Reading Isaiah - Prophetic Grace

This year one of my goals is to study the prophets. There are 5 major prophets and 12 minor prophets (the last 17 books) in the Old Testament (OT). As I have mentioned before I have had difficulty in the past reading the OT. Particularly because there is a lot of wrath and judgement and if you do not have a solid foundation of knowing your salvation, it can be a scary read.

However, that is certainly not the case anymore. I actually like and look forward to reading the OT. There is a wealth of revelations hidden in it.

I have been studying the first of the major prophets, Isaiah (the Lord is salvation). He was a willing and bold servant, which I want to model in my own life. 

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!" Isa. 6:8

This is my favorite passage from Isaiah. It clearly shows his boldness. He did not know what he was volunteering for, only that God was calling for volunteers! His only desire was to be used by the Lord.

Isaiah holds a wealth of information on what is to come in the day of the LORD more than any of the other prophetic OT books. It is a early look at God's grace, way before the time of grace came.

Three things that I have learned from Isaiah:

• Be eager to be used by God. Sometimes we want God to use us in the way we want. But if you want to be used to the highest expression of God's will, let him use you in his own way, regardless if it is what you wanted. It will be more fulfilling in the long run.
  
• Leave the rest to God. Go and do as God has commanded you and leave the details and consequences to God. If he sent you, he will be faithful to keep you. Seriously, do not worry! You have to consciously dismiss thoughts of worry and anxiety. It is difficult at times but keep saying to yourself, "My God is greater than this issue." And keep moving on.
  
• Good service to God does not necessarily mean big, grand ministry. Honestly, this is one of my biggest challenges. I am definitely in the Benjamin Generation! I like to do it big, but big does not always mean better. We must be willing to do it small. Sometimes small makes a more vital impact than big.

So that my short study on Isaiah. I will be moving on to Jeremiah for February. I am very excited!

*******I LOVE to find the names of God in my readings, here are 2 that I found in Isaiah******

Isa. 54:5

Challenge Accepted!

A challenge was put out to read the Word daily and to put our thoughts on our readings up on our social media sites. Well, I love any excuse to put my thoughts about the Lord up for people to see. You really had to twist my arm there!

Today I read Deuteronomy 28:1-14:

This and other books of the Old Testament {OT} used to be very difficult reads for me because I didn't know how to rightly divide the Word and would put myself in the wrong place. But now I love to search through the OT to find the many blessings that are 'hidden' there.

Deut. 28 is one of the greatest blessings in the OT. It says...

You will be blessed in the city, the country, the fruit of your womb, crop of your hands, livestock, your basket, kneading bowl, when you come in, when you go out...man this is a thorough blessing!

My favorite part is verse 7.

The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come in one way...but they will flee from you in seven....talk about scattering the enemy!

{I also love to meditate on verse 7 before my Tae Kwon Do workout...KIIIYA!}

Some people believe that the blessings of the OT are just for the Jews. I beg to differ but I won't get into that now. I have heard a lot on this and other topics from a wide range of pastors and preachers such as Derek Prince, Joseph Prince, Charles Stanley, Erwin Lutzer and others.

So you may not believe it but I do and I claim it! And if you don't want your portion of it, give it to me! LOL! God is so good He just might! 

You are a child of the Most High God and He has blessed you richly.

Claim it! Live it! And teach others to do the same, so that the name of the Lord Jesus will be praised richly.

Amen!