https://esv.literalword.com/?q=isa+49%3B+ephesians+2
Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Friday, 23 June 2023:
Isaiah 49:1-5 – Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away. And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” But I said, “I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the Lord, and my recompense with my God.” And now the Lord says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength….
Serving God does not promise any earthly reward but rather may cost you everything, which is what is normally expected of any servant.
Isaiah 49:6 – It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.
God gives God-sized mission tasks.
Isaiah 49:7 – Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
God’s plan always included Jesus saving the Gentiles.
Isaiah 49:9 – …saying to the prisoners, “Come out,” to those who are in darkness, “Appear.” They shall feed along the ways; on all bare heights shall be their pasture….
The Good News sets captives free.
Isaiah 49:11 – And I will make all my mountains a road, and my highways shall be raised up.
God warns those who trust in self rather than in Him.
Isaiah 49:15 – Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.
“God never becomes preoccupied or neglectful toward one of His children. God said it would be more likely for a nursing mother to forget the infant at her breast than for Him to forget one of His children! The nursing mother has a keen sensitivity to her baby. Even if the infant is in another room the mother’s senses are in tune with her child. The mother knows when it is time to feed and care for the child. The mother never becomes so preoccupied with other things that she neglects the needs of her child. It is fitting that God chose this imagery to describe how He looks after His people, for He is more sensitive to the needs of His children than even the most loving mother. He anticipates every cry for help. Even before we can call out in need, God is responding with His answer (Isaiah. 65:24). This is one of the most comforting promises God has given to us: that He will never forget us. Don’t let the difficult circumstances you are facing convince you that God has forgotten you. Don’t ever assume that God is more concerned with the needs of other, more significant, more spiritual people than He is with yours. Scripture teaches that God looks upon you with the same love, interest, and concern as a nursing mother would look upon her infant. It should reassure you to know that your Father loves you like that!” (Henry T. Blackaby)
Isaiah 49:19-21 – “Surely your waste and your desolate places and your devastated land— surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants, and those who swallowed you up will be far away. The children of your bereavement will yet say in your ears: ‘The place is too narrow for me; make room for me to dwell in.’ Then you will say in your heart: ‘Who has borne me these? I was bereaved and barren, exiled and put away, but who has brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; from where have these come?’”
Even during time of trouble and exile, God blesses His people. Can you see God’s blessings through your trials is a way that gives you unshakable joy?
Isaiah 49:23 – Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.
God wants you to know Him personally and to have no shame in acknowledging Him to others.
Isaiah 49:26 – I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine. Then all flesh shall know that I am the Lord your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
God’s purpose is to glorify Himself to the world.
Ephesians 2:14 – For he himself is our peace….
All of Ephesians 2 is worth rereading regularly as a continual reminder for you and for others of the complete sufficiency of Christ and “God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense – G.R.A.C.E. which you have received freely and which should fill you with unfaltering confidence, peace, and joy. Too often we act as if we must earn what has been freely given in Christ. Too often we act as if others must earn it too. Too often we talk grace but walk in fear, guilt, regret, anger, bitterness, envy, and pride when the knowledge of Christ should have put an end to all those things. Even when we recognize those inappropriate feelings within ourselves and repent of them, we too quickly and feebly return to habits of self-reliance to eliminate them rather than relying on and resting in the sufficiency of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 2:4-7 — But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
It was God’s love which saved you, not your love for Him, and the security of your salvation rests in His faithfulness, not yours. God IS love; without Him filling you with His love, you wouldn’t have had the ability to love Him or anyone else – “We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) God has given you the Great Commandment of love because He has already given you the ability to fulfill it; but only by abiding in Him can you bear the fruit of love in your life (John 15). You were dead in your trespasses. Not only is a corpse incapable of bringing life to itself, it cannot even perceive its own death or desire the life it lacks. It was God and God alone in His great mercy, grace, and love who gave you life and your desire for life in Him. This is a great mystery we can’t completely understand, nor do we fully comprehend the immeasurable riches we already have in Christ, but they will eventually be revealed.
Ephesians 2:8-10 — For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
It is the unmerited grace of God that saves us, not our own doing, so we can’t boast. But it is also the unmerited grace of God that sanctifies us, so we still can’t boast. We are Christ’s workmanship; contrary to the philosophies of this world, no one is a “self-made man.” As mentioned previously, while the Bible tells us to work out our salvation (not work for our salvation), to remain diligent, to struggle, and to persevere, we must rely on, trust in, and rest in the power of the Holy Spirit. We must also remember that the good works we do in Him and through Him were prepared in advance by Him, not by us. Again, no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:14 — For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility….
In Christ there is unity among believers, which was Jesus’ prayer to the Father on our behalf recorded in John 17. Unity among believers is the evidence our true fellowship with Christ. Where there is disunity and dysfunction, there is always a grieving and quenching of the Holy Spirit – someone is out of step with the Spirit – don’t let that someone be you; endeavor to remain faithful to God and pour out to others the unmerited mercy, grace and love you have received.
Ephesians 2:22 – In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
We have received it already, but we haven’t grown into it already. We are still under construction. As you grow in grace, failing along the way, trust in grace. Don’t try to muscle your way through your sanctification, learn to abide in Him and receive His power as the Vine provides life-giving nourishment to the branch. Learn more and more to appreciate, live out, and truly experience what you have already received in Christ –
“Think of it like this: When one of my daughters was young, I bought her a Danish for the first time. With much excitement and anticipation, I paid for it and set it in front of her. But no matter how much I tried to convince her, she wouldn’t touch it. The Danish belonged to here in reality; it was hers! But it did not belong to her in experience until she took the first taste (and never turned back). God has invited us to participate in life with Him; it belongs to us through our faith in Christ. But only as our faith increases and we take up the promises in reality will it belong to us in experience.” (Pastor Colby Garmen, Pillar Church)
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 23 June 2023: Today, rest securely in the love of God, and trust Him. Rest in, rejoice in, and radiate the peace of Christ today to everyone around you – you need to experience it, and they need to see it! And be ready and eager to explain it when they ask how you have this love, joy, and peace which surpasses understanding.
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 