Colossians 4 Devotions by Pastor Mark Hudson             I would like us to look at vs. 7-18 for this devotion.  I find it so interesting what God has included in Holy Scripture.  I doubt we would have included the many things God did if we were given the task to inspire a book that would change the world.  I doubt we would include sections like we are focusing on.  But there…

Colossians 3 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence  It is often thought that when one becomes a Christian the battle is over and the war has been won, but it has only just begun.  As much as we may not like it, or choose to ignore it, we are still living in a battle zone and there are casualties of war all around us every day; there are men and women who did not take this war…

Colossians 2 by Pastor David Groendyk The central verses to focus on in this chapter (and perhaps in the whole book) are the commands and exhortations from verses 6–7: “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” Believers must be rooted and built up in Christ. Growing in spiritual maturity is what…

Colossians 1 Devotions by Pastor Mark Hudson                The letter to the church at Colossae is a rich, deep theological letter with warmth, true guidance steering God’s people away from heresy.  This city is a bit unusual for Paul to be writing to since He preferred bigger thoroughfares or coastal cities where the pollination of the gospel could be wafted to other cultures, peoples, and languages.  Plus he had never been to this city. …

Isaiah 65 by Pastor David Groendyk Isaiah continues to look forward to that great day when the Messiah and Suffering Servant will bring about salvation for his people. The point of today’s chapter is to make a distinction between the destiny of the wicked who do not worship God and the destiny of the servants who do. The former face punishment from God and will be repaid for their iniquities while the latter will inherit…

Isaiah 64 by Pastor Mark Hudson                 Is 64 can be divided into verses 1-7 and 8-12.  In this section we are in the last part of the book. The outline I am using has Divine Ability from 63:1-66:24.  Split the heavens and come down is vs. 1-7 and will you keep silent is 8-12.  One of the ways commentators understand this meaning is, ”Oh if you had just broken in on us, shaking…

Isaiah 63 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence              This particular passage doesn’t seem to be connected to what comes before or after, and it reads more like one of the laments in the psalms than a vision or prophecy, but, surely, the prophets were well versed in laments as well.  In the first six verses, Isaiah speaks of the wrath of the Lord going out against his enemies, and his garments being stained with their blood…

Isaiah 62 by Pastor David Groendyk This is a chapter filled with beautiful truths and beautiful exhortations to God’s people. Keep in mind the context of the past two chapters and all of the salvation that God has accomplished. Isaiah 62 describes a benefit of salvation that maybe we don’t talk about enough. In verses 1–5, we see that since God has done so much for his people, he delights in them. Meditate on some…

Isaiah 61 by Pastor Mark Hudson                 Is 61 quite easily divides into two sections.  1-4 and 5-11.  You may notice your Bible will provide extra space where the editors see natural or textual divisions.  The first verse should be familiar since our Lord Jesus Christ read this in Luke 4 in a synagogue in Nazareth, his hometown.  He is handed the scroll of Isaiah and whether or not He choose the passage or…

Isaiah 60 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence            For the despised and forsaken city languishing in deep humiliation the Lord now brings great news.  Through his prophet, Isaiah, the Lord foretells a time in which the earthly city of Jerusalem will finally reflect the heavenly city of Zion.  In fact, the two will become one, although we don’t learn that explicitly until it is revealed to the apostle John in the book of Revelation, but much…

Isaiah 59 by Pastor David Groendyk “God is unlimited in his capacity and readiness to help,” says the ESV Study Bible about verse 1, which is a comforting reminder for anyone who goes on to read the rest of the chapter. As Isaiah has been describing what final salvation looks like for God’s people in this last section of the book, he’s also been showing Israel what their wickedness looks like in order that they…

Isaiah 58 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence            Fast days and feast days were designed by God for the good of his people and for the health of the nation as a whole.  Yet like every other good thing created by God, sinful man found a way to pervert them, to suck the life out of them and to empty them of their meaning.  There is nothing more that God hates than vain worship and empty…

Isaiah 57 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence The peace of God distinguishes the righteous from the wicked in this chapter.  When the righteous man lies down at night, he rests in peace.  Even when he perishes, he is taken away from calamity and enters into an eternal peace.  The wicked, on the other hand, are like a turbulent sea tossing up mire and dirt, and for them the Lord swears that there will be no peace. …

Isaiah 56 by Pastor David Groendyk This last major section of Isaiah from chapters 56–66 depicts what it will look like for God’s people to experience the New Jerusalem (chapter 60), their coming salvation (chapter 62), the year of the Lord’s favor (chapter 61). What will it look like for God’s people to inherit this brand new kingdom and new life? It begins in chapter 56 with a total reversal. The true “people of God”…

Isaiah 55 by Pastor Mark Hudson                 This is a great chapter on being satisfied with God.  We are not a satisfied people.  Well, we think we are satisfied with the purchase of a better vehicle until we see even a better one next to us.  We like the feeling of buying things until that wears off.  We often think certain things we know we should not do will satisfy until we once again are…

Isaiah 54 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence            Moving from the Servant of the Lord to the servants of the Lord, Isaiah describes the people of Israel in this chapter as a barren woman, a widow, and a wife deserted.  But there is hope for the barren woman for she will have children and for the widow for she will not be disgraced, and for the wife deserted for she will be loved by her husband. …

Isaiah 53 by Pastor David Groendyk How will the salvation of God’s people described in the previous chapters come about? It will be through the sacrificial suffering of God’s chosen servant. So even though Judah would return from exile long before Jesus was born, full salvation and return and restoration would not happen until this servant would come on the scene. Even though this is an Old Testament passage written 700 years before Christ was…

Isaiah 52 by Pastor Mark Hudson                 While these expressions in Is. 52 may sound somewhat unusual, even foreign, to us that is because it is foreign to us.  How many Americans have been exiled?  We have imprisoned Japanese, treated Africans horribly, treated the Irish, Italian, etc. beyond poorly, we not many Americans have been forcibly removed from this country.  So, we may fail to appreciate what the fuss is about.             For those of…

Isaiah 51 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence            Once again Isaiah returns to the theme of comfort in this chapter.  And here he is clearly addressing the remnant of God’s people who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord.  They have endured great hostility and loss through the Babylonian captivity, but through the means of the mysterious servant of God, the Lord will bring salvation to Israel, and God’s kingdom will be restored in all its…

Isaiah 50 by Pastor David Groendyk In chapters 49–55, it is made much more explicit what the true Servant of God is going to accomplish. This chapter highlights the failure of the people of God and contrasts it with the success of God’s chosen servant. The call, then, is to obey the voice of that successful servant. In verses 1–3, the exiles of Judah feel as though they’ve been abandoned by God. They feel like…

Isaiah 49 by Pastor Mark Hudson             This chapter begins a new section in this part of the book.  I want to focus on structure for this devotional. I find it helpful not only find out what a  verse means, but where I am in the argument of the author.  What is the big idea Isaiah is teaching.  Once we understand the larger context, we are guided as we strive to understand individual verses.  The…