Month: September 2018

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief . . . Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows . . . he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities . . . and with his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:3-5 I…
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You felt secure in your wickedness; you said, “No one sees me” . . . and you said in your heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.” Isaiah 47:10 I’m no psychologist, but still, I’ve grown to appreciate cognitive behavioral therapy, which addresses self-destructive thoughts, attitudes and behaviors, striving to find constructive thoughts…
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They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 As my own kids are beginning their college search, I am reminded of my own, nearly three decades ago. During a college fair,…
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All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field . . . The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:6-8 It’s not uncommon to hear a patient report, in frustration, that they don’t eat anything but still, they gain weight. Usually,…
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Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover.” Isaiah 38:21 Within Christianity, there are widely varying views on chemical dependency treatment and modern medicine. Some Christians feel that if you are addicted, all you need is Jesus. If you are sick, just pray. As…
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It was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; but in love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back. Isaiah 38:17 I will do whatever it takes to change. Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it. This was my…
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Because you have raged against me . . . I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will turn you back on the way by which you came. Isaiah 37:29 As I listened yesterday at our jail Bible study, two of the guys thanked God for jail. Thank…
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Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions, leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 30:10-11 When in pursuit of my own destructive appetites, I follow those voices that allow me to continue on my path.…
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You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, “He did not make me” . . .? Isaiah 29:16 I’ve often said that my drug addiction has not been my greatest mistake in life. My most egregious error has simply been that…
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. . . This people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me . . . Isaiah 29:13 I find myself disliking today’s passage, as it reminds me of my own hypocrisy, past and present. When I read about those who follow God only with empty…
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