Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / November 23 - Isaiah 52

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November 23 - Isaiah 52 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends. Sean, here it is Thursday, It is
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  the 23rd of November and this year this date is also
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  Thanksgiving. If you are not American, well,
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  you probably don't really celebrate Thanksgiving Day.
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  But if you are a person who does celebrate Thanksgiving, happy
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  Thanksgiving to you. What a wonderful day to stop and
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  to pause. What are all the beautiful,
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  wonderful things in our lives that we can be just so grateful
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  for? Let's have a moment.
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  What are you grateful for right now?
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  I am grateful for a dog who just never seems to get sick of my
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  attention, even when but don't give much attention to her.
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  She's continually just a fountain of appreciation and ego
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  building love. Not to say my family doesn't do
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  that too, but boy, dogs are just pretty good at that.
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  What is it that you are grateful for in this moment?
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  Thank you, God, for the wonderful things that we have in
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  our lives that just make them a joy to live.
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  And today in our reading, we continue on the theme of God's
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  faithfulness that God will deliver not just His people, but
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  He will deliver them back to their land and He will deliver
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  Jerusalem and it will once again be His promised land where His
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  people will live and prosper under the love and provision of
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  their God. How wonderful.
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  Let us read together on this Thanksgiving Day, Isaiah Chapter
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  52. Wake up.
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  Wake up, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength.
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  Put on your beautiful clothes of holy city of Jerusalem, for
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  unclean and godless people will enter your gates no longer rise
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  from the dust. O Jerusalem, sit in a place of
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  honour. Remove the chains of slavery
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  from your neck, O captive daughter of Zion, for this is
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  what the Lord says. When I sold you into exile, I
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  received no payment. Now I can redeem you without
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  having to pay for you. This is what the Sovereign Lord
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  says. Long ago my people chose to live
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  in Egypt. Now they are oppressed by
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  Assyria. What is this?
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  Asked the Lord. Why are my people enslaved
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  again? Those who rule them shout in
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  exaltation. My name is blasphemed all day
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  long, but I will reveal my name to my people, and they will come
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  to know its power. Then at last they will recognize
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  that I am the one who speaks to them.
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  How beautiful. On the mountains are the feet of
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  the Messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and
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  salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns.
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  The Watchmen shout and sing with joy.
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  For before their very eyes they see the Lord returning to
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  Jerusalem. Let the ruins of Jerusalem break
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  into joyful song, For the Lord has comforted His people.
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  He has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has demonstrated His
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  holy power before. The eyes of all the nations, all
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  the ends of the earth will see the victory of our God.
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  Get out. Get out and leave your captivity
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  where everything you touch is unclean.
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  Get out of there and purify yourselves.
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  You who carry home the sacred objects of the Lord.
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  You will not leave in a hurry, running for your lives, for the
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  Lord will go ahead of you. Yes.
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  The God of Israel will protect you from behind.
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  See, My servant will prosper. He will be highly exalted, but
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  many were amazed when they saw him.
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  His face was so disfigured. He seemed hardly human, and from
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  his appearance one would scarcely know he was a man.
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  And he may startle many nations. Kings will stand speechless in
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  his presence, for they will see what they had not been told.
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  They will understand what they had not heard about.
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  Thank you God that you are a God of restoration.
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  You are a God who rebuilds. You are not a throwaway.
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  Replace and move on God, but you are a God who holds tight and
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  remembers the bonds of long ago. Thank you that when we feel like
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  a basket case, a lost cause, surely something that's
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  disposable and not worthy of your attention or your kindness
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  and energy. Here we see that that's how you
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  roll. That is who you are.
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  You are a God who invests for the long term.
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  And thank you that we are on your long term list of assets,
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  the things that you hold dear and will continue to hold dear.
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  And that's us. That's us.
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  And we don't understand it at all, but we'll take it.
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  We are so grateful that you pour your love and attention and
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  kindness into us and our lives today and every day.
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  Help us always remember that we are your beloved and blessed
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  children, even if it doesn't feel like it in the moment.
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  You are not going anywhere or leaving our side.
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  And we pray all of this in the name of Jesus.
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  I'm in.