Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / December 6 - Isaiah 59

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December 6 - Isaiah 59 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean. Here it is Wednesday.
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  It's the middle of the week, the 6th of December.
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  And as we head toward Christmas, did you know today is actually
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  Saint Nicholas Day? No, this is not Saint Nick
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  Santa, but this is the Saint Nicholas who died on this day.
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  But he was born in 270 AD in Turkey and he is the generous
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  St. who sold all his things and gave it to the poor and he
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  inspired the modern story of Santa Claus.
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  In fact, one of the the greatest known stories about Saint
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  Nicholas is there was a poor father whose three daughters
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  were hoping to get married but he had no money for a dowry and
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  each night they used to take off their shoes and put them by the
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  fire to dry out. And the story, the legend goes
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  that as the the three daughters put their shoes beside the fire,
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  he made gold appear in these shoes so that the father would
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  have a dowry to pay each of the prospective husbands so that
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  they would increase their chance of marriage.
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  And so people who do celebrate Saint Nicholas Day, they put
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  little treats in people's shoes. If you'd like to.
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  That is something you could do today.
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  Put some treats in people's shoes in a way that they won't
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  stand on them, and then get chocolate soaked socks at some
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  point during the day and curse Saint Nicholas's memory,
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  although they probably won't have a clue what's going on.
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  So Saint Nick's Day isn't that cool?
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  Isn't that cool? What else is cool is that we
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  continue to read through the book of Isaiah and we are
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  reading the next chapter in the series of chapters where God is
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  giving His people instructions as they have returned to the
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  promised land and are trying to work out how do we live as God's
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  people. And today he is saying don't
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  follow the injustices happening around you, repent of your sin
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  because God is renewing His covenants and restoring His
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  land. So without any further ado, let
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  us read together Isaiah chapter 59.
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  Listen. The Lord's arm is not too weak
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  to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear your call.
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  It's your sins that have cut you off from God.
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  Because of your sins, He has turned away and will not listen
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  anymore. Your hands are the hands of
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  murderers and your fingers are filthy with sin.
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  Your lips are full of lies and your mouth spews corruption.
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  No one cares about being fair and honest.
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  The people's lawsuits are based on lies.
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  They conceive evil deeds and then give birth to sin.
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  They hatch deadly snakes and weave spiders webs.
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  Whoever eats their eggs will die.
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  Whoever cracks them will hatch a Viper.
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  Their webs can't be made into clothing, and nothing they do is
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  productive. All their activity is filled
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  with sin and violence as their trademark.
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  Their feet run to do evil and they rush to commit murder.
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  They think only about sinning. Misery and destruction always
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  follow them. They don't know where to find
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  peace or what it means to be just and good.
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  They have mapped out crooked roads, and no one who follows
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  them knows a moment's peace. So there is no justice among us.
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  And we know nothing about living, right.
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  We look for light, but find only darkness.
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  We look for bright skies, but walk in gloom.
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  We grope like the blind along a wall, feeling our way, like
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  people without eyes. Even at brightest noon time we
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  stumble as though it were dark among the living.
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  We are like the dead. We growl like hungry bears.
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  We moan like mournful doves. We look for justice, but it
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  never comes. We look for rescue, but it is
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  far away from us, for our sins are piled up before God and
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  testify against us. Yes, we know what sinners we
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  are. We know we have rebelled and
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  have denied the Lord. We have turned our backs on our
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  God. We know how unfair and
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  oppressive we have been carefully planning our deceitful
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  lies. Our courts oppose the righteous
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  and justice is nowhere to be found.
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  Truth stumbles in the streets and honesty has been outlawed.
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  Yes, truth is gone and anyone who renounces evil is attacked.
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  The Lord looked and was displeased to find there was no
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  justice. He was amazed to see that no one
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  intervened to help the oppressed, so he himself stepped
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  in to save them with his strong arm and his justice sustained
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  him. He put on righteousness as his
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  body armor and placed the helmet of salvation on his head.
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  He clothed himself with the robe of vengeance and wrapped himself
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  in a cloak of divine passion. He will repay his enemies for
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  their evil deeds. His fury will fall on his foes.
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  He will pay them back even to the ends of the earth.
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  In the West, people will respect the name of the Lord.
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  In the East they will glorify him, for he will come like a
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  raging flood tide, driven by the breath of the Lord.
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  The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in
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  Israel who have turned from their sins, says the Lord.
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  And this is my covenant with them, says the Lord.
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  My spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I
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  have given you. They will be on your lips, and
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  on the lips of your children and your children's children.
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  Forever. I, the Lord, have spoken.
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  You have a different criteria Lord, for the way that you judge
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  the world and us. We can think we're so clever
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  organizing things to benefit ourselves.
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  But here you talk about this self seeking behaviour like we
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  are stumbling around with our eyes blinded in the noonday sun.
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  The true light is your light of compassion and justice, where
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  those who get a rough deal are supported and those whose voices
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  can't be heard are honored and listened to.
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  Help us be the agent of your noonday sun and help us not
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  follow the lead of the world around us, looking after our own
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  interests, groping around in the dark.
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  You are a kind, loving and just God.
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  Shape us to be more and more like you and start that work.
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  Continue that work right now. In our hearts we pray and all of
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  this we ask in the name of Jesus.
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  Amen.