prophet Isaiah – Be Still…

2 Chronicles 32:9-23 – Our Faith Under Attack

Read 2 Chronicles 32:9-23

Have you ever been ridiculed for your faith? Perhaps untruths were spread about something you did or said. That’s what Hezekiah endured as King Sennacherib of Assyria tried to distract the people from listening to Hezekiah’s declaration about how God would sustain them.

All it takes is a little doubt to cause us to stumble in matters of faith. Clearly, Sennacherib was feeling pressured to find success. He did a fine job of tooting his own horn and that of the Assyrian kings who had come before him. By casting a shadow on the trust people had in their God and his servant, Hezekiah, Sennacherib was doing what he thought would be most effective in assuring an Assyrian victory. Continue reading “2 Chronicles 32:9-23 – Our Faith Under Attack”

Advent 🕯 Isaiah 9:1-2 -Hope

Read Isaiah 9:1-2

Our Advent preparations are heading into the home stretch. It’s time to take a deep breath and prepare for the final frantic moments yet to come. Why do we try to pack so much into such a short period of time? There’s traveling, cookie baking, card sending, concert attending, rehearsing, decorating, wrapping gifts, carol singing–I’ve got to be forgetting something! Yes — hoping in Christ!

Isaiah’s prophecy speaks loudly to us as well. We can surely identify with living in a “time of darkness and despair,” too. Anytime God is absent from a conversation or a decision or an event, the potential for darkness exists. Isaiah’s message brings hope to those living in darkness when he says, “will not go on forever.”

John 1:2-8 – Preparing the Way

Read Mark 1:2-8

Don’t you love it when you see Scripture texts pointing to each other? Of course, there are many Old Testament prophecies that reveal pieces of Jesus’ character. But today’s reading reminds us that the prophet Isaiah spoke of John the Baptist. God already knew that the world would need special preparation to receive his Son, Jesus.

John sounds like an interesting fellow. We know from other gospels that he was born to older parents who had not been able to have children, until God’s perfect timing allowed his mother Elizabeth to get pregnant. Trusting God’s timing always has marvelous results.