REBELLIOUS POTS You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!  Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, “You did not make me”?  Can the pot say to the potter, “You know nothing”? —Isaiah 29:16              How ridiculous that would be if the potter were thought to be the clay and it was truly believed.  That would be insanity.  But what about those who think what is formed should “say to the one who formed it, “You did not make me”?  What if they said this and truly meant it.  That too would be insanity.              Yet the vast…

KNOWING PEACE WITH GOD AND THE PEACE OF GOD You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. —Isaiah 26:3              Peace… how people desire peace in this world.  May talk about “world peace.”  The fact of the matter is that there will be no lasting peace until the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6) returns.  The nations of the earth will be at odds with each other just as individuals experience conflict with each other as well.              But there are a couple ways we can experience peace now.  People, who are enemies of God in their sinful state (Romans 5:10), can be…

HIS WILL WILL BE DONE! The Lord Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen….  For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him?  His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back? —Isaiah 14:24, 27             What our Lord God Almighty has planned will come to pass.  What He has purposed will be accomplished.  Oh, yes, all His desires will be done and there is no one who can hinder what He seeks to accomplish.  No hand can stop Him, no person can halt Him.             What a joy to know that I am on the…

THE EARTH WILL BE FILLED WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GLORY OF THE LORD! For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.  He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.  The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. —Isaiah 9:6-7 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch…

ATONED FOR AND FORGIVEN! “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”  Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”  Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”  And I said, “Here am I. Send…

ARE YOU READY! People will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from the fearful presence of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth… They will flee to caverns in the rocks and to the overhanging crags from the fearful presence of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth. —Isaiah 2:19, 21 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs…

JESUS— OUR PASSOVER LAMB The king gave this order to all the people: “Celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” —II Kings 23:21             I have always loved this illustration.  It is told in different ways, buy gets the point across— “A young girl was watching her mother bake a ham for a family gathering and noticed her mom cutting off the ends before placing it in the oven.  “Mom, why do you cut the ends off before baking the ham?” she asked.  “Hmmm… I think it helps soak up the juices while it’s baking. I’m not sure, though. That’s…

  USE PEACE AND SECURITY WISELY! In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.’”  Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying, “Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion; I have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.  Before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “Go back and tell Hezekiah the leader of My…

OUR LORD GOD ALMIGHTY HAS ALL POWER AND AUTHORITY! Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’  Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? —II Kings 18:32-33 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see;…

POINT PEOPLE TO JESUS AND NOT AWAY FROM HIM! Jeroboam enticed Israel away from following the Lord and caused them to commit a great sin. —II Kings 17:21             Wow to those leaders who lead people “away from following the Lord.”  In doing so they cause “them to commit a great sin.  No, instead we are to “entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” the things we have been taught (II Timothy 2:2).  Yes, reliable and qualified people are to be “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age “(Matthew…