ISAIAH

Today is Monday.  My what a wonderful day we had at Church yesterday!  Blessings after blessings.  Another great crowd of people and several getting saved, baptized, and some joining the Church as well.  The spirit of the service was spirit-filled attention, participation, and excitement.  What a sponge to learn are the great people I pastor.  All praise goes to the LORD Almighty.  Wonderful are His ways; Oh how we love Him!  Well, I could just start praising the LORD and keep going on for another hour or so.  But, I read the ten chapters of Isaiah and have a few thoughts to share with you this day my friend.  Here are my simple thoughts about God's complex Word:

1) WHO GOD BRINGS TO THE BARGAINING TABLE- We are very familiar with Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD:  though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."  These two colors I have been told are not possible to get out of white cloth once it has been introduced.  It is irremovable, and yet this is exactly what God is saying He will do!  But, to whom is He speaking?  He is speaking to sinners, yes.  But what sinners!  Chapter One of Isaiah describes the children of Israel in very unflattering terms:  "laden with iniquity"; "evildoers"; "children that are corrupters"; "forsaken the LORD"; "whole head is sick"; "whole heart faint"; "wounds"; "bruises"; "putrifying sores"; "become a harlot!"; "murderers";.... well, these are but a few of the descriptive terms concerning this sinful nation.  AND, now consider this.... this is the people God invites to His bargaining table to reason together with Him and have their sins forgiven IF they will but look to Him.  What a wonderful God of mercy and grace!!!!  Wow!

2) WOE!!  Isaiah 5:20 says:  "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; taht put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"  Here is where American society is today.  Protecting a baby is evil, protecting a whale is good!  Denouncing homosexuality is evil, denouncing those who oppose it is good!  Discipline of children is evil, catering to their own destruction is good!  Woe!! That is what God says about it.  Woe!!  Dear friend, no matter what the world has to say about evil and good, don't get them mixed up.  Stick with what God calls evil as evil, and what God calls good as good.

3) MAHER-SHALAL-HASH-BAZ-  Yes, that is a mouthful.  But, how would you like it to be the name of your son?  God told Isaiah to name his son Maher-shalal-hash-baz.  Isaiah and his wife, the prophetess, had a son in Isaiah 8:1-3, and God said to name him this name.  Now, the name means:  "hast ye, haste ye to the spoil".  God tells him to name his son this, because before His son can say: Dada (My father) and Mama (my mother) (vs. 4) That other nations will have raced to the spoil of Assyria because of their sin.  Now Assyria is the world power at this time, and yet.... God says it is going to fall fast!  Before the child can speak, the sentence of judgment will be carried out.  So, the prophecy of Maher-shalal-hash-baz!

Well, I have more to say, but no more time to say it.  Blessing upon you my friends!  Pastor Mike Mutchler