Rejecting God’s Rest.

“God has told his people, ‘Here is a place of rest; let the weary rest here. This is a place of quiet rest.’ But they would not listen.” ­– Isaiah 28:12 NLT

Jesus Himself said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 NLT). He was offering an invitation to escape the weary pursuit of self-righteousness and religious observance. He was inviting the Jewish people of His day to discover a way to come to God without trying to earn their way into His good favor. They were wearing themselves out with self-effort and futile attempts at keeping God’s law, and had been going it for generations. All the way back to the days of Isaiah, the people of God had been trying to work their way into a right relationship with God, but had failed. They had committed spiritual adultery, turning to false gods and placing their hopes in their own military might or alliances with other countries. Rather than simply trust God, they came up with all kinds of alternate plans. Even when God told them He was going to have to punish them for their unfaithfulness, they came up with plans to escape His judgment. In their hearts they said, “We have struck a bargain to cheat death and have made a deal to dodge the grave. The coming destruction can never touch us, for we have built a strong refuge made of lies and deception” (Isaiah 28:15 NLT). Listen to how The Message paraphrases this verse: “We’ve taken out good life insurance. We’ve hedged all our bets, covered all our bases. No disaster can touch us. We’ve thought of everything. We’re advised by the experts. We’re set.”

But they were placing their hope and trust in the wrong thing. They were building their future on a weak foundation. Their attempts at self-salvation were never going to work. Rather than rest in God, they were going to keep trying to save themselves – from God’s judgment and from death. But Isaiah gives us the only hope for any man – Jew or Gentile, in Isaiah’s day and in ours. “Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken. I will test you with the measuring line of justice and the plumb line of righteousness. Since your refuge is made of lies, a hailstorm will knock it down. Since it is made of deception, a flood will sweep it away” (Isaiah 28:16-17 NLT). This was a message from God regarding the coming Messiah. One day He would send His Son as the rock-solid foundation upon which every man and woman could build their lives. He would live a life of justice and righteousness. His sinless life would be the measurement by which all men and women are judged. But simple faith in Him would provide rescue from destruction and escape from death. “The Scriptures provide precedent: Look! I’m setting a stone in Zion, a cornerstone in the place of honor. Whoever trusts in this stone as a foundation will never have cause to regret it” (1 Peter 2:6 MSG). Yet even when Jesus came to the people of Israel, they would reject Him as their cornerstone and Messiah. “Then Jesus asked them, ‘Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see. I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit'” (Matthew 28:42-43 NLT). Rather than find their ultimate rest in God’s Son, the people of Israel would reject His offer of rest and continue to try and earn their way into God’s good graces. Rather than build on a the solid foundation of Jesus Christ, they would work relentlessly to build their lives on a shaky foundation of self-effort and self-achievement. God’s offer of rest still stands today – for Jew and Gentile alike. Jesus still calls out, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

Father, thank You for Your offer of rest. We still need it today. Even after coming to salvation through Christ, I can still find myself trying to earn favor with You through my own self-effort. I wear myself out trying to do good things that I think will make You love me more. I lose sight of the fact that You have already shown Your love to me by sending Your Son to die for me. I can’t do anything to make You love me more. Help me to find rest from my own self-effort and relax in the knowledge that Your Son has done it all for me. Anything I do to live in obedience to Your Word is out of a sense of gratitude, not obligation. I obey because I am loved, not to be loved. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Eager Expectation!

“Lord, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws; our hearts desire is to glorify your name. All night long I search for you; in the morning I earnestly seek for God. For only when you come to judge the earth will people learn what is right.” ­– Isaiah 26:8-9 NLT

Remember what it was like as a child to wait for Christmas morning? It was like torchure. You wanted to day to get here so badly that it was all you could think about. It filled your every waking moment. You thought about it at night and it was the first thing on your mind in the morning. You waited for it to come with eager anticipation. That is the feeling I get when I read the verses above. Isaiah is longing for God to come and set all things right. At night, his soul literally craved God. Which is strange because Isaiah had regular communication with God. But much of his interaction with God was dealing with coming judgment. What he longed for was the day when God would come and set all things right – the day when God would send His Son to judge the earth and establish His kingdom once and for all. Isaiah eagerly anticipated that day like a child waiting for Christmas morning. He longed for it, dreamed about it, and woke up waiting for it. And while he waited, he faithfully obeyed God’s laws as an expression of his trust in Him. His heart’s desire was to glorify God’s name with the way he lived his life – faithfully and obediently – even in the face of difficult circumstances.

As we live our lives on this planet, we are to do so with our eyes fixed on the future. If we make this world and what it has to offer our focus, we will lose hope. We will become distracted from what really matters: Christ’s coming and the restoration of the world to its former glory. If we fail to long for that, we will begin to think that this is all there is, and we will attempt to satisfy our longings here on this earth. It would be like a child losing hope that Christmas morning was ever going to come and settling for the toys and trinkets he already had. He would stop waiting and anticipating and learn to live with less. Without hope, what he already possessed would have to replace what had been promised or anticipated. Over in Romans, Paul puts it this way, “For if you already have something, you don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t have yet, we must wait patiently and confidently” (Romans 8:24-25 NLT). Isaiah was hoping for something he did not yet have. He was waiting patiently and confidently, yet eagerly. He wanted the peace of God, the restoration of God, the salvation of God, and the kingdom of God to come. Nothing less would satisfy him. He would not be satisfied with cheap substitutes or learn to live with less. But what about us? Do we settle for less? Have we lost hope? Are we no longer eagerly anticipating the coming of Christ and the restoration of all things? Some of us have become content with what we have – this world and all it has to offer. We have learned to find contentment even in captivity, just like many of the Israelites had done. We have become satisfied with a life that is less than what God has promised. Oh, that we would learn to long for and eagerly search for Christ and His coming, so that when we think about it, it would bring a smile to our lips and a sense of eager anticipation to our hearts.

Father, I have to admit that I do not anticipate that day like Isaiah did. I do not go to bed thinking about Your Son’s coming and wake up hoping that today is the day. To be honest, I rarely think about it. I get so wrapped up in the cares of this life, that I don’t even let it cross my mind. And in doing so, I express my lack of hope. I display my lack of trust in You. Father, give me the eager anticipation of a child waiting for Christmas. May Your Son’s coming fill my mind and heart, and motivate my actions for every day. May it keep me from becoming satisfied with this world and all that it offers. The best is yet to come! Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

The King Is Coming!

“In that day the people will proclaim, ‘This is our God! We trusted in Him, and He saved us! This is the Lord, in who we trusted. Let us rejoice in the salvation He brings!'” ­– Isaiah 25:9 NLT

What an incredible chapter. While Isaiah has been delivering sobering news of God’s impending judgment on all the nations for their sin, he also receives a word from God that there is some unbelievable good news to go with the bad news. There is a day coming when God’s judgment is complete. There is a going to come a time when God sends His Son back to rule and reign in righteousness. Order will be restored. Sin will be no more. Rebellion will cease. Death will be defeated once and for all. After the seven years of tribulation on the earth, Christ will return and bring a final judgment against all the enemies of God. He will be completely victorious and will establish His kingdom on earth in the city of Jerusalem. The remnant who remain – those who have placed their faith in Christ – will return to Jerusalem and rejoice in the deliverance God has provided through His Son Jesus Christ. There will be an inaugural banquet celebrating Christ’s victory and the establishment of His kingdom on earth. The threat of death will be removed once and for all. There will be no more tears, sorrow, abuse, suffering, loss, guilt or shame. Those who have survived the tribulation by faith in Christ will recognize that their deliverance has come from God. Faith will be fulfilled. Hope will be realized. Longing will be satisfied. Because the King will have come.

The marketplace is empty, no more traffic in the street
All the builder’s tools are silent, no more time to harvest wheat
Busy housewives cease their labor, in the courtroom no debate
Work on earth has been suspended as the King comes through the gate

Happy faces line the hallway, those whose lives have been redeemed
Broken homes He has mended, those from prison He has freed
Little children and the aged hand in hand stand all a-glow
Who were crippled, broken, ruined, clad in garments white as snow

I can hear the chariot’s rumble, I can see the marching throng
And the fury of God’s trumpet spells the end of sin and wrong
Regal rolls are now unfolded, heaven’s grandstands all in place
Heaven’s choir is now assembled, start to sing “Amazing Grace”

The King is coming, the King is coming
I just heard the trumpet sounding and soon His face I’ll see
The King is coming, the King is coming
Praise God, He’s coming for me

Father, Your Son is coming. He will one day finish what He began. He will complete what He started. While things can oftentimes look bleak and dark now, we have to remember that You are not done yet. Your plan is not yet finished. Judgment has to come. But salvation is coming as well. The King is coming! Praise God, He’s coming for me! Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

The Sin of Self-Sufficiency.

“But you never ask for help from the One who did all this. You never considered the One who planned this long ago.” ­– Isaiah 22:11b NLT

The real test of our faith is what we do in times of trouble. How we handle difficulty in our lives is a great revealer of what we believe about God. Our actions and attitudes during the trials of life say a lot about what we think about God. Hopelessness has a way of producing one of two responses: We either despair or become self-indulgent. We give up or we get busy. We throw in the towel or we throw ourselves a party. You see all these responses in the people of Judah as they encounter the armies of Babylon. As the reality of their dilemma sets in, they will respond with inexplicable merriment, trying to drown their sorrows and ignore the truth. But then they will try to take matters into their own hands. Isaiah says, “You run to the armory for your weapons. You inspect the break in the walls of Jerusalem. You store up water in the lower pool. You survey the houses and tear some down for stone to strengthen the walls. Between the city walls, you build a reservoir for water from the old pool. But you never ask for help from the One who did all this. You never considered the One who planned this long ago” (Isaiah 22:8b-11 NLT).

In the face of a crisis, the people will take matters into their own hands. Under the judgment of God, they will turn to their own ingenuity and try to solve their problem on their own, rather than repent and return to Him. Isaiah is warning them about what is going to happen. And in spite of his warnings, they will still refuse to repent. They will stubbornly resist and try to save themselves. Rather than weep and mourn, or show any signs of sorrow or repentance, they would throw a party. In the face of the overwhelming odds, they would rather go out in style, having a party, than admit their need for God. Isn’t that just like us today? In the face of financial difficulties, we would rather buy ourselves more trinkets and toys in an attempt to make us feel better, all the while going deeper into debt and aggravating our problem further. We try to solve our marital problems with money. We try to win over our kids with material things. We try to find joy in the endless pursuit of pleasure. We try to find contentment by consuming more and more.

We would rather work than worship. We would rather feast than repent. We would rather consumer than confess. And like the people of Judah, we never ask for help from the One who did all this. We never consider the One who planned all this. Trials and troubles are a great reminder of our need for God. He uses them to get our attention and draw us back to Him. But instead, we turn everywhere else but to Him. We become self-sufficient, self-indulgent, and self-centered. When we do, we reveal what we really believe about God. We show that we doubt His power, His love, His forgiveness and His ability to save. We show that our God is not who we claim Him to be. He is not in control. He is not all-powerful. He is not someone who cares and who answers our prayers. Otherwise, we would turn to Him. So what do you do in times of trouble? Where do you turn? Self-sufficiency is a sin God’s eyes. He doesn’t want to see how powerful and resourceful you are. He wants to reveal His strength in your weakness. But first we must admit our need for Him. We must confess our own self-sufficiency and our tendency to place our trust in other things. Turn to Him. Trust Him. He is waiting.

Father, the sin of self-sufficiency is hard to see and even harder to admit. I want to believe that I am just being resourceful and using the capabilities You have given me. I am just working hard and being diligent with my talents. But this morning you remind me of just how self-centered I can become. It just reveals my lack of faith in You. I doubt You can help, so I just attempt to help myself. I don’t trust You, so I place my trust elsewhere. Forgive me Lord. Open my eyes and help me see You in the midst of my trials. Help me to turn to You and trust in You in times of trouble. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Exposed to the World.

“The Lord told Isaiah son of Amoz, ‘Take off the burlap you have been wearing, and remove your sandals.’ Isaiah did as he was told and walked around naked and barefoot.” ­– Isaiah 20:2 NLT

How far would you go to remain obedient and submissive to God? Are there times when you balk at what the Lord is telling you to do because it either doesn’t make sense or it seems a bit inconvenient? God’s will for us is not always logical and He rarely, if ever, wants to know our opinion as to whether it is something we feel like doing. He wants us to trust Him. He wants us to recognize that He has a very good reason for asking to do what He has commanded – or He never would have done so. Today’s reading is short, but the impact is powerful. Here is Isaiah, God’s prophet, who has been faithfully doing exactly what God has called him to do… tell the people of Israel of the coming judgment of God on themselves and the surrounding nations. Up to this point Isaiah has just had to use his voice and speak the words of God to the people of God. But now, God is going to ask him to do something that seems so illogical, even immoral. It just doesn’t make sense. God tells Isaiah to remove all his clothing and walk around naked – for three years – as a visual illustration of what was going to happen to the nations of Egypt and Ethiopia.

Can you imagine the humiliation? Can you begin to comprehend the amount of ridicule and abuse Isaiah had to put up with? It was hard enough just being God’s prophet. Now he was going to have to walk around stark naked for three years as a walking billboard shouting out the coming judgment of God on two pagan nations. But the amazing thing is that nowhere in this passage do you see Isaiah balk at the Lord’s command. He doesn’t argue, rationalize, or bargain with God. He simply does what he is told. No questions asked. No whining. No complaining. The point of this humiliating exercise was to teach the people of Israel and Judah a memorable lesson on putting your trust in something other than God. If you do, it will always leave you exposed, ashamed, and vulnerable. But the more striking message in this story for me is the steadfast and unfailing obedience of Isaiah. This amazing man did what the Lord asked him to do – immediately and obediently. He was God’s vessel to do with as He wished. Isaiah fully believed that God was trustworthy and had a perfectly good reason behind His seemingly illogical request. Obedience to God will not always be logical or necessarily enjoyable. It may seem humiliating from a human perspective. It may appear that God is being unfair or harsh. It would have been easy for Isaiah to ask God to choose another way. He could have argued that to expose himself like that would have been inappropriate. But Isaiah both feared and trusted God. He revered God to much to argue with Him. He loved God too much to doubt Him. He trusted God too much to disobey Him. So for three years Isaiah walked around naked as a living lesson for the people of God. Would I have done that? Would I be willing to do something I saw as humiliating and hurtful to my pride in order to remain obedient to God? Would I “expose” myself to ridicule and laughter for the sake of God? Would I be willing to strip myself of all pretense and the last little vestiges of self-worth and self-sufficiency to do what God wants me to do? These are hard questions to consider. Could God have gotten His point across another way? More than likely. But I think God’s request was as much for Isaiah as it was to illustrate a point to the people of Judah. Isaiah’s job is far from over. He has much more to do and say. Was he going to be faithful to his calling? According to this story, probably so.

Father, this is a hard one. I hate the idea of being exposed and left naked emotionally, let alone physically. Vulnerability is difficult – especially for those of us who are men. Isaiah was already wearing burlap, not exactly the clothing of success and significance. And You asked him to lose that as well. The last little remnant of his pride and protection of his esteem had to be dropped – leaving him exposed to the world. He was Your man – Your spokesperson. Everyone knew he worked for You. Everyone knew he represented You. And He was faithful. He was obedient. He was trustworthy. May I be that kind of man. May I let go of my pride and my need for respect and simply obey You – no matter the cost.  Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Oh, What A Day That Will Be!

“In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and there will be a monument to the Lord at its border. It will be a sign and a witness that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is worshiped in the land of Egypt. When the people cry to the Lord for help against those who oppress them, he will send them a savior who will rescue them. The Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians. Yes, they will know the Lord and will give their sacrifices and offerings to hi. They will make a vow to the Lord and keep it.” ­– Isaiah 19:19-22 NLT

Read the verses above slowly and carefully. Now think about the modern-day Egypt you know. Think about the recent turmoil, the riots, unrest and the deposition of their president. Recall all the stories from the Bible about Egypt and its treatment of the people of Israel. Their enslavement and abuse of God’s people. Their attempt to recapture them at the Red Sea. The Egyptians and Israelites share a long and not-so-pleasant history together. There were times when Egypt was the place where Israel turned for help and protection. Jesus’ own parents took him there after His birth to protect Him from Herod’s attacks. Egypt was never a place where God was worshiped or even recognized. It was a pagan nation with a multitude of gods. Yet, here we read that a day is coming when God will punish Egypt, then they will turn to the Lord and worship Him.

Can you imagine what this prophecy sounded like to the people of Isaiah’s day? How could they ever imagine Egypt and Assyria, two of their most powerful enemies, turning to God and worshiping Him alone? This prediction from the lips of Isaiah had to have sounded absurd and far-fetched. And it still sounds that way to us today. That a day could be coming when all the nations of the earth bow down and worship God and His Son Jesus Christ is hard to comprehend. It sounds ridiculous. Yet God says “in that day” He will not only chasten Egypt, He will redeem them. He will provide them with a Savior and will bring them into a right relationship with Him. In Isaiah’s day, these nations represented alliances that Egypt made in an attempt to rescue themselves out of trouble. When threatened by an outside force, they would turn to another nation for help. So instead of trusting God, they would place their trust in a nation and its military might. But in these passages God seems to be reminding Israel that the nations should be coming to them for help. They should be turning to Israel’s God for salvation. But because Israel failed to trust in God themselves, the nations failed to see Israel’s God as powerful and worthy of worship. Israel’s lack of faith in God failed to impress the nations. But the day is coming when that will all change. God will get the attention of the nations when His Son returns to mete out God’s judgment. But He will not just rebuke them, He will restore them. God will bring peace to the earth. He will cause warring nations to put down their weapons and lift up their hands in mutual worship of Him. Israel and their former enemies will be co-worshipers of God. Egypt and Assyria, sworn enemies in Isaiah’s day, will become one in their worship of God and His Son Jesus Christ. “For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will say, ‘Blessed be Egypt, my people. Blessed be Assyria, the land I have made. Blessed be Israel, my special possession” (Isaiah 19:25 NLT). What a day that will be! Unbelievable. Remarkable. Hard to imagine. But well worth waiting for.

Father, there is a great day coming when all things and all nations will be restored. There will be peace in the land. All men will share a common bond in their worship of You. Our enemies will be our brothers. Former foes will be joined by a common love for You. It is hard to imagine, but so exciting to think about. Help me to understand that those countries I view as enemies today will one day have their eyes opened and their hearts turned to You. There is a day coming when there will be no more enemies. There will be no more Al Queda, Iran, China, Cuba, Libya, or North Korea. There is a day coming when peace will reign, Christ will rule, and men will no longer have any reason to call each other enemies. Oh, what a day that will be! Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

What’s It Going To Take?

“Then at last the people will look to their Creator and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.” ­– Isaiah 17:7 NLT

We are a stubborn lot, we human beings. We will endure all kinds of pain and suffering in order to have things our own way. We can be, to use a biblical term, stiff-necked when it comes to our autonomy. Self-rule and self-sufficiency are the order of the day, just as they were in Isaiah’s day. It’s not hard to see the stubbornness of the people of God who Isaiah was addressing. The very punishments of God were designed to get their attention and draw them back to Him. But it’s amazing just how much it took to get them to wake up and smell the coffee. It would take demoralizing defeat and deportation to a foreign land to finally get them to sit up and take notice – to recognize their sin and their need for salvation from the hands of God.

In these chapters Isaiah describes the devastation and destruction that is going to come on the Moabites and Syrians, but the northern kingdom of Israel as well. He tells them, “Israel’s glory will grow dim; its robust body will waste away” (Isaiah 17:4 NLT). “Only a few of its people will be left” (Isaiah 17:6 NLT). But God’s ultimate purpose was restorative, not just punitive. He wanted His people to turn back to Him. “Then at last the people will look to their Creator and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 17:7 NLT). They will finally stop turning to idols for help. They’ll quit giving their devotion and placing their trust in something other than God. It will take devastation and desolation to get them to do this though. God will have to bring them to an end of themselves and prove to them their need for Him. It will not be until they realize that no one or nothing can save them that they finally turn to God for help and hope.

Isn’t that just like mankind? We have to reach a point where we don’t have another trick up our sleeve, when we don’t have a solution to our problems or a way to get ourselves out of hot water that we finally turn to God. It may take an illness, a financial collapse, our spouse walking out on us, the death of a loved one, or the loss of our job before we finally stop relying on ourselves and start turning to God. Am I saying that God causes illness, makes our finances fail, or prompts our wife to walk out on us? No. But in His sovereign will, God can and does use these circumstances of life to get our attention. He allows the events of life – sometimes the results of our own sinful decisions or just the natural fallout of living in a fallen world – to get our attention and show us our need for Him. He is always calling us back to dependency on Him and non-self-sufficiency. He wants us to want Him. If it takes a failure to improve our faith – so be it. But what will it take for you? How long will you ignore God and live according to your own will? How long will you do things your way instead of His? How long will you devote your time, attention and resources to things other than Him before You realize that “you have turned from the God that can save you. You have forgotten the Rock who can hide you”? (Isaiah 7:10 NLT). God is calling? Are you listening? God is ready to save you and restore you? Are you ready?

Father, You are always out to restore Your people. You want us to rely on and trust in You. But we are stubborn. We are so prone to put our trust and hope in anything and everything but You. It seems that it takes some kind of collapse to get our attention. We have to fail before we realize just how much we need You. Our prayer lives tend to get stronger in times of need. Our spiritual vision improves during times of difficulty. Help us to learn to seek You without the aid of discipline. Help us to learn to turn to You without having to suffer first. Continue to soften our stubborn hearts and prune us of pride. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

He Has A Plan.

“I have a plan for the whole earth, a hand of judgment upon all the nation. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has spoken – who can change his plans? When his hand is raised, who can stop him?” ­– Isaiah 14:26-27 NLT

There are times when things seem so out of control. A quick glance of the newspaper, a scan of the evening news, and you begin to sense that the world is coming off its hinges. Wars, genocide, riots, rebellions, tsunamis, earthquakes, tornadoes, recessions, depressions, poverty…the list goes on and on. In the face of all this uncertainty and sin, it could be easy to feel like God has either lost control of thing or is distracted and disinterested in things here on earth. But Isaiah is a reminder that God is always in full control of things on this planet. He is deeply interested and heavily involved in all that is going on around us. From our perspective, things may look bleak, but God has a different view of things. He is not limited by time and space. He knows how the story ends.

In Isaiah’s day, it would have been easy for the people of God to lose hope as they looked around them. The Babylonians, Assyrians, Philistines, and others were all jockeying for power and position, and little Israel was caught in the middle. Yet God was using these nations to accomplish His divine plan. He was even using them to bring judgment on Israel. He was using these armies to carry out His anger and accomplish His wrath (Isaiah 13:3, 5). While we may feel like the wicked and the evil get away with murder (sometimes literally), God is never out of control. He always judges justly and fairly. It may not happen in our lifetime or according to our desires, but God can and does deal with injustice. He did it in Isaiah’s day and He will do it in the future. And in the midst of it all, He would continue to show mercy on those He had chosen. “But the Lord will have mercy on the descendants of Jacob. He will choose Israel as his special people once again” (Isaiah 14:1 NLT). God had used Babylon to discipline Israel. But the day came when He restored Israel to their land and punished Babylon for their sins. It was all part of His plan, and NOTHING or NO ONE can do anything to alter that plan. It cannot be delayed, derailed or destroyed. “The Lord of Heavens Armies has sworn this oath: ‘It will all happen as I have planned. It will be as I have decided” (Isaiah 14:24 NLT).

In the book of Isaiah we have a picture of God’s plan lived out to perfection – in the past. But we also have a prediction of God’s plan yet to happen – in the future. It is designed to give us hope and confidence. We can trust Him, because He has never failed to accomplish His will or implement His plan. There is much that has yet to happen. There are still promises God has yet to fulfill. But rest assured. He will do what He has planned. It will be just as He has decided.

Father, no matter what I see happening around me, keep me confident in the fact that You are in control and You are not done yet. You have a plan and You are working that plan. Everything You have promised will take place. Everything You have planned will come about just as You determined. At no point are You out of control or wringing Your hands in despair. I can rest in You. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

The King Is In the House!

“Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot – yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.” ­– Isaiah 11:1-2 NLT

What a wonderful chapter. Right in the middle of all the warnings of coming judgment God provides a glimpse into the future. He tells the people of God what is going to happen to them because of their sin and rebellion. They will be cut down, but they will not be cut off. A remnant will survive and return and a ruler will rise up. From the stump that is left after Israel is cut down will come a Branch, a ruler, who will reign in righteousness. For once, the people of God will be led by a King who loves and obeys God completely. What we have described here is the reign of Christ in His millennial kingdom. This will take place after His second coming, when He returns to Jerusalem, defeats the enemies of God and sets up His throne in the city of God. This period will be one of peace and prosperity. Isaiah describes an idyllic setting where creation is restored to its original state with the animosity between animals removed and the fallen nature of the world corrected. The Messiah, Jesus Christ, will rule with wisdom and understanding. He will administer justice and treat the people fairly. Righteousness and truth will characterize His kingdom and His reign. Jerusalem and Israel will be the center of the world’s attention. Jews scattered all over the world will return to live in the land. Gentiles will be drawn like moths to a flame. That day will be a great and glorious day, and it is as real as today is. It will take place because God has promised it. And in that day, men will sing praises to God for His incredible faithfulness and forgiveness. And because we can count on this day taking place, we can even praise God now. It is as good as done. “With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation!” (Isaiah 12:3 NLT). So why shouldn’t we praise Him now for what He is going to do? Why wouldn’t we thank Him now for what He has promised is going to happen? It has not happened yet, but it will.

Father, I want to learn to praise You before the fact, not after. I want to learn to thank You even before I have the answer or have seen the solution. Because You are always faithful and Your answers are always right. Your promises always come true. I can always count on You. So when I read about what is to come, I can praise You now as if it has already taken place. Because I know it will.  Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org