Isaiah 3:8-4:1

This passage was very descriptive. I was able to easily paint a picture of what's happening in my head. However, the message was very clear... and for sure very applicable for myself.

Isaiah 3:16-17

The Lord says, "The women of Zion are haughty, walking along with outstretched necks, flirting with their eyes, tripping along with mincing steps, with ornaments jungling on their ankles. Therefore the lord will bring sores on the heads of the women of Zion; the Lord will make their scalps bald."

Honestly, I've been blessed with so many things: decent clothes, jewellery... basically any other material possesion that I have is a gift from God. With all of this, I should never be consumed by personal desires and use these blessings in the wrong way. I should never boast about what I own and have, rather always be humble and modest. I should use what I have to help others in need rather than hoard it all for myself and not care about the rest of the world.

The women of Zion did the exact opposite of what they were suppose to do... they walked around with their possessions and riches as though they were superior and were arrogant. God punishes these people by taking away these gifts because what they were doing did not bring glory to Him.

Lesson of the day: don't boast, don't be arrogant, don't act superiorly, don't be selfish, don't show-off.

It's all very straightforward.

Isaiah 2:12-3:7

Isaiah 3:7

But in that day he will cry out, "I have no remedy. I have no food or clothing in my house; do not make me the leader of the people."

The leader of people (as said in the above verse) is someone who can help heal the sick, provide food and clothing, etc. God can do it. We can't... at least not without His supply and provision. It all leads back to the Lord who is the ultimate provider and is sufficient for each of us. Don't be prideful and think that you can provide for yourself and don't need Him. He works in the background: you're not sick because God has been preventing any diseases and illnesses from coming upon you, you get to class because God was able to keep you safe the entire trip, you are well fed because God blessed your food and gives you nourishment. You are living your life right now because God gave up Jesus as He took the wrath of His own father for you. Have you ever thought about that?

Thank our Heavenly Father for being so loving, caring, gracious, and merciful. Thank Him for all the blessings that you've been given yet take for granted at times. Start noticing the little things that you have rather than noticing the things you don't have.

Isaiah 2:6-11

Isaiah 2:11

The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.

Nothing that we accomplish or succeed in is because of ourselves. All glory goes back to God. He gave us life to do what we did. He provided the strength and wisdom. Through His grace we succeeded in our task when we don't deserve any of it because of the continuous sinning that we do.

Lesson of the day: do not boast in your accomplishments and say it is all you... because it's NOT.

Bring all glory, honour, and praise back to the Lord who guided you to where you are now. Don't be arrogant and prideful because through those bad qualities who portray the image that you do not need God and can do everything on your own... and that is wrong. If God took away everything that He blessed us with, we would be left with literally nothing.

Isaiah 1:21-2:5

Reading through Isaiah is really different than from the other books I've read so far. It's not straightforward or to the point. It's like reading a story and through these stories I have to read between the lines to understand what the Lord is trying to convey to me.

Isaiah 2:3

Many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

*note: Zion is the hill upon which the city of David was built

God continuously provides us with wisdom and guides us in everything we do. If we stray off of the path, He will take our hand and bring us back to it. Without Him, I would probably be wandering off the path at once and get lost.

As we continue walking on the path God has laid out for us... this path of righteousness... then it's nice to know that we are slowly making our way up the mountain. When the time comes for us to say goodbye to our life here on Earth, we would have reached the top. God will welcome us to His house. :)

Isaiah 1:10-20

Even though we are covered with the filth of sin, God shows his unconditional love for us all the time. He is always willing to cleanse and purify us as long as we have that desire to be one of His children and glorify Him in all things.

Isaiah 1:18-20

"Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

With the snap of His fingers, God can wipe away all the wrong things off our plate and we can start over. God gives us the best if we follow in His steps and obey what He tells us to do and not to do.

Obviously, if you continue to resist the good work of the Spirit in you, God can only do so much for you. If you wreak havoc and cause others to stumble through your own downfall from God, He will put an end to you in order to protect His children. It's a scary thought and I really do hope that my peers and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ will never reach this stage.

Evangelism. It's something that I've been struggling with for the past while... but knowing that some of my dearest friends haven't experienced God's love yet is frightening because I might not see them in the next life with the Lord. Father, I pray for the strength and boldness in sharing the Gospel to them, so that they may understand the power of Jesus and His ultimate sacrifice He made for all of mankind.

Isaiah 1:4-9

It's so sad to read about how humanity back then (and even now) continue to live such sinful lives. We can be so materialistic. We commit adulterous acts. We do not speak the way godly men and women should.

Isaiah 1:9

Unless the Lord Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.

What exactly happened with Sodom and Gomorrah?

I did some readings. Sodom and Gomorrah were cities that were full of impertinent sin. These two cities ended up being consumed by the fire of God's wrath on the Day of Judgement.

This is what we deserve. We're not that much better than the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Through God's grace... and the sacrifice of His precious son Jesus we are spared from such a scary death and now live a life where we can look forward to eternity with the Lord. How great is that? It should be obvious what we should do now... to do all things for the glory of God, to show our appreciation and thanksgiving for Jesus and His continuous, unconditional love for us.

Isaiah 1:1-3

Isaiah 1:2

Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth! For the Lord has spoken: "I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me.

God made us in the image of Him. Although we were born as sinners, we have that potential of developing Christ-like traits. Throughout our lives God continues to mold us into a godly man or woman. He is full of grace and mercy and through that we learn of repentance for our sins and turn back to Him.

However, we are so easily distracted by the things of the world. We fall for temptations and desires of our flesh. Satan gets a grasp on our lives in our weaknesses and whenever we come upon stumbling blocks. Sometimes, we just let it happen, with no care of how our God, our Heavenly Father, feels for His children. The Lord is a jealous God.

The Lord describes how even animals can listen and obey their masters while we can't. How shameful is that?

As long as we put Jesus at the centre of our life, continue to preach ourselves the Gospel, then we will have that will, desire, and passion to glorify God in everything we do. Satan will flee when we have a strong faith that God is there to protect us and guide us. In our obedience to the Lord, He will continue to put blessings and pour His wisdom out for us.