The bulk of Isaiah 47 consists of God’s taunting condemnation of Babylon. But verse 4 is an interjection by the prophet, speaking on behalf of Israel: “Our Redeemer,” he says, “whose name is the...
Red Letter Believers has a collection of High Calling blog posts about Sabbath. This is worth a read. Sabbath is so counter-cultural that the Church in America ignores it even though it is...
Throughout the Bible, God’s people are called to remembrance. We are to bring to mind God’s wondrous works in the past so that our faith might be renewed in the present. For the...
Throughout Isaiah 45, the Lord has proclaimed his uniqueness: “I am the Lord, and there is no other.” The God who revealed...
The last half of the twentieth century marked a shift in the way people think about leadership. Prior to the 1980s, leadership...
There is a story I have told many times about four men, raised to serve God. At a young age, they are...
In the book of Daniel, four men are taken from homes where they have been taught to worship God and transplanted to...
Sam Van Eman has a very funny post online about Christian merchandise that clearly steals its ideas from popular cultural images and products. ...
Yesterday I began reflecting upon Isaiah 45:9, noting how tempting it is for us to become the “arguing clay” when God isn’t acting in ways we understand or appreciate. Today I want to...
Several times throughout Isaiah 45, the Lord asserts that he alone is God, and that there is no other. The false gods of the nations, the idols they have made with their own...
As we read along in Isaiah, the last verse of chapter 44 surprises us by mentioning Cyrus, the king of Persia. In 44:28, God refers to Cyrus as “my shepherd.” Then, in the next verse (45:1), Cyrus...
A few weeks ago, I read Andy Crouch's book Culture Making (from IVP) . This book is simply amazing and the website...
The prophecies of Isaiah often convey the Lord’s displeasure with his people. Because of their persistent rebellion against him, God will finally allow them to reap the sour fruit of their sin. But...
We Christians have the idea that God will "call" us to service. There are things that need doing in this world, and we expect God will call us to do some of them...
In Isaiah 44, God speaks through the prophet to highlight his divine uniqueness. Though there are many other “gods,” they are mere idols, formed by human hands from material elements. For example,...
Faith has surely been on display in this election cycle. The front-runners for both parties have all been people of demonstrable faith, all articulate about how faith shapes them in the public...
During presidential election cycles, a field of ambitious, talented candidates vies for attention. They travel endlessly, deliver countless stump speeches, give interviews, raise money, and engage...
Though, in the past, God had done marvelous things for his people, most of all delivering them from Egypt (43:16-17), he wasn’t finished. In fact, he was beginning through the prophecies of Isaiah...
Isaiah 42:24 acknowledges that the Lord himself “allowed Israel to be robbed and hurt.” The original Hebrew of this verse speaks of God as “giving up” Jacob to the looter and Israel to the...
In Isaiah, the Servant of God will open blind eyes, free the captives, and release the prisoners. These tasks were part of...
