Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / December 18 - Isaiah 65

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December 18 - Isaiah 65 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean. Here it is one week till
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  Christmas. It is the 18th of December.
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  It's Monday and I am alive and it is great to have your
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  company. Last week, as I said, I hiked
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  across the South Coast of Tasmania and I lived to tell the
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  story. It was gruelling and exhausting
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  and I didn't know how sore every muscle in one's body could be.
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  But grinning ear to ear the whole time?
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  Actually, not the whole time. Some of it was just downright
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  incredibly, incredibly hard. But overall, wow, what an
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  incredible experience. And also just to get away from
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  the busyness of everything in this season, as you can hear
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  with the background music, it's awfully Christmassy because the
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  world is awfully Christmassy at the moment.
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  But so good just to get out and be surrounded by God's glory and
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  majesty that is so much bigger than us as we come into this
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  time where we see God's rescue plan enacted for us through
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  Christmas. So this is so exciting.
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  And the other exciting thing is this is the week that we finish
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  reading the book of Isaiah today and tomorrow we will wrap up
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  this monster of a book. Last week you would remember
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  that the people of Israel were crying out in lament.
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  God remember us, remember us. And this last two chapters is
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  God responding to his people. And we will hear what he has to
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  say today, all about the fact that many people will receive
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  judgment and some salvation. And then tomorrow we will finish
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  it up. And then we've got a treat.
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  We've got a little bit of Christmas reading, the beginning
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  of Matthew as we celebrate the end of Advent coming into
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  Christmas next week. So all that's left for us to do
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  now is to settle in, clear our hearts and our minds come before
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  our wonderful, majestic God as we read together.
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  Isaiah, Chapter 65. The Lord says I was ready to
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  respond, but no one asked for help.
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  I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me.
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  I said, here I am. Here I am to a nation that did
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  not call on my name. All day long I opened my arms to
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  a rebellious people, but they follow their own evil paths and
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  their own crooked schemes. All day long they insult me to
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  my face by worshipping idols in their sacred gardens.
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  They burn incense on Pagan altars.
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  At night they go out among the graves worshipping the dead.
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  They eat the flesh of pigs and make stews with other forbidden
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  foods. Yet they say to each other,
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  don't come too close or you will defile me.
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  I am holier than you. These people are a stench in my
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  nostrils, an acrid smell that never goes away.
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  Look, my decree is written out in front of me.
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  I will not stand silent. I will repay them in full.
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  Yes, I will repay them both for their own sins and for those of
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  their ancestors, says the Lord. For they also burned incense on
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  the mountains and insulted me on the hills.
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  I will pay them back in full, but I will not destroy them all,
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  says the Lord. For just as good grapes are
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  found among a cluster of bad ones, and someone will say,
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  don't throw them all the way, some of those grapes are good,
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  So I will not destroy all Israel, for I still have true
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  servants there. I will preserve a remnant of the
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  people of Israel and of Judah to possess my land.
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  Those I choose will inherit it, and my servants will live there.
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  The plain of Sharon will again be filled with flocks of my
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  people who have searched for me, and the valley of Acor will be a
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  place of pasture herds. But because the rest of you have
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  forsaken the Lord, and have forsaken his temple, and because
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  you have prepared feasts to honour the God of fate, and have
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  offered mixed wine to the God of destiny, now I will destine you
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  for the sword. All of you will bow down before
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  the executioner. For when I called, you did not
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  answer. When I spoke, you did not
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  listen. You deliberately sinned before
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  my very eyes and chose to do what you know I despise.
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  Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says.
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  My servants will eat, but you will starve.
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  My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty.
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  My servants will rejoice, but you will be sad and ashamed.
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  My servants will sing for joy, but you will cry in sorrow and
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  despair. Your name will be a curse word
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  among my people, for the sovereign Lord will destroy you
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  and will call his true servants by another name.
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  All who invoke a blessing or take an oath will do so by the
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  God of truth. For I will put aside my anger
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  and forget the evil of earlier days.
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  Look, I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and no one will
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  ever think about the old ones anymore.
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  Be glad, Rejoice forever in my creation.
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  And look, I will create Jerusalem as a place of
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  happiness. Her people will be a source of
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  joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem
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  and delight in my people when the sound of weeping and crying
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  will be heard in it. No more.
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  No longer will babies die when only a few days old.
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  No longer will adults die before they have lived a full life.
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  No longer will people be considered old at 100.
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  Only the cursed will die that young.
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  In those days, people will live in the houses they built and eat
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  the fruit of their own vineyards.
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  Unlike the past, invaders will not take their houses and
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  confiscate their vineyards, For my people will live as long as
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  trees, and my chosen ones will have time to enjoy their hard
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  won gains. They will not work in vain, and
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  their children will not be doomed to misfortune, For they
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  are people blessed by the Lord, and their children too will be
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  blessed. I will answer them before they
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  even call to me. While they are still talking
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  about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers.
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  The wolf and the lamb will feed together.
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  The lion will eat hay like a cow, but the snakes will eat
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  dust. In those days no one will be
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  hurt or destroyed. On my holy mountain, I, the
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  Lord, have spoken. You are a just God, a just God
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  who stands with His arms open wide even when we are a
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  rebellious people. Thank you for your faithfulness
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  and ongoing love reaching out to us, and thank you even more for
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  what you've done for us and Jesus in that.
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  No longer is your wrath needing to be poured out on us, a
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  rebellious people, but Jesus has won your favor and through His
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  sacrifice that we celebrate. We are part of your family, we
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  are your children, we are forgiven, and we are made right
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  in your eyes. Thank you that you invite us to
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  this New Jerusalem, to be your family and to live with you in
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  your glory forever. You are just so much bigger than
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  our minds can comprehend and we just fall at your feet and we
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  worship you, our God. And we can only pray all of
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  these things through the saving name of your Son, Jesus.
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  Amen.