;

He’ll be gentle with the people;

He will show them their true worth.

In the streets He will not quarrel;

He won’t shout or make a noise.

He will speak with gentle whisper;

There’s no need to raise his voice.

He won’t break the bruis-ed reed, nor

Will he quench the flickering flame;

Weak, fainthearted, he will comfort;

He will be to all the same.

He will help the broken, fallen,

And those tempted to despair;

Those who have received injustice

He will help; for he’ll be fair.

He’ll not rest ‘til truth and justice

Over all the world prevail;

Lands beyond the farthest oceans –

They will know he’ll never fail.

God who made the earth and heavens,

Who gives life and breath to all,

Says to His Messiah, servant,

“Listen clearly to my call.”

“I have sent you from my bosom

Righteousness and truth to show.

I will guard you and support you;

I will give you strength to go.”

“You’re my gift to all the people,

You will be my covenant,

Light to guide the nations to me,

My provision for their want.”

“You will open blinded eyes, and

Those in darkness and despair,

Light will come to them, and freedom,

Joy and peace in place of fear.”

“I will not ascribe my glory

To another, or my fame.

I’ll not share my praise with idols.

I’m the Lord, that is my name.”

ISAIAH 40:1-31

Gospel, ,

Isaiah 40 marks the beginning of the second part of this prophetic work.  The first 39 chapters deal mostly with judgment on the people of God and the surrounding nations, but chapter 40 introduces a new note of compassion and mercy and the promise of hope and restoration.  If God’s people would only turn back to Him, God was  waiting to show them His mercy and forgiveness and to bring them back under His covenant protection.  In this second part of Isaiah, all of God’s promises ultimately focus on the one person who is called the Servant of the Lord.

ISAIAH 40:1-31

Now ‘tis time to call my people

Closer to the Father-heart;

Speak to them, bring comfort to them,

Call them now to come apart.

Tell them that the days are over,

Days of punishment for sin;

Their iniquity is pardoned

All their guilty stains have gone.

Hark, I hear the voice of someone

Shouting in the wilderness,

“Clear the way, the Lord is coming,

Coming now to save and bless.”

“Level mountains, fill the valleys;

Make the crooked places straight,

Smooth the pathway, God is coming,

We no longer have to wait.”

“All mankind shall see His glory:

God has spoken, it will be;

For the knowledge of His kingdom

Will be known o’er land and sea.”

Once again I hear a voice say,

“Shout!”  “What shall I shout?” I cry,

“Shout that man, like grass, is dying,

All his beauty fades away.”

“Flowers wilt, the grasses wither

‘Neath the fiery breath of God:

Only one thing lives forever,

God’s abiding, living Word.”

Crier of Good News, from the mountains

Shout to all Jerusalem,

Tell God’s people He is coming

Justly to rule over them.

Like a shepherd He will lead them,

Hold the lambs on His strong arm;

Ewes with young keep closely to Him;

None of them will come to harm.

Who has cupped the mighty oceans,

Measured heaven in His hand?

Who has held the hills and mountains,

Knows the weight of sea and land?

Who can teach the Holy Spirit

Give Him counsel or advice?

Does He really need instruction;

Do we think we are so wise?

No, we humans pale to nothing;

We’re like dust upon the scale

Next to God’s almighty Spirit,

Tiny drops within a pail.

Light as feathers, islands nestle

In the hollow of His hand.

What an awesome God we worship,

One too great to understand!

Can we find sufficient fuel

From the trees of Lebanon,

Animals enough to offer

Sacrifice to honour Him?

Is there someone we can liken

To this God we here present?

Like an idol, cast in metal?

Are we yet so ignorant?

Can a lump of gold or silver

Moulded into human form,

Can a tree stump shape our future,

Care for, love us from the womb?

Are we, then, so stubborn, stupid,

Deaf to ancient words of God?

Ignorant of truth and wisdom?

Have we never understood?

God, who sits above the circle

Of the earth, He is the one

Stretches heaven like a curtain,

(We’re like grasshoppers to Him.)

Makes His dwelling in the heavens,

Dooms great men, brings them to naught,

Blows on them, their labours wither

Just as they were taking root.

“Who is like me, who my equal?”

Asks the Holy One, the Lord.

“Maker of the stars and planets,

Is there someone like this God?”

As a shepherd leads his sheep out,

Calling each by its pet name,

Counting, so that none is wayward,

Checks to see that none is lame,

So this God knows every planet,

Comets, stars and galaxies,

All are His for He has made them.

This should bring us to our knees.

Jacob, Israel, how can you say

That the Lord God doesn’t care?

That He doesn’t see your troubles,

That He isn’t being fair?

Have you yet no understanding?

Surely you should know by now

That our God does not grow weary

And His wisdom none can know.

He gives power to the fainting,

And the weak He will make strong;

Even youths shall fall exhausted,

Tiredness o’ertake the young,

But to those who wait upon Him,

Those who listen patiently,

God will give His strength and power

To rise up and to fly free.

They shall mount with wings as eagles,

Viewing life from way up high;

Not for them to live as earthbound,

But to soar up in the sky.

Those who wait will not grow weary

Of the race that they must run;

Without fainting, they’ll keep walking

In God’s strength till they have won.

ISAIAH 11:1-10

Gospel, ,

The prophet visualises a restoration of God’s original creation before sin brought discord and death into the physical world.  God would send His servant who would be clothed with the Holy Spirit and who, through His suffering, would restore justice and harmony to all of God’s creation.

ISAIAH 11:1-10

The royal line of David will be cut off like a tree;

But from the stump will grow a shoot

A new Branch from the former root,

The Holy One will come for everyone to see.

The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon Him, He’ll appear

A man of wisdom, counsel, might,

Understanding; His delight

To honour and obey His God, to live in holy fear.

He will not judge by outward looks, false evidence, hearsay,

He’ll help the poor, the exploited;

He’ll crush oppressors, and wicked,

Fairness and truth will be His dress; He’ll wear them every day.

For in that day both wolf and lamb will lie down, side by side;

Leopards and goats will be at peace;

For strife among the beasts will cease;

Cattle and lions will graze as one, small children as their guide.

The cows will graze among the bears; cubs, calves will play as friends;

Babes will make of asps their pets,

And play with them while no one frets,

For peace will reign in God’s domain, and joy that never ends.

The knowledge of the Lord will spread across both land and sea;

The world will know His saving grace,

And every nation take its place

To worship Him who came from David’s royal dynasty.

Y Y Y Y Y

SAIAH 7:14; 9:1-7

Gospel, ,

This second poem focuses on the child to be born, in whom lies hope and restoration for a broken people.  Although He is only a shadowy figure at this point, already the prophet sees an unusual person, one who is born as a human, yet carries both divine names and divine functions.  He will rule in peace over a kingdom which will never end.  What an encouragement for a people who are constantly being harassed by alien nations at enmity with them!

ISAIAH 7:14; 9:1-7

Virgin-born, a son is given,

Emmanuel, His name;

To those who walked in darkness,

To them, in love, He came.

People, now in shadows deep,

Have glimpsed eternal light:

No longer will death’s shadow

Imprison them in night.

God will break the chains that bind

His people, by His hand,

As Midian’s host was broken

By Gideon’s little band.

In that glorious day of peace

There’ll be no battle gear;

No more blood-stained garments;

No longer any fear.

For unto us a child is born

To rule in power and might;

His kingdom lasts forever,

His rule of peace and light.

His royal titles: Wonderful,

Counsellor, His name,

Mighty God, they call Him,

Eternal Dad, His fame.

He is our glorious Prince of Peace,

He sits on David’s throne;

Brings justice to the nations

And peace to all His own.

The Lord of all of Heaven’s hosts

Will carry out His will:

He pledged that He will do this,

Empowered by His zeal.

THANK YOU FOR THE BIBLE

Gospel, ,

THANK YOU FOR THE BIBLE
Have you ever wondered what our lives would be like without the Bible? What an ingenious way God has chosen to speak to us and to preserve what He has spoken for every generation to read!

Those who love God’s Word, read it daily, and live by its truths, have become so entangled in this wonderful book that it would be impossible to remove it from their lives.

The Bible has much to say about itself.

No other book is God-breathed.

2 Peter 1:19-21 NLT
[19] Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. [20] Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, [21] or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.

No other book can do what the Bible can do.

2 Timothy 3:15-16 NLT
[15] “You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. [16] All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.”

No other book can guide us unerringly through life, in a maze of error and deception, to reach our intended destiny.

Psalms 119:105 NLT
[105]”Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”

No other book can feed and nourish our souls.

Matthew 4:4 NLT
[4] “But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

No other book contains promises that God always fulfils.

2 Corinthians 1:20 NLT
[20] “For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.”

No other book has power to search out the secrets of our hearts.

Hebrews 4:12-13 NLT
[12] “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. [13] Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.”

No other book can wash our hearts clean of sin and impurities.

Ephesians 5:25-26 NLT
[25] For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her [26] to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.”

No other book can give us hope in a hopeless world.

Hebrews 6:17-18 NLT
[17]” God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. [18] So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.”

No other book can teach us how to live godly lives.

2 Peter 1:4 NLT
[4]”And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.”

John 17:17 NLT
[17] “Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.”

And so much more… but, best of all

No other person, revealed to us in the Bible, embodies everything the Bible is and does because He is God’s final word to us… Jesus.

John 1:1 NLT
[1] “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God…
[14] So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.”

Hebrews 1:1, 2 NLT
[1]” Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets.
[2] And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe.”

We can find everything we need to know about God, us, and the world in Jesus.

What can we say and do in response to all these wonderful things? The Bible itself gives us the answer.

James 1:22-25 NLT
[22]” But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. [23] For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. [24] You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. [25] But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.”