A HIGHWAY
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 17-19
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).
Looking from Israel towards the East, a highway leads down to the lowest point on earth, the Dead Sea, which you can see in the distance with the mountains of Moab and Mount Nebo, Jordan, further behind. Today’s reading tells us about a “Highway.” This was a steep gravel road when my parents were here in 1924 on their honeymoon. They had to back up this hill because otherwise their 1914 model T Ford, with gravity feed for the gas, would run out of gas.
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verses: Isaiah 19:20, 23, 25b
And it will be for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of the oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them…In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians… Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.
Our key verses about Egypt, Assyria, and Israel are most surprising! Isaiah, the prophet of Judah, could be accused of aiding and abetting the mortal enemies of Israel. Assyria had destroyed the northern ten tribes, and Judah had been invaded and harassed again and again by Egypt. Yet here, inspired by the Holy Spirit, Isaiah looks beyond the past and present to a glorious future when people from every nation would be called, “The people of God.” That’s true today, and someday soon the nations themselves will acknowledge the God of Israel, His Son and our Saviour and Lord!!! For a New Testament reading concerning people of all nations, check out Ephesians 2:11-19 and Matthew 25:31-34!!!
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, Isaiah carried a deep concern for all people and nations. I pray for a greater concern for their well being. May I have a greater heart for world missions, and may I pray and give more sacrificially than ever before! I even state in Your presence, as Isaiah did, “Here am I, send me!” I pray this in the Name of the One Who gave Himself to all people and to the whole world, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!!!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
I read the key verses several times when I served as an accredited reporter to President Jimmy Carter’s last and most crucial visit to Jerusalem. In my mind’s eye I could envision the highway from Egypt to Assyria when I heard President Carter say to the Israeli Parliament, “The people want peace!” I won’t tell the whole story here, but it is sufficient to say that for the only time in my life, when I was approached by live radio hosts in both the Hebrew and Arabic languages for a interview, I believe I experienced a prophetic word such as Isaiah received. I encourage everybody to get my latest book entitled, This far by Faith, and find this story on page 48 (click here for information on how to get one of these books).
Yours for the highway, not just between Egypt and Assyria, through Israel, but to the east, the west, the north and the south, into all nations!
David
P.S. The photos below were taken by my son Ron through a helicopter window above the Crossroads Centre in Burlington, Ontario (a good friend of the ministry, Tony Ketalaars, took Ron for a flight over the city a while back). Next to our building, the one closest to the the highway, you can see the busy intersection of three major highways…403, 407, and the Q.E.W. From here at this crossroads, the Word of the Lord goes out to the whole world. Your prayers and support puts in the fuel, not in a model T Ford, but in the most futuristic means of moving throughout the whole world! Thanks for helping to keep our gas tanks full! Amen!!!
what a blessing that soon the nations themselves will acknowledge the God of Israel, His Son our Saviour and Lord!
I have a sleep disorder so I post either very early or very late! I wanted to let Mary Stewart that I am praying for healing for her and would encourage her to keep us posted. God has given you great strength Mary, He will completely heal you and give you His peace!
Jennifer Smith I posted some comments on your blog from yesterday!
Again thank you for asking questions!
I would like to encourage people to send e mails of encouragement or your opinion on any subject to our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau! Can you imagine the impact this would have on the office of the Prime Minister! I have watched the interaction between our Prime Minister and the refugees and the First Nations peopes! There is a compassionate nature! I listened to the Prime Minister interview on Global TV, he expressed concerns about many issues, his family time, budgets, First Nations issues…. Prime Minister has great respect for his parents, grandparents, for those who held office before him…….I would encourage anyone if you wish to e mail Prime Minister and let him know that people in Canada are praying for him and his family and the office of the Prime Minister.
The pictures of the highways above looks great! God has indeed blessed 100 Huntley Street Crossroads Ministry. Thank God! Thank God!
Such prophetic words by Isaiah! For the Scriptures say, “‘As surely as I live,’ says the LORD, every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will confess and give praise to God'” (Rom 14:11). Here is to the highway leading from each person’s soul on earth, to our Lord, our King, our Saviour–Jesus Christ of Nazareth–the one and only, Almighty God–whoever was, is now, and forever shall be. Amen, amen, and amen!
“When faith goes to market, it always brings a basket.”
Highest Praise (Official Lyric Video) // Brave New World // Amanda Cook
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKipk9rjmpg
Praise God for your ministry, David. The photos of the Crossroads Centre clearly show God’s blessing on you, following His calling for your life, to lead souls to know, honour and glorify Him. Thank you from this saint!
I have read your book, This far by faith, and have enthusiastically been taught by your blog for many years now. There are days that I wish we lived close enough to you to simply run across the street and hug you.
We love the Lord and recognize his Power in your life and your ongoing ministry. Thank you for sharing God’s Wisdom and Love with us.
George and Marilyn
Amen.
What a meaningful blog this is today! Trust you watched the second half of 100 Huntley St. today and heard the interview with the converted Muslim. Took note that the Muslims think all Canadians who are white are Christian so we shouldn’t be afraid to share our faith. I believe we need to know what we believe and why we believe in Christianity like never before. Wonderful picture of 100 Huntley St. planted at the crossroads.
Amen, Ger!
Amazing, how the highways intertwine…so, our lives and people groups intertwine, we are not our own, we all belong to the “One Creator”, Praise Him, Praise Him” Our Lord JESUS and King for ever!!!
Thank you for both pictures.Rev. Reynold David Mainse..our life is also a highway, a road…our journey of life travelling along the way, with Jesus Our Lord!!!
Amen, Irene!
My father-in-law told me that he also had to back up to be able to make a hill way back in time. That was in Ontario! A prayer partner and I prayed today for favour for YES TV. We read in the Toronto Star that starting March 1st there are going to be changes in purchasing TV channels. There will be some basic channels and then other specialty channels can be ordered (but will come with a cost). Sports channels, for instance, will require a fee. This is to make TV affordable for folk and it would not force you to have channels you are not interested in. We pray that YES TV and other channels that provide Christian programming will be at no cost.
That’s a great thing to pray for, Doreen, amen!
Thank you for your prayers. I feel a little stronger today.
Good to hear Mary! So very good to hear! We pray for total healing of body, mind and soul today and for always for our beloved sisiter in Christ! AMEN
I wonder, I really wonder if there is such a thing as a converted Muslim? I’d like to believe that this can happen but my gut……..Lord You need to speak to the people of this country and explain exactly what is going on!
I am aware of how the devil white washes life! Help us Lord,
I wish to reply to the guest ion, what about Islam. My information come from one, not myself, who was reared as a Muslim. Weatern view is that it means,”peace.” Wrong! Islam mean,”submission” or “surrender.”
For a Muslim, Islam is all encompassing: in social life, religious life, political life, economic life, educational life- judiciary, military system of government- every aspect of their life; their relationship with each other and their relationship with non-Muslims
To the Muslim, the Qur’an is thee final revelation given by Allah given thru
Mohammed and they believe he was the greatest of all the prophets. Even
greater the Jesus(who they call,”Isa”).(You may recall the Rick Warren, the writer
of the book, The Purpose Driven Life, prayer in the name of, “Isa,” at President
Obama’s first inauguration. They teach that the Qur’an has come to perfect the
bible by adding to it. Yet the Qur’an never teaches the, Ten Commandments and
has teachings in it that contradict one another. This is no problem for the Muslin.
They have what is called, abrogation meaning the replacement of earlier
with newer ones as they were out of date and no longer applicable
The Qur’an teaches that Allah has no son; all nonMuslins are Allah’s enemies especially Jews and Christians. Muhammad commands all Muslins to kill all nonMuslins. They have broken the treaty with Allah and the shedding of their blood is legal. Self sacrifice for the good of others is not commendable. It is only commendable if it is for the sake of Allah..Believers are to love their enemies.
Muslims are to hate even their own family members if they resist Allah let alone their enemies.The same hate is to be the same if they resist Muhammad.
80% of a Muslim’s life is shape by the Sunnah(written by Muhammad: the Shunnah is Muhammad’s teaching, theQur ‘an is Allah’s word.). Muhammad
claimed to be the perfect man and therefore every Muslim was to pattern himself after Sunnah. Insulting Muhammad is the same as insulting Allah.
All jurisprudence in Islam is based on the Qur’an and the Sunnah.and disseminated thru the mosque.(ie: If one believes in Allah but does not believe
Muhammad as the the final prophet, she or he is to be regarded as a infidel and an enemy of Islam.
With regard to Jesus, He only came to affirm the Torah and to announce the coming of Muhammad. They teach that all biblical prophets were Muslim. All Old
Testament prophets taught Islam and bowed their will to Allah in Islam. Sura 3:67 says,”Ibrahim(Abraham) was neither Jew nor Chriistian but he was a true Muslim Hanifa and he bowed his will to Allah in Islam. Another reference from the Qur’an
is Sura2:136,”We believe in Allah and that which has been sent down to us and that which has been sent down to Ibrahim (Abraham), Ismail (Ishmael), Ishaque (Isaac), Ya’cub (Jacob), and to Asbat (the twelve sons of Ya’cub (Jacob ), and that which was given to Musa (Moses) and Iesa (Jesus), and that which has been given to the Phophets from th Lord. We make no distinction between any of
them, and to him we have submitted in Islam.”
According to Islam all mankind, without exception was created Muslim. It is because of the influence of parents, community, environment, etc that make one nonMuslim. Therefore people of another faith such as Christians and Jews,
pagan or other belief systems are in rebellion against Allah. That’s why when a nonMuslim converts to Islam, the term reversion is used instead of conversion because they are reverting back to their birth status as Muslim.
Muhammad also taught that Jews and Christians removed prophesies predicting
the coming of Muhammad. this also include the rejection of the uniqueness of Jesus and his atoning work and His person. Muhammad then moved on to declare himself as the perfect model to imitate,follow,calling himself as the master of the human race. He also claimed headship of all the prophets as the only
intercessor with Allah.
Muslims are to convert the world back to Islam by every means possible. Thus the world is divided into 2 territories, the land of Islam and the land of war. The land of Islam is to be governed by Sharia Law and the land of war is to be subdued by every mean.
Their doctrine of the Jihad is 1. Even in the land of Islam there is alway the danger of being attached by enemies of Islam or other religious or political groups Therefore it was necessary to have a means of population control and subjugation of any opposition to be in place. 2. In the lanid of war, Muhammad
and his followers fought many war against the so called enemies of Allah and subdued them, If they recited the creed, they were spared. If not, they werie mercilessly slaughtered. Only the Jews and Christians were given the opportunity to convert or to a life of servituded and humiliation under strict Islamic regulations with their religious life stifled. In Muhammad early conquest millions upon millions of people were killed. All in the name of Allah.
Jihad has never has virtually never stopped. Persecution is still rife against in nonMuslim. Sometimes in some moderate Muslim countries there is at best a token freedom of religious survivals with severe penalties if they attempt to preach overtly or attempt to convert Muslims
In some Muslim countries conversion to Chistianity may only mean a life of
isolation, hardship on all fronts and continuous harassment from family, former friend or the state. The supremacy of Islam is prevalent even in moderate Muslim
countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Morocco Turkey and the Gulf.
In Islam,the idea of freedom of choice is anathema. It doesn’t exist. Such a
concept is considered anti-Islamic
In alconversation with a Muslim, one may hear that Islam is a religion of peace a “there is no compulsion in religion.” Don’t believe this for a moment. If they quote a verse from the Qur’an, it is from a verse that has already been abrogated. Any
thought of “no compulsion” is wishful thinkingRemember, it is OK to lie if it is in the best interest of Islam like advancing the cause of Islam or preserving its good name. It permits the suspension, as The Need arises of all religious requirements, or it doctrines -including a total denial of faith-when fearing threat, injury, or compulsion of any kind in a nonMuslim society. So if a Muslim takes an oath in a nonMuslim society it can mean absolutely nothing to a Muslim even if he take the oath with his hand on the Qur’an.
TheQur’an has no such place for, no compulsion in religion. If there was a”no
compulsion in religion” we’re practiced, the the preaching of the gospel would not
be criminalizes in Islamic countries. The “no compulsion of religion”only means
that Arabs, Jews, Christians, non believers and pagans have the right to convert to Islam.
.To make an innocent statement such as, “Muhammad is not holy” or “Islam is not
the final religion” is regarded as blasphemous everywhere in an Islamic state.
Every Muslim is a soldier of the Islamic state. This means, if necessary fighting and dying for the way of Allah. This is codified in the Qur’an as the,”doctrine of living obedience.” Pragmatically this means the Islamic state can demand your property or your life(suicide bombmers.
Finally let me conclude: Yes,if any country becomes predominantly Muslim, they will take over and enforce Islamic practices, even Sharia Law. There will be a lack
of religious freedom. That is just the way it will be. We would all be called infidels. Enemies of Allah and the Qur”an gives any right for a Muslim to kill you as an
infidel. If our country ever became 51% Muslim, would those who now try to
convince us that Islam is a peaceful religion; would they still say the same then?
Now after writing this, please continue to be friendly, kind and compassionate to you Muslim friends. We are the followers of Jesus. As such we are to love our neighbors and our neighbor is anyone who is in need. I would not want anyone to regard your Muslim neighbor as an enemy. Absolutely not. God Bless!
In some Muslim countries conversion to Christianity in death by public execution
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thank you Donald! You are very correct! Donald Trump who is running for President of the USA is very well versed in the Muslim belief, thank you!
Thank you Donald for taking the time to inform us regarding the Muslim beliefs. I agree with all you said.