Tag Archives: reading isaiah

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; A.W. – Anger Displacement

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Have you ever seen an angry camel? They can be fairly feisty: biting, kicking, trampling or spitting. According to David Taylor, a wild animal expert, camel handlers in Asia avoid confrontation with their animal when it becomes mad by giving it their coat. The camel jumps on it, bites it and tears the coat to pieces. The anger is placed on something else, allowing beast and human to live in harmony again.

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away.

Isaiah 12:1

The prophet Isaiah often focused on God’s judgment because of broken harmony between Him and His people due to their rebellion. In today’s verse, however, Isaiah is singing a song of praise and giving thanks because he sees the future where God’s people will be freed from their enemies and their sin.

Have you considered what allows God to live with you in harmony even though He’s angry at your sin? Instead of placing His anger on you, He placed it on Jesus on the cross, making you safe from His wrath. Incredible! As you pray today, thank God for turning His anger from you. Ask that He turn the country’s leader’s hearts toward Him so He might deliver them, too.

Recommended Reading: Hosea 14:1-9

 

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Presidential Prayer Team; P.G. – Living in Righteousness

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In Isaiah 32, the prophet draws a clear distinction between living with eyes on the Lord and living in complacency. Someone once said that Christians need to live more righteousness-conscious and less sin-conscious; less by focusing on the pathetic sinner you are in your natural state, and more by knowing who you are through Jesus Christ.

Happy are you who sow beside all waters, who let the feet of the ox and the donkey range free.

Isaiah 32:20

Abraham lived some 400 years before the giving of the law, but he focused his life on believing in God and God accounted it to him for righteousness. Call it faith living, not fear living; a grace-focused life instead of a groveling one. Yet faith and grace are not a license to ignore God’s commands and live in disobedience. No! It is the experience of true freedom in Christ Jesus, blessings and liberty, where your desire to please Him keeps you from doing wrong.

How different America would be if more people were to, as Galatians 2:20 instructs, die to self and live by faith. Pray today for the nation’s leaders to find salvation, and then live according to the grace they are given.

Recommended Reading: Isaiah 32:9-20

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.K. – Devoted to God

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The Olympic Games reward the top three winners by positioning them on a platform of honor. But a fourth podium would have to be erected to give praise to King David’s warrior Abishai. His place came beside David’s “mighty three,” but was one earned because of his courage and loyalty to the king.

Now Abishai…wielded his spear against 300 men and killed them and won a name beside the three.

I Chronicles 11:20

David’s men differed from those who followed his predecessor Saul. Saul’s armies couldn’t be trusted and had to be bribed to do his bidding. Devoted men risked their lives for David because of his honest character and stature in leadership. They understood that the Lord’s hand was upon him and wanted to be a part of what God was doing.

David’s bravery, as well as his humanity, made him worthy of mention in the Bible over 1,000 times. His sinfulness is not hidden, but neither are his confessions and turning back to God.

And so it should be today. Be devoted to God…an example to those around you. Give testimony of the Lord’s goodness – His mercy and grace – in your life. Pray that those in leadership would turn from their sinful ways and look to God for guidance.

Recommended Reading: Isaiah 45:18-22

 

 

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Heaven and hell

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“And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 8:11-12

Suggested Further Reading: Isaiah 46:8-13

“I will,” says man, and he never performs; “I shall,” says he, and he breaks his promise. But it is never so with God’s “shalls.” If he says, “shall,” it shall be; when he says, “will,” it will be. Now he has said here, “many shall come.” The devil says, “they shall not come;” but “they shall come.” Their sins say, “you can’t come;” God says, you “shall come.” You, yourselves, say, “we won’t come;” God says, “you shall come.” Yes! There are some who are laughing at salvation, who scoff at Christ, and mock at the gospel; but I tell you some of you shall come yet. “What!” you say, “can God make me become a Christian?” I tell you yes, from here rests the power of the gospel. It does not ask your consent; but it gets it. It does not say, will you have it, but it makes you willing in the day of God’s power. Not against your will, but it makes you willing. It shows you its value, and then you fall in love with it, and immediately you run after it and have it. Many people have said, “we will not have anything to do with religion,” yet they have been converted. I have heard of a man who once went to chapel to hear the singing, and as soon as the minister began to preach, he put his fingers in his ears and would not listen. But by and by some tiny insect settled on his face, so that he was obliged to take one finger out of his ear to brush it away. Just then the minister said, “he that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” The man listened; and God met with him at that moment to his soul’s conversion.

For meditation: When God speaks he means it—every single word (Psalm 119:160; Proverbs 30:5). Does this fact strike you when you read or hear his word?

Sermon nos. 39-40

3 September (Preached 4 September 1855)

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – No Abuse Tolerated

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“So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him” (Isaiah 59:19, KJV).

A prominent secular columnist and a businessman were united in their efforts to destroy a well-known godly Christian leader. It seemed that they would stoop to whatever mischief was necessary to accomplish their goal: Discredit this man of God.

One day they were warned of the danger of attacking God’s anointed. They were shown that they were not simply attacking an individual, but they were actually tempting God, because this man was His servant and it was God’s responsibility to take care of him. The warning was given in these words, “If I were you, I’d be petrified with fear because you are not attacking a man, but a servant of God. I’d be afraid of what God would do to me to punish me if I were guilty of doing what you are doing.”

They laughed at such a warning, but only a few hours later one of them was killed in a tragic accident. The other was very sobered by this dramatic demonstration of how God protects His own.

I agree with the man who gave the warning. In fact, I would hate to be a critic or an enemy, not just of a godly Christian leader, but of any child of God who seeks to live a holy life because that individual can be assured that God will fight for Him. Whenever a person who desires to please the Lord with all of his attitudes and actions and desires and motives is attacked, the Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against the adversary.

If you are a man or woman of God, I would be scared to death to criticize you, or to find fault with you, or to attack you in any way. All who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ have been purchased with His own precious blood, and he will not tolerate the abuse of His blood-purchased followers.

Bible Reading: Isaiah 59:16-21

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: With God’s help, I will guard my tongue, my attitudes and actions concerning other believers, following the admonition, “Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matthew 7:1). I will seek to love all men as an expression of the supernatural life-style.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – What are the clouds?

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“The clouds are the dust of his feet.” Nahum 1:3

Suggested Further Reading: Isaiah 40:12-26

Great things with us are little things with God. What great things clouds are to us! There we see them sweeping along the skies! Then they rapidly increase till the entire sky becomes black and a dark shadow is cast upon the world; we foresee the coming storm, and we tremble at the mountains of cloud, for they are great. Great things are they? No, they are only the dust of God’s feet. The greatest cloud that ever swept the face of the skies, was but one single particle of dust starting from the feet of the Almighty Jehovah. When clouds roll over clouds, and the storm is very terrible, it is only the chariot of God, as it speeds along the heavens, raising a little dust around him! “The clouds are the dust of his feet.” Oh! Could you grasp this idea my friends, or had I words in which to put it into your souls, I am sure you would sit down in solemn awe of that great God who is our Father, or who will be our Judge. Consider, that the greatest things with man are little things with God. We call the mountains great, but what are they? They are but “the small dust of the balance.” We call the nations great, and we speak of mighty empires; but the nations before him are but as “a drop of a bucket.” We call the islands great and talk of ours boastingly—“He taketh up the isles as a very little thing.” We speak of great men and of mighty—“The inhabitants [of the earth] in his sight are as grasshoppers.” We talk of ponderous orbs moving millions of miles from us—in God’s sight they are but little atoms dancing up and down in the sunbeam of existence. Compared with God there is nothing great.

For meditation: Are you experiencing great distress or great success? Try to look at both kinds of circumstances from the viewpoint of God (Zechariah 4:6-7).

Sermon no. 36

19 August (1855)

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The way of salvation

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“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

Suggested Further Reading: Isaiah 12

What a great word that word ‘salvation’ is! It includes the cleansing of our conscience from all past guilt, the delivery of our soul from all those propensities to evil which now so strongly predominate in us; it takes in, in fact, the undoing of all that Adam did. Salvation is the total restoration of man from his fallen estate; and yet it is something more than that, for God’s salvation fixes our standing more secure than it was before we fell. It finds us broken in pieces by the sin of our first parent, defiled, stained, accursed: it first heals our wounds, it removes our diseases, it takes away our curse, it puts our feet upon the rock Christ Jesus, and having thus done, at last it lifts our heads far above all principalities and powers, to be crowned for ever with Jesus Christ, the King of heaven. Some people, when they use the word ‘salvation,’ understand nothing more by it than deliverance from hell and admittance into heaven. Now, that is not salvation: those two things are the effects of salvation. We are redeemed from hell because we are saved, and we enter heaven because we have been saved beforehand. Our everlasting state is the effect of salvation in this life. Salvation, it is true, includes all that, because salvation is the mother of it, and carries it within its bowels; but still it would be wrong for us to imagine that is the whole meaning of the word. Salvation begins with us as wandering sheep, it follows us through all our confused wanderings; it puts us on the shoulders of the shepherd; it carries us into the fold; it calls together the friends and the neighbours; it rejoices over us; it preserves us in that fold through life; and then at last it brings us to the green pastures of heaven, beside the still waters of bliss, where we lie down for ever, in the presence of the Chief Shepherd, never more to be disturbed.

For meditation: Past salvation from sin’s penalty (justification): present salvation from sin’s power (sanctification): prospective salvation from sin’s presence (glorification)—what a great salvation (Hebrews 2:3). Don’t miss it.

Sermon no. 209

15 August (1858)

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – God’s people in the furnace

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“I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.” Isaiah 48:10

Suggested Further Reading: Isaiah 43:1-7

Beloved, the first thing I will give you is the comfort of the text itself—election. Comfort yourself with this thought: God says, “I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.” “The fire is hot, but he has chosen me; the furnace burns, but he has chosen me; these coals are hot, I do not love the place, but he has chosen me.” Ah! It comes like a soft gale assuaging the fury of the flame. It is like some gentle wind fanning the cheeks; yes, this one thought arrays us in fireproof armour, against which the heat has no power. “Let affliction come—God has chosen me. Poverty, you may come in at the door—God is in the house already, and he has chosen me. Sickness, you may come, but I will have this by my side for a balsam—God has chosen me. Whatever it is, I know that he has chosen me.” The next comfort is that you have the Son of man with you in the furnace. In that silent bedchamber of yours, there sits by your side one whom you have not seen, but whom you love; and often when you know it not, he makes your bed in your affliction, and smooths your pillow for you. You are in poverty; but in that lonely house of yours that has nothing to cover its bare walls, where you sleep on a miserable straw mattress, you know that the Lord of life and glory is a frequent visitor; he often treads those bare floors, and putting his hands upon those walls he consecrates them! If you were in a palace he might not come there. He loves to come into these desolate places that he may visit you. The Son of man is with you, Christian.

For meditation: There are some things that can only be proved in times of trouble (Daniel 3:17,25,28,29; James 1:12; 1 Peter 1:6,7).

Sermon no. 35

12 August (1855)

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – He Will Uphold Us

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“Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed. I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will uphold you with My victorious right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

An obsolete Army transport plane was filled with people from various parts of the world. We flew, at the invitation of the president of a third world country, for a dedication ceremony of a historic sight. But it was not until we were crowded into the plane and ready to take off that we observed that there were no seatbelts. In fact there were not even enough seats for all of the guests. It was quite an unusual experience at best. Yet, I was able to claim this assuring promise that God gave to Isaiah and gives to all of his children who trust and obey Him.

Many times in my trips to various parts of the world, I have encountered difficulties, opposition, problems and challenges. In such times as these, I have needed and claimed the promises of God.

God’s banquet table is full to overflowing. Not only can we be free from fear, but we can also be encouraged knowing that He is our God and thus He will strengthen and help and uphold us with His victorious right hand. If you and I come to such a banquet table and come away with only crumbs, we should not blame the one who has prepared the table. He has made all things possible for us and given us all things in Him. Even if your task today is simply to perform routine duties, you may approach them without fear, even of boredom, knowing that God is with you.

Bible Reading: Isaiah 41:1-9

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Claiming this marvelous promise from God’s word, I will not fear, but will claim with joyful confidence His faithful promise to meet my every need, knowing that I am complete in Him who will enable me to live the supernatural life.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Peace of Heart and Mind

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“I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart! And the peace I give isn’t fragile like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27).

A stricken widow stood beside the coffin of her husband. She said to a friend, “There lies my only earthly support, my most faithful human friend, one who has never failed me; but I must not forget there lies also the will of God, and that will is perfect love.”

By faith, she saw good and blessing, remembering the promise of God, “I know the plans that I have for you…plans for good…” (Jeremiah 29:11).

As the Prince of Peace, Jesus gives peace of heart and mind, truly one of the greatest and most remarkable gifts we can receive. In the midst of trial and testing, His perfect peace is a supernatural blessing far exceeding even such coveted gifts as good health, for with His inner peace we have everything we need.

How do we obtain that kind of peace? First, it is the fruit of the Spirit. “Love, joy, peace…” As we are yielding to Him and controlled by the Holy Spirit, the fruit of peace is being cultivated in our lives moment by moment, day by day.

Second, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee” (Isaiah 26:3, KJV); “As he thinketh in his heart so is he” (Proverbs 23:7, KJV). It is a fact of life that we become in our attitudes and actions like that which most dominates our thoughts. That explains the dramatic moral spiritual deterioration resulting from the influence of immoral television programming. When the Lord is given His proper priority in our lives, His perfect peace will reign in our hearts.

While it is true that all such blessings are a gift of God and cannot be earned or merited, it is equally true that we can deliberately choose to cooperate with God’s Holy Spirit by yielding ourselves to Him and thus cultivating the fruit of peace.

Bible Reading: Isaiah 26:1-5

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: By faith I shall claim God’s promised peace for today and every day. I shall ask the Holy Spirit to help me concentrate my heart’s gaze on the Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, and I will encourage someone else to do the same.

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Presidential Prayer Team; C.P. – Enduring Prayers

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In today’s society, we tenaciously avoid waiting. The Bible mentions primarily three types of waiting. The first is the evil man waiting on his unsuspecting victim. He greatly desires what his victim has, whether it’s treasure, supplies or power, so he waits for the right time to snatch it. The second is a servant waiting on his master. Everything on the servant’s agenda is set aside; his only concern is what concerns his master. The third type is waiting on God.

Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land. Psalm 37:34

You can learn from the other two types of waiting. Do you want God and what He has for you enough to stop everything and wait? Do you wait on the Lord as a servant waits on his master, putting His will first? The Bible also says to wait patiently. Patience is the ability to endure trials with a good attitude while waiting for God’s blessings – not demanding your own way, and knowing His blessings are worth it.

Are you seeking your Heavenly Father for your life and country, patiently trusting He hears you and will answer? Set your heart to wait on the Lord. He will reward your enduring prayers in due time.

Recommended Reading: Isaiah 40:27-31

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Presidential Prayer Team; C.H. – Trusted and True

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On May 21, a mile-wide tornado ripped through Oklahoma City, demolishing everything in its path. In an interview, one elderly woman described being lifted off the stool in her bathroom with her dog in arms. “When it was over, I called my dog, but he didn’t come; he’s in here somewhere,” she pointed to her flattened home. But before the interview was over, the reporter gasped and pointed out a dog under a pile of rubble. The tearful woman digs to retrieve him and said, “I thought God just answered one prayer to let me be okay, but he answered two of them.”

Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? Psalm 77:13

In the midst of great tragedy, know that God is holy and is still worthy to be praised. In Psalms, David extols time and again God’s character throughout great trials in his life.

Some of America’s devastation is evident, like the broken debris in Oklahoma. But many of your fellow citizens are sifting through brokenness of a different kind. Pray for those affected both by the storms of nature and the storms of life. Then pray for this nation to pull together and recognize God is still holy…and the one true God whose ways can be trusted.

Recommended Reading: Isaiah 43:1-12

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Presidential Prayer Team; P.G. – Personal Responsibility

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There is no better book on human psychology than the Bible. Its insights on behavior aren’t found so profoundly anywhere else. Like today’s verse, for instance. A man wrecks his own life but does he shoulder the blame for himself? No, he turns around and in ranting blames God.

When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the Lord. Proverbs 19:3

Perhaps you have known them – men or women who have professed being Christians but whose life is tarnished with immorality. They bring themselves to shame, but will often say that Jesus wasn’t there, or somehow God failed them. It is a slippery slide from obstinacy into apostasy. Theologian W. F. Adeney said, “It is monstrous to charge the providence of God with the consequences of actions which He has forbidden.”

God has provided light for His people to walk in, so they will not trip and fall in the darkness that surrounds them. The Lord has shown in His word the ways that avoid foolishness and sin.

Pray that America will turn from its obstinate ways into the light of God’s truth. Intercede for the nation’s leaders to abandon their follies and seek after the Lord who has promised to be gracious and compassionate.

Recommended Reading: Isaiah 30:8-18

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Charles Spurgeon – David’s dying prayer

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“Let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.” Psalm 72:19

Suggested Further Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8

Is there not one among you that can win a laurel wreath? Have I not one true Christian heart here that is set for work and labour? Have I not one man that will devote himself for God and for his truth? Henry Martyn! Thou art dead; and is thy mantle buried with thee? Brainerd, thou sleepest with thy fathers; and is thy spirit dead too, and shall there never be another Brainerd? Knibb, thou hast ascended to thy God; and is there nowhere another Knibb? Williams, thy martyred blood still crieth from the ground; and is there nowhere another Williams? What! Not among this dense mass of young and burning spirits? Is there not one that can say in his heart, “Here am I, send me”? “This hour, being saved by God’s grace, I give myself up to him, to go wherever he shall be pleased to send me, to testify his gospel in foreign lands”? What! Are there no Pauls now? Have we none who will be apostles for the Lord of hosts? I think I see one who, putting his lips together, makes this silent resolve—“By God’s grace I this day devote myself to him; through trouble and through trial I will be his, if he will help me; for missionary work or for anything else I give up my all to God; and if I may die as Williams did, and wear the blood-red crown of martyrdom, I will be proud; and if I may live to serve my Master, like a Brainerd, and die at last worn out, here I am, do but have me, Master; give me the honour of leading the forlorn hope, of leading the vanguard of Christianity; here I am, send me.”

For meditation: The earth is going to be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God (Habakkuk 2:14). Every believer has a contribution to make towards that goal, big or small. Are you playing your part?

Sermon no. 129

26 April (1857)

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Charles Spurgeon – Mr Fearing comforted

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“O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” Matthew 14:31

Suggested Further Reading: Isaiah 51:9-16

Why did Simon Peter doubt? He doubted for two reasons. First, because he looked too much to second causes, and secondly, because he looked too little at the first cause. The answer will suit you also, my trembling brother. This is the reason why you doubt, because you are looking too much to the things that are seen, and too little to your unseen Friend who is behind your troubles, and who shall come forth for your deliverance. See poor Peter in the ship—his Master bids him come; in a moment he casts himself into the sea, and to his own surprise he finds himself walking the billows. His foot is upon a crested wave, and yet he stands erect; he treads again, and yet his footing is secure. “Oh!” thinks Peter, “this is marvellous.” He begins to wonder within his spirit what manner of man he must be who has enabled him thus to tread the treacherous deep; but just then, there comes howling across the sea a terrible blast of wind; it whistles in the ear of Peter, and he says within himself, “Ah! Here comes an enormous billow driven forward by the blast; now, surely, I must, I shall be overwhelmed.” No sooner does the thought enter his heart than down he goes; and the waves begin to enclose him. So long as he shut his eye to the billow, and to the blast, and kept it only open to the Lord who stood there before him, he did not sink; but the moment he shut his eye on Christ, and looked at the stormy wind and treacherous deep, down he went.

For meditation: The Christian is in a battle against unseen enemies. The shield of faith helps us to fight and, having done all, to stand (Ephesians 6:12-16); to put it down for a moment and to rely on sight is to risk falling in battle.

Sermon no. 246

3 April (1859)