humblejon

God's servant in these verses is the people of Israel. They are blind to their special purpose of becoming lights in the world and his ambassadors. In verse 19 they were God's servant, messengers, and dedicated ones. In verse 24, however, we learn that they have sinned, and would not walk and obey God's will. As a result, the people of God, we're oppressed and shamed. God delivered me from a state of spiritual blindness and deafness almost ten years ago. It has been a gradual transforming process of Mold and instruct my heart and soul. I trust God's Holy Spirit to me continue shaping me--yet I believe I need to intentionally seek out God's service and to be more an active part in furthering His Kingdom.

The mind of Christ and the Spirit of Godneeds to be evident in our talk, actions, and deeds. We are to display something better what God offers that the world can not--love, mercy, kindness, uprightness, and peace. Only through the strength of God can I be a light or his representative. I am continuously calling on God's Holy Spirit to guide me to think and relate to others like Christ would.

The Servant will come not as a conqueror, but one who will be compassionate and caring towards the poor, weak, and oppressed. he will act tender-hearted and kind to the defenseless. hw will establish justice quietly and non-abrasively. The Servant will continuously and tirelessly seek out those that need His help. Hopefully we will take after His role model, and focus on defending those who cannot do it themselves. To not be boastful, but humble and merciful.

Unless we repent and turn away from our sinful natures, we cannot develop and enjoy an intimate relationship with God. Why? Because obstacles like sin burden us and impede us from stepping forward towards God. Faith and true repentence make the path to the light of God's spirit easier--furthermore, God's compassion and love for us was revealed when He sent His Son to die and conquer death. By doing so the valleys have been filled and canyons gapped so we may approach and know God. While nations come and go, God's glory is eternal. Usually nations are only blessed and powerful if It is God's will. Where dever our hearts are at, we will follow. If we love the flesh and worldly desires, we will follow that. If we love and trust God, we follow after His Kingdom. If we wait upon or place our hopes in God, and God alone, we realize that our strength cannot muster up the power to deal with life stresses and challenges. Thus we turn to God to renew us daily, because we should never "grow weak nor weary!"

Hezekiah bullrings up his history of faithfulness and genuine trust in God during his reign. Personal uprightness and holiness are important since God may not have to discipline them as compare to an individual who lacks faith and trust. God, therefore, is quick to respond to one of His "obedient" children.

Hezekiah's death would have created a national crisis since he did not have a male heir to his throne. Even if he had a young son, an inexperienced leader would be troublesome especially with an invading army approaching. Hezekiah was concern the God's promised unbroken line of David to the throne would cease if he died. Perhaps Hezekiah is perplexed that God would "break" His promise as stated in 2Samuel 7: 14-16.

Although Father ( in the Lord's Prayer) shoguns more intimate than Lord, a sense of fear, reverence, and respect is conveyed in both passages. Hezekiah acknowledges that God reigns from heaven as The Lord Almighty, Ruler of Heaven and Earth, and Creator of all Creation. This faith is important to Hezekiah because he faithfully turns to God as the highest and most supreme being and will defeat the day's world superpower. With God being victorious, Hezekiah hopes that the whole world will witness God's majestic power and bows down and proclaims God the one and only true God.

Although God already knows the situation and eventual results, Hezekiah does not try to fight Assyria by himself, but includes and communicates the problem to The Lord. By laying out the letter in front of God Hezekiah acknowledges that the battle is the Lord's and not his own personal secret and problem. Furthermore, Hezekiah stresses that the issue was not the Assyrians mocking him and his subjects, but that the Assyrians arrogantly mock the true living God Almighty. When challenged or confronted by spiritual enemies or earthly rivals, one must turn to God. He has promised numerous times that He is a person's refuge and salvation if they call upon Him. He has the power and wisdom to defeat ANY opponent. If we do not allow God to fight HIS battle, then we will most likely face defeat, discouragement, and eventually surrender to human desires and "oppression."

All of Israel's traditional enemies and foes will be defeated by God through His vengeance. Plus, no matter what fate befalls upon them, the people of God can have hope that their nation and city will be restored and God will forgive them of all their sins. The use of figurative language is to convey the notion that Isaiah is not just talking about a specific event in the near future. His prophecies will be fulfilled shortly and dubly so in the future when the world will be totally restored for God eternal reign on the new earth. Jesus referred to Himself as the way and the truth and the life, only through Him can one come to the Father. Thus Christ is the "highway of holiness" where His redeemed--ones whose debt he paid for on the cross--will follow on the way to eternal joy and life. Those who reject Christ, or the "unclean," will not follow this path.

If we truly love God and are thankful for His mercy and grace, we will, without ant hesitation, want to commune and abide in Him. Ethical behavior, as noted in verses 15 and 16, will connect us to God. Actions which are the opposite--greed, deceit, oppression, vanity, gossiping and evil doing--are abominations to God; therefore, individuals who desire to be near God would not think of engaging in these wrong doings. As mentioned in 1John 3:10, "whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother." If we love God, it is evident if we follow the Golden Rule, and what is mentioned in 1 John 4:11-12, "Beloved, if Gos so loved us, We also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us." Bribery is only another tool used by God's enemies who do not trust in the Father and His plans but can only trust in the physical which he can manipulate and control.

We may only want help for a specific problem and we turn to God--but in making it a daily habit, some people back away because they do not want the "trusting and obeying" part of a relationship with God. Thus we turn to other sources of assistance so we will not feel "obligated" to God. We seek out help from anything we can manipulate and what will bring US success. Yet God does not work that way. Those who go against God will inevitably fail and be overwhelmed by despair. God works all things for good that love Him. Although we may think we know what is best for us or we only trust in what we sense with the flesh, god knows what is best for all of us! If we seek first the things of the kingdom of God, instead of fretting and worrying over worldly concerns, God will richly bless, protect and guide us to great things we sometimes could not even imagine. Praise God!

To understand why it seems that God takes a long time to answer pleas for help and deliverance, we can read from Habakkuk 2:3-4: "For still the vision awaits it's appointed time; it hastens to the end--it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. . . The righteous shall live by faith." God's will has perfect timing, and what seems as God taking too long, is God enacting his plan perfectly. Like a caring parent, God loves His children so much that He has to disciple us and/or test our faith with His "delays." Yet how marvelous is it that His child can trust Him enough, and as a result, be so blessed with His mercy, undeserved grace, and forgiveness. As of late, I have been grateful for encountering God's guidance through His Holy Spirit. His Spirit has transform my mind and soul--all one has to do is submit, and prayerfully open one self to His power and craftsmenship.

I have witnessed plenty of vain worship peers--individuals who use worship as a social status tool instead of praising and thanking God. I usually detect my own worship becoming vain if my intentions and motives are not aimed at glorifying God but obtaining my own recognition from men and/or purposes and will. I remedy that by going to God with a repentant heart, a humble spirit, and a wiling soul to be transformed back in communion with Him (like the clay finally allowing the potter to do His creative work). We need to ask ourselves I'd any decision or policy made by church people is based on Christ's love or to serve the interest of someone or a group of people. If it was based on the love of Christ, then the outcome will bear the fruits of the Spirit, but if it was based on human rules the it will bear nothing but strife, resentment, bitterness, division, and envy.

Those with a carnal and worldly mind will be closed off from the truth, so most will devise wild forms of rationalization a to defend their beliefs and actions--which actually rooted from worldly desires and greed. Furthermore, the worldly hold onto these "rationalizations" because they are their own creations (imaginations). If they disregard them but still reject God's truth, they will have nothing. The worldly,therefore, will grasp the own thoughts. Christ's teachings and actions were of the Spirit and God, yet the wicked an self-righteous do not know what is of God and His Spirit. Thus on judgement day they will be accountable for not only their actions but for rejecting God's free gift of grace through Jesus Christ. With guidance from the Holy Spirit, followers of Christ should rebuke sin and encourage sinners to repent and return to a loving and merciful God. Otherwise, they will destruction like the Philistines, Medianites, or any other people who oppose God.

This refers to Christ second coming and the gathering of his bride--the global church of true believers as mentioned in Matthew 24:31 and Revelation 7:9-12.

From my study, this verse has been partially fulfilled. In Ezekiel 37:12, the dry bones coming to life has been fulfilled with both the nation of Israel returning from exile and the current nation sine 1948. On the other hand this verse will be double fulfilled according to Daniel 12:2 when bodies will be raised from the dead where some will rise "to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt." This resurrection will come when Christ comes back again. In John 5:28-29, Jesus claims that all dead will hear His voice. The good will rise to a "resurrection of life," while the wicked will rise to a "resurrection of judgement."

Those who fully depend and trust in God will experience perfect peace and joy. Most of us, however, get distracted by worldly concerns. As a result, most live in conflict and anxiety because we fixed our eyes away from God's care. He is dependable forever and will never forsake His children.

Death of a loved one is dreadful but we are not hopelessly thrown in despair because those who believe and trust in Jesus will be saved from the Second Death at Judgement Day. Better yet, those remaining alive at Christ's second coming will never experience death but will be transformed , with all the saints before us, into our resurrected bodies and we will FOREVER commune with God in a personal, intimate relationship.

Jesus proclaimed Himself as the Bread of Life, that He will provide Living Waters, and no one will hunger and thirst no more (spiritually) if they come to Him--their only source of salvation. Spritual food, and the joy that results from it, is promised by Christ though the Holy Spirit and will totally fulfilled at His second coming--which is the wedding feast of the Lamb and His bride, the church. Throughout Revelations 19-22, we learn that death will be defeated, sorrow eradicated, and God's people will be spiritually fed be the Tree and Fountain of Life!

Tect Faithful disciples are aware that the world is on a path of inevitable destruction. Lovers of this world are God's enemies, yet faithful followers truly believe, obey, and fear The Lord. They personally know that God is not only merciful, but also good to His word--when He provide enough opportunities for people to repent, His judgment is enacted quickly and decisively. Human may believe that they alone possess control over their destinies and their "greatness" protects them. They are unaware or blind to the fact that the things of the world and flesh are only temporary, yet things of the spirit and align with the mind of Christ are eternal.

The citizens and leaders of Jerusalem expended a great amount energy and faith in their own do-it-selfsecurity--building walls and tunnels--instead of truly trusting in God. God was looking for His people to respon under crisis with repentant hearts and genuinely changed lives. Instead of celebrating when the threat was gone, the people could have sought God humbly with contrite hearts. They however rejoiced at God's victory as if it was their's. Shebang was only looking out for himself and used his position for protection, not serving God's people. Yes, a number of times I have neglected to turn to and trust in God for His guidance, strength, an deliverance.

Isaiah's nakedness was to represent the fate of the Egyptians and any other allies who choose to fight against Assyria. God wanted Isaiah actions to reinforce the fact that God is the nation of Judah's only hope of deliverance--choosing to side with earthly alliances will only bring shame and captivity. The prophecy will be fulfilled while they nation of Judah is temporarily spared. Hezekiah's faithfulness to God and his religious reforms (mentioned in 2 Chronicles 29 to 31) are met with a fierce invasion from Assyria. Eventually Hezekiah remains faithful to God and Judah is spared even though the city of Lachish is demolished I would have to be deeply faithful and humbled to perform this action for God..

The ruler mentioned in Isaiah 14 is one who arrogantly and pridefully perceives himself as all-powerful and formidable. Thes thought finally permeates into his heart and projects a self-exaltive, god-like attitude. The rulers demeanor will most likely be haughtyand. pompous, and desires others to worship him. Scripture refers to Satan in similar situations in Revalation 13, 2Thessalonians 2: 4, and Jesus mentions Satan's fall in Luke 10: 18. When I walked in darkness, my ego feed off the sense of control and personal success. Although I did not exalt myself as ruler of the heavens and earth, I certainly lived as if my life was my kingdom. Praise God that Chirst revealed Himself to my soul that was convicted by the Holy Spirit. He opened my eyes to what God truly wants from us. Every time my circumstances do not go as I plan or desire, I think back and rejoice how God delivered me from my pride and worldly desires. I now seek out God's will and what direction He wants me to go. I no longer walk a path that will lead to death and destruction.

When Christ comes again, all who believe and realize who He truly is, will metaphorically come to Him with one focus, one mind, and one spirit to praise and worship Christ. Those "nations" will be Gentiles which, since the time of the early church, has mostly fulfilled the prophecy. This prophecy will be totally fulfilled when Christ arrives a second time and the people of Israel will finally acknowledge Jesus' true identity. At His second coming, all will know it is Christ arriving "in the clouds" due to His glorious and all-powerful appearance. All the world will be gathered to Him and only Him!

The world will be transformed from a place where conflict, fear, and the "survival of the fittest" rule--to a world where total peace resides with all men AND creation. True rest and "sabbath" (which was the climax of God's creation all process) is restored. The change will be global and "the knowledge of The Lord" will be evident since all will know God personally and confess that He is Lord of all. The curse of Genesis 3: 17-18 will be reversed.