July 18 – Isaiah 23-27

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Isaiah 23-27. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

 

Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art

“Throughout the earth the story is the same-only a remnant is left, like the stray olives left on the tree or the few grapes left on the vine after harvest. But all who are left shout and sing for joy. Those in the west praise the LORD’s majesty.” (Isaiah24:13-14 NLT) A lot of Bible readers struggle reading through the prophets because God paints such devastating pictures of his righteous judgment he was about to bring on the earth. But what I love is the glimmers of hope he plants throughout his word.

When I was in college and taking homiletics courses (The fancy word for preaching class), we were always taught to point to hope. Whether that is pointing to Jesus or putting a positive spin on some negative preaching. That way you do not just beat people down you give them some positive actions to take to correct whatever it is you may have been preaching about. God knew this long before we did. That is why he slips hope in throughout his word.

The words above not only gave Israel and Judah hope in their day, but give us hope today. It seems our world is much like those in Bible times. Our world does not worship God. Our world does not honor God. Our world does not respect God. But, you and I, along with millions of other believers in the world, are that faithful remnant today who has the privilege of shouting and singing for joy; we get to praise the LORD’s majesty. So how are you doing at being the faithful?