Where is your Focus? (Isaiah 23)

 Isaiah 23:9 The Lord of hosts has planned it, to disgrace all pride of majesty, to degrade all the earth’s honored men.

Here we have another example of a nation full of pride. There was a merchant city, and those who had successful businesses and wealth were honored above people who were loyal or honest. More importantly, they were honored above God. Throughout the last several chapters, we see God’s anger against nations that were prideful and kept people higher than God. They worshiped and honored people and things above God, which goes against the first commandment. 

Pride and self-glory are dangerous things. Your business title on earth more how much money your made gets you a better spot in heaven. How are you using that title and that money to glorify God? If we don’t want to face the same wrath that the people of Tyre, Babylon, Ethiopia, Egypt, and countless others did, we need to reconsider where our focus belongs. We need to put our lives back in perspective, and hold above all else. Now that we are at the start of Lent, it is a good time to refocus our heart. Think about “God what are you calling me to see,” instead of “what can I give up,” this Lent. Check out this BlessedIsShe Podcast for more:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blessed-is-she/id1365854664?i=1000506666564

Lord, I’m sorry that I have let other things come before you. You are the most important thing in my life, and I should always be willing to show it. Please continue to guide my path that you have set me upon, and I pray that you continue to walk with the other ladies in this study after we close this portion of Isaiah. 

Many Doors (Isaiah 22)

Isaiah 22:22 I will place a key of the House of David on his shoulder, when he opens,  no one shall shut, when he shuts, no one shall open.

Isaiah is predicting that Eliakim will be the next chief steward to the king, as he was devoted to the Lord. The chief steward was given a key to the palace, to lock and unlock doors as necessary. But God's key was the key to unlock life in heaven. Eliakim's role is a prophecy of the Messiah, because we know Jesus hols the keys to heaven. We read in Revelation 3:7-9 a similiar verse:

“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia, write this:
“‘The holy one, the true,
who holds the key of David,
who opens and no one shall close,
who closes and no one shall open,
says this:
“‘“I know your works (behold, I have left an open door before you, which no one can close). You have limited strength, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
Behold, I will make those of the assembly of Satan who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying, behold I will make them come and fall prostrate at your feet, and they will realize that I love you.

Jesus has the ability to open and shut doors as he pleases. We need to accept both, the open and the shut. It is more common to try to fight the current than to just accept it as is. This is what I have been praying for since we knew about the possibility of our current move. If this is an open door, that it may open wide without interference, but if this is not what is to come, close the door and let it be known. There were many closed doors along our journey. We still have many obstacles we are facing during the next few months, and each day I continue to praise Jesus for the path he has opened for us, and I am having to put my trust in him daily, knowing HE alone is the one who opens and closes doors. And that trust must cover all potential outcomes because of our move. It is not easy, friends, to let go of control in that way, but in the end, it is the way to stand strong in God's love.

Where is your treasure? (Isaiah 21)

 Isaiah 21:9b Fallen, fallen is Babylon, and all the images of her gods are smashed to the ground. 

Again we here of the fall of Babylon predicted by Isaiah. Remember, Babylon is a people of self-indulgence, pride, and greed. It is a good reminder that Jesus tells us in the gospel of Matthew 6 that our treasures are in heaven. We should not store or hoard things on earth where they can be destroyed. And we cannot serve God and mammon (wealth or property). 

After Hurricane Rita in 2005, I saw how quickly things became nothing. Our home in south Louisiana flooded, and we lost most things. My family weren’t hoarders, but it just brought to light seeing all of the household possessions on the front lawn broken and covered in mud that it only takes a moment for our earthly possessions to be destroyed. 

I reflect on that time now (and quite often as I decide if I really need to buy “that”, whatever that may be) to show that through all of our loss, we never lost sight of God. We were still at church the next Sunday, on lawn chairs as the floor had also been flooded in church, praising God because he is good. Those things were just that, things. Just as we take inventory of the things in our house for insurance purposes, we need take inventory of our heart. What we need to focus on is our internal house. Where do we keep Jesus? Does our heart need a good cleaning? Is our heart Babylon? Is it filled with wants and desires for more earthly things? We cannot have room for God in our hearts if it is full of possessions. 

Possessions do not account for only physical things. It also means pride, boasting, wanting of aspects of life that are not good in God’s eyes. There are so many cultural ideas around the world that are not showing how Jesus told us to live. They go against the teachings of the Bible. Any of those desires of wants take up space in our heart. If we allow these thoughts and ideas into our mind, they can start to fill our heart. We must not be like the people of Babylon who thought more about their current physical and emotional pleasure than what it meant to please God. We must seek the treasures of heaven.

Lord, thank you for all the blessings that you have given me. I pray for the continued desire to serve you above all else. I pray that I keep my heart clean and empty for you to fill. I turn to you in times of good and bad, because I know you are the only one who can truly fill my desires. Amen. 

Where is Your Hope (Isaiah 20)

Isaiah 20:5,6 They shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Ethiopia, their hope, and because of Egypt, their boast... “Look at our hope! We fled here for help and deliverance... where can we flee now?”

The people of Judah had turned to Ethiopia and Egypt to rescue them from Assyria. They put their hope in Ethiopia and Egypt instead of the Lord. Another Bible uses the words “expectation” and “glory” in verse 5. They expected to be rescued by Ethiopia and their glory would come from Egypt. And then when God handed those two nations to Assyria on a platter, the Israelites were ashamed. 

It is so easy to fall into this same pattern, putting things of this world on a pedestal for hope. The stock market, an oil boom, job surges, great weather for crops, football teams, etc. In an instant, any of these can crumble, and can bring us to our knees, and we can end up disappointed. Instead, we need to give our hope to God. He never disappoints. Let us not turn to the other nations (other things of the world) like Judah did when we are in peril, and instead forums on praying to God. Let us give our worries to God. He will guide us. Where can you flee to? To God’s loving, open arms. 

Lord, I lift my prayers to you. You know what is on my heart, what we pray for most now. Please continue to guide us through this time of our lives so that we can continue to progress to our next chapter. 

Breaker of chains (Isaiah 19)

 Isaiah 19:21 The Lord shall make himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day.

This chapter really brings to life the fact that God loves everyone. The Egyptians were a great power, and at many time, a force against Israel. The Egyptians had many gods of their own, and although God tried to show them using the plagues that their gods were worthless, they still refused to believe. So Isaiah prophesied that Egypt would fall under cruel and foolish leaders, and they would have serious crop and farming issues. 

Even after all his anger directed at Egypt, God plans to save Egypt! Once he hears the Egyptians cry out from their oppression, he will send a “savior to defend and deliver them.” God even calls them “my people” in verse 25. He plans, just as he had with his own Israel, to let them struggle under terrible rulers so they realize that he is the one true king. Then he plans to release mercy upon them. The conversion of Egypt should be a powerful witness to those who question God’s love. He offered grace even to people who were considered the worst at the time. He said he would send a savior, he taught them how to pray, and he blessed them. If he would do this for the worst of the people, why would you think he wouldn’t hear your cries?

Jesus saved us from sin. He broke through the chains for us. There is no sin too great to be released from, if we are truly sorry. If you feel someone or something has power or authority over you, and this is causing you great stress, find a spiritual counselor, find a priest, find a pastor. Talk to someone about how Jesus’s love can release you from your oppression.

Lord I thank you for today and for every day you have given me. Thank you for the blessings in my life. Thank you for loving me enough to release me from my sins. I pray that you stay by my side as we continue this new adventure in our life.

Not Struggling Alone (Isaiah 18)

 Isaiah 18:4 For thus the Lord says to me: I will quietly look on from where I dwell, like the glowing heat of sunshine, like a cloud of dew at harvest time. 

In this chapter, Isaiah speaks of how Ethiopia sends word to the Israelites asking them to go up against Assyria, and then make alliance with Ethiopia. God responds by sayin he will just watch from where he is at, meaning he doesn’t need Ethiopia’s alliance. He can take care of Assyria himself. And he is watching, waiting until the time is right to harvest the Assyrian people. When “the blooms are succeeded by ripening grapes” meaning just when Assyria thinks they are ready to attack, God will cut their “branches with pruning hooks.” He will take down the army in his time, when he sees it right. And after which, he says the Ethiopians will come to him to praise his name. 

God is always there, though sometimes we don’t feel his presence. He may be just quietly looking on from where he dwells, watching us. He may be allowing us an opportunity to grow in faith. Sometimes when I begin to struggle with something, I realize part of my struggle is that I came into the situation either prideful, arrogant, or ill-prepared. In other words, I came in without God. And he allows me the time to fall, and realize that I did need him. So I get to the opportunity to humble myself and ask for help. And shod gets to come in and harvest the evil out, on his time. If God fixed all our messes for us at the time we need, or even prevented our messes, how would we ever learn? If we aren’t allowed to make mistake, how can we truly earn glory? I for one am glad God is not a helicopter parent, and gives me the chance me to learn and redeem myself. This way, I truly appreciate all the blessings I am given, as I know they could just as easily be taken away. 

Lord, I thank you for letting me learn. I praise you for the grace and mercy when I fall. I know you have a plan for me, for our future, and I pray I for continued faith as I wait for you to turn the page of this chapter. 

He is My Rock (Isaiah 17)

 Isaiah 17:10 For you have forgotten God, your savior, and remembered not the Rock your strength.

When we get too busy in things of the world, it is easy to forget what is important. When work. Gets too hectic and things start piling up, or when kids’ extracurricular activities pull you this way and that, it might be easy to let your prayer time or even going to Mass slip your mind because you have so many things to do. This is the perfect trap set by Satan. He doesn’t have to do much to put it in place either, just by making us forget. When we forget to give our time to God, we are forgetting the one who made us. He didn’t have to, he WANTED to make us. And then he wanted to give us salvation. Again he didn’t have to.  And yet, we find it so easy to simply dismiss him when we “forgot to go to church” because we were too busy with work or kids or life. 

God has never forgotten us. He has promised us glory. But if we continue to dismiss him, our stories might end up like the ones of Moab or Damascus. And they don’t end well. What can we remove from our lives today to be able to remember God more effectively? What can we rearrange so that God always comes first? There shouldn’t be anything or anyone else that we depend on more than God.

Lord, I thank you for all the blessings you have given me. I pray that you continue to keep nudging me in the right direction. I’m giving you this move and all the preparations that I have, because I know I trust in your will, and I depend on you for it to fall into place. I have done all of what I can, Lord, and I pray you remember your daughter, your children, and help make this right. Amen. 

Pride (Isaiah 16)

 Isaiah 16:6 We have heard of the pride of Moab, how very proud he is, with his haughty, arrogant insolence that his empty words do not match. 

In the following verses, and from what I gathered in researching Moab, they were very proud of their vineyards. The verses mention raisin cakes, terraced slopes or fields, vines, choice plants or clusters, summer fruits, etc. Instead of being grateful to God for their abundance, they worshipped foreign gods. They let pride get in their way, and turned to themselves instead of God.

Pride is “feeling of deep pleasures from one’s own achievements.” It is not wrong to feel good about something we accomplish, as long as we understand that accomplish didn’t happen because of us. It is because God allowed it to happen. Because of the gifts that God gave us. Bragging, or showing off, is prideful, whether it is something big or small. It is good to get a pat on the back when we have accomplished something, especially if we have been working hard on it. Or if most of our work goes unnoticed.  It we should always be doing work for the glory of God, not man. Instead of looking to see what others think of our accomplishments, we should look in our hearts and remember that we couldn’t have done so without God. And that if we continue on that journey of showing off to others for mere praise, God has his own ways of humbling people. 

Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before disaster, and a haughty spirit before a fall. 

Lord I pray you keep me humble, that I always remember everything I am comes from you. Every accomplishment is because of the way you made me, the gifts you have blessed me with. Thank you for loving me each and every day, even when I fail. 

Pray for Your Enemies (Isaiah 15)

Isaiah 15:5 My heart cries out for Moab.

This chapter shows the destruction God has unleashed on Moab. The Moabites were enemies of the Israelites, so let's take a moment to go back and find their history. The Moabites come from the Moab tribe, Moab was the son of Lot who was the nephew of Abraham. God had Lot and his family leave Sodom and Gomorrah and then God destroyed it. Remember the story that Lot's wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt? Soon after, Lot's daughters each got their father drunk and laid with him so they would bear children. Moab was born unto Lot's elder daughter. (Genesis 19)

There were conflicts with the later Moabites and Israelites, but know of one good story of a Moab: Ruth. Ruth left her country and people (the Moabites) to travel with her mother-in-law Naomi after Ruth's husband and father-in-law had died in Moab. They went back to Naomi's country of Bethlehem. Ruth later marries Boaz, and becomes the great-grandmother to King David. But this is where the last good connection between the Moabites and Israelites happens.

Back to the current chapter. Isaiah sees the destruction of Moab and cries out for them. Though they are his enemy, he feels for them. Jesus later tells us to pray for our enemies, which is what Isaiah was doing. This is something we should all do. When a child gets made fun of, someone picks on them for a shortcoming, I have always said that person doing the picking is only doing so because they lack something in their heart. They are looking for fulfillment, but going about it the wrong way. So we pray for that person. As adults, we should think the same way. Our enemies, if they are true enemies against what God is teaching, are lacking something in their heart. And we should pray for them, that they can be opened to God's fulfillment. And you might be surprised that through prayers for another, you will find answers to your own issues. 

Zion (Isaiah 14)

Isaiah 14:32 What will one answer the messengers of the nation? "The Lord has established Zion, and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge."

One of the hills in ancient Jerusalem was called Zion, where an ancient fortress was captured by King David. And we know that through David, we see the line that goes on to Jesus. So Zion was established by God as the "city of God," for his people. In Isaiah's continued prophecy, Zion will be the place all exiles will be restored through salvation. This is the Holy Land. 

Zion is God's chosen place. It is the foundation of his love for his people. He made it with such a strong foundation, that no matter the storm that tries to tear it down, it will not fall. God's love for us is the same, strong enough to withstand anything thrown at it. Isn't that wonderful to know, that no matter how we fail, God still loves us? He wants to be close to us. He wants to be our refuge, a place we can find comfort. 

God has a plan for us, and continues to allow us to come back time and time again. God holds our future. He holds a place for us in his kingdom. Even the wretched and broken. Even those who fail and those who sin. All we have to do is trust in God and his mercy, and we will find the gates open wide. Let his love be your fortress against the wicked. You can find comfort in him. 

Lord I thank you for loving me enough to continue to want to be with me. I am sorry that I choose actions sometimes that push you away. I am truly thankful to be in your presence and I am blessed to receive you grace and mercy. Thank you for being willing to continue to mold me. 

Babylon (Isaiah 13)

Isaiah 13:9 Lo, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and burning anger; to lay waste the land and destroy the sinners within it!

In the chapter, Isaiah is prophesying the fall of Babylon. At the time of the prophecy, Babylon had long since been a prospering area, under many different kings, and had conquered many lands. The prophecy was going to use Babylon to take over Judah and the Israelites because of their lack of trust in God. But God also said he would bring Babylon down. At the time Isaiah finished his prophecies, it was around the year 685 BC, and the fall of Babylon to the Persians didn’t occur until around 539 BC. Then it was completely abandoned by 141 BC. So most of those who heard the prophecy of Babylon’s fall weren’t around to see it happen.  But they had to have faith that God would provide. 

In the same way as the Israelites had to believe that God would provide, we too are called to believe and have faith. We know their will be a final judgement day and that God will come and lay waste to the land and all the sinners with it. We do not know when that judgement will come. But we need to have faith that he will do as he said, and allow him to make judgement on those who need it. At the same time, we need to daily be cleansing our hearts so they are pure to receive Jesus. Daily we should examine our conscious and ask forgiveness for things that pull us away from God. We should never think, “Oh he isn’t referring to me.” Don’t let pride get in front of you, fooling you to think those sins don’t count. I need to humble myself daily and learn from the stories of the people in the Bible. God will take his anger out on those who choose to sin against him. I do not want to be caught in that wrath.

Oh Lord, humble my heart today, so I can see my shortcomings. As I examine my conscious and realize where I have failed you, let me have an open heart and truly ask for forgiveness. Thank you for the grace you have given me and will continue to give me. I pray for those who do not see their hate and therefore do not see your love. 

Our Lifeline (Isaiah 12)

Isaiah 12:2 God is my savior; I am confident and unafraid. My strength and my courage is the Lord, and he has been my savior. 

Other Bible versions uses ‘salvation’ in place of ‘savior,’ but it shows the same meaning. God is our savior, our salvation. It is not by myself that I earn a place in heaven, but through God. I cannot save myself, and no one else can save me. Only through God’s love, through his son Jesus dying o the cross, and through my faith in him can I be truly saved. Through his saving grace. We should be confident in our actions, as long we we put God first. Even if we falter, God is there to bring us back. Funny thing is we need God’s salvation more often than we realize. Someone might think they are doing just fine in life, and everyone once in a while asks God for help, but that person may not realize they are barely treading water in the bigger picture. They don’t see that God is the one thing keeping them afloat, and without Him they would be drowning. 

I want my courage to be in God, as it makes me confident. It makes me know that this journey he has put me on may bring challenges, but he will not leave me. So I can continue the journey unafraid. Some days are easier than others to be unafraid, and again that’s what his graces are for. We do not need to fear or to worry what is to come, because our Lord is King. 

What’s in your heart (Isaiah 11)

Isaiah 11:3b-4 Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, but he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.

After the first few chapters of Isaiah pointing to doom and gloom, this chapter is very refreshing. Of course we all know this chapter is pointing towards Jesus coming, because we know he did come to the earth. For the Israelites, this would have brought great hope. And for us, this message should still bring great Even today, in the midst of conflict and confusion in our own country, in the world as well, we know that Jesus is our counsel and strength. He will judge those who have wronged his people. And again this message should remind us that is doesn’t matter what we look like on the outside (appearance) or what rumors people spread about us (hearsay), Jesus knows what is in our hearts. And that is how he will decide.

This message would have been one I would have loved to learn as a teen girl. Kids are mean. I wasn’t “bullied” like people see today, but I had glasses, braces, and acne all at the same time. And I was one of the “nerds.” So I got picked on and laughed at a bit. This is a very narrowed look at this chapter, but it would still show a youth blossoming that the prophecy pointed to something better, and that if we keep our hearts high, we would find it. And that those who made the ugly remarks didn’t have nice hearts, but that instead of hating them, we should pray for them. Their hearts were empty and needing fulfillment just as much as ours need fixing.  

Lord, I praise you for giving your only son to our world, so that we may one day come home with you. I pray that my heart can be as understanding as Jesus, and I don’t fall under the worldly schemes of judging others. I also pray that my children can learn this true love as they grow spiritually and show it to others.