datethewordtest

Tag: Isaiah

  • Verse to DATE the Word on December 4 (12/4) is Isaiah 12:4

    “And in that day you will say: “Praise the LORD, and I will call upon His name;
    I will make known His deeds among the peoples, declaring that His name is exalted. “- Isaiah 12:4
    Worshipping the Lord and Witnessing about the Lord

    In considering Isaiah 12:4 we find actions that are celebratory!  This verse can speak of Judah’s victory over the invading Assyria army, and it can speak of the victory at the end of the tribulation and God’s people will be celebrating in the Millennial kingdom.  Whether it refers to a celebration of the past or a celebration of the future we see two actions for us as believers in the present. 

    First, there is the WORSHIP of the Lord seen in PRAISE THE LORD.  Praising the Lord is offering adoration of WHO GOD IS. Whether He ever does anything for us or not He is WORTHY of praise just because of WHO HE IS!  The worship continues by calling on His name.  This phrase takes us back to Abraham in Genesis 12:8b “There Abraham built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.” The idea of calling on the name of the Lord is the acknowledgment that there is only one God and that a person has no other gods!  It is acknowledging that God is preeminent and supreme.  

    Secondly, there is WITNESSING ABOUT THE LORD!  As one is experiencing the WORKING of God, they cannot help but WITNESS or testify ABOUT what GREAT THINGS GOD HAS DONE.  This, if you will, bragging about the Lord is to point others to the Lord with the heartfelt desire that they EXALT God.

    Not long ago a friend of mine had the opportunity to share Christ at an event that his brother attended.  As his brother drove home, he came under tremendous conviction of his need to be saved.  So he pulled his car onto the side of the road and asked the Lord to save him.  He then called my friend and told him that he had been saved.  My friend was filled with joy, and over the next few weeks, he told anyone and everyone how God had SAVED his brother.  My friend was WITNESSING about how the LORD WORKS!!

    Day after day our lives should be filled with giving WORSHIP to the Lord and WITNESSING for and about the Lord!  

    Verse to DATE the Word on December 4 (12/4) is Isaiah 12:4. It says, “And in that day you will say: “Praise the LORD, and I will call upon His name; I will make known His deeds among the peoples, declaring that His name is exalted.”

    Today tell the Lord that you love Him!  Today tell someone that the Lord loves them.  Worship Him and witness for Him!

    Continue strong,

  • Verse to DATE the Word on October 20 (10/20) is Isaiah 10:20

    “And it shall come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel, and such as have
    escaped of the house of Jacob, will never again depend on him who defeated them,
    But will depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.” – Isaiah 10:20
    Learning the Hard Way to Depend on the Lord

    Instead of looking to God for help, Israel was looking to false gods, and they even looked for help from their enemies, the Assyrians.  Because they were turning to their enemies for help, they would be experiencing defeat.  Isaiah explains that this defeat by the one they depended on would once and for all turn Israel to DEPEND on the LORD.  

    On your journey through this life, WHAT are you depending on? WHO are you depending on?   WHERE does your help come from?  Do you look to God?  Are you dependent on God?

    You might recall that David asked in Psalm 121:1 about where his help would come from.   Psalm 121:1 says, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?” He then answered in verse 2 with a declaration that “My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”   Have you made the bold declaration that your help comes from the Lord?

    It just may be that you feel embarrassed to go to God as you feel your situation or problem may be an inconvenience for Him.  You may think He has too much already to deal with than to now take on your difficulties.  Maybe you think He will be disappointed with you for having to have His help.   

    May I simply but boldly say YOU NEED TO STOP THAT THINKING RIGHT NOW!   

    Our God delights and is delighted that His children are dependent on Him!   As a matter of fact, I have found that the more spiritually mature one is the MORE YOU do depend on Him.   It is the spiritually immature who look to other sources rather than coming to God!   

    Ponder on this.  As physical human beings, we start out being dependent on our parents and they work to move us to a place of independence.  We track maturity by independence!  As spiritual beings, we start out being independent of God and then we get saved (a statement of TOTAL DEPENDENCE), and then we GROW MORE DEPENDENT on God.  Spiritual maturity increases as we become MORE dependent on God.  

    Verse to DATE the Word on October 10 (10/20) is Isaiah 10:20. It says, “And it shall come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel, and such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.”

    Psalm 20:7 says,  “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God.”

    Continue Strong DEPENDING ONLY ON GOD!
    And remember to DATE THE WORD

  • Verse to DATE the Word on June 8 (6/8) is Isaiah 6:8

    “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?”
    Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” – Isaiah 6:8
    HERE AM I! SEND ME!

    As one reads Isaiah 6 one can conclude that the prophet Isaiah had one of the greatest moments any human being could ever experience.  The chapter opens with the difficult detail that King Uzziah has died. He had been the king of Judah for 52 years. He was very popular as he made numerous improvements for Judah.  With his death would come many unknowns.  It is in this challenging moment that Isaiah SEES THE LORD and we are enriched to read of what he sees as he sees Him high and lifted up and the train of His robe filled the temple.  Isaiah then tells of what he HEARS as seraphims are crying HOLY HOLY HOLY.  This brings about brokenness over his sin that brings about confession to the Lord and then cleansing from the Lord!  What a moment!  What a beautiful moment!!! And it is not over.

    From SEEING the Lord, and HEARING about the Lord, humbly confessing his sins, Isaiah now HEARS the Lord speaking. He is able to hear the Lord’s heart.  He is able to hear what the Lord needs.  He is able to hear the Lord’s inner circle conversation, hearing the request of WHOM SHALL I SEND and WHO WILL GO FOR US?  What a moment this was!

    As Isaiah hears the voice of God, he responds with one of the greatest responses one can make to God as he says, “HERE AM I! SEND ME!”  

    “HERE I AM! SEND ME!”   Isaiah

    May I ask you a very personal question?  Have those 5 words ever crossed your lips to the ears of God? Have you made yourself available to God for God to be used by God?  Have you said to God that you are available for whatever He wants, for Him to use you however He wants, wherever He wants, and whenever He wants?  Has there been a time of total surrender of your life and you said, “HERE I AM! SEND ME.  

    To be a little more personal with my questioning are you LISTENING to hear what God is saying?  Are you so busy with your life that you have no time to hear the requests of God?  It is, after all, hard to hear when we are not listening.  I trust you are not missing what God is saying, but in this world, with so much noise it may be you are not being still to hear the small still voice of God.  

    BTW – While we would say dependability is the greatest ability, availability is the first ability!

    Verse to DATE the Word on June 8 (6/8) is Isaiah 6:8. It says, “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

    Today may the words “Here I am! Send me!” come from your heart across your lips to the heart of God!

    Continue Strong being available to the Lord,
    And remember to DATE the Word

    Other verses to consider for June 8 (6/8) are
    Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?
    Genesis 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
    Romans 6:8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
    1 Timothy 6:8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.

  • Verse to DATE the Word on June 5 (6/5) is Isaiah 6:5

    “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.” – Isaiah 6:5
    Isaiah 6 is one of the great chapters of the Bible.  In this chapter, Isaiah sees the Lord who is high a lifted up and he hears that He is HOLY.  As a matter of fact, the angels cry out HOLY! HOLY! HOLY!  As Isaiah sees God and understands who God is, Isaiah now SEES himself and hears what has been proceeding out of his mouth.  Seeing and understanding God for who He is causes Isaiah to see and understand who he is. What he sees is not pretty.  The holiness of God has revealed just how unholy and unclean he is.  

    Principle: the closer you get to God the more evident your sins will become!  

    As Isaiah is overcome with how unclean he is he confesses to God that he is condemned and completely undone!  He knows his lips are unclean and that he is around people who have unclean lips and there is nothing he himself can do.  Seeing God for who He is has brought Isaiah to confess just how unclean he is!  

    With Isaiah’s realization of sin and confession of sin, God will now forgive and cleanse Isaiah. Verses 6 and 7 says, “Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7  And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.”

    When we read Isaiah 6:6-7 we can’t help but think of 1 John 1:9. It says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

    At this point, a few questions need to be asked.  Are you putting yourself in places where you can see the Lord for who He is so that you might truly understand who you are?   Are you in His Word so that the Word can be like a mirror to you and reveal things that need to be confessed?  Are you hearing the Word of God proclaimed so that you might know what God’s standards are?

    The big question: are you acknowledging that you are undone and unclean and confessing your sins to God so that you might be clean? 

    Verse to DATE the Word on June 5 (6/5) is Isaiah 6:5. It says, “So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.”

    Earlier I stated a principle that “the closer you get to God the more evident your sins will become!”   Have you found this to be true?  

    Continue Strong seeing the Lord for Who He is so you can see who you are,
    And remember to DATE the Word
  • Verse to DATE the Word on January 18 (1/18) is Isaiah 1:18

    Verse to DATE the Word on January 18 (1/18) is Isaiah 1:18

    Our verse to DATE the Word on January 18 (1/18) is Isaiah 1:18
    Isaiah 1:18 says, “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.
    COME AND BE CLEANSED by the BLOOD of the LAMB

    In Job the question comes “How then can man be righteous before God? Or how can he be pure who is born of a woman?” (Job 25:4) Is there any hope at all for the sinful?  Is there anything that can wash away our sins, your sins, my sins – my horrible, ugly, offensive, filthy, wretched sins? Is there any help? Is there any way to ever be clean?  Is there any way of ever being pure and righteous in God’s sight?

    Years ago, I presented this question during a preaching service at a rescue mission in Dallas, TX. Sitting in the room that day was a young man who had kept his head down the entire message until I answered my own questions with a resounding YES.  I said YES there is SOMEONE who can wash a filthy sinner clean. I told of how Jesus Christ shed His precious blood and died for all sinners. I then said God gives an invitation to come to Him, stating to my audience that day Isaiah 1:18 which says, “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”  That young man lifted his head for the first time during the entire service. He looked at me and softly spoke a question to me, asking if God would do that for him.  I said yes sir He would. I spoke directly to him that God would wash away his filthy, vile sins and make him a new person. And with that, he said I would like that. And I led him to the Lord. 

    The invitation of Isaiah 1:18 is extended to you and to every sinner.  To the “righteous” (self-righteous) and the religious, to the rebellious and wicked, you are not too far gone. You have not done anything that God cannot wash clean with the blood of Jesus. Come to Him and have your sins washed away!  

    Still not convinced?  Read the words of Revelations 1:5-6 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

    He loved us and He WASHES US – LOOSES US – FREES US – CLEANSES US from our SINS!

    The hymn writer wrote: What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
    What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
    Oh! precious is the flow That makes me white as snow; No other fount I know, Nothing but the blood of Jesus

    Now the question from another hymn writer: Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?
    Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?  Are you washed in the blood? In the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless, are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
    Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin, And be washed in the blood of the Lamb;
    There’s a fountain flowing for the soul unclean, Oh, be washed in the blood of the Lamb!

    Verse to DATE the Word on January 18 (1/18) is Isaiah 1:18. It says, “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

    Continue Strong knowing you are as pure, clean, as snow by the blood of Jesus,
    And remember to DATE THE WORD

  • Verse to DATE the Word on December 4 (12/4) is Isaiah 12:4

    Our verse to DATE the Word on December 4 (12/4) is Isaiah 12:4
    Isaiah 12:4 says, “And in that day you will say: “Praise the LORD, and I will call upon His name;  I will make known His deeds among the peoples, declaring that His name is exalted.
    Worshipping the Lord and Witnessing about the Lord

    In considering Isaiah 12:4 we find actions that are celebratory!  This verse can speak of Judah’s victory over the invading Assyria army, and it can speak of the victory at the end of the tribulation and God’s people will then be celebrating in the Millennial kingdom.  Whether it refers to a celebration of the past or a celebration of the future we see two actions for us as believers. 

    First, there is the WORSHIP of the Lord seen in PRAISE THE LORD.  Praising the Lord is an adoration of WHO GOD IS!!! Whether He ever does anything for us He is WORTHY of praise just because of WHO HE IS!  The worship continues by calling on His name.  This phrase takes us back to Abraham in Genesis 12:8b “there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.”  The idea of calling on the Lord is the acknowledgment that there is only one God and that one has no other gods!  

    Secondly, there is WITNESSING ABOUT THE LORD!  As one experiencing the WORKING of God, they cannot help but WITNESS or testify about WHAT GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE.  This, if you will, bragging about the Lord is to point others to the Lord with the heartfelt desire that they EXALT God’s name!  

    Not long ago a friend of mine had the opportunity to share Christ at an event that his brother attended.  As his brother drove home he came under tremendous conviction of his need to be saved.  So he pulled his car onto the side of the road and asked the Lord to save him.  He then called my friend and told him that he had gotten saved.  My friend was filled with joy.  Over the next few weeks, he told any and everyone how God had SAVED his brother!!  My friend was witnessing how the LORD WORKS!!

    Day after day our lives should be filled with giving WORSHIP to the Lord and WITNESSING for and about the Lord! 

    Verse to DATE the Word on December 4 (12/4) is Isaiah 12:4. It says, “And in that day you will say: “Praise the LORD, and I will call upon His name; I will make known His deeds among the peoples, declaring that His name is exalted.”

    Today tell the Lord that you love Him!  And today tell someone that the Lord loves them.  Worship Him and witness for Him!

    Continue strong,
    And remember to DATE THE WORD