Fatherhood

Four years ago, I had no desire to be a father. Not until I was finished with school, which at the time, I planned to finish a PhD.

Three years ago, I told my wife we could start trying. The Lord did quite a work on my heart.

Two years ago, we had a little girl, and she lit up my world.

One year ago, I truly began to love fatherhood. It’s a fine calling. It refines you like nothing else.

Four months ago, we had another lovely girl.

Today, I know the Lord has blessed me deeply. I am humbled regularly. I pray often for grace. I know I often fail. Thankfully I have a gracious Lord, as well as a gracious wife. In the words of Solomon, this three-fold cord is hard to break.

Children are a blessing. So is a virtuous wife. I can’t imagine who I would be without them.

Isaiah 57-59

Ponder verses 1-2. Take it to heart. It will change the way you live.

The rest of 57 is like reading rated-R material. And people say the Bible is for all ages. I just don’t think so. That is a section I will not expound on for my daughters until they are teenagers, at least.

After the summary statement, “There is no peace for the wicked,” Isaiah moves into the elements of a true fast. Not exactly a transition I saw coming, but it does make sense. You fast for important things, like people repenting, like the Lord showing mercy to sinners, like us getting our lives and priorities straight. May we be obedient to follow the Lord’s leading to fast. And may we follow our fasts with obedience. May we be like verses 8-14.

As for 59, there’s a lot happening. I would summarize it as justice for the majority of the chapter, with mercy coming in at the tail. I definitely enjoy that last verse.

 

Isaiah 54-56

I vacationed for a couple weeks. Now it’s time to get back into this habit.

Isaiah 54 starts off with an encouragement to make progress, to gain ground. Our pastor recently used this as a jumping-off point for a series of sermons, in which he laid out some initiatives for our church. Big plans, good stuff.

The Lord goes on in 54 to tell His people He did cast them off, but now He will have compassion on them. Why? Because He is their Redeemer. That is His nature, His character, to redeem.

His steadfast love will remain with them. Nothing will harm them. This is the inheritance of His servants. He will vindicate them. Praise Him!

Chapter 55 headlines a number of popular verses: His thoughts being higher than our thoughts, His Word not returning void, mountains and hills clapping. Exciting words all around!

In the following chapter, we see a declaration of The Lord to extend salvation to more than just the Israelites. He is going to bring eunuchs and foreigners into His house, which is a house of prayer.

I can hardly contain myself when I consider the joy of this section! Praise The Lord for encouragements like these.

Edging

When I drive by certain houses, I almost stop to admire their beauty. In our town, on the way to the grocery store, there are at least two of these houses. Good symmetry in the architecture, well manicured lawns, solid boundaries.
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This morning (a Saturday) I awoke at 5:30am. After a bike ride, I started working in the lawn. I started edging. That is, I began digging up weeds, making the distinction between cement and lawn. The process was therapeutic. And in my eyes, our house and lawn look much better.
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Edging, I think, is a key contributor to our minds’ perception of beauty. It provides a beginning and an end. It gives our eyes boundaries. It keeps things in their rightful place.
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What do you think? Is edging a key to beauty, not just in lawns, but other areas as well?

Isaiah 51-53

Most Christians are familiar with Isaiah 53. It’s the passage about Jesus being the suffering servant. He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement for our peace was upon Him. You remember that one, don’t you?

I will only comment on that passage by saying it is full of truth, solemn truth. It’s full of gravity and weight.

But I don’t want to expound on that passage, primarily because so many people have already heard about it. The chapters leading up to it, however, are not familiar to most. For that reason, they are of more interest to me.

Chapter 51 has two phrases to catch my attention: “Awake, awake” and “Listen to me.” For that reason, we need to pay attention. This chapter is chalked full of comfort to God’s people. “Don’t fear the enemy; fear Me,” is basically the Lord’s message.

The end of 51, however, is not so comforting. The Lord declares the punishment that’s coming before the comfort. Rather than going too far with that, the Lord (through Isaiah) goes back to proclamations of peace and rescue.

Which leads us back to the start…

Jesus…

The sin-bearing, suffering, despised servant…

Who becomes our Rescuer, our Salvation, our Lord.

Isaiah 47-50

Isaiah 47:8-11 is scary. It’s scary because it sounds like the American mindset, and we know how God judged the Babylonians for their mindset.

In chapter 48, the focus shifts off of Babylon, onto the Israelites. God tells them that all this happened because they would not listen. They had necks of iron and foreheads of bronze, aka they were stubborn, stiff-necked and bull-headed. The last verse sums up the message of the previous two chapters: “There is no peace for the wicked.”

Isaiah proclaims the coming servant of the Lord in chapter 49, along with the restoration of Israel. Can you imagine how wild that message would have seemed to the hearers? Their nation had deteriorated morally. They had been conquered and sent into Babylon in exile. And here, Isaiah is proclaiming the coming Messiah, the restoration to statehood, prosperity and peace. He continues this message in chapter 50, honing in on the coming Messiah and his obedience unto the Father’s plan.

May it never cease to amaze us that this was written hundreds of years before Jesus was even born.