ARISE! SHINE!
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 59-60
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).
Here is a panorama of the southern wall of the Old City of Jerusalem. In the distance you can see the Mount of Olives. Jerusalem seems to be the focal point of the war between God and all the forces who oppose Him. Isaiah writes of a time when they “Shall call your walls Salvation and your gates praise!” (Isaiah 60:18).
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verses: Isaiah 59:1-2, 60:5a
Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened,
That it cannot save;
Nor His ear heavy,
That it cannot hear.
But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will not hear.
…Then you shall see and become radiant,
And your heart shall swell with joy…
Sin is a wall which keeps God out and destroys us from within. When the people of Jerusalem were without hope, except for Isaiah and a remnant who cried out to God for Salvation, God Himself took the initiative. The great “Intercessor,” the One to whom Isaiah refers in dozens of personal pronouns throughout his book, appears. “His own arm brought Salvation for Him” (59:16). The Lord signed into the law of the universe a covenant (He cannot break His covenant!). What Hope! Isaiah 59:21 is one of incurable optimism. God has put His Spirit upon His people and put His Word in their mouths from generation to generation, and this promise includes us almost 3,000 years later, “from this time and forevermore!!!”
Chapter 60 begins with a direct command from God! “Arise, Shine; for your light has come!” Jesus, the Messiah (Christ), has dispelled the darkness and has come as “The Light of the world.” Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the Light of life” (John 8:12). What makes us “Shine!” is, as the moon reflects the sun, spending time in Jesus’ Presence, in His Word and in prayer, and we cannot help but “Shine!” Most of us are “Gentiles.” Isaiah 60:3 is an encouragement to us all. Isaiah 60:5 is the result, “Then you shall see and become radiant, and your hearts will swell with joy!”
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Swell my heart with Your joy, Lord, I pray! Make my heart big enough for people everywhere. May Your Spirit be upon me in a greater and greater way, and may Your Words not depart from my mouth. I ask these mercies in the Name of “the Light of the world,” Jesus Christ. Amen!!!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
I’ve read ahead into Isaiah 61. I simply couldn’t resist reading again the very words which Jesus read in His introduction of His Light, as it burst forth in His public ministry (Luke 4:16-21). But I’m getting ahead of myself. The key verse says, “Behold the Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save!” I’m reminded of a TV series I hosted back in the early 1970s which was sponsored by approximately 15,000 “Assemblies of God” churches in the USA. The communications director suggested that the average person watching would not understand the word “saved.” However, after the first show where I interviewed a medical doctor whose life had been in absolute shambles, and for whom the Lord had done an amazing transformation, I used the word “saved.” Everyone understood what this great word meant. A lifeguard understands exactly what it means when someone is going under and cries out “Save me!” Our readings in Isaiah show a world going under for perhaps the last time, but God’s long, long arm reaches out to humanity and we are saved! The Scripture says, “For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved” (Read Romans 10:8-15). I ask every reader, “Have you been saved?” If not, or if you are not sure, read carefully those words from God through the Apostle Paul and call out to the Lord, “Save me, O Lord!” Then call the 100 Huntley Street prayer line toll free at 1-866-273-4444, and ask them for help in understanding how we can know we are saved.
Yours with determination to “ARISE” and to “SHINE” during this new day and every day,
David
A beautiful, anointed, worship presentation by Mark Masti on 100 Huntley Street program today. Blessings all today.
Thank You, Lord God, for being everlastingly True. You are forever our Light, our Saviour, and the utterly right One. Thank You, in Jesus’s great name, amen
Thinking of these Words from God in Isaiah and echoed in the Revelation:
Resources
Hebrew/Greek
Your Content
Isaiah 59-60
New Living Translation
Warnings against Sin
Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you,
nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call.
It’s your sins that have cut you off from God.
Because of your sins, he has turned away
and will not listen anymore.
Your hands are the hands of murderers,
and your fingers are filthy with sin.
Your lips are full of lies,
and your mouth spews corruption.
No one cares about being fair and honest.
The people’s lawsuits are based on lies.
They conceive evil deeds
and then give birth to sin.
They hatch deadly snakes
and weave spiders’ webs.
Whoever eats their eggs will die;
whoever cracks them will hatch a viper.
Their webs can’t be made into clothing,
and nothing they do is productive.
All their activity is filled with sin,
and violence is their trademark.
Their feet run to do evil,
and they rush to commit murder.
They think only about sinning.
Misery and destruction always follow them.
They don’t know where to find peace
or what it means to be just and good.
They have mapped out crooked roads,
and no one who follows them knows a moment’s peace.
So there is no justice among us,
and we know nothing about right living.
We look for light but find only darkness.
We look for bright skies but walk in gloom.
We grope like the blind along a wall,
feeling our way like people without eyes.
Even at brightest noontime,
we stumble as though it were dark.
Among the living,
we are like the dead.
We growl like hungry bears;
we moan like mournful doves.
We look for justice, but it never comes.
We look for rescue, but it is far away from us.
For our sins are piled up before God
and testify against us.
Yes, we know what sinners we are.
We know we have rebelled and have denied the Lord.
We have turned our backs on our God.
We know how unfair and oppressive we have been,
carefully planning our deceitful lies.
Our courts oppose the righteous,
and justice is nowhere to be found.
Truth stumbles in the streets,
and honesty has been outlawed.
Yes, truth is gone,
and anyone who renounces evil is attacked.
The Lord looked and was displeased
to find there was no justice.
He was amazed to see that no one intervened
to help the oppressed.
So he himself stepped in to save them with his strong arm,
and his justice sustained him.
He put on righteousness as his body armor
and placed the helmet of salvation on his head.
He clothed himself with a robe of vengeance
and wrapped himself in a cloak of divine passion.
He will repay his enemies for their evil deeds.
His fury will fall on his foes.
He will pay them back even to the ends of the earth.
In the west, people will respect the name of the Lord;
in the east, they will glorify him.
For he will come like a raging flood tide
driven by the breath of the Lord.
“The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem
to buy back those in Israel
who have turned from their sins,”
says the Lord.
“And this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children forever. I, the Lord, have spoken!
Future Glory for Jerusalem
“Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see.
For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you.
Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth,
but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you.
All nations will come to your light;
mighty kings will come to see your radiance.
“Look and see, for everyone is coming home!
Your sons are coming from distant lands;
your little daughters will be carried home.
Your eyes will shine,
and your heart will thrill with joy,
for merchants from around the world will come to you.
They will bring you the wealth of many lands.
Vast caravans of camels will converge on you,
the camels of Midian and Ephah.
The people of Sheba will bring gold and frankincense
and will come worshiping the Lord.
The flocks of Kedar will be given to you,
and the rams of Nebaioth will be brought for my altars.
I will accept their offerings,
and I will make my Temple glorious.
“And what do I see flying like clouds to Israel,
like doves to their nests?
They are ships from the ends of the earth,
from lands that trust in me,
led by the great ships of Tarshish.
They are bringing the people of Israel home from far away,
carrying their silver and gold.
They will honor the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has filled you with splendor.
“Foreigners will come to rebuild your towns,
and their kings will serve you.
For though I have destroyed you in my anger,
I will now have mercy on you through my grace.
Your gates will stay open day and night
to receive the wealth of many lands.
The kings of the world will be led as captives
in a victory procession.
For the nations that refuse to serve you
will be destroyed.
“The glory of Lebanon will be yours—
the forests of cypress, fir, and pine—
to beautify my sanctuary.
My Temple will be glorious!
The descendants of your tormentors
will come and bow before you.
Those who despised you
will kiss your feet.
They will call you the City of the Lord,
and Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
“Though you were once despised and hated,
with no one traveling through you,
I will make you beautiful forever,
a joy to all generations.
Powerful kings and mighty nations
will satisfy your every need,
as though you were a child
nursing at the breast of a queen.
You will know at last that I, the Lord,
am your Savior and your Redeemer,
the Mighty One of Israel.
I will exchange your bronze for gold,
your iron for silver,
your wood for bronze,
and your stones for iron.
I will make peace your leader
and righteousness your ruler.
Violence will disappear from your land;
the desolation and destruction of war will end.
Salvation will surround you like city walls,
and praise will be on the lips of all who enter there.
“No longer will you need the sun to shine by day,
nor the moon to give its light by night,
for the Lord your God will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
Your sun will never set;
your moon will not go down.
For the Lord will be your everlasting light.”
Thank You Jesus.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to copy the whole book – just the last few verses:
“No longer will you need the sun to shine by day,
nor the moon to give its light by night,
for the Lord your God will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
Your sun will never set;
your moon will not go down.
For the Lord will be your everlasting light.”
Rob, Amen to your prayer.
Thank you for sharing the words of God in Isaiah
and Revelation.
May we meditate on these words of wisdom,
and find peace in God’s promises, in Jesus’ Holy
Name I pray, Amen. Thank You Jesus!
I agree Joyce, we bed to meditate on those words and find peace in God’s promises.
Rob sometimes are plans are intervened and I guess that is what happened to you. I’m sure no one minced reading the whole peace and it may be especially important that some saw it today.
God bless.