52:1 - We need to wake up each day remembering exactly who we are. Think about it - who are you? You are the redeemed of God. You are the captive that has been set free...you were enslaved to you sin and have been offered freedom by God. Remember who you are and live like it. Don't put on the lies of this world...don't put on the worries...don't chase after the meaningless trinkets of this life - you are not dogs fighting over scraps. We are the sons and daughters of the Most High God! Clothe yourselves in the strength of the Lord - live with purpose!
52:10 - I believe that Christians today serve as the "holy arm of God." This doesn't mean that we cast judgment on people...it means that we serve as God's hands and feet...it means that we live to make a difference...we live to make God's name great. Are you and I living lives that declare God's salvation to the world?
52:2-3 - This is prophetic scripture about Jesus. He did not "wow" the crowds with a regal/handsome appearance. God came to earth in the form of a humble man, with a humble appearance (He probably didn't look much like the blonde haired, blue eyes Swedish Jesus we see in most depictions). Instead of being heaped with the honor and glory He deserved as the God/man Messiah - he was rejected and abused by the very people He had formed during creation.
53:5 - Jesus was the sacrifice for our sins...think about what that means. He was beaten, bloodied, mocked, destroyed because of the sins you and I have committed. He took the punishment that you and I deserved so that we might have peace with our Creator. In the most "unjust" act in all of history...God gave is life for us, when we were the ones that deserved death. That is the picture of the compassionate heart of God.
53:7 - Jesus is the sacrificial lamb - the blood offering poured out for my guilt. Think about the picture of humility and love displayed when the God/man Jesus with limitless power at his disposal, allows himself to be led by the people he created to his death - like a lamb to the slaughter.
53:11 - Out of the compassion of his heart Christ took our unrighteousness upon himself, so that you and I might become righteous! He bore the sins of the world for all time...he interceded on our behalf...he laid his life down for ours. Do we honor his love and sacrifice by doing everything we can to reflect his compassion and love into the world?
54:5 - Our maker is calling us to Him like a husband calls upon His bride. He is our redeemer...He is the God of everything - holding everything in existence together, yet He is also in love with each and every one of us individually! How incredible is that?
54:8 - When we choose to reject God and sin, we often have to deal with the consequences of our actions. God allows us to experience the brokenness that our actions have brought, but that does not mean that His love and compassion are taken away. In fact, it is often through the suffering of consequences of rebellious actions that we are led back to throw ourselves on God's mercy.
54:10 - No matter what changes on this earth...the seasons...the mountain ranges...coastlines...empires rising and falling - God's love will never change and it will never come to an end. God has made a covenant of peace with us through the blood of Jesus Christ and that covenant cannot be broken. Praise God!
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