Scripture

The Sovereign Lord has given me his words of wisdom, so that I know how to comfort the weary.

Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will.

Reflection

Daily I give you my words of wisdom, and all the other spiritual gifts. I whisper my words into your spirit all day long and through the night. Are you listening?

How do these words come to you?

• through the Scriptures first. I want you to live in a living relationship with my living word.
• in meditation as you open your ears and your heart to my Spirit.
• in the still quiet sounds of silence as I show you my will in each situation, and in each person you face.

My words of wisdom are not for you alone, although I delight to give you my wisdom.

My words of wisdom are for you to comfort the weary. My people are weary of seeking me in a dry land, in religion rather than in the Spirit. They have been burdened for too long, thinking they must earn my favour.

But my heart is especially to those who grown under the shame and the guilt of sin. You have the words of my wisdom, the words of the gospel, that will set them free.

Comfort, comfort my people. Let them know there is rest in me, there is life in me. Tell them, “Go deeper in me.”

Don’t think my words are limited to the daylight hours. I will speak to you through the night time in dreams and visions, and I will wake you with my thoughts.

All you have to do is ask.

Prayer

Lord I ask you now to come and fill me. Tune me into your words of wisdom. Let my spirit be hearing your Spirit all day and all night. Amen.

Scripture

“Forget all that – it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new.”

Observation

The Lord will send an army against Babylon, for the sake of his people. He is the Lord who brought his people through the water to escape from Egypt.

He is going to do something new. He will make a pathway through the desert. He will create rivers in the wasteland. The wild animals will thank the Lord for giving them water.

The Lord made Israel for himself, and they will honour him before the whole world.

Application

God is the God of the new thing.

He does not abandon the old thing, but he makes a new thing out of old things, and sometimes out of nothing.

It is good to celebrate what God has done in the past, but we should not cling to these when God shows us there is a new thing to be done.

Isaiah speaks of a road in the wilderness and a river in the desert. This was the way home for Israel from the exile.

Sometimes it can feel like we are stuck in a bad place – perhaps sins that we cannot shake or hurting situations that we cannot change.

In those places, we can always look to the Lord and trust him to provide the new things, the new road in the desert. We could never have worked it out by ourselves, it is all the work of God.

The key is to keep our eyes on the Lord and be open to His new thing.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, nobody would have expected the new thing you did by dying on the cross. Thank you that you are not bound by our limited ways of thinking. Amen.

Scripture

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “and my ways are far beyond anything you can imagine. Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

Observation

Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink the finest wine or milk. in God’s Kingdom, it’s all free. Listening to the Lord is like feasting on the best food.

As we listen to the Lord, he transforms us. He gives us authority to command other people and He shares His glory with us.

Seek the Lord while he is near. Those who are wicked should repent while there is time.

The Lord’s ways are nothing like the ways of people. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.

Application

Could we imagine that the God who is high and lifted up would become a human being? Could we think that this God who is so holy and righteous would die on a cross to bring us back to Him?

Gods ways are beyond our ability to imagine. He is consumed by love for us and would do anything to win us back to Himself.

We try to what God might do. We place limits on Him, assuming that He thinks like we do.

Gods ways are infinitely higher than our ways.

This is why it is never good to”pray answers”, that is to tell God how to sort things out. No, He can always bring about answers to prayers that we could not imagine.

Prayer

Thank you Lord that your ways are so much higher than my ways. Please help me to trust you in all things. Amen.

Scripture

For a child is born to us,

a son is given to us.

The government will rest on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Observation

The darkness will not go on for ever. There will be a time when Galilee of the Gentiles will be filled with glory.

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. The Lord will enlarge the nation of Israel. People will rejoice because the Lord lifts the heavy burden from their shoulders.

A child is born; a son is given. He will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government will never end.

Application

All through the Old Testament, we have the prophecies concerning the Messiah, Jesus. At this time of the year we celebrate His birth, the giving of a son.

His government brings Freedom not bondage, and He will reign forever.

In this passage Jesus is described as:

Wonderful Counsellor – He shows us how to live free of sin and all bondage

Mighty God – He is the embodiment of God, what God looks like “in the flesh.”

Everlasting Father – God is our eternal Father

Prince of Peace – He brings peace and reconciliation between people and God

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I welcome you into my heart today. Let my life come under your reign, King Jesus. Amen

Scripture

With joy you will drink deeply

From the fountain of salvation.

Observation

In the day when the Messiah comes, Israel will sing praise to the Lord. His judgement has given way to salvation. He was angry, but now He comforts His people.

God has come to save us. He is our strength and song. We will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation.

Let’s tell the whole world about what the Lord has done. Let us rejoice in the Lord.

Application

As in Zephaniah3, the emphasis in this passage is about joy. When we recognise the great love of God, we come to Him with joy and happiness.

When I first came to see who Jesus is, there was so much joy in my heart! I drank deeply at the fountain of salvation.

Many people do not drink deeply, or even at all.

Many walk right past the miracle of grace totally unaffected.

Some people take a sip and count themselves saved. They never really give themselves entirely to God. It’s a prayer or a ritual.

But some of us understand this is a fountain that you get right into – head, shoulders, whole body, soaking in the refreshment of new life in Christ.

God is a mighty waterfall bringing life and energy to all who come under its influence.

Drink deeply!

Prayer

Father, I received your salvation now. I drink deeply of this grace. Soak me and transform me, Lord. Amen.

Scripture

“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord.

“Though your sins are as scarlet, I will make them white as snow.

Though they are as red as crimson, I will make them like wool.”

Observation

Isaiah promises judgement on the people of Israel. He calls them “Sodom” and “Gomorrah.” They revel in their sin and then bring sacrifices, but the Lord will reject their offerings because they are just religious ceremonies.

The Lord hates their prayers and offerings because of their sins. He wants true repentance and will wash their sins clean.

Application

The Lord is always seeking reconciliation with us. He wants us to turn away from our sins and receive His blessing.

This is not about outward religious acts but about the heart. Being baptised, going to church, or saying the Sinner’s Prayer will not make a person right with God.

Turning away from our sin and towards Jesus will activate God’s cleansing flow of forgiveness into our spirit.

It has to be sincere, from the heart. Going through a ritual of any sort will not impress God. He looks at the heart not the outward appearance.

So what must I do to be saved?

1. Recognise sin. Confess not just wrong doing, but also the orientation towards sin and self-centredness.

2. Repent. Repentance means more than saying “sorry” to God. It means to recognise that something I thought was acceptable is actually repellent.

3. Ask God for forgiveness.

4. Receive the power of the Holy Spirit to live God’s way not my own way.

Having made the decision to follow Jesus I must obey Him and let Him rule every part of my life.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I receive you as my Lord. I am sorry for all that I do that displeases you. Please help me to live for you every day of my life. Amen.

Scripture

For I am about to do something new

See, I have already begun!

Do you not see it?

I will make a path through the wilderness

I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

Observation

The Lord promises to send an army against Babylon. The Babylonians will flee in their ships, but Israel will cross the wilderness to go home.

The Lord brought His people out of Egypt through the Red Sea. He made a dry path and then frowned the Egyptian army.

This is nothing! He is doing a new thing. He will make a path through the wilderness and create rivers in the wasteland.

Application

God was about to do something new. He is the God of new things. We get caught up in the old things, and it is important to remember God’s past deeds, but we do not have to live there.

The Israelites escaped when God made a dry path through the wet place. Now He promises to provide a wet path through the desert.

We need to be looking constantly for the “new thing” God is doing in our lives or else we will miss it.

If we need a dry path to take us to His promise, then He will make a dry path. If we need places of refreshment to bring us home, then He will provide them.

With God, the “new thing” is always the thing needed now that allows us to get to the place He has called us to.

Whether it is parting the sea or watering the desert, He will provide the new miracles for today.

In Israel’s first wilderness experience, the Lord provided manna every morning. It was fresh every day because, as the prophet Jeremiah wrote centuries later, “Your mercies are fresh every morning.”

Let us seek God for today’s grace, not clinging any more to last year’s miracle.

Prayer

Lord, you are constantly doing “new things” in my life. Help me to carefully listen to your Holy Spirit for today’s “new thing.” Amen.