Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭58‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

How you live your life, where you choose to spend your time, money, and unique skills, all indicate the condition of your heart and the trajectory of your spiritual life.

Like the orientation of a compass, the human heart is guided by a worldly magnetic force that invariably sets its course on evil unless it deliberately and intentionally subjects itself to a path of spiritual good.

All too easily, forces in this world work against our best intentions to draw us to a course away from God and his redemptive power.

Life doesn’t just happen to us, it’s the aggregation of choices we make to go with the flow or to swim against it.

And when resistance works against you—just like in bodybuilding—there’s strength and growth and change

Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭58‬:‭9‬-‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It’s always time for a change of direction and orientation.

Choose that path every day while you still can. 

The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭57‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

At some point, righteous individuals may be taken away through death to spare them from future evil or suffering. The passage conveys a sense of comfort that their departure from this life protects them from impending troubles.

To be entirely honest, this is sounding more and more like a pretty good deal as hits the fan these days in a continual onslaught of worldwide evil.

Where do I sign up?

But coming back to my senses, this world stage is fertile ground for good people willing to share truth and the word of God with those still perishing.

Jesus didn’t waste time searching for an easy exit.

Following Jesus keeps us in play to the very end, whenever that comes.

If some are chosen to be taken early, I trust that’s for better reasons than I won’t know in this life but in the one to come.

Keep me in the game, Coach!

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭55‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

And I would expect nothing less.

Truth be told, im not the brightest crayon in the box and this life is far too complex to navigate alone without an experienced guide.

Lacking omniscience leaves me at distinct disadvantage in most scenarios.

When Jesus said he will never leave me nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5) it was not without condition. Trusting in and listening for directions and cues from God is a spiritual discipline.

“I did it my way” can pack a punch of initiative but it’s insufficient carry-on to get you to your destination.

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!””
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭52‬:‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Unpacking this verse reveals its prophetic nature just in time for Easter.

Good news, peace, and good tidings of salvation.

All this on a Saturday while Jesus is entombed makes me wonder what unfolded behind that stone door. What private proceedings transpired?

What do you imagine? A father and son dialogue? Be a fly on the wall inside and tell us what you think.

Here’s my take:

Here’s my take:

Hey, wake up.

–Hi, I can’t sleep.

So let’s talk about tomorrow.

–Can’t you see I’m a little wrapped up right now?

I can’t see a thing, it’s pitch black in here.

–Well get your glow on, Dad. Do that ‘On The First Day’ thing again.

That’s better. O.M.Me! What in heaven’s name have they done to you!?

–Yeah, it wasn’t pretty.

Oh mercy, you need a shower. Let’s get you back to normal.

–Dad, here on out, things aren’t gonna be very normal anymore.

Oh yeah, tomorrow’s Our big day.

–Yeah, everyone’s.

Here’s a new outfit. Mary will be here sooner than We think.

–Right, then all hell breaks loose, and you-know-who’s gonna be mad for all eternity.

Yeah, We fixed that. He’s toast. Literally.

–Okay, I’m up. Let’s get busy.

Aren’t you eggcited about tomorrow?!

–That’s one horrible Dad joke.

I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭48‬:‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

If you’re like me, direction, vision and instruction are not my strong suits but always on my radar. I’m constantly listening for a ping or a blip leading me to what’s next. God rarely says “yes” but I hear a lot of “nos.”

Discernment for me is like that “you’re cold, warm, hot, very hot, oh, you’re cold again now” game.

Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭49‬:‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

But I’ve made it this far literally by the grace of god.

How it’s actually supposed to work, while still not entirely clear to me, my methods have taken me to places and into situations that left me with excellent learning experiences.

I’ve surmised that the route to God’s voice is less about getting on the perfect path and more reliant on taking cues as directions, confident that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose—Romans 8:28

Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭45‬:‭22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Seems simple enough.

But from birth, our human orientation is to sin, having a basic evil nature and propensity to do wrong.

“Turn to me…” acknowledges this and instructs us to turn AWAY from evil, thus coming eye to eye with the living God in whom salvation exists.

An informed, sober decision is the critical turning point each of us encounters with abandonment of all things we have been making gods in our lives.

Drugs, sex, money, work, relationships, ignorance, the list of impotent gods goes on.

That god-shaped void we all so desperately seek to fill can be fulfilled only with the truth, word, life and purpose of Jesus in whom we can finally live and have our being (Acts 17:28.)

Turn to me.

The most potent invitation you will ever receive.

R.S.V.P.

As culture wars heat up, society breaks down, and the two camps fortify their positions.

It’s harder and harder to find a little humor to lighten the load enough to make it bearable.

Truth is, I’m not sure making things bearable is even a noble goal any longer.

Issues once resolvable are now so poisoned and polarizing there’s no wiggle room for a giggle.

And while mirth has been my worth and contribution during decades of battles, I find that today’s kings no longer summon jesters for comic relief, but enlist them into a war of their own making or banishment altogether. 

This is what the Lord says— Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭44‬:‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God’s authority over history and creation means everything begins with Him, and everything will culminate in Him.

The math:

First and last=only.

There IS no God apart from him despite efforts of the people at that time who were wasting their faith and worship on idols they were making in the same fires where they cooked their food and warmed themselves.

People have an innate need for god. It’s basic to all of us.

He is a jealous god who doesn’t tolerate replacement by cheap idols made with human hands and doesn’t take kindly to losing the hearts of those he created and possesses to powerless substitutes.

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. Review the past for me, let us argue the matter together; state the case for your innocence.

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭25‬-‭26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What if confessing your sins was replaced by arguing the case for your innocence?

No attorney alive would take your case.

First, if you’re granted an audience with God to ‘clear the air’ so to speak, Jesus already lawyered-up on your behalf in a courtroom emptied since the day of your pivot.

He himself became your golden ticket and court is no longer in session.

As far as the east is from the west, your sins are remembered no more. While north and south each have a terminus at their poles, east and west endlessly circumnavigate the earth in relation to one another, demonstrating the endless distance between you and your sin.

So much clear cut evidence against you and yet no recollections of any of them except by you.

Erasure is the most wonderful gift but still so hard to wrap our heads around and accept.

Some mornings, choosing a single passage for my study and brief commentary is impossible.

Today for instance.

Like trout in a stocked pond, the book of Isaiah is loaded with life and promises bigger and better than the one before.

So today, without further ado, you pick which of these 3 gems stirs that something inside to take into your Monday this Holy Week.

I chose all of them because in THIS pond, there’s no limit.

I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭42‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭42‬:‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬