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CONTINUED ON INSIDE BACK COVER 

Table  of Contents    Title Page   Preface   About this eBook   Between Ourselves   The Holy Spirit FfDL website & FFDL Student Edition     

Daily Readings for July 

A prayer for the day  

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July 2012 

Su  Mo  Tu  We  Th  Fr  Sa 

1  2  3  4  5  6  7 

8  9  10  11  12  13  14 

15  16  17  18  19  20  21 

22  23  24  25  26  27  28 

29  30  31         

Table  of Contents    

Daily Readings for August 

Where is heaven? Holy ought 

Your July Bible Readings Your August Bible Readings 

Important Information (cont from pg ii)   The Faith for Daily Living eBook   Abbreviations       

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August 2012 

Su  Mo  Tu  We  Th  Fr  Sa 

      1  2  3  4 

5  6  7  8  9  10  11 

12  13  14  15  16  17  18 

19  20  21  22  23  24  25 

26  27  28  29  30  31   

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Dear Friends,I don’t know if you have had the same experience but I often find that one phrase or sentence, a verse of a hymn or a text from scripture gets hold of me so to speak. I keep repeating it in my head or humming it to myself for quite a while before it “wears itself out” so to speak – or something else takes over. Always it is some statement of the faith that works its way into my personal “vocabulary of faith”.

Recently Paul’s claim that “All things work together for good to them that love God” has been taking me over in this way. It comes from Romans 8:28 and it is the KJV translation. My mother was a lay preacher and she had a wonderful sermon on this text that I shall never forget. She had endured a lot of adversity, having been widowed in her middle thirties with a child to bring up and an unborn one (me!) still on the way. It was the great depression of the thirties and she had no professional training to fall back on. Just as she was getting a little shop going the Second World War came and forced its closure. Only her indomitable faith pulled her through – and her life experience that “all things work together for good if you trust God”. I find I often have to preach this message to myself – because so many things don’t seem to be working out for good at the time. In those times we have to “soldier on” hoping that we will later see the good that was working out all the time.

I hope that you will reflect on the long-term goodness of God as well, and that you will be the living sermon my mother was.

God Bless you,

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Dear Friends,I don’t know if you have had the same experience but I often find that one phrase or sentence, a verse of a hymn or a text from scripture gets hold of me so to speak. I keep repeating it in my head or humming it to myself for quite a while before it “wears itself out” so to speak – or something else takes over. Always it is some statement of the faith that works its way into my personal “vocabulary of faith”.

Recently Paul’s claim that “All things work together for good to them that love God” has been taking me over in this way. It comes from Romans 8:28 and it is the KJV translation. My mother was a lay preacher and she had a wonderful sermon on this text that I shall never forget. She had endured a lot of adversity, having been widowed in her middle thirties with a child to bring up and an unborn one (me!) still on the way. It was the great depression of the thirties and she had no professional training to fall back on. Just as she was getting a little shop going the Second World War came and forced its closure. Only her indomitable faith pulled her through – and her life experience that “all things work together for good if you trust God”. I find I often have to preach this message to myself – because so many things don’t seem to be working out for good at the time. In those times we have to “soldier on” hoping that we will later see the good that was working out all the time.

I hope that you will reflect on the long-term goodness of God as well, and that you will be the living sermon my mother was.

God Bless you,

Dear Friends,I wonder if you ever get the feeling that the Christian faith is on the back foot? If you see the state of some congregations you could get that impression. And you could feel very disappointed as a result.

I recently got hold of an interesting book called “Operation World”. It is compiled by Jason Mandryk and published by WEC International. It is intended as a prayer guide for Christians and contains information about every country in the world. Some interesting facts emerge. Perhaps the most startling (for me at any rate) is to find that in China there are now 105 million Christians. Whilst Christianity is declining in numbers in most of Europe, it is growing elsewhere. In Latin America there are 503 million Christians. In India, which we probably regard as totally Hindu in faith, there are seventy one million Christians, as well as one hundred and seventy million Moslems. In Russia, where for over seventy years they tried to eradicate religion, and persecuted Christians, there are now ninety three million Christian believers in a population of one hundred and forty millions. On a world-wide basis there are more people following Christianity than any other faith. So, sad as it is to see some of the traditional churches losing members, there is much for which to be grateful, and plenty about which to feel hopeful.

The really worrying matter is the prevalence of persecution in many places. I personally have heard or read of Christians being killed in Turkey, Pakistan and India in recent years and I suspect it happens on a wider scale – especially in North Africa. Pray for those fellow-believers who hold their faith in the midst of hostility and danger.

Yours in Christ,

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THE HOLY SPIRITDenis Scott

(N.B. This article continues the teaching began in Mr Scott’s article published on p 2&3 of our May/June edition)

In our last teaching we looked at the event of Pentecost and of how the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples of Jesus – so

that they were said to be born of the Spirit. However, being born of the Spirit is not the same thing as being baptised in the Spirit. Jesus himself made this abundantly clear in his Farewell Discourse to the disciples at the Last Supper when he spoke of the coming of the Spirit as a future event, and on the eve of his Ascension, Luke tells us that Jesus said: “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high” (Lk 24:49 NIV).

That helps us to make the transition to Acts chapter 1: “After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the Kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised (at Jesus’ baptism), which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:3-5 NIV).

Jesus could hardly have been clearer than that about what was to happen! But there’s more: “You will receive power (literally ‘dynamism’ in the Greek) when the Holy Spirit comes on you (power for what? …), and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8 NIV).

There we have it. The Holy Spirit is the Father’s gift, through his Son Jesus baptizing us with the Holy Spirit, so that we may have power to be his witnesses … everywhere on this earth.

Ten days later, on the feast day of Pentecost, the promise

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to which Jesus referred was fulfilled. His promises are always fulfilled.

To get this all into better perspective let us go right back to the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, to the time when John the Baptist saw Jesus coming to him to be baptized and heard the voice of his Father God say that “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit”. Jesus is baptized, the Spirit descends upon him in bodily form like a dove” and the Father’s voice is heard to say: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” (John 1:32-34; Lk 3:22 NIV).

JESUS BAPTISES WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT In water baptism, water is used by pouring or immersion externally. In Spirit Baptism, “living water” flows from within, internally – “a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (Jn 4:10,13,14 NIV).

Crucially, John records that Jesus stood up in the Temple on the last day of the feast of Tabernacles and proclaimed: “If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him”(Jn 7:37,38 NIV).

You will remember that John interprets the meaning of Jesus’ words in this way: “By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified” (Jn 7:39 NIV).

Therefore it was to be a future event that would take place after his glorification, i.e. his Ascension. The book of Acts begins with the account of that event and goes on to show how the Holy Spirit that came upon them at Pentecost empowered the disciples to witness to Jesus. They went far and wide spreading Christianity throughout the Roman Empire within thirty years of the death and resurrection of Christ.

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Sunday 1st JulyHUMAN LEADERS

“Look, their brave men cry aloud in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly”. Isa 33:7 NIV

Anybody looking at the seemingly insurmountable problems on the world stage at this point in time could

justifiably conclude, “The world is in a mess”. It is. There are economic problems in Europe and America. There is hunger and starvation in Africa. There is unrest and turmoil in the Middle East, massive employment problems in Asia, and the global ecological threat. Diplomats and politicians scurry around trying to put out fires, set up peace talks, and work out solutions to some of the pressing problems.

It has seldom been otherwise. It was like that in Isaiah’s day. A powerful empire in Assyria threatened little Judah whose capital was Jerusalem. To placate them, the king of Judah paid a huge tribute in gold. The Assyrian emperor said, “Thank you. Now we’re going to kill you anyway”. No wonder brave men cried and those who had struggled to bring peace just gave up and wept. The picture was one of utter despair and hopelessness. The leaders had failed to find a solution. Isaiah knew why – they had abandoned God, the only hope for his people Israel.

In today’s turmoil it is obvious that the human leaders have few solutions. And where there might be solutions there isn’t the money to afford them. People the world over live in fear and despair. In such a situation Christ is the (only) hope for the world. He is bigger than the problems. Believe in him. Put your trust in him as Isaiah did in his God twenty-seven centuries ago. And pray that he will guide today’s leaders to find workable alternatives to crisis, hunger and war.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, lead us from confusion to hope and real peace.

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Monday 2nd JulyTHINGS ARE GETTING WORSE

“The highways are so dangerous that no one travels on them. Treaties are broken and agreements are violated. No

one is respected any more”.Isa 33:8 GNB

Some periods in human history are tough. Europe in the great depression of the 1930’s was one such period.

The immediate post-World War II years were little better. There develops a sense of desolation and doom. Hope sags and people become frightened. Sometimes desperate people resort to desperate actions. One problem seems to create another and few people can look beyond the crisis to anything better.

It was such a time as that when Isaiah wrote. The tiny country of Judah was always a pawn in the great chess games – played with real armies – between Egypt and rival empires from the east. The Assyrian army had gone, but no one knew when it would come back again and wipe them off the earth. It then began to seem that beyond the big military powers an unseen evil power was at work threatening doom and destruction. People were thinking, “Things only get worse. Will they ever get better?” Isaiah sensed the mood of the people but knew that the Lord God Almighty was still the maker of heaven and earth and the prophet dared to hope in the midnight of despair.

Christian believers also dare to hope – however desperate and low things seem to be in the world around them. It seemed the end for Christian believers in China when the communists took over in the late nineteen-forties and expelled the Christian missionaries. For decades hardly a thing was heard in the outside world. Then the lid was lifted and today the Christian church rejoices to find that there are a hundred million believers in that country.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, keep the light shining in the darkness.

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Tuesday 3rd JulyEVEN NATURE IS AFFECTED

“Fields are dry and barren. Mount Lebanon wilts with shame. Sharon Valley is a desert; the forests of Bashan and Carmel

have lost their leaves”. Isa 33:9 CEV

Human life is interwoven with nature. We cannot live without water. We constantly need food and it all

comes, either initially or eventually, from the earth or the sea. If the rains fail – or come late or too heavily – we are soon in trouble. If crops are poor or the domestic animals we live off get diseased then we have severe problems.

When the political scene is in a state of upheaval and some adverse weather conditions strike at the same time then it is understandable that spirits sag and moans multiply. Many people complain even when everything is going well – but their misery knows no limits when adversities coincide. Whether nature really was as bad as Isaiah describes it, or whether he was projecting his inner sadness and despair and imagining nature to be worse than it was, we will never know. We are told that people with jaundice see everything around them as yellow. And there are plenty who suffer from emotional and spiritual jaundice. Nevertheless the truth is that nature can often seem ruthless and cruel – witness the recurring earthquakes and tsunamis over the past few years.

When human adversity and nature seem to collude to cause suffering Christian believers need to remember that these conditions don’t last forever. In the end nature corrects and balances itself and human beings work at their problems till some at least give way to better circumstances.

FOR REFLECTIONYes, God is good, all nature says, By God’s own hand with speech endued; And man, in louder notes of praise, Should sing for joy that God is good. - J.H. Gurney

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Wednesday 4th JulyTHE GOD OF ACTION

“The Lord says to the nations, ‘Now I will act. I will show how powerful I am’”. Isa 33:10 GNB

Today we live in a world in which new inventions arrive almost by the day. You have to be quick at learning to

use them or you will soon get left behind. This hectic pace of modern science – and much of it is brilliant – creates the impression that we are so clever that there is nothing we can’t do. The unspoken message is, “Given time we’ll do anything and everything. Therefore there is no need for God”. Yet with all our scintillating science the world is in one terrible mess. Only someone wearing blinkers would not notice it.

In the mess that descended on the tiny state of Judah in the aftermath of war it was clear – at least to the prophet Isaiah – that human solutions were useless. It was human rebellion against God that had landed them in the stew that was all around them. And God had patiently watched it all deteriorate. But he is, after all, the king supreme, the sovereign Lord God Almighty. He is also a God of action. And he has been biding his time. Now is the moment for action. Now he will stride forth, like a champion warrior who wields his sword, and show his might, his power and his glory. And this will not just be a reminder to his own people of his rule. It will be a proclamation to the other nations that, whatever problems his people may have, he is a mighty God.

He is still a mighty God today. And he does more than just love and comfort his people. He acts in his world and shows his glory.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord God, help me to see and recognize your mighty acts.

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Thursday 5th JulyEXALT HIM

“Now will I be exalted; now will I be lifted up”. Isa 33:10 NIV

When people do something great the world exalts them. Admirers heap praise upon them. The media feature

their opinions and show their pictures. They are invited to attend functions, present prizes and make speeches. Things they say get quoted in newspapers, radio programmes and speeches. Their names are on everyone’s lips. The really great even find babies being called after them!

In ancient times the gods of the nations were all associated with height. Some were thought to inhabit mountains. Others were located in the sky or heaven. Deity and height went together. And Isaiah’s God, whom he encountered in the temple in Jerusalem, was “seated on a throne, high and exalted” (Isa 6:1 NIV). Now this same God is active in the affairs of the nations and asserts that he will be exalted, not only in the temple service but in the “big, wide world”. If he was exalted in the temple for who he was he will be lifted up in the world for what he does – his mighty acts.

And Jesus was lifted up on a cross where, to start with, most people ridiculed and despised him. His later resurrection and ascension is referred to as “his exaltation”. His crucifixion is now recalled with reverence and awe. He is exalted in his crucifixion. He is lifted up in the prayers of his people, in the lifestyles they follow, the company they keep and the causes they espouse.

Always exalt Jesus. Never let your worship deteriorate into a human-centred exercise that focuses only on people and their needs or the world and its problems. Praise Jesus. Never let anything get in the way of honouring him. PRAYER THOUGHTLord, I will exalt you in every way I can.

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Friday 6th JulyTHE JUDGMENT OF GOD

“Your deeds are straw that will be set on fire by your very own breath. You will be burnt to ashes like thorns in a fire”.

Isa 33:11,12 CEV

There are many things in the world around us that reflect the painful element in human life. Earthquakes and

tsunamis cause massive devastation. So do fires and floods. Drought and disease cause havoc. War destroys people, communities, buildings, family life, communications, institutions, and nature.

In the Old Testament God is understood as defending his own special people, the Israelites. People who were their enemies were his enemies also. When foreign nations made war against Israel they went to war with God. And when they committed atrocities (which always happens in war) the devastation and destruction that resulted was seen by the Israelites (and especially the prophets) as God’s judgment on the guilty nations. Notice how the fire that is predicted for their deeds comes from their own breath. Much of the destruction that happens is brought upon the offending people by their own wilful and flagrant disregard of God’s commands for justice and mercy. So many problems come about because people bring them on themselves. Nevertheless in Isaiah’s mind God’s judgment is God’s justice. It is the reverse side of his kingly rule. When people disregard the king and kill his people he acts with power and might to bring them to book.

The coming of Jesus taught us that there was more to God than mere cold justice. He was also a God of mercy and compassion. We like to emphasize this aspect today and gloss over the strength – and healing component – of his justice. We would do well to heed the full teaching of the Bible and to discern his judgment where he exercises it.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, exercise your kingly rule among the world’s nations.

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Saturday 7th JulyLOOK AT WHAT GOD HAS DONE

“You who are far away, hear what I have done; you who are near, acknowledge my power”. Isa 33:13 NIV

There is a hymn in older hymn books that reads, “God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform”.

Most Christian believers can recall times when indeed God has acted unexpectedly, secretly and strangely. But it is also true that he does not only move in strange ways. Sometimes he moves in big ways, openly, strongly, dramatically and decisively. He is, after all, a God of might and power.

In Isaiah’s day the big dominant power was Assyria. In 722 B.C. they overran the small northern part of Israel and carried off many of the inhabitants. Then they came to attack the even smaller territory of Judah in 701 B.C. and laid siege to the city of Jerusalem. The people in the city waited for the inevitable smashing of the gates and the slaughter that would follow. It never happened. They woke up one morning to find that the besieging army had disappeared during the night. It was God’s mighty act of deliverance. Without any battle taking place God had performed a miracle. Isaiah spoke God’s word calling on all and sundry to behold God’s great action. It was the prophet’s duty to herald and trumpet God’s deeds.

That is still the task of the people of God. God has done mighty things and he still does them. They have to see those deeds and announce them to the world. Those deeds are – the coming of God in the birth, life death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, his giving of the Spirit at Pentecost, and his ongoing work of transformation in his church.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, let your church tell the world of your mighty deeds.

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Sunday 8th JulySINNERS BEWARE!

“The sinful people of Zion are trembling with fright. They say, ‘God’s judgment is like a fire that burns for ever. Can

any of us survive a fire like that?’” Isa 33:14 GNB

The more thinking people think the more evil they see in the world. They become more aware of evil as

time goes on. They see the flaws in people. This growing awareness confirms the cynical attitude that, as one writer put it, people “are just monkeys with the gift of speech”. The Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23 NIV).

Isaiah was also deeply aware of human sinfulness. In his vision of God in the temple he had said, “I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips” (Isa 6:5 NIV). He lived and worked amongst the “high society” of Jerusalem so he observed what he was talking about at first hand. So sinful were the people around him, that when they saw God in his glorious power and might (as they had done in the miracle of his rescue of them from the Assyrian army) they too would acknowledge their own sinfulness and experience guilt. They would even tremble physically and become afraid that God would apply his judgment to them. They knew they deserved it and that it would be a terrifying experience.

It is well worth reflecting on the judgment of God on a personal level. Look at yourself quietly and carefully and see what things would displease a holy God. It is not a bad thing to be fearful of the consequences of your sin. Confess everything to Christ and receive his pardon. Before God needs to get tough with you!

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, help me to come in penitence and rid me of my sin.

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Monday 9th JulyWALKING UPRIGHTLY

“He who walks righteously and speaks what is right, who rejects gain from extortion and keeps his hand from

accepting bribes”. Isa 33:15 NIV

A short while ago there was a movie called “Layer Cake”. It told the story of gangs competing for trade in drugs.

Most stories like this feature “goodies” and “baddies” with the goodies eventually winning. In “Layer Cake” there were no goodies, just baddies trying to compete with each other to see which would survive. In the end they all perished – evil won and destroyed itself in the process. This suggests that wrong, evil and sin are regarded as the norm and many people cannot tell right from wrong.

In the Bible God calls us to seek the good and to refuse to get involved with evil. Those sinners in Jerusalem whom Isaiah described as taking fright at the sight of God’s mighty justice in action and had become aware of their own sinfulness needed to move on from their sinful lives to ways of righteousness. The enduring message of the Bible in this regard is, “Whilst all people are sinners, no one has to remain trapped in sin. You can – you must – repent of your sinful ways and replace them with good, upright and moral ways”.

Jesus too preached about the kingdom of God and called on people to repent. He described it as being born again. The upright life to which he beckoned people previously involved in sinfulness meant worshipping God, being filled with love and holiness, seeking justice and peace and being part of a Christian fellowship. It meant observing the Ten Commandments and sticking close to God. So close in fact that the norm depicted in “Layer Cake” becomes unthinkable.PRAYER THOUGHTLord, help me to walk uprightly with you.

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Tuesday 10th JulyREWARDS

“He who walks righteously … this is the man who will dwell on the heights, whose refuge will be the mountain

fortress”. Isa 33:15,16 NIV

Human life can be regarded as a series of transactions. You do something or give something or pay something

and you get something back. You do a job of work and receive money in payment. If someone does you a favour you know you ought to do one back or give them something.

In the Bible God confronts his people with demands. They must live this way and not that way and if they did they would know “blessings”. On the other hand if they did not live the way he demanded they would know his displeasure and life would be pretty rough. The kind of life God expected was buttressed by this system of rewards and penalties. Isaiah believed that a higher level of obedience to God would result in a higher level of security. Further, since God himself was “high and lifted up” the person who walked in his ways would live on a higher plane spiritually as well.

Jesus carried on this idea of rewards. The person with five talents who faithfully exercised his stewardship would be given more. In the end this faithful steward would be invited to eternal fellowship with God. Not all the rewards would be in this life – some would come in the next one. The greatest reward would come to those who endured in faith and righteousness. It would be eternal fellowship and joy in God’s presence. That reward would begin here. We sometimes say, “God is his own reward”. Live with him. Love him. Serve him. And know the joy of his continual blessing.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, help me to live well without thought of any reward.

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Wednesday 11th JulyTHE UNFAILING CARE OF GOD

“He who walks righteously … his bread will be supplied and water will not fail him”. Isa 33:15,16 NIV

Throughout the world today millions of people wake up not knowing where their next crust of bread will come

from. Many too have to walk miles to find drinking water. The rapidly increasing population of the world is straining the basic resources of the earth and the one billion poor feel it the worst.

Life in ancient Israel was also precarious. It was a constant struggle to survive the intense heat of summer and to scrounge a few grains of corn from the rocky soil to make bread. They were intensely aware of their dependence on nature. Sometimes it was kind. At other times it was cruel to them. Isaiah taught that God would provide the necessities for the person who obeyed him. They were a reward for living the good life. There is, in his teaching, the underlying conviction that God cares for his people, and that he sustains their physical life and their spiritual wellbeing.

Those who have work or are comfortably off today take food and water for granted. But many who live the good life still do not have all the necessities. It is no guarantee of success or of security. Nevertheless living by faith usually means that the Christian believer is a better, more conscientious worker than a person who has no belief. Christian disciples see their daily work as their stewardship of the earth under Christ. Furthermore they know they are accountable not only to their employers but to Christ as well. They know that God cares for them. And they work under God for the sustainability of planet earth.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, provide for your children’s needs and help us to use your resources wisely.

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Thursday 12th JulyKEEP LOOKING FOR THE KING

“Your eyes will see the king in his beauty and view a land that stretches afar”. Isa 33:17 NIV

When any royal person visits a place people jockey for positions just to get a glimpse of the royal personage.

They queue for hours. They squeeze into restricted areas. They climb trees and window sills. And when in any country a war is over and that country has been victorious then it is an even more special occasion.

When the Assyrians attacked Judah (i.e. Jerusalem) the king of Judah, Hezekiah, scraped together all the gold he could lay his hands on and handed it over in tribute to the Assyrian army. This was an exceptional humiliation, but it was intended to buy off the Assyrians and prevent them from attacking Judah. It failed, the Assyrians disregarding the agreement they had made not to invade. Hezekiah was made to look stupid. Then the miracle happened and the siege was raised. God had saved his people. Now the people could look forward to celebrating – with the king leading the proceedings. The people would see a victorious king – in his royal robes. They would be able to go outside the city walls and view their country round about, now free from its foreign invaders.

Christians believe that Jesus is their king, that he is in fact, the King of Kings. They believe that he was lifted up in his crucifixion and that the cross is one scene of his royal glory, his crown being a crown of thorns. But they also look forward to their king coming again. They believe he will bring an end to suffering and sorrow, struggle and pain. And that he will reign for ever. Keep looking for the king.

PRAYER THOUGHTKing Jesus, we look for your coming in glory and peace.

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Friday 13th July“IT CAME TO PASS”

“Your old fears of foreign tax-collectors and spies will be only a memory”. Isa 33:18 GNB

In the older (English) translations of the Bible there was a beautiful phrase that was often used to introduce an

event. Today we would say, “It so happened that”. The Bible used the phrase, “It came to pass”. This came to pass, that came to pass. All sorts of things came to pass.

In Isaiah’s day the Assyrian army invaded his native country of Judah. Invasions by big empires were feared. Defeat meant the slaughter of thousands of men, the carrying off of most of the population to become slaves in a foreign land, the killing of the king, the destruction of the buildings, and the looting of any treasures available. It also meant the raping of the women by the conquering army. It was sheer hell. A bigger disaster was unthinkable. Because of the miracle of God’s intervention the people of Judah were spared this terrible fate. The threat of invasion came. But it came to pass.

However terrifying the dangers and disasters that come upon us – they all come to pass. There comes a day when the clouds disperse, the threat recedes, and hope returns. We fear all manner of things – crime, political upheaval, economic ruin, family breakdown, unemployment, illness and many more. Some of them happen. Some of them don’t. Some don’t come at all –perhaps the majority. Those that do come, come to pass – and because you have faith in God you come through them. The crucifixion of Jesus came – and it came to pass in glorious resurrection power and renewal.

Whatever crisis you are going through believe that it is in God’s hands – and that it will come to pass.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, thank you that life moves on. Help me to, as well.

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Saturday 14th JulyEYES RIGHT

“Look upon Zion, the city of our festivals; your eyes will see Jerusalem”. Isa 33:20 NIV

Many national landmarks have a place of affection in the hearts of people who are natives of the country

concerned. The sight of the Eiffel Tower brings joy to French people, Big Ben to Britons and Table Mountain to South Africans. Americans warm to the sight of the Statue of Liberty – for them it enshrines all that is best in “Uncle Sam”.

The ancient Israelites felt like that about Jerusalem. In particular they held a special affection for the temple built by King Solomon. It was more than a national symbol. It was the shrine where they drew nearest to God and all their great festivals took place there. When Isaiah wrote it was where they celebrated the departure of the Assyrians with the joy they would have known if they had actually defeated them. But the real reason why it was so special was because, for them, it was the dwelling place of God and he had given them peace and victory. So their celebration was an expression of faith. In Jerusalem their eyes would be looking in the right direction – at God. When they got that right other things fell into place.

Keep looking at Jesus. Find in him the embodiment of the creator of the universe and the author of life. Put Christ first in your life by constantly turning to him – in good times and in bad. Look to him for hope, for joy, for peace and for the future. Turn to him for guidance, for forgiveness and for salvation. Seek him in response to temptation, in the midnight of confusion and in the dawn of renewal and healing.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, help me to keep turning my eyes upon Jesus.

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Sunday 15th JulyTHE ULTIMATE SECURITY

“You will see Jerusalem, secure as a tent with pegs that cannot be pulled up and fastened with ropes that can

never be broken”. Isa 33:20 CEV

One of the deep yearnings we all have is for security. We look for it in money – and without money we can’t do

much. We look for security in the homes we live in, the towns and cities we inhabit, and in the family members around us. And in a world where danger lurks we seek physical security in protection by the police and armed forces.

Many people discover that these forms of security are only partial answers to our need. The Israelites had just come through a harrowing national security crisis. In the relief and joy that came, Isaiah the man of God, pointed the people and rulers to their source of ultimate security – God. Because of God’s guidance and care Jerusalem was now safe – not because of the efforts of her security forces. The phrase “secure as a tent with pegs that can’t be pulled up” means they are now secure, permanent, fixed. They are not going to be scattered tomorrow. They have reached the end of their journey for the human pilgrimage eventually finds its destination in God.

Be wise and sensible in providing yourself and your family with as much security as you may deem necessary. That will probably be determined by your financial resources. As a disciple of Jesus don’t let your need for security deteriorate into a paranoid obsession. You can’t ever be finally and totally secure whilst you live on planet earth! Remember that you only have ultimate security when you are “safe in the arms of Jesus”. Until then, walk with God.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, you are my final goal, my strength and my security.

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Monday 16th JulyGOD’S GLORY

“The Lord will show us his glory. We will live beside broad rivers and streams, but hostile ships will not sail on them”.

Isa 33:21 GNB

There are many beautiful places on planet earth. The highlands of Scotland are one such spot. The Rockies in

America are another. The Victoria Falls on the Zambezi are breathtakingly spectacular. Many people witnessing such beauty are awestruck at the sheer splendour. And some feel a sense of the presence of God at it all.

When Isaiah speaks of God showing us his glory he is not referring to natural beauty. He would no doubt have agreed with the Book of Psalms when it says, “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Ps 19:1 NIV). But he knew there was more to God’s glory than natural beauty. His glory is the radiance of his presence. It refers to the aura and awesomeness of the sense of the presence of God. In an exultant mood at the relief of the siege of Jerusalem Isaiah was so sure of God. He was so happy that God was everywhere and in everything. And he saw only a wonderful, glorious future ahead. It would all be so marvellous that the people would see God in their midst and it would all be, “Glory to God”. In a land short of water even that would be in ready supply – in the broad rivers and streams.

Never lose the sense of God’s glory. It is one of the major themes of the Bible. Yes, find it in nature. Find it in love. Find it in kindness, worship and prayer. Find it in the Bible or in a golden sunset. Find it in the ocean’s throb and roar. Most of all find it at Calvary and the empty tomb.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, I will behold your glory and worship you.

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Tuesday 17th JulyA DIFFERENT KIND OF KING

“The Lord himself will be our king. He will rule over us and protect us”. Isa 33:23 GNB

Most people in democratic countries complain about their governments – whom they have elected!

They think that governments should do everything for them – and some try to. The first and primary task of any governing power is to protect the lives of the people. Then it is to order the community life of the country in such a way as to provide the best way of life for all the citizens.

Israel had a problem in the ancient world. For centuries it had no king at all – they were a confederation of local tribes under local heroes. God was their king. This left them vulnerable to foreign military attack and they demanded a human king. Their first was Saul and he was crowned by the prophet Samuel who anointed him in a religious ceremony. This signified the human king’s acceptance of authority from God. So kings came and went. Some were good and some were bad. But all the time the office of human king was a concession to the needs of the day. God was always their supreme king. And when human kings were weak or defeated, then the people turned to God for hope. The prophet Isaiah delighted in being able to proclaim once more the kingship of God. For Isaiah God was a much better bet than his human appointees.

Christian believers today have a much lower estimate of whatever governing body they live under. And the media exploit every opportunity to reveal the “feet of clay” many public representatives exhibit! But believers have a solemn duty to uphold and pray for those in office. The task is difficult. They need God’s help.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, help those in power in my country.

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Wednesday 18th JulyTHE HOPE OF HEALING

“No one living in Zion will say, ‘I am ill’”.Isa 33:24 NIV

The achievements of modern medicine and surgery have been amazing. Operations that a few years ago required

a week in hospital are quickly and neatly performed and the patient is out in a day or two. The result is that people are living much longer and enjoying fuller lives than ever before. Nevertheless the scourge of Aids, the widespread prevalence of malnutrition and malaria pose a huge problem for the world – and the poor, as in everything, are the ones who “cop” it the most.

Disease has always hovered like a menace over the human race. And people have yearned for cures to illness and have dreamt of enjoying perfect health. They did in the days of the Bible. And with none of the modern scientific methods of diagnosing and treating illness available, life was short and tough. And just as the ancient Israelites looked to God to be their ruler, they also looked to him to be their doctor too. In his somewhat unrealistic dream of the future of Judah after the threatening presence of the Assyrians had gone, Isaiah predicted an era of perfect health. His expectation was for God to come and sort out all the nasty problems, an expectation which was part of the hope for a Messiah.

The Messiah came, and in his work on earth he did become “the divine physician”. So much of what was expected for centuries came to fulfillment in Jesus. And down the ages Christianity has stood shoulder to shoulder with the medical profession in countering disease and promoting health. Support whatever initiatives you can to relieve the suffering around you. For Christ’s sake.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, bring increasing healing techniques for all illnesses.

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Thursday 19th JulyTHE GOSPEL OF GRACE“The Lord will forgive your sins”. Isa 33:24 CEV

One of the functions of religion is to help struggling human beings cope with their deepest anguish, pain

and frailties. In response to the perplexed mind that asks, “What happens after death?” faith points to eternal life. One of our greatest embarrassments and problems is the determined way in which we fail again and again to live strongly and to control our frailties, drives and passions. Guilt is a messy and confusing emotion to handle. And it refuses to go away. It lowers our self-esteem, gnaws away at our sense of strength, and alienates us from other people. And sometimes it festers away for years and years. It makes us defensive.

The Apostle Paul grasped the huge importance of God’s grace that he knew was effective in dealing with sin and imparting forgiveness to the sinner. Isaiah anticipated him by seven hundred years. The way the Old Testament faith dealt with sin and guilt was by means of the sacrifices in the temple. For Isaiah they were God’s way of meeting the sinner and bringing wholeness. It was impossible for people to sort themselves out. And the new era of life after the Assyrian siege would be characterized by physical healing, perfect security, and the ready availability of God’s grace in forgiveness.

In the cross of Jesus Christian believers have the perfect answer to sin and guilt. Here God’s grace is offered fully and freely. Even the most hardened sinner can leave it all behind at the cross and start again with a clean slate. So can those brought up in the church community who yet know there is “something missing”. Bring your sins to Jesus. Accept his forgiveness today.PRAYER THOUGHTLord, thank you for your healing grace.

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Friday 20th JulyTHE GOLDEN AGE

“The desert will rejoice, and flowers will bloom in the wilderness”.

Isa 35:1 GNB

Today many people dream idly of a time when “their ship will come in”. The huge sums of money paid to winners

of lotteries lure people into thinking that their turn will come. Offers of huge payouts are now common in e-mails but are traps to raid people’s bank accounts. Centuries ago people longed for a future golden age when everything would be wonderful and there would be easy food and pleasures a-plenty.

There is plenty of evidence of these ideas in the Old Testament. Just as travellers in a desert will experience mirages of oases, so people in dry and rocky countryside will long for fertile earth with abundant water and food. For Isaiah God who gave all things would one day produce a miracle and the golden age would come. He had performed miracles in the past. It might happen again. The unyielding dry and dusty desert would burst into life and become a place of beauty with flowers and radiant colour.

It is dreams such as this that prompt people to cultivate desert areas by way of irrigation schemes and intense farming methods. By channelling the waters from Mount Hermon in the north to the Negev Desert area in the south, Israel has succeeded in recent years in transforming the desert into fertile farmland. This has given food, business and employment to thousands of people. With the world’s population increasing at breakneck speed some engineering miracles may be needed to bring otherwise unproductive land to good use. Jesus produced food for thousands from two fishes and some loaves. Maybe that has a message for today’s world?

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, help us to turn our dreams of productivity to reality.

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Saturday 21st JulyGOD’S MARVELLOUS WORK

“Deserts will bloom everywhere and sing joyful songs. They will be as majestic as Mount Lebanon, as glorious as Mount

Carmel or Sharon Valley”.Isa 35:2 CEV

There is something fascinating about particularly beautiful parts of the world – usually mountains. To be

on top of a mountain gives you the exhilarating feeling of being on top of the world. And there is something inspiring and peaceful about mountains, waterfalls and rivers. By contrast deserts are dull, empty and boring.

Isaiah’s beautiful poem rejoices in nature’s beauty. But it focuses on God and the miracle he can produce. Isaiah seems to be creating a hope in the minds and hearts of people who are in exile and who long for home. The land they are in is a desert so he imagines God bringing the glories of their homeland’s beauty spots before their eyes. God can transform their near-dead existence in exile into the beauties and glories of the majestic Lebanon, the beautiful and fertile Carmel and the richly fertile Plain of Sharon (the area between modern-day Tel Aviv and Haifa). Isaiah emphasizes God’s creativity here. While our ordinary earthly life is dull and dreary God can bring majesty and beauty into it.

He does so still today. Most of us have our exiles and our deserts. Life gets dreary, dull and boring. But Christ can so change us that beauty and wonder take over and transform both what we see and what we hear. This applies to far more than just geography. Our relationships can blossom, our hopes can inspire, our dreams can come to life and our faith can become a fertile, enriching and beautifying aspect of our lives.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, change my dreariness into beauty, light and hope.

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Sunday 22nd JulySEE THE GLORY

“They will see the glory of the Lord, the splendour of our God”. Isa 35:2 NIV

When sporting “World Cups” are held it is customary to start with an opening ceremony that showcases

the host nation and some of its more spectacular entertainment. Music, light shows, firework displays and a speech by the head of state all go to provide an “extravaganza” to impress visitors and advertise the country to the watching world. Those who see it wonder in amazement at the glory of the host country. Isaiah knew the importance of “extravaganzas” and glory. But for him there was only one who deserved to receive glory because he dwelt in glory. That was God. And because all other gods paled into insignificance next to Israel’s God he wanted the whole world to see the glory of his God. He was more than a god. He was supreme in his splendour, radiant in his light and majestic in his might. He was the God above all gods. And one element in the golden age to come was that the glory and splendour of God would be there for all the world to see.

Little did Isaiah know that seven hundred years later God would come to this earth in a new way, a way in which people would see his glory in the life of one man. That glory would become domesticated as God accommodated himself to human society.

We need to recapture this sense of God’s glory. It is almost totally lost in the life of the Christian community today. God has become a cheerful chappie charged with loving and being pally with all and sundry and they are pally back to him.

Give him ALL the glory!PRAYER THOUGHTLord, I worship you in your glory, sovereignty and might.

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Monday 23rd JulySTRENGTH!

“Give strength to hands that are tired and to knees that tremble with weakness”.

Isa 35:3 GNB

Some people go to great lengths to build up their physical strength. They go in for “body-building” exercises and

develop huge muscles. In some circumstances strength is vitally important. One player from a defeated rugby team said, “They were just too big and strong for us”. But there are different kinds of strength – financial, political, intellectual, sporting and many others.

The Israelites had been defeated because they were militarily weak. Their people were taken away into exile. In their new surroundings they were demoralized. Many of them felt weak. Some were no doubt treated with great cruelty by their masters and were physically injured. And no doubt the slave status to which many of them had been reduced only reinforced their “victim mentality”. If they were ever to regain any semblance of self-respect they would have to toughen up. Or someone would have to make them think differently. For Isaiah that one was God. There were more ways of rescuing people than by the miracle of parting the waters as God had done at the exodus centuries earlier.

Look to God for strength if you are in any way weak. If you have some physical weakness, ask him for mental and spiritual strength. If you are down because you have been defeated, or have made mistakes and failed, give yourself a thorough self-assessment and try to develop new strength – especially if it is something you can work on. Christ appeared weak to Pontius Pilate but for two thousand years the verdict of history has been that Christ was supremely the stronger. Be strong – for Christ’s sake!

FOR REFLECTION“My power is made perfect in weakness” (II Cor 12:9 NIV).

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Tuesday 24th JulyCOURAGE

“Tell everyone who is discouraged, ‘Be strong and don’t be afraid’”. Isa 35:4 GNB

A few decades ago a helicopter was shot down in a wooded area of Malaysia during military activity. The

officer in charge found his body entangled in a tree, his one leg broken. With the enemy closing in the whole patrol were endangered. After a while he took out his bush knife and cut his own leg off whilst his soldiers watched in fear and disbelief. They then carried him till they were all safe. Human beings are capable of amazing acts of courage! But most of us are cowards. Normal life is so difficult that it is easy to get discouraged and to lose hope.

Many of those Israelites in exile in Isaiah’s day became discouraged. They were in a foreign country. The language was different. The culture, laws and religion were alien. The work – and they were slaves ─ was hard. And the food was awful! Many of their relations had been killed, and others left behind. Isaiah, though, never lost faith in God. He knew that no situation was so impossible that God could not intervene and sort it out. He urged them to cheer up. A positive attitude could make a world of difference.

It still does. If you are positive, hopeful and determined to overcome the adverse circumstances you can change the whole way you live, however bad things might be. Christ was often telling his disciples not to be afraid. And he often came to them when they were scared out of their wits. He can come to you too and strengthen, empower, and embolden you. And by your attitude you can encourage other people as well.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, make me strong and a source of strength to others.

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Wednesday 25th JulyGOD TO THE RESCUE

“Your God will come, … he will come to save you”. Isa 35:4 NIV

There have been many epic rescue acts in history. One of the most spectacular of these in living memory was the

daring raid on Entebbe airport by Israeli security forces in June 1976. The Ugandans had hi-jacked an Israeli airliner with hundreds of passengers on board whom they then held hostage. The Israelis flew in to Entebbe, took control of the airport, released the stranded passengers, and flew them out again. The more recent rescue of miners in Chile is another.

The event of the exodus when God parted the waters of the Red Sea and the Israelites walked to freedom fixed for ever in Israelite faith the notion that God was the great redeeming, or rescuing, God. If he had done it once, he could and would do it again. Then they were later defeated and taken off to exile. The only way they could return to Israel was by the miraculous intervention of God. They hoped, they prayed, they dreamt, they planned for the day when God would come and rescue them. And eventually he did. It was one of the great and mighty acts of God for all time.

Christians, quite rightly, see the death of Jesus on the cross in the same light. Jesus redeemed us from sin by his sacrificial death and opened a new way of life for those prepared to repent and believe in him. And he continues to be the saving God – the Saviour of the world. The truth is that we cannot save ourselves. The harder we try, the more we fail! Jesus, and Jesus alone, is our hope. Now and for ever.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, let the world hear the message of your saving power.

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Thursday 26th JulyAT THE END OF THE DAY

“Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped”.

Isa 35:5 NIV

The biggest problem we humans have is coping with suffering. Pain, injury, disease and death are denials of

life. Whatever we say to make it seem less painful it doesn’t make it easier. It doesn’t make sense. It just doesn’t add up. Stand beside the coffin of a fifteen year-old girl who has died of cancer, or a child of three who has been killed in an accident and you will know how it feels. And the whole world of medicine and surgery is geared to combating the lessening of life that pain and suffering inflict.

Long before Isaiah’s time the problem of suffering baffled human minds and afflicted human hearts, destroying happiness and shattering people’s confidence in God. Broken hearts ached as they buried their dead and watched their dear ones suffer, all the time asking, “Why? Why? Why? Will it ever end?” And they packaged that hope of perfect health into the dreams of the golden age that they imagined God would one day bring to pass.

Many surgical and medical miracles later we still dream and hope that that ancient longing will come true. But of course human life is human life and this side of eternity it will always include a tragic element. But that is no reason why we shouldn’t still pray, dream, work and hope. There are some realities that are part of God’s final salvation. But that final salvation impinges on life here. God’s future golden age reaches into this not-so-golden present age and bids us trust where we cannot understand and hope where we cannot see.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, bring the future ever nearer.

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Friday 27th JulyLEAPING AND SHOUTING

“Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy”. Isa 35:6 NIV

A young minister was paying a tribute at his father’s funeral. The father had also been a minister and in his

youth had been a champion athlete. In his middle fifties the father had become afflicted with Parkinson’s disease and was reduced to a shuffling, shaking shadow of his former self. Finishing his tribute, the son said, “Dad, the next time we meet we’ll both be walking and leaping and praising God”. The Christian believer always looks to God’s final dream, to the Lord’s ultimate healing and renewal, the completion of resurrection.

The Hebrew prophets, living, thinking and working before the resurrection of Jesus, had only a vague inkling of anything beyond this life. For them God worked here on this earth and the coming golden age of God was something that would – indeed could – only happen here sometime in future history. If the perfect and just and powerful God didn’t bring the golden age now he would still do so in the future. The loss of mobility through injury or disease of the legs was a serious handicap in days when there were no wheelchairs or motorized transport. Likewise the lack or loss of speech cut a person off from communication with his fellow human beings. Worse still, both were perceived as being punishment from God, so they separated a person from God’s presence too.

Jesus healed the lame (Matt 15:30,31) and opened the mouth of at least one deaf and dumb man. Peter and John brought healing to a lame man at the temple – he went away, “walking and leaping and praising God” (Acts 3:8). Christ’s final kingdom includes perfect health.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, bring ever new methods of healing in your world.

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Saturday 28th JulyWATER

“Streams of water will flow through the desert; the burning sand will become a lake, and dry land will

be filled with springs”. Isa 35:6,7 GNB

Water has always provided a challenge to the human race. We quickly get annoyed when rain falls,

especially if it spoils some pleasure we had planned, like a picnic. People in ancient times had to live near rivers or lakes in order to survive. But they learnt to conserve it and to transport it. If you visit modern Israel they will show you a stone structure near to the ancient ruins of Caesarea. It is some three or four metres high and was an aqueduct built by the Romans to take water from Mt Carmel to their port city of Caesarea. It is amazing to find such engineering from so long ago. And it’s still standing!

Water featured prominently in Isaiah’s poem about God’s future coming. Whilst water had been a symbol of chaos at the creation the understanding was always that God subdued the watery chaos and brought life, order and fertility out of it. Since much of Israel was either desert or arid land water was the life-blood of their farming economy. Many were nomads wandering around from one stream or well to another – just to survive. Permanent water supplies were a thing of dreams – and of God’s final rule on earth.

Cherish and appreciate the water you have. Support moves for water conservation. Constantly drink of the living water, Christ himself. Know that he is the spiritual “stream in the desert”. If you find yourself wandering from this river, take immediate steps to get back to where you can drink of him again. And help others to as well.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, enable all your children to have clean water to drink.

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Sunday 29th JulyLIFE

“In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow”. Isa 35:7 NIV

In South Africa only three per cent of the land surface area is arable. This will surprise many people who think of vast

tracts of the Free State cultivating maize and note large sugar estates in Kwazulu-Natal. Likewise in Mpumalanga large tracts are cultivated forests. Maybe better water supplies would enable more land to be exploited for food production.

The hope Isaiah held out for God’s future action to bless his people foresaw once desert and waste land coming alive with plants. And those plants meant life, growth, food and work. Grass can graze cattle. Reeds can be used for thatching and basket work. Ducks and other water birds make their home among reeds. Papyrus was used in making “paper” or at least formed a durable writing material. The original (hand) writing of the Bible was on papyrus. For Isaiah, God’s golden age meant the human struggle to eke out an existence from a harsh environment would be won. Life would be rich and plentiful. But this wonderful state of affairs would not come about through human effort – it would come by a miraculous act of God. Isaiah was thinking in ideal terms. The people to whom he wrote would derive hope from the vision he opened up before them. Real life was different.

It still is. Imaginative, even daring, projects to maximize the earth’s resources have been undertaken – the Kariba and Aswan dams in Africa spring to mind. But much remains to be done before wholeness of (physical) life comes to all God’s children. And we need to work and pray for the fulfillment of God’s promises in his world.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, bring more of the earth into use for your people.

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Monday 30th JulyGOD’S HIGHWAY

“A good road will be there, and it will be named ‘God’s Sacred Highway’”. Isa 35:8 CEV

A main road leading south out of Johannesburg used to be referred to as “The Golden Highway”. Maybe

when it was first built it was thought to be the answer for motorists – it was straight and wide. But the ever-increasing volume of traffic soon made it obsolete and bigger, more modern roads had to be built. People have always wanted to move about and roads are a vital part of modern transport and communication. And some roads the Romans built in Europe are still in use!

It is interesting to find that Isaiah included a good road in his hope of the perfect future. One part of his other dream of the future Jerusalem (Isa 2:3) was that “Many people will come and say, ‘Let’s go to the mountain of the Lord God of Jacob and worship God in his temple’”. The good road was necessary for the people from many nations to get to Jerusalem – to worship God. In the New Jerusalem worship would be vital because God would be central. So the road would not be built for trade or for war but to make God accessible to all people. No wonder it would be called “God’s Sacred Highway” or “The Way of Holiness”. This road is the road to God, to joy and to all the blessings that he gives.

Jesus said, “I am the way” (Jn 14:6). And in New Testament times Christianity was called “The Way”. Jesus is still the way to God the Father and to the salvation he offers. Don’t be fooled into thinking that other ways are just as good. They aren’t. Stick to God’s Sacred Highway – Jesus.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, keep me on your Way of Holiness.

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Tuesday 31st JulyTHE HOLY WAY TO A HOLY GOD

“The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it”.

Isa 35:8 NIV

Different roads are reserved for different kinds of travellers and forms of transport. Some modern roads

have narrow lanes on the left earmarked for cycles only. And some freeways have lanes on the right reserved for public transport – so that those vehicles carrying lots of passengers can get into the city centres more quickly. In some French cities cars are being excluded on some roads and trams re-introduced to keep the cities clear and moving.

Isaiah’s look into the future that he hoped God would bring in included this Holy Way. It was for God’s people not just any travellers. Those who were unclean wouldn’t be allowed on it, nor those who were “wicked fools”. It was specifically for God’s people, and they were the holy people. One of Isaiah’s major themes throughout his writing is the holiness of God. In addition to being a just God, a rescuing God and a loving God, he is a holy God as well. That means that he required his people to be upright, clean and pure – as he was himself. And those who devoted themselves to him became holy because living with and for God made them holy.

He is still a holy God although this aspect of his nature is rarely referred to in modern Christianity. To be holy means to be separate and distinct from the evil and sin of the world. And it is something no one can achieve. It can only be received as a gift from God. As a disciple of Jesus receive his gift of holiness – now!

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, give me your gift of holiness.

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PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Lord God Eternal, you are a God of action and of doing. I praise you not only for who you are but for all you

have done and that you go on doing things out of love for your world and for people. You created the universe. You made sun and moon and stars. You made daytime and night, light and darkness, summer and winter, autumn and spring. You created life in all its many forms and you made us as the crown of your creation. And I praise you that you guided, led and preserved your people. When they were in slavery you led them out to liberation and new life. You saved them and revealed yourself to be a saving God. Salvation is your name, your nature and your action. You gave your people minds with which to solve problems and overcome difficulties. You implanted in them the desire to search for the truth about the universe. When disasters struck you prompted them to think and analyse and to come up with new possibilities and better ways of doing things. You have enriched and strengthened human life and guided humanity in its ongoing quest for innovation and improvement.

And you gave Jesus to a world that thought you only gave laws. You gave him out of love and he has shown us what your love is. And he was, and is, your mighty act of salvation for all time. I wonder that millions of people can find hope, life, joy and truth in the life of one man who only lived for thirty three years in an obscure little country. I wonder at the miracles he performed – each one an act of salvation from you. I wonder at the courage with which he faced death and the faith that prompted him to see it through to the end. And I praise you that his death is still an act of mystery, triumph and self-giving sacrifice. Help me to continue to find my sins forgiven at the foot of his cross.

Forgive me Lord for those sins. I acknowledge my pride

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and preoccupation with myself, my secret desires to be someone great and famous, and my resentment of others who have gained greater prominence than I have done. So often, too, I spend effort trying to bend other people to my will and to get them to fit in with my schemes and plans. Forgive me that I think the universe revolves around me and my ambitions. Make me ever aware of my limitations and shortcomings, my faults, mistakes and failings. I tend to be blind to them myself, and I need someone who sees me with clearer eyes than I do myself. Cleanse me from pride, from self-preoccupation and from my selfish pursuit of my own interests. Fill me with a deeper concern for others and a more caring sensitivity to them.

I pray now for others, Lord. I think of government officials with huge responsibilities and the control of large sums of money. Keep ever before them the sense of stewardship that is entrusted to them, and always mindful of the communities they should be serving. Remind them that they are there to serve and not to lord it over others. Keep them from succumbing to the temptation to enrich themselves. Help them to rise above the pettiness of just keeping the bureaucratic machinery moving as an end in itself. Bless those who serve in town and city councils. Help them to attend to the problems of their people as individuals and to be diligent even when they are dealing with those who seem to them to be slow and foolish. Guide the deliberations of councils and governments that they may see beyond party and sectional interests and keep alive a vision of the broader picture and the greater good.

Now, Lord, help me today. Give me strength for every task, patience with people and energy to go the second mile wherever I can.

Bring me to the end of the day with “sixty seconds worth of distance run” through every minute. I ask it all in Christ’s name.

AMEN

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Wednesday 1st AugustTHE END OF DANGER

“No lions will be there; no fierce animals will pass that way”. Isa 35:9 GNB

There is a road in the Karoo in South Africa that is notoriously dangerous. Many accidents happen there,

some of them fatal. Notices, warnings and speed traps abound, but to no avail. Yet if you drive on it, it appears to be like any other road. How we wish we could eliminate danger from human life altogether!

Isaiah embodied this hope in his dream of God’s future age. The dangers on the roads of his day didn’t come from four wheels. They came from animals with four legs. For the prophet one of the problems of human existence was the threat posed by dangers in the environment round about. You could never know what was lurking round the corner waiting to pounce, injure and destroy. According to Isaiah, God would end all that when he came in glory and splendour.

Today the threat from wild animals has been all but eliminated. But the environment still holds dangers – and always will. The dream that we will one day enjoy complete freedom from this sort of fear and danger is just that – a dream. But Isaiah’s picture is more than a forecast of a future age without problems on earth. It is a plea to God to bring salvation. It is also his promise of final joy and blessing to his people.

Christian believers know that Isaiah points beyond this life to that everlasting bliss we sometimes call heaven. But it is not just an idle dream. It is a challenge to us to subdue the powers around us that threaten life – fire, flood, pollution, disease, war and poverty. The onus is on Christians to work and pray.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, help us to minimize the dangers round about us.

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Thursday 2nd AugustTHE ROAD FOR THE REDEEMED

“Only the redeemed will walk there”. Isa 35:9 NIV

At the corner of the cricket field at Kearsney College near Durban in South Africa stands the pavilion. It is

elevated several metres above the field and a flight of steps has been built down to the field, provided by college old boys. It is, however, reserved. Only boys playing in the first cricket eleven are allowed to use those steps. Then, once a year on Remembrance Day (11th November) all the boys form up on the field and walk in single file up the steps, pause at the plaque commemorating boys from the college who were killed in wars, then move on.

The road of holiness the prophet Isaiah saw in his poetic vision of restoration after the exile was a special road too. It would be exclusively for those exiles who had been rescued and redeemed by God. To redeem a slave involved buying him (or her) out of slavery and therefore to release him to freedom. To leave slavery behind and to move to freedom, dignity and responsibility was a huge step forward. God, having redeemed his people from slavery in Egypt centuries earlier was henceforth regarded as the great redeemer God.

Jesus Christ is the Redeemer for Christians. People who put their faith in him enter a life of freedom, dignity, joy and hope. And they walk a road of holiness to God. He (Jesus) is their way, their road, their life, their redemption and their salvation. He is their blessedness and their joy, their reward and their destination. The only “special” thing about the Christians’ road is Jesus himself, and he is not reserved in any way. He is available to all, including you.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, I rejoice in the redemption you have brought to me.

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Friday 3rd AugustTHE RETURN OF THE RANSOMED

“The ransomed of the Lord will return”.Isa 35:10 NIV

There is something deeply moving about someone returning to normal life after enforced exile. In his book

“Over But Not Out” the Australian cricketer Richie Benaud described a famous match at Lord’s in London just after the end of World War II. An England XI played an Australian XI, most of the players having served in the forces. Before the war a South Australian called Graham Williams had been a fine fast bowler. He had been shot down over Libya and spent four years in a German prison camp, using the time to teach blinded prisoners Braille, and also Germans blinded in the war. Before the war he had been tall, strong and broad shouldered. He was still tall but now he was thin, gaunt and emaciated. As he stepped onto the field to bat the whole crowd rose to its feet and quietly applauded him all the way to the wicket. Keith Miller described that applause as “almost orchestral in its sound and feeling”.

So deep was the attachment of the Israelites to Jerusalem that the prospect of their return to “Zion, city of our God” was profound and moving. The humiliation they would have suffered would have been deeply hurtful – but their return an occasion for great rejoicing and profound gratitude to God. They were home where they belonged.

When a person repents for having strayed from God or sinned (they usually go together) and that person returns to Christ, then again there is that same sense of homecoming. In fact all Christian believers, especially when they engage in worship and partake of Holy Communion, know that they are the ransomed of the Lord returning to where they belong.PRAYER THOUGHTLord, thank you for bringing your ransomed children home.

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Saturday 4th AugustREACHING JERUSALEM

“They will reach Jerusalem with gladness, singing and shouting for joy”. Isa 35:10 GNB

Scenes of “gladness, singing and shouting” are usually associated with sports events. Huge crowds flock to

football stadia to support their teams and go delirious with joy when victory is achieved. Often the joy is animated with the help of alcoholic refreshment.

Isaiah was thinking in a much more serious vein when he looked forward to the return of the exiles into Jerusalem, their home, their capital and the city of their God. There would be jubilation and celebration, relief, triumph, happiness and freedom for the returned people. Moreover what they would be shouting about was going to be an act of God.

The great festivals of the Israelite faith all commemorated some act of God in their history. Not some human achievement, nor some military victory, nor some marvellous invention but God’s doings were the stuff of which their faith was made.

It is so with the Christian faith as well. We celebrate God’s gift of his Son to be our Saviour at Advent and Christmas. We commemorate Christ’s sacrifice of himself for our sins on the cross on Good Friday. We rejoice in the mighty act of God in raising Jesus from the dead on Easter Day. And we celebrate the ascension of Jesus and the giving of the Holy Spirit on Ascension Day and Pentecost. These are things to shout about. These are events to sing about. These are the mighty acts of a mighty God. They are worth getting excited about!

Our worship does not focus on little exhortations to “be good”, nor on homilies encouraging us to “love a bit more”. They should be occasions of joyous celebration of God and his acts in Christ.PRAYER THOUGHTLord, help us always to keep our focus on you.

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Sunday 5th AugustTHE END OF SORROW

“Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away”. Isa 35:10 NIV

Human life has many joys and pleasures, home and family life being among the highest points. But it also

has its low times and some seem to have more than their fair share of these. Death strikes and robs families of a loved one, creating an empty place nothing can ever fill. When it is a young person the tears are more bitter and the ache longer. Tragedies wait to happen around every corner. To pretend that it is not so is to live in denial. Some losses are so painful that those left behind never fully recover.

Isaiah looked forward to the homecoming of the exiles with hope and expectation and broke into poetry at the prospect. But it was more than the dream of earthly return that caused the prophet to soar to such lavish exultation. What he was looking forward to was what we Christians would call heaven. The prospect of heaven, the eternal presence of God, was something the Hebrew theologians had not yet entertained. But how they yearned for the end of pain, suffering, sorrow and grief!

“We too are exiles, and our hearts cry out for home. We cannot save ourselves, but the way has already been raised up for us, and we have already set out on it. Like the prodigal, we are on the way home, but we know far better than he did the welcome that awaits us. … Joy and gladness and God himself are up ahead, and with that certain knowledge we can rise above our weariness and set out again” (B.Webb, The Message of Isaiah, p146).

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, guide me all the way till the sorrow and tears are past.

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Monday 6th AugustRAW POWER

“In the fourteenth year that Hezekiah was king of Judah, the emperor of Assyria, … (he) ordered his chief official to … go … to Jerusalem with a large military force to demand

that King Hezekiah should surrender”.Isa 36:1 GNB

We live in a world where powerful forces are at work. Not all are obvious but some of them bare their teeth

from time to time. Some of these are big, powerful and rich countries. Some have huge armies. But nowadays the possession of nuclear arms is equally important. Financial muscle is another form of power that often determines the outcomes in international affairs. Then there are whole blocs of countries that combine to influence decisions and trade. Tough though these realities might be for small and weak nations, they are how the world works – and they just have to fit in as best they can. Israel was one of the little “nuisance” nations in Isaiah’s day. And Judah was just the southern bit of Israel. Sennacherib ruled a big and powerful empire – Assyria (Iran today). In Christ’s day, seven hundred years later, Rome had become the dominant power.

Our faith was born, not in some isolated monastery or beautiful little country chapel. It arose in the real world, where mighty emperors pushed little people and nations around, sent armies to subdue troublesome uprisings and exacted heavy tribute from those they conquered. Bloodshed, wholesale slaughter and slavery for the defeated people were the order of the day.

Do not hanker for “the good old days before all this trouble started”. They never existed! Pick up the cross of Christ in the middle of today’s strife and struggle, power-plays and conflicts, and carry it up hill and down dale, as Jesus himself did. PRAYER THOUGHTLord, help me to thread my way through this tough world.

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Tuesday 7th AugustTHE POWER OF WORDS

“The Assyrian official … demanded, ‘Do you think that words can take the place of military skill and might?’”

Isa 36:4,5 GNB

The world is full of words. Everywhere people are talking. The gift of speech is one of God’s greatest gifts to

humanity. It distinguishes humans from animals. And can some people talk? Some never stop. And some even talk in their sleep! Some talk when they have nothing to say. And some talk so much it is difficult to tell whether they have anything to say or not. Some help you to understand by the clarity of what they say. Others confuse you by the incomprehensibility of what they do, or don’t, say.

For the Assyrian negotiator in Isaiah’s day words counted for nothing. Here he was with a huge and powerful army that had conquered one nation after another. At one word from the emperor this army could reduce Jerusalem to rubble and wipe out her people. It was indeed a contrast between different kinds of power. Journalists today would tell the Assyrian that “the pen is mightier than the sword”. But he would probably have shot them whilst they were explaining what they meant. For Isaiah, his power was in the word God sent and was so much more powerful than any human words. It was by his word that God had created the world.

And when Jesus came he spoke God’s word. He was God’s word in human flesh and the most powerful word ever spoken. When the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost he gave the apostles words to speak and they went out with the message that was good news. It changed the lives of thousands and eventually became the authorised faith of the Roman Empire.

Never under-estimate the power of words. And whatever the strength or weakness of human words, always listen to the word that comes from God – through the Bible, the spoken message or the inner movement of the Holy Spirit.PRAYER THOUGHTLord, let your word prevail mightily in today’s world.

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Wednesday 8th AugustWHERE CAN YOU GET HELP FROM?

“You are expecting Egypt to help you, but that would be like using a reed as a walking stick – it would break and

jab your hand. That is what the king of Egypt is like when anyone relies on him”. Isa 36:6 GNB

Humans always seem to need help. Many of our problems arise because we just don’t know what to

do about them – and some are caused by our ignorance or folly in the first place. Often we find that we have called in help too late after battling on our own unsuccessfully. “If you’d only come when the trouble started a couple of weeks ago, we could have treated it easily”, says the doctor. “Now you’ll have to see a specialist. It might need hospitalization”.

Our verse today is sheer propaganda! The Assyrian official is taunting King Hezekiah’s officials, knowing full well that Hezekiah has put his faith in Egypt to help him out of the military crisis the presence of the Assyrians has caused. Isaiah also had earlier cautioned Hezekiah not to rely on Egypt but to seek God’s help.

There are many situations where you can get human help – when you need the dentist, the plumber and the motor mechanic being amongst the more obvious ones. Christian believers will also know that they have “a very present help in time of need” in their God, in Christ and the Holy Spirit. One of the major affirmations they continually make is in the words of the old hymn, “What a friend we have in Jesus”. You are never alone, however distraught you may feel, however difficult the situation you are in, or however near to your wits’ end you may think you are.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, I know I can turn to you for help at any time.

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Thursday 9th AugustTAKING ON GOD

“The Assyrian official went on, “Or will you tell me that you are relying on the Lord your God?”

Isa 36:7 GNB

Religion becomes a very tricky business when war breaks out. This is because people on both sides will

pray to God and ask him to give them victory. What is God to do? Does he take sides – or just ignore the whole thing? Or does he work out which is the more righteous side and give them victory as a reward for their goodness? This becomes a little ludicrous when sports teams ask God for his help so that they can overcome their opponents in a cup final!

In Isaiah’s day war was more than a military contest between the armies of two countries. It was a contest between the gods of the warring countries as well. Whichever army won claimed that their god had prevailed over the god (or gods) of the vanquished army. The Assyrian official was debunking Israel’s God. He did not know that Israel’s God was the God of all the earth and held the destinies of nations in his hands. In the process he was also trying to undermine the morale of the Israelite troops who were listening to his taunts.

So the enemy army was camped outside Jerusalem. They were vastly superior militarily to Israel. After some period of siege they left in the middle of the night and Israel thanked her God for his deliverance. Whatever powers or forces line up against you, simply trust in God. If those that are against you are against God as well, still believe in him. Many have, like this Assyrian, sneered at God down the centuries. But many more put their faith in him.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, help me to trust in you despite the derision of others.

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Friday 10th August“TWISTED BY KNAVES …”

“Do you think I have attacked your country and destroyed it without the Lord’s help? The Lord himself told me to

attack it and destroy it”. Isa 36:10 GNB

One line in Kipling’s great poem “If” said, “If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken twisted by knaves to

make a trap for fools”. It sums up much of the evil perversion of truth that takes place at all levels of society and in most circumstances where people interact. Scoring points by just turning a statement round or leaving out an inconvenient fact can distort things and cause untold harm and misery. It happens in advertising, in politics, in courts of law and in international relations.

The Assyrian commander who addressed the representatives of King Hezekiah in Isaiah’s time was a knave twisting the truth to make a trap for fools. He claimed that their God, the Israelites’ Lord, had commanded the Assyrians to attack and defeat Israel. And they had already conquered three quarters of it! Few things would have been more persuasive to the Israelites than the claim that their God was behind it all. And few arguments could have been more crooked and untruthful. But how clever! As has been so often said, “When war breaks out the first victim is always the truth!”

Christian believers need to be very wary of what is sometimes passed off as truth – especially when the authority of God, the Bible or the Church is claimed for it. Pontius Pilate had a discussion with Jesus about what the truth was – and Pilate accepted the priests’ distorted version, allowing Jesus to be crucified. You have been warned!

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, help me to be wide awake to distortions of the truth and careful about what I accept as gospel.

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Saturday 11th AugustBEWARE SATAN’S LIE

“‘Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, The Lord will deliver us. Has the god of any nation ever delivered his

land from the hand of the king of Assyria?’”.Isa 36:18 NIV

It would be difficult to guess as to which of the many lies that get regularly told is the most damaging. We all smile

when we see a house advertised as “a renovator’s dream” because we know that it is in all likelihood falling to pieces. Some are nightmares rather than dreams! A current regular lie is the e-mail telling you that “You have won seven million dollars and please send your banking details by return so that we can forward you your prize”. It is called “phishing”.

The Assyrian negotiator outside the walls of Jerusalem in Isaiah’s time was a cunning operator. He tried the threat of power, the theology of taking over God, and the great lie of Satan. He tried to persuade the Israelites that since Hezekiah had removed the local shrines to God around the country that God had abandoned them.

Most people start to doubt God when things don’t go their way. The “comforters” who tried to reason with Job trotted that one out. And sometimes those who bring their half-baked theology are a bigger problem than the troubles we are experiencing and that they are trying to explain. “It is always Satan’s way to make us think that God has abandoned us, and to use logic woven from half-truths to convince us of it. This speech is so subtly devilish in character that it might have been written by Satan himself” (B.Webb, The Message of Isaiah p149).

Don’t listen to Satan’s lie when he tries it on you!

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, guard me from being taken in by Satan’s subtle lies.

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Sunday 12th AugustWHEN SILENCE IS GOLDEN

“But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, ‘Do not answer him’”.

Isa 36:21 NIV

Silence is not much in vogue in the twenty-first century. Radios blare out in every conceivable situation. Some

car radios are so loud you can hear them from another car and think they are in yours. Planes roar overhead. Trucks thunder down the road. Helicopters grind overhead. Police, fire and ambulance sirens scream down the road. It is difficult to hear yourself think – if you can manage to think at all in the din!

There was plenty of noise as the Assyrians besieged Jerusalem in Isaiah’s day. There was the arrogant shouting of the Assyrian commander as he demanded surrender by the Israelites. There was no doubt frantic arguing in the king’s court as his advisers had their say. There were panic stricken heart-beats in the people’s fears and speculations. And there was the voice of the prophet Isaiah trying to get a word in for God. In response to the brash noise of the attacker the people said – NOTHING! This partly showed their confidence in God and therefore their faith. It also reflected their loyalty to their king who had told them not to say anything. It would no doubt also have frustrated and irritated the Assyrian “big-jaw” commander.

Silence can often be golden. People who do not respond to goading and insult retain their dignity. “There are times when silence is the most eloquent testimony to whose we are and whom we serve” (B Webb, The Message of Isaiah p 149). And Jesus “made no reply, not even to a single charge – to the great amazement of the governor” (Matt 27:14 NIV). Learn to keep silent as well!PRAYER THOUGHTLord, help me to know when to hold my peace.

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Monday 13th AugustTHE KING’S GREAT RESOURCE

“As soon as King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes in grief, put on sackcloth, and went to the temple

of the Lord”. Isa 37:1 GNB

There is a well-known saying, “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown”. It applies not only to kings, of

course. Business heads, sports captains, and community leaders all have problems. Sometimes these can build up, cause trouble and lead to their demise. Leaders all have weaknesses. They also have rivals wanting to take over, mistakes that haunt them, and a thousand people giving them advice.

King Hezekiah was in a real mess. His big, powerful enemy was at his gates and his preferred ally, Egypt, wasn’t going to rescue him. The enemy was huffing and puffing. The people were holding their breath wondering what was going to happen. And they were looking to the king for leadership. But Hezekiah wasn’t without options. He had an ally in the Lord God Almighty. Most leaders have only their brains and those of the people round about them to assist them. Hezekiah brought the Lord into his hopeless situation and that changed everything. Moreover he went to the temple in sackcloth – a sign of penitence. And in that he was acknowledging his dependence on God.

You too have God – and he’s on your side just as he was on Hezekiah’s side. You might, from time to time, have been in messes and wondered how you would ever get out. If you have called God when you have been in trouble, and found a way forward, you will know the great value of faith in a crisis. Whatever kind of jam you are in now, call on the Lord. You will find he is near and ready to help.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, help me in this present crisis.

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Tuesday 14th AugustMORE RESOURCES

“He sent Eliakim …, Shebna … and the senior priests to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz”. Isa 37;2 GNB

Sometimes when Christian believers have been elected as public representatives they have been able to exercise

a healing role in troubled situations. Those who elect them often say, “We need people with integrity in public affairs to keep an eye on what’s going on”. It is also true that some religious leaders have been so overwhelmed by the chronic nature of public affairs that they have ended up becoming part of the problem rather than the solution.

King Hezekiah in Jerusalem had more resources at his disposal than his enemy, the field commander of the Assyrian army, knew about. The Lord God was one. But the man who walked close to God in the turbulence of the times was another. He was Isaiah, the writer of the prophecy in the Bible. Not only had Isaiah been called to serve God in the dramatic vision he described in chapter six, he continued to receive the guidance of God about national affairs afterwards. Often, because of this, he took a completely different line to other people, frequently questioning the conventional wisdom of the day. Hezekiah knew that Isaiah was his own man – and more than that he was God’s man – and so in the height of the crisis he called Isaiah in to assist with insight, wisdom and faith.

Christian believers need to support those in public life who are Christian disciples. Their way is not easy. They are often surrounded by roguery and trickery. And they are subject to strong manipulation and various pressures. Pray for them. Encourage them. Express gratitude for their efforts. And encourage other believers to join the fray.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, raise up servants of God to serve you in your world.

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Wednesday 15th AugustPRAYER

“The Assyrian emperor has sent his chief official to insult the living God. May the Lord your God hear these insults

and punish those who spoke them. So pray to God for those of our people who survive”. Isa 37:4 GNB

The world of politics, international affairs, economic forces and world trade is full of mysterious dealings,

trade-offs, bargains, deals and quid-pro-quos. Some of it is murky. Much of it is secret. Sometimes third parties negotiate on behalf of two nations who don’t want to be seen to be talking to each other. Sometimes bluff and bluster are used. It is not normally a world where those taking part think of God having any role to play at all.

Hezekiah was in a position of weakness in terms of international relations. But he had the Lord God on his side. He also had the services of a man of God in Isaiah. And Isaiah was a man of prayer. He communed with God. Because of this he sometimes came at things in a completely different way. Now Hezekiah asked Isaiah to pray that God would confound the insulting taunts of the enemy. He also wanted prayer to be offered for those who had already survived the attacks of the Assyrians on other parts of the country. Hezekiah knew that God, and not the Assyrian emperor, was in final and ultimate control on planet earth.

It is important that Christian believers and congregations include in their prayers of intercession the rulers, leaders, diplomats and trade representatives of the world. The Christian church is called to exercise a priestly ministry in a world that is largely oblivious of God and his sovereign authority. Pray for the peace of the world.PRAYER THOUGHTLord, bring wholeness and peace into global affairs.

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Thursday 16th AugustWHAT THE LORD SAYS

“When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, Isaiah said to them, ‘Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard – those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me’”.

Isa 37:5,6 NIV

Whenever you hear some message, some news, some instruction or some testimony, a crucial factor is

always who the information came from. Was it some unknown, unnamed person whose reliability we cannot verify? Was it someone in authority whose credibility is unquestioned? Was it someone with a mischievous agenda who was trying to foment trouble?

The emissary of the Assyrian emperor had spoken to the people of Israel saying, “The king says …”. Now Isaiah, servant of the king of kings, sends a message to Hezekiah. It begins “This is what the Lord says”. Through his faithful servant and spokesman Isaiah, God’s speaks into the situation and his word becomes a factor in the outworking of the future. It begins also to transform the situation.

Always God speaks, not just to give someone who hears him a nice spiritual experience. He speaks to create. He speaks to confront. He speaks to command. He speaks to correct and to judge. He speaks to heal. He speaks to mend, to reconcile, to guide and make whole. He speaks to individuals. He speaks to communities, to nations, to churches, to families. He speaks to those who wait and listen for his voice. He breaks in sometimes to speak to someone who has never heard him before and who hardly knows of his existence. In speaking he brings life, creation, order, meaning, movement, renewal, joy, peace and hope. Are you listening for his word?PRAYER THOUGHT Lord, help me always to listen to your word.

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Friday 17th AugustWHO CALLS THE SHOTS?

“The Lord says …, ‘Listen! I am going to put a spirit in him so that when he hears a certain report, he will return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword’”.

Isa 37: 6,7 NIV

Who actually calls the shots in the real world? Is it the “big men” who strut on the world stage in high profile

– the Napoleons, Hitlers, Churchills, or Barack Obamas? Maybe it’s the money men – Warren Buffett, George Soros or Bill Gates? It could be the military generals or the oil sheiks or the United Nations Secretary-General. Who knows? And our worst fears are that some irresponsible lunatic could grab control, press the wrong buttons and blow us all to pieces –since we have been clever enough to make the hardware to do just that.

Sennacherib, king of Assyria in Isaiah’s time, thought he called all the shots. His faithful henchman decided to inform the Israelite people, holed up in Jerusalem, that this was how things were. The man God put into the situation said, “Bunk! Twaddle! Poppycock!” Over and above the arrogant actors on the stage there was a director pulling the strings, moving the pawns, and re-arranging the furniture. And soon he would move this pawn back to Assyria and have him removed altogether.

Never under-estimate the skill and power of God. As Christ’s mother, Mary, said, “(God) has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble”(Lk 2:51,2 NIV). Believe that he can do it again. He is the only one who can be trusted to use all the shots wisely.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, we trust you to rule the world with love and wisdom.

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Saturday 18th August“I’M THE GREATEST”

“You have heard what an Assyrian emperor does to any country he decides to destroy. Do you think that you can

escape?” Isa 37:11 GNB

A few years ago, a world heavyweight boxing champion came on the scene and annoyed many people by

constantly proclaiming, “I’m the greatest”. Of course many people, in many walks of life, have thought they were the greatest. But he was the first to proclaim it from the housetops for all to hear. It sounded childish, arrogant, silly and brash. And the trouble was that he was pretty good! And not many people were likely to argue with the world heavyweight boxing champion either!

The commander of the Assyrian army made a similar boast to the people of Israel, and in a letter to the king of Israel. He thought he “bestrode the world like a mighty colossus”. And indeed he inspired fear all around. The arrival of his army meant “the beginning of the end” for little nations, and some big ones. The empire over which he ruled for a few years lasted for three hundred and seventy five years. But he had his day and was gone. He was merely a human being, haughty, arrogant and short-lived.

Always remember that however powerful, popular or wealthy today’s “big people” are, they too are only human and have the same life-span as everyone else. Today they are here strutting the stage. Tomorrow they are gone and mainly forgotten. The Lord God Almighty is eternal. He was here yesterday, is here today and will be tomorrow. He is the one enduring factor in a world of change and decay. And he rules in another order, another way and for another end. Serve him here – and in eternity.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, help me to find my greatness in serving Jesus.

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Sunday 19th AugustTAKE IT TO THE LORD IN PRAYER

“King Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went to the Temple, placed the letter there

in the presence of the Lord, and prayed”.Isa 37:14,15 GNB

It would come as something of a surprise if a head of state today were to pray to God in a national crisis. Of

course some might, but in all probability would not make a public occasion of it. But when South Africa faced its first democratic election in 1994 many churches held prayer meetings and services the day before. It was too big a day for humans to handle on their own. God had to be in on it.

Hezekiah had a powerful nation breathing down his neck. Their military might was legendary. His nation was small and weak amongst the countries of the world. The enemy was demanding that he surrender or face the consequences. His army being no match for the Assyrians, Hezekiah turned to God in prayer. The letter of demand he placed in the temple before God. He knew, even if his opposite number Sennacherib didn’t, that the Lord God took a direct interest in the international relations that affected Israel. He also knew that he, the king, served one greater than himself. And he wanted the people to know where his faith was placed.

Go to God in prayer when you have big business to deal with as well. Place it on the altar. Tell God the whole situation. Submit to his sovereignty. Seek his grace. Ask for his wisdom. Try to discern his leading. Go to God in prayer when you have smaller things as well. And let your whole life be subject to the Lordship of Christ.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, I bring everything to you in prayer.

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Monday 20th AugustENTHRONED

“And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: ‘O Lord Almighty, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim’”.

Isa 37:15,16 NIV

Many people struggle to pray at all, even committed Christian believers. This is often because we

misunderstand what prayer is, and we are afraid that we don’t know how to go about it. Then we are afraid that we don’t know what to pray for – what are and what aren’t appropriate things to ask for. This often results in our prayers being weak and ineffectual.

King Hezekiah knew. He began with God. There is no better way to begin any prayer. Maybe it was because he was a king himself that he knew the importance of, and so started with, the sovereignty of God. Hezekiah’s God was not small. He was enthroned – in majesty, in sovereignty and in splendour. The kings of the earth fancied themselves and acquired all the trappings of royalty, mere human beings that they were. But God had to be higher than they were – or he would be subject to the frailties, foibles, faults and fumblings that they were. So whilst the earthly kings were enthroned between their human advisers and courtiers, God was enthroned between the angelic beings of heaven – above and beyond the petty human limitations of earthly attendants.

Start your prayers by addressing God in his majesty and might. Dwell on his splendour and brightness, his glory and grace, his majesty and might. And remember, Christ has ascended to the right hand of the Father, so pray to him, also enthroned in sovereignty and glory. You cannot over-praise God. You cannot over-magnify the Lord. In fact it will stretch your vocabulary to its utmost to express the wonder of it at all.

FOR REFLECTIONMajesty, worship his majesty.

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Tuesday 21st AugustOVER ALL

“You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth”. Isa 37:16 NIV

In almost all situations in this world there is a “pecking order”. The powerful, the rich and those who call the

shots – they are at the top of the pecking order. At the other end are the weak, the poor and those without any influence. And most of us are in between. For many people it is important where they come on any particular ranking. They strive to get to the top and expend much energy climbing up the ladder. And plenty go to great lengths to impress others with how high up the ladder they are – often displaying trappings of being much higher than they really are. And those who are high up are usually very conscious of where everyone else is in this game they play. Kings and queens are top of the list, as are presidents and prime ministers. But who is top among the hierarchy of those at the top?

The king of Israel, except for a short period under David’s reign, would not have been very high in any list of top dogs. But when it came to gods – then it was different, very different. Israel’s God was different. He was first. In fact there was nothing before him. He was highest – he was the measure of what height was! Other nations had their god or gods, always local, and usually enshrined in statues of wood, stone or precious metal. Israel’s God refused to be encapsulated in this limiting way – no human being could “make” their God. It was he who had made them!

In your praying, acknowledge the supremacy of God and the pre-eminence of Christ over all earthly powers.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, I recognize your pre-eminence in all things.

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Wednesday 22nd AugustMAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH

“O Lord Almighty, … You have made heaven and earth”. Isa 37:16 NIV

When we pray we reach out beyond ourselves and our range of normal possibilities and tap into the infinite

resources of God. Believing in creation is so important for prayer.

The German theologian Helmut Thielicke said, “If we ascend only fifteen miles above our allotted territory, our blood begins to boil, and we perish. Likewise, if we descend fifteen miles into the earth, our life’s thread is burned up. Even just a little distance under the skin of our planet, miners can die of marsh gas. The Creator has allotted us only a very thin band between the zones of death above and below. Here he reserves a space for us humans to live in, and he holds back the threatening elements of destruction at its borders. The creation story expresses this miracle of protection by speaking of God’s separating ‘the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament’, thus making possible the narrow zone of human habitation in between. Woe to us if these divided forces were to come together and the hostile elements collide! Then creation could be reversed and the primeval chaos could break in upon us. The flood that God sent in judgment is the great symbol of such a catastrophe”(H Thielicke, I Believe, p 31).

When king Hezekiah of Israel prayed it wasn’t to some local tinpot god. It was to the maker of heaven and earth who, in creation, brings order out of chaos. Hezekiah was facing a kind of chaos – and he was seeking God’s order in it all. When you pray, ask God to bring order into your little bit of chaos too.PRAYER THOUGHTLord, I seek your creating power in all my difficulties.

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Thursday 23rd AugustGIVE EAR, O LORD, AND HEAR

“Give ear, O Lord, and hear”.Isa 37:17 NIV

One of the problems people of faith have is that God often seems remote and far away. In our rush and

bustle, our problems and pressures, we find it difficult to get a sense of God’s presence. It is harder still to discern the working of his will, see his plans coming to fruition, and to witness the ways of his kingdom in the world. If only just once in a while he would come down from beyond the clouds, “rend the heaven” and let us actually see something, how much easier the life of faith would be.

Faced with a powerful foreign army breathing down his neck and the possible destruction of his country, King Hezekiah was in no position to take a few days off and enjoy a silent retreat in order to get in tune with God. So he got down to business – the spiritual business of prayer – and came straight to the point with God. To use a phrase that was often used in former times, he “stormed the gates of heaven”. Presumably he had previously known the experience of God appearing not to hear, so he began by asking God to hear his prayer.

There is no point in “pussyfooting around” when you are praying. Affirm your faith by addressing God as the sovereign king, as maker of heaven and earth and as the one over all. Then demand a hearing and get right on with your request. God understands straightforward language. You don’t have to apply in triplicate for an audience. Don’t worry if you think that God having ears sounds “too human”. Pray, pray, and pray again.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, open your ears and hear my prayer too.

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Friday 24th AugustOPEN YOUR EYES, O LORD, AND SEE

“Open your eyes, O Lord, and see”. Isa 37:17 NIV

To not have full eyesight is a severe handicap for anyone. And for most people deteriorating sight is the first

unwelcome sign of ageing. When King Hezekiah went into the temple in Jerusalem

to pray during the siege of Jerusalem (it was around 700 B.C.) he pleaded with God to see what was going on. Here was “the city of God”, with its temple to the living God in its centre, and inside the holy of holies with the Ark of the Covenant. That ark was the physical symbol of God’s presence. And Hezekiah knew that only a miracle could prevent it all being smashed to pieces and God being insulted. All around were enemy troops just waiting for the order to attack. It was not a pleasant sight for Hezekiah. And it wasn’t a pretty sight for God either.

And often the things God sees in his world must cause him pain. Hunger and abject poverty, horrendous crimes and appalling mis-governance are things he would not like to have to see. Drug pushing, child abuse, bodies shattered from bombs and mines in war, people incapable of walking down the street due to drunkenness, child trafficking – all are sights that we would want to hide from the eyes of God. And most of them we would not want to look at ourselves.

In the book of Revelation St John eventually has a vision of the New Jerusalem. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” (Rev 21:1 NIV). And that is what God wants to see too, and what he wants us to see.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, I will look beyond earth to the sights you have in store.

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Saturday 25th AugustBURNING THE FALSE GODS

“It is true, O Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but

only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands”.Isa 37:18,19 NIV

Some years ago a scene was repeatedly played on television screens from the fall of Baghdad. A huge

statue of Saddam Hussein was seen being toppled to the ground. The dictator himself was doomed but the sight of the falling statue etched itself into the minds of millions the world over. The gods people create for themselves come and go. Not all get destroyed quite so dramatically, but, being of human creation, they are at least doomed to become outworn and outdated.

The Assyrians had done just that in the countries they conquered. Gaining victory over local armies signified the superiority of the Assyrians’ god over the local deities. And no doubt when the Babylonians later became the dominant power in the Middle East they too smashed or burnt the god or gods of the Assyrians! (Babylon is modern day Iraq).

Be careful to ensure that you worship the real God, the living God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is common for people to worship their nation, assuming that God is there to promote their national interest. Money and all it can buy is another popular lesser god. People live for it, kill for it and sometimes die for it! Power engages others, whilst some live for fun and pleasure – this religion is called hedonism. Sexual fulfillment is another popular god. So is sport. Maybe the Assyrians should come back and have a go at the lesser gods of today?

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, keep us focused on Jesus Christ – always.

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Sunday 26th AugustTHE KINGDOM PERSPECTIVE

“Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are

God”. Isa 37:20 NIV

Often we struggle to pray because we think prayer is a means of getting God to give us what we want, to do

what we ask, or to make life easier for us. Then we add the ascription “We ask these things if it be your will, O Lord”. Hezekiah’s prayer, uttered in Isaiah’s presence, was a model of how to approach God. His purpose was to glorify God in all the earth.

“Hezekiah’s prayer is so magnificent because it arises from a deep and true understanding of who God is, and is fundamentally an act of worship. Such praying lifts people out of themselves and into the presence of God. And in that context, present problems are not lost sight of; they are just seen from a new perspective, and the cry for deliverance becomes a cry that God’s kingdom may come and his will be done. The context of worship purges the cry of all pathetic self-interest and binds together the one who cries and the one who hears in a common desire and a common purpose. If only we could learn to pray like this, what times we would have on our knees, and what a difference we would see in the progress of the gospel in the world”(B.Webb, The Message of Isaiah, p152).

God’s will is always for his kingdom to be advanced and for Jesus Christ to be praised. Frame all your prayers within the context of the glory of God and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, help me to pray and to glorify you in all things.

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Monday 27th AugustTHE WORD OF GOD

“Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah; ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, this

is the word the Lord has spoken against him’”.Isa 37:21,22 NIV

Sometimes we hear of people having remarkable answers to their prayers. And sometimes maybe we too

have had wonderful experiences in this regard. Sometimes too we have tried praying the way others have suggested but have not had the same outcome as they have had. Maybe there is no such thing as a human technique to get God doing our thing for us?

The wonderful thing about Hezekiah’s prayer is that almost whilst Hezekiah was still on his knees, God was speaking to him through the prophet Isaiah. And because someone prayed, God stepped in, performed a miracle and changed the course of history. We need always to remember that it is just that – his-story. He is the Lord of time and of eternity and to believe that he is the sovereign Lord God is to accept that, in the end, he is the Lord of human history. He acts and interacts with the humans who are the stuff of history – we all are! – and they sometimes obey him by acting according to his will. And sometimes they don’t since they can choose to disobey him.

You are right to pray about your personal life and that of your family. You are right to pray in the name of Jesus Christ. And you are right to listen for anything God has to say to you. And if you don’t get the answer you are looking for, you are right to go on praying, faithfully seeking his will in all things.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, I will always listen for your word.

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Tuesday 28th AugustDEFYING GOD

“Who is it you have insulted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in

pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!” Isa 37:23 NIV

An important aspect of any problem is the need to get to the real root of the difficulty. This is why, in medicine,

diagnosis is all-important. A woman in England had a fall. Her doctor sent her to a physiotherapist who worked on her for months without any indication of progress. The physio then referred her back to the doctor and suggested an X-ray be taken. When it was, it showed she had a broken hip that only a hip replacement operation could repair!

Isaiah the prophet looked with piercing insight into the international relations of his day, and particularly as this affected Israel. The knub of the problem, as he saw it, was the arrogant defiance of Almighty God on the part of Sennacherib, the King of Assyria. He had come with a haughty attitude and his envoy had verbally sneered at both the Israelite people and at their God. Now God would act in judgment against this defiant man.

All human sins stem from people assuming that they are God, and from their contempt for God. The basic human problem is always sinfulness. All the cruelty, crime, abuse, greed, bloodshed ─ and many of the wars – derive from this basic condition. It can only be cured by people repenting of their God-defiance and becoming reconciled to God. If you have not already done so, do it now. Admit your sense of self-sufficiency has made you proud, and this has made you think that you don’t need God. Let Christ forgive you for this attitude and become reliant on him for your future.PRAYER THOUGHTLord, help me to get a right attitude to you.

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Wednesday 29th AugustAN INEVITABLE OUTCOME

“Because you rage against me and because your insolence has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will make you return by the

way you came”. Isa 37:29 NIV

When we do something wrong, we wonder what the outcome will be. Maybe nobody will notice? Maybe

we will suffer embarrassment? Maybe there will be some form of punishment? If we fail to replace a worn tyre on a car we will probably have an accident – but we will be the ones to suffer. But if we hurt – or kill – someone else in the accident, then it could be very nasty.

The prophets of the Old Testament had a strong sense that God was a God of justice and therefore of judgment. In many of their sayings they thundered at length on the punishments God would inflict on foreign nations who ill-treated God’s children, the Israelites. But when the Assyrians came and insulted the God of the Israelites, the prophet Isaiah spelt out what he believed their lot would be. Whilst God was forgiving to those who repented, the Assyrian king was so deliberate in his arrogance and so totally un-repentant that there was no hope of him ever receiving the mercy he so desperately needed. Eventually he did meet a sticky end.

Sometimes other people take their vengeance out on us when they feel aggrieved by what we have done. But at other times we bring trouble on ourselves by our mistakes, negligence, disregard of laws or our contempt for other people. And sometimes we go on sinning even when we know we are flouting God’s ways. But a bad outcome is not inevitable. We can repent and find Christ!

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, help me to obey and serve you always.

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Thursday 30th AugustTHE LONG-TERM HOPE

“This will be a sign for you, O Hezekiah: ‘This year you will eat what grows by itself, and the second year what

springs from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit”. Isa 37:30 NIV

For many people the world over, the return of spring after winter brings a renewed sense of hope and expectancy.

Sometimes it even amounts to mild excitement. It tells us that nature is reliable, that life itself is a constant process of retreat and advance, disappointment and expectation, reflection and activity.

Isaiah had provided the spiritual guidance the people of Jerusalem needed during the siege by Sennacherib. He was God’s man on the spot, bringing God’s word in a situation fraught with danger and potential disaster. He foresaw not only God’s grim dealings with Sennacherib that were looming. He saw that God’s sun would shine again on his people in Jerusalem. It would not bring instant prosperity. There would be a couple of years of struggle. But then the crops would flourish, the grapes would grow and they would return to normal productivity. But it would be more than a natural upswing. God in his grace would not only redeem his people. He would restore them and their life as a people. Because God was working through it all they could hope and rely on him. He was the source of all their hope.

Set-backs happen and they are caused by different factors. But the underlying mercy of God guarantees survival, renewal and restoration, whatever the adverse circumstances that cause the difficulties and struggle in the first place. Above and beyond everything is God in his mercy. And he offers it supremely in Jesus.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, help me to abound in hope.

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Friday 31st AugustTHE GOD OF THE FUTURE

“Once more a remnant of the house of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above. For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The

zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this”.Isa 37:31,32 NIV

There is a common Afrikaans saying in South Africa: “’n boer maak ’n plan”. It means, “A farmer will always make

a plan” (and solve a problem). Confronted by an insuperable difficulty he will work out some way to overcome it.

In Israel, God was like that too. He didn’t sit back and let the seemingly impossible situations of human history thwart his divine design for his people. When everything was bleak he looked forward to what was round the corner – or to what he was cooking up round the corner. Out of the mess caused by the invasion of the Assyrians, and the suffering this caused his people, God would bring new life. He would raise up a remnant of faithful people and in their community life there would come hope out of despair, growth out of stagnation and life out of death. But this group of people – the seed of the future Israel – would not be a natural development. It would not come about as a result of a decision by a committee nor by a royal commission. It would come from God’s initiative, as a result of his desire (or zeal) to see his people prosper and bring glory to him.

Eventually God’s remnant narrowed down and became just one person – Jesus Christ. Through him and the community he gathered round himself, there dawned new hope, new life, and the possibility of wholeness. And that community has grown and spread throughout the world.

PRAYER THOUGHTLord, keep us always looking to your future.

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JUST WHERE IS HEAVEN?Lil Chaplin

Our ideas of heaven change with each advancing year –From simple, starting childhood trust to ripening old-age fear.

In early years our heaven is found up in the sky –All of us accepted it – that’s us, both you and I.

But as we grow much older, life’s experience revealsWe find that heaven’s present in vastly varying fields.

For some, heaven’s found in laughter, friends and flowersAnd also in the symmetry of tall, sky-scraping towers.

The vast and rugged countryside where animals still roam:The grass, the bushes, crags are yet their humble home.

It’s sometimes when you’re running and sand enwraps your toes,Or, gazing at the mountains in sunset’s crimson glows.For some, it’s in the slobber of a cherished family pet

That greets and bowls you over with love that’s warm and wet.

In the early blush of dawn as it breaks and later sets, Or the wonder of the gliders, the copters and the jets.Still others find it in the hands of a doctor quelling pain

And the glorious rush of gratitude when they feel well again.

The real list is endless – just look and you will findIt just creeps up upon you to enrich your questing mind.For me, heaven’s round about me where’er I care to look

It’s not confined to insights from that most Holy Book.

My heaven is where God is – not just in one set place:We can taste it, feel it, know it in the love of Jesus’ grace.Call it

Paradise or glory – call it what you may,But just whenever that will be is not for us to say.

But one thing is certain, as sure as it can be –Heaven’s really all around us – just look and you will see.

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HOLY OUGHTPeter Schoonraad

He sat upon a satellite,And marvelled at the flow;The flotsam and the jetsam

Which had come from earth below.He wondered what would happenShould they ever reach the stars,

And set up base on Jupiter,Or find their way to Mars;

What litter and destructionThe human race would wreak –

He sadly knew the answer,And a tear rolled down his cheek.

For judging by their habitTo plunder Mother Earth,

To ravage its resourcesAnd discard its eco-worth,He knew it would be futileTo think another thoughtTill all of Adam’s childrenHad found the holy ought:To honour and to cherish

The blue and pleasant placeWhich, like a jewel, createdAdorns the whole of space.

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YOUR JULY BIBLE READINGS(As supplied by and with grateful acknowledgement to the I B R A)

FATHERS3) Care and counsel Text for the week: Hebrews 12:11Sunday July 1 Hosea 11:1-4Monday 2 Exodus 18: 18-23Tuesday 3 Hebrews 12:7-12Wednesday 4 Psalm 103:13-14Thursday 5 1 Kings 2:1-4Friday 6 Ephesians 6:1-4Saturday 7 Matthew: 7:7-11

READINGS IN MARK (3) 1) Who is this? Text for the week: Mark 2:17Sunday 8 Mark 6:1-13Monday 9 Mark 2:1-12Tuesday 10 Mark 2:15-17 Wednesday 11 Mark 3:20-30Thursday 12 Mark 4: 35-41 Friday 13 Mark 6:44-52Saturday 14 Mark 11:27-33

2) He is …. Text for the week: Mark 3:11Sunday 15 Mark 6:14-29Monday 16 Mark 8:27-33Tuesday 17 Mark 3:7-12Wednesday 18 Mark 9:9-13Thursday 19 Mark 14:1- 9Friday 20 Mark 6:30-44Saturday 21 Mark 16:1-8

NOT TO THE SWIFT1) Running with an attitude Text for the week :Hebrews 12:1Sunday 22 Hebrews 12:1,12-13Monday 23 Hebrews12:2-4Tuesday 24 1 Timothy 6:1-6 Wednesday 25 Isaiah 40:20-31Thursday 26 2 Timothy 1:1-7Friday 27 Ecclesiastes 9:11-18Saturday 28 Psalm 19

2) Live the ongoing race Text for the week: 2 Timothy 4:8Sunday 29 2 Timothy 2:1-5Monday 30 Philippians 3:7, 10-12 Tuesday 31 Acts 20:17-21

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YOUR AUGUST BIBLE READINGS(As supplied by and with grateful acknowledgement to the I B R A)

NOT TO THE SWIFT2) Live the ongoing race Text for the week: 2 Timothy 4:8Wednesday August 1 Acts 20:31-35Thursday 2 2 Timothy 4:1-8Friday 3 1 Corinthians 9:24-27Saturday 4 Acts 20:36-37

MISSING THE MARK1) Prophets, kings and judges Text for the week: Romans 3:23Sunday 5 Romans 3:21-26Monday 6 Exodus 32:1-6, 18-24Tuesday 7 Numbers 20:1-13Wednesday 8 Judges 16:4-22Thursday 9 1 Kings 11:1-13Friday 10 1 Kings 14:1-18Saturday 11 Jonah 3:1-5, 10 - 4:11

2) Disciples and congregations Text for the week: Galatians 2:15Sunday 12 Matthew 26:47-56Monday 13 Luke 22:54-62Tuesday 14 John 21:15-19Wednesday 15 Acts 5:1-11Thursday 16 Acts 13:13; 15:36-40Friday 17 Galatians 2:11-21Saturday 18 Galatians 3:1-5

GENESIS 37 – 501) ‘Listen to this dream that I dreamed’ Text for the week: Genesis 39:20-21Sunday 19 Genesis 37:1-11Monday 20 Genesis 37:12-24Tuesday 21 Genesis 39: 1-10Wednesday 22 Genesis 39:11-23Thursday 23 Genesis: 40:1-15Friday 24 Genesis: 40:16-23Saturday 25 Genesis: 41: 1-13

2) ‘One in whom is the spirit of God’ Text for the week: Genesis 41:38-40Sunday 26 Genesis 41: 14-16, 25-32Monday 27 Genesis 41: 33-45Tuesday 28 Genesis 41: 46-57Wednesday 29 Genesis 42: 1-17Thursday 30 Genesis 42: 18-28Friday 31 Genesis 42: 29-38

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THE FAITH FOR DAILY LIVING E‐BOOK Faith for Daily Living  is also available, via email as an e‐book,  in  4 different Reader formats. These are Adobe Reader (pdf), Mobi pocket  Reader  (prc), MS  Reader  (lit)  and  ePub  (epub).    If  you wish  to  receive  the  e‐book,  please  advise  us  in which  Reader format you would like it sent to you. 

ABBREVIATIONS 

KJV   ‐ King James Version (= Authorised Version) GNB   ‐ Good News Bible NIV   ‐ New International Version RSV   ‐ Revised Standard Version NEB   ‐ New English Bible CEV   ‐ Contemporary English Version EHP   ‐ The Message (E.H. Peterson)