THE SUFFERING SERVANT

"But he was wounded and crushed for our sins.

He was beaten that we might have peace.

He was whipped, and we were healed!"

Isaiah 53:5 NLT

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700-750 years before the birth of Christ the prophet Isaiah, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote about our Lord’s suffering for our sins. Though this passage may be familiar to you, I encourage you to read it once again, prayerfully, and let it minister to your heart during these days before Good Friday.

“Who has believed our message? To whom will the Lord reveal his saving power? My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, sprouting from a root in dry and sterile ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way when he went by. He was despised, and we did not care.

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God for his own sins! But he was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed! All of us strayed away like sheep. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the guilt and sins of us all.

He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. From prison and trial they led him away to his death. But who among the people realized that he was dying for their sins – that he was suffering their punishment? He had done no wrong, and he never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave.

But it was the LORD’s good plan to crush him and fill him with grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have a multitude of children, many heirs. He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD’s plan will prosper in his hands. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. I will give him the honors of one who is mighty and great, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among those who were sinners. He bore the sins of many and interceded for sinners.” Isaiah 53:1-12 NLT

A HARVEST OF BLESSING

“So let’s not get tired
of doing what is good.
At just the right time
we will reap a harvest of blessing
if we don’t give up.”
Galatians 6:9 NLT
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This time of year St. Louis gardeners are getting the "fever." I took my tiller into the shop the other day to get it ready. In a few weeks it will be time to buy seeds and plants. As usual I expect to reap a harvest.

Gardening takes work. The ground needs to be tilled – seeds sown the right depth – plants properly spaced – use soaker hose during dry spells – mulch - pull weeds – fight bugs and worms – put up chicken wire fence to keep the rabbits out. If deer are a problem – MOVE!! :-) :-) The point is, it takes work to produce a good harvest.

Life is sort of that way. We are constantly sowing and planting and it will unquestionably produce a harvest. Bad stuff doesn’t take any effort, it just seems to happen, and sooner or later it will bear its disappointing fruit. Planting good deeds not only takes effort, it also stirs up the opposition of our enemy who tries to get us to give up. But with God’s help, we will be able to faithfully keep on doing good, and “just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing.”

“Doing good” is simply doing whatever pleases God. Jesus perfectly demonstrated what that looks like. Luke reminds us, “God anointed Jesus …. with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good.” As born again people we, like Jesus, are anointed with the Holy Spirit, and able to do good deeds which are pleasing to our Heavenly Father.

“So let’s not get tired
of doing what is good.
At just the right time
we will reap a harvest of blessing
if we don’t give up.”

GOD IS READY TO HELP

“God is our refuge and strength,

always ready to help in times of trouble.
So we will not fear

when earthquakes come

and the mountains crumble into the sea.”
Psalm 46:1-2 NLT
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Earthquakes have caught our attention recently. On Monday a 6.0 magnitude quake hit Turkey. Another hit Taiwan last Thursday morning, registering 6.4 on the Richter scale. Before that was the 8.8 quake that struck Chile, and on January 12th the 7.0 quake that hit Haiti killing an estimated 230,000 people.

It seems earthquakes are on the increase, but those who study seismic activity say, not so. They tell us normally there are approximately 80,000 quakes per month – 2,600 per day and 2 per minute. Somewhere in the world an earthquake is felt approximately every 30 seconds. Of these only a relative few are capable of causing damage.

But how utterly terrifying it must be for people to be in a “big one” and have everything around them breaking apart with debris crashing down, injuring and burying them.

We may never be in a major earthquake, but even if that should happen, “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.” As believers we would not be going through the experience alone, because he has promised to always be with us.

Living in a fallen world there are other things that are more apt to shake, and break up our lives than an earthquake: like an accident – illness – financial disaster – marital problems – death of a loved one. . . . Whatever it may be, we need not give in to fear and despair - GOD IS READY TO HELP! He offers us his “refuge and strength . . . in times of trouble.”

WORDS

“May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you, O Lord,
my rock and my redeemer.”
Psalm 19:14 NLT
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It is commonly claimed that women talk more than men, and there may be some validity to that, but it doesn’t take much of a search to find a guy who does most of the talking while his wife quietly stands by. I suppose personality has something to do with how much we talk.

The more we talk the more we are apt to stretch the truth about ourselves, and belittle others by passing on their secrets. Proverbs 10:19 is quite blunt about this – “Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.” Whoa, that hurts!!

Words have incredible power to bring about positive or negative results. Again, Proverbs says, “Kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.” We all have experienced the warm healing affects of kind words– making us feel appreciated, and loved. We also have felt the sting and demeaning power of angry and hate filled words. Being totally honest, we probably have to admit, our words do not always bring warmth and healing – too often they can have a tinge of bitterness to them, and cause pain to those we love most.

Jesus said, “What you say flows from what is in your heart.” So whether we are people of few or many words, it’s our words that convey our thoughts and feelings and define who we really are.

I don’t know about you, but from time to time I need to pray the Psalmist’s prayer: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”


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CHANGE MY HEART OH GOD