Isaiah 53

I've been out of town on continuing ed and vacation. Just wanted to make one observation. The last several chapters have been really familiar. Here's the reason: 2/3rds of the Old Testament passages quoted in the New Testament are from Isaiah 40-55. Wow!

Here's my favorite verse from Isaiah 51, "Listen to me, all you who are serious about right living and committed to seeking God. Ponder the rock from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were dug."

Isaiah 52

I'm struck by the responsibilities placed on the people of God in this chapter.

It is a story of God freeing them from captivity, casting out the oppressors of Assyria. But the chapter is full of commands to the people of God - they are not passive by any means in the midst of their liberation.

"Shake off your dust...free yourself from the chains on your neck" (v. 2)
"Listen!...Burst into songs of joy together" (vv. 8-9)
"Depart and go out from there" (v. 11)

Even though it is God who is responsible for the liberation, the people are commanded and have things to do.

So it is with us. On this holiday weekend, when I am sorely tempted to rest on my backside and loaf in the lawn, I am reminded that the life of faith is not passive. We don't sit around and let God act for us. We act for God.

Isaiah 51

Loved reading Isaiah 51 today. "The Lord says, "Listen to me, those of you who try to live right and follow the Lord. Look at the rock from which you were cut; look at the stone quarry from which you were dug." We have been working on our purpose statement and guiding principles lately at Faith and one of the thing we have discussed is being the Church on the Rock...literally and figuratively. In a figurative sense we are a church built on the rock of God's word. Its amazing to think of the stone quarry we at Faith have been dug from, so many people from different backgrounds. God is doing a great work in our congregation, with a church constantly growing and moving in new directions its wonderful to see lots of hands eager to do God's work. One of the things I like most about crafting our purpose statement is that it allows us to seek God and His purpose for our church. One thing is for sure as we seek His purpose, we are here to serve and I look forward to the ways God will continue to use the church on the rock!!

Isaiah 50

4 He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. 5 The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back.
This chapter is yet another dark lament about how God's chosen people have turned their backs to Him and He is not happy.
Isaiah seems like someone screaming in the wilderness, does anyone hear him, does anyone care? (Let them throw stones, they will not hurt me; the Sovereign Lord will protect me!)
Yet in the middle of this lament starting inside verse 4 Isaiah speaks to me and gives voice to something I feel as much as I know. That God's voice can be heard in the gentle rustle of a spring breeze through the fresh green leaves, in the joyful chirping of the birds dancing through the tree tops, in the distant barking of the dog down the street out for his morning constitutional, all signs that the world God has created for me is alive, vibrant and waiting for me as a gift.

Isaiah 49

The Lord our God once again speaks of His only begotten Son who will come to save all who worship Him. (v3)"You are my Servant, a Prince of Power with God, and you shall bring me glory." God so loved man that He was willing to sacrifice His own Son for our sin. There is no other way to the Father but through worship of His Son. Thanks be to God in all His glory for that!

Isaiah 48

"If only you had paid attention to my commands your peace would have been like the river.." (v 18)

This parental lecture has been brougt to you by God.  As I was sitting down to write this, James had decided to try and look out the window by standing on his fisher price school bus.  "James, get down, you are going to fall!"  He just looked back at me with a grin and continued to pull himself up.  But, the bus moved and the shock of losing his balance wiped the grin right off his face. 

Sometimes, despite our egos, we should just listen.  These words from our Mother/Father in heaven could just save our life. In fact, they do!

Isaiah 46

"Can you picture me without reducing me?"

God is as close as your next breath, as near as your best friend, but he's WAY bigger than that. It's hard to get our pea brains around his awesomeness, the mystery.

That's why we worship him.

What the alternative? "A dependable god (little g), always right where you put it."

God is on the move in the world, in the least of these.

God is up to something and we're here to help him, not to control the outcome of things.

"I'm putting salvation to work in Zion now, and glory in Israel."

God is doing what God does best: salvation. In our midst. Now. Here.

isaiah 45

I am the Lord and there is no other. Apart from me there is no God.

Again and again...until I finally hear it in this chapter.
I am the Lord and there is no other. Apart from me there is no God.

What good news. Jehovah is the Lord, Yahweh is the Lord. There is no other.
Kelly is not the Lord. Kelly is not responsible for everything and everybody. So when I feel like it (and that happens more often than it should) I hear the reassurance. "I am" the Lord - not you. You are to rejoice, have faith, and rely on God's grace. The fulfillment of God's great story is not our responsibility - it is God's. I am the Lord and there is no other.

"And there is no God apart from me."
The first time I read that, I thought it referred again to the ways we make idols out of other things. But as I thought about it, I thought about the times when I am "apart from God." When we are apart from God - we find ourselves in such a desolate place. We have chosen to live where there is no God. Every step seems scarier and the world seems to vibrate with such uncertainty and desperation.

"Apart form me" is not a world I want to be in. I need to breathe the Spirit with every breath.

Such comfort today. I am the Lord, there is no other. And apart from me there is no God.

Isaiah 44

As I read Isaiah 44 this morning, I am moved by the joy in verse 23:

"Skies, sing for joy, because the Lord did great things!
Earth, shout for joy, even in your deepest parts!
Sing, you mountains, with thanks to God.
Sing, too, you trees in the the forest!
The saved the people of Jacob!
He showed his glory when he saved Israel."

How do we show the joy for all the things God has done for us in our daily lives? In my own life, I am so thankful God brought me to Faith and put me in a place where it is safe to explore my faith and raise my daughter to have her own relationship with God. In a community like ours I am blessed to be surrounded by people who love and serve God, every day. Its so amazing to me because the joy of the great things God is doing shows everywhere at our church, whether its in the choir, or Sunday School, during Lent at the Soup and Sacrament, or even planning for the direction of the church. As I think back to the all the praying I did about what church we would attend, I am so thankful God chose Faith for us and even more joyful for the great things God is doing here!

Isaiah 43

The first few verses in this chapter of Isaiah inspired the hymn: "Be Not Afraid".

We sang these words in a packed church on 9/16/01, mere days after 9-11 shattered our complacent little world, and sent us all reeling with fear, anger and disbelief. Endless news footage of thick black smoke. Sirens. The search for missing loved ones in NY and DC hospitals. The eerie silence of a whole week with no air traffic. Most of us wondered: what next? Where, next? Maybe here in Boston?

Amidst fear and chaos, our Fitchburg congregation sought peace and comfort in these words:

"If you pass through raging waters, in the sea you shall not drown;
If you walk amidst the burning flames, you shall not be harmed.
If you stand before the power of hell, and death is at your side,
Know that I am with you, through it all.....
Be not afraid. I go before you, always.
Come, follow Me, and I will give you rest"

I love that song because it takes the promises made by the disciplinarian Father of the Old Testament one step further, and in the chorus, we are reminded of that Heavenly Father's Son: the forgiving, loving, nurturing Jesus of the New Testament.

I believe in God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I embrace reassuring promises. I like to feel good, peaceful, happy, comforted; I think I can safely say 99% of us want this.
But, then, along comes verse 22: "You have not called upon me, O Jacob". (I neglect the Word and I don't communicate with God the way I should)
Or verse 24: ".....but you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your offenses." (Every day I try, and every day I fail)

In my heart, I know that Christ's death and resurrection washes away sin. MY sin. But it is still "disconcerting" to read Isaiah, Jeremiah, even the words of Jesus in Matthew 24 & 25. Because in THOSE passages, we find that same disciplinarian God again. And He's talking about all that unpleasant stuff. Sin. Hell. Judgment for all that bad stuff that I like to simply sweep under the rug.

In Isaiah's day, the Israelites didn't have Jesus to fall back on, they could only look forward to the promise of Him.

Praise God for my parents, grandparents, relatives and friends who passed along their faith to me; a faith that is all I need to accept His gift, so freely given: Grace.


Submitted by Laura MacFeeley
***(please note: I tried to post on the church blog with my own log-in, but for some reason I don't have rights to add a "new posting", I can only "comment" on others' posts, so I had to log in tonight as "Bill". Jordan, is this something you need to set up?)

Isaiah 42

This chapter begins with the proclamation of God's Chosen One, Jesus Christ, whom is our salvation. Through Christ we are given the gift of eternal life. He bares the ultimate sacrifice
for our sin giving us communion with the Father. God's love is undefinable in words. I praise the
Lord for counting me worthy to come and worship Him through his only begotten Son. Through
Jesus and Jesus alone I am counted as one of God's children, Allelulia!

Isaiah 41 (and 40 cause I like it better)

I read a popular science article about SETI's quest to find life based off Kepler data.  Finally, instead of studying the whole sky, they can narrow it down to potential targets.  Still, the analogy to a needle in a hay-stack does not come close to the task that SETI has taken on.  This place is big.

Isaiah, in chapters 40 and 41 reminds us how little we are when compared to God.  In 40, we are grass or grasshoppers and our nations are dust.  In 41 we are worms or insects (I think I prefer the former).  Yet we are also reminded that despite our scale, we are counted and called by name.  Not only does God know us, we are told to go out, lift up our voice and shout, chew through obstacles with our razor sharp teeth (not sure about that one) because God is so good!

Should SETI ever find another Who out in Whoville, you have to wonder what their faith would look like.  Is Jesus present in their lives or will our task be even greater than we ever imagined?  Until then, we should probably work on the other grasshoppers we can see without a telescope.  God is with us, and God will give us the words to say, we just need to get over our small stature and be willing to say them.  Besides, a person's a person, no matter how small.

Isaiah 40

It's funny, on my way home I was reflecting on my busy day and thinking about how to make time to blog tonight. (I usually do it in the morning but started my day with a difficult parent meeting at 7:30am.) I was thinking about how difficult life can be sometimes. Dealing with work issues, home issues, church issues, it can become overwhelming. We try to do our best but sometimes it just isn't good enough. Then we deal with how to make time to fit God into our busy lives. But it shouldn't be that way we should fit our busy lives into God.

I think that is what has been troubling me for a while. I try to find a time when I can read the bible each day and time to reflect instead of beginning my day reading the bible and reflecting. Then being energized to start my day. Of course not being a morning person I am not going to get up at 4:30am each day to do that. So where does that leave me?

Reading this chapter brings me some peace. To me it tells us that God is always there for us, he will lift us up when we are weary and give us new strength. We should take comfort in knowing that God is always and will always be there. I just need to keep remembering this when I am feeling beat down and weary.

Isaiah 38-39

In chapter 38, Hezekiah spoke these words after getting a new lease on life, "Like a weaver, I've rolled up the carpet of my life as God cuts me free of the loom." With the last 15 years of his life, the bonus round, he has humbled himself enough to understand who is in charge here, who gives and takes away. He is blessing God's name like Job. He is understanding his role and God's role in his life.

Yesterday I preached that "there is no greater enemy than death". Jesus has defeated sin, death, and the devil. Death is now just a little hurdle that we clear between this side of eternal life and the other side. For those who trust Jesus, death is no enemy.

In chapter 39, Hezekiah learns of what the future holds for his sons. His response? "Good. If God says so, it's good." But within himself he was thinking, "But surely nothing bad will happen in my lifetime. I'll enjoy peace and stability as long as I live."

How short-sighted! What happens in the lives of our children and grandchildren long after we are gone does matter. We are to leave a legacy of faith, one that will get them through the good and bad times.

Finally, we move into the messages of comfort...

Isaiah 37

Most of the kingdom has been destroyed, but the remnant remains and God promises salvation to the remnant.

This has always been the part of Biblical history that strikes the deepest chord with me. We are not living in a time like that of King David - when all the people follow God's law (regardless of their personal commitment to that law). King David's time was similar to Middle Ages or perhaps the 1950s - the church and the state and the culture are one...everyone lives faithfully because it is the way of the culture.

We are not living in New Testament times - when the church is at odds with and persecuted by the state. There are countries in the world where this is true, but it is not ours.

We are the remnant - the faithful people God is working through despite what goes on around us. The church today is passionate and focused on what God asks of us. We come because we choose to, not because it is the cultural norm. We are not "of the culture" - we are free to respond honestly to God's call.

We are not as big as the kingdom. Nor would I be comfortable in a church that is that big. In so many larger churches (mega churches, corporate sized churches) people become spectators...the church becomes "the thing to do". I love being part of a remnant-sized church. I will welcome everyone I can into the joy that I find in our church - but, to be honest, I have no desire for our congregation to grow.

Isaiah 36

Chapter 36 talks alot about war but one thing that stood out to me is when Hezekiah says to Judah and Jerusalem that "You must worship only at this one alter". I had to stop and think in my own life what things get in the way of truly worshipping God and all that He is to us. Distractions often plays a role, even as I type this my daughter has brought cheerios, a crayon, and a water bottle for me to look at with her. But even in the midst of life's everyday activities, we have the ability to worship at the one alter. For me maybe I could have more prayer time in the car on the way to work or remind my daughter that the trees and flowers we are seeing coming to life are all gifts from God. I can worship God with my time by finding ways to volunteer and serve. Opportunities to worship at the one alter Hezekiah references above are all around us in every day life. We just have to take a minute and look around :).

Isaiah - 35

My apologizes to my fellow bloggers. I was unable to sign in yesterday to post on Ch 35.
This chapter speaks of God's saving grace to all those who seek Him. That through the darkness
He is the light, the One who will always be there to walk among us. There is nothing to fear with
God as our guide.

Isaiah 34

Ok, so I hope I am not around to witness the end of times.  This chapter is just wretched.  More blood and guts than a low budget horror flick.  Will there ever be a day like this on Earth?  Personally, God, I would prefer just another flood than something like this.  Promises or no promises.

One thing I did notice is that this chapter refers to "nations" and Edom.  It does not refer to Israel or God's people.  Those who have faith and believe might just be witnesses to this event, and (luckily) not partipants.  Chalk it up as just another reason to be a part of God's army.  Yet, this God of darkness and wrath that is portrayed here is hard to embrace!

Isaiah 33

It is interesting how this chapter begins. Woe to you betrayer and destroyer when you stop betraying and destroying you will be betrayed and destroyed. Ok, so why would you stop? There doesn't seem to be much to motivate one to stop doing these things if the prophesy is you will be destroyed or betrayed.

It the goes on to tell you to ask God for his gracious love and mercy. This theme is so repetitive. Humans do something wrong then they ask God for his forgiveness, he gives it and we go on to disobey him again... It is amazing that He is so gracious and forgiving. I wonder if he ever gets tired of the same old story.

Then again he made us who we are...But are we being the people he made us to be? That is the big question. If we were following his plan for us would we be on this treadmill of human life? sinning receiving forgiveness only to sin again?

Toward the end of this chapter we get a glimpse of eternal life with God. The new Jerusalem, a peaceful place where God lives with us and we see his glory. Vs. 22 says; 'For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us.'

That is what keeps us going always striving to do good and be the person God wants us to be.

Isaiah 32

This chapter talks a lot about justice and the Holy Spirit. Are these things we talk a lot about as Lutherans? I am sensing a ground-swell of folks at Faith (most of them have been a part of the church for less than a decade) who would like to cut loose from what's holding us back (ourselves? comfort? convenience?) and really allow the Spirit to tear through the place like Pentecost.

Is our life of faith complete without loving and serving our neighbor? Recently in Isaiah, the "enemy" was being punished and God's remnant spared. This verse caught me, "The forest of your pride will be clear-cut, the city showing off your power leveled. But you will enjoy a blessed life."

Pride and power gone, but blessings remain?

Lord, as we continue to develop a purpose statement and guiding principles in the next weeks and months, still us, humble us, so that we can hear your voice, so that we can write down your purpose for us and then live it out with everything we have.

Isaiah 31

See...this is why the lectionary committees gave us 4 scriptures every Sunday. Sometimes I have just NOTHING to say on the scripture at hand.

Trust God...got it. Don't trust (Egypt, money, other gods)...got it.

I'm not saying that I've perfected this in my life, but I certainly have read it enough, and we've discussed it a great deal in the blog - I can think of nothing more to say.

Sorry - looking forward to some insight on coming chapters in the coming days.

Isaiah 30

Tonight as I read Isaiah 30, alot of things jump out on me but at the beginning what really stands out to me is where verse 1 says, the Lord said "How terrible it will be for these stubborn children. They make plans, but they don't ask me to help them. They make agreements with other nations, without asking my Spirit. They are adding more and more sins to themselves."

Having a 18 month old I know something about stubborn children. Especially stubborn ones who don't want to go to sleep! On a more serious note, I can't help but relate how at times, we all act like stubborn kids to God who don't want to listen to what God is telling us, or consult Him about our plans. We get busy with our day to day life and think we may as well go it on our own. The wonderful thing is that God is always there waiting and ready to listen. He is patiently waiting for us to seek Him. Maybe its in car on the way to work or maybe its at night before bed but whenever it is we are so blessed to serve a Lord who is waiting on us to seek Him. He is ready to help us, embrace us, and most importantly forgive us. All we have to do is reach out.

Isaiah 29

V13: These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

I have struggled with this my whole life, finding myself going through the motions of going to church because it is expected of me. When I simply find myself sitting in there, listening to the music and the lessons, is God quietly whispering in my ear or is He jumping up and down on my head telling me to pay attention. I know that to honor and worship God is much more than "going to Church" each Sunday, that we should praise Him with each breath we take. I struggle because there always seems to be one more thing that causes me to take my eyes from Him and to loose focus on what is really important.

Isaiah - 28

All power and glory is the Lord's forever and ever. Whether it be Ephraim, Judah, or even Quincy we are nothing without God. His love is boundless but is there an expectation that needs
to be of concern. From this chapter were given a picture of the peoples love of wine and their fading need for God. They have it all figured out and know better. How I struggle with this myself, thinking that I have all the answers to my comings and goings. Giving it to God is a struggle but also a necessity.

Isaiah 27

In  Job 41 God basically challenged Job saying that if you can't take on the Leviathan, you can't take on God.  Here, in Isaiah 27, God makes quick work of this creature.  God can do awesome things.  He destroys the gate keeper of hell with the sword and conquers death in 3 days with His Son.

God, though, doesn't do these things to show His power, He does these things so that we can be free to live lives worthy of the gifts that we were given.  We can be briers to stand in the way of God's work, or we can be the fruit of the vine that creation feeds off of.

Isaiah 26

"Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself is the Rock eternal."v4 These are powerful and true words but how much do we live this out? Do we really trust that God is listening? That God will provide? I know I want to yet there is something usually holding me back from fully trusting. I know at times that my human nature makes me provide for myself, I can't wait for God's provision or answer, I make things happen that maybe I should be more patient with. In the next verse it says that he humbles those who are lofty. That could not be more true in my life. There have been many times that I have acted impulsively only to find that had I waited things would have worked out.

I work on patience daily and pray for God's guidance. Sometimes I feel him close while others he seems far away. In my heart I know he is always there its just harder sometimes to feel him. Learning to put full trust in God is a lifelong process one that I am fully engaged in.

Isaiah 25

What is the difference between the Creeds we profess? It's a simple pronoun. The I of the Apostle's or the we of the Nicene. The reason I've noticed this has to do with the fact that we've had back-to-back new member Sundays. May 8th and 15th are baptism Sundays. The liturgy we use for both includes the Apostle's Creed. During Easter, we use the Nicene Creed.

"God, you are my God. I celebrate you. I praise you."

versus

"Look at what's happened (i.e. the poor cared for, sheltered from the storm, God wiping every tear from every face)! This is our God! We waited for him and he showed up and saved us! This God, the one we waited for!"

At this point in the parable, someone would ask, "And who are we?" I think "every tear from every eye" makes that clear.

I learned this morning that after nearly a decade and so many casualties, Osama bin Laden (and probably his son) was finally killed. Will the whole world celebrate (i.e. us) or just the United States (the country who for so long has stood above the world looking down)? How do we in faith respond to this news?

Isaiah 24

I was watching NBC News last night. Their coverage of the tornadoes included a discussion of "People in the South attributing everything to God". They then showed footage of people thanking God for their miraculous survival stories. There was no discussion of blaming God for the destruction, but I have no doubt that there are people who see God's judgement in these storms. And in the earthquakes and tsunamis of late.

I do not. I see a combination of global warming and the usual movements of our earth - that we hear more about because of increasd communication abilities.

Isaiah 24 puts forth the destruction as God's judgement. God is certainl capable of such powerful anger. And our Biblical history tells us that God has acted so in the past.

So why don't we really believe (or why don't I really believe) that God acts that way now? I think it goes to my general interpretation of the Bible. I see this chapter of Isaiah in much the same way that I see the first chapter of Genesis. It is an acurate description of God's relationship with God's people, and the power of God. But it is written down by a people who did not yet understand. It is an attempt to describe their reality - as much as our science is an attempt to describe our reality - and neither is fully accurate.

We still have much to learn about global geology. And about global weather patterns and air masses. And about the consequences of our own actions --- just as the people in Jerusalem did.

In the meantime, pray for the hurting. The storms hit close to our family -- everyone is all right. Some still without power. All surrounded by great need.