Isaiah 65:1-9 (NRSV)
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Chapter 65I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, "Here I am, here I am," to a nation that did not call on my name. Verse 2I held out my hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices; Verse 3a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and offering incense on bricks; Verse 4who sit inside tombs, and spend the night in secret places; who eat swine's flesh, with broth of abominable things in their vessels; Verse 5who say, "Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you." These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all day long. Verse 6See, it is written before me: I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will indeed repay into their laps Verse 7their iniquities and their ancestors' iniquities together, says the Lord; because they offered incense on the mountains and reviled me on the hills, I will measure into their laps full payment for their actions.
Verse 8Thus says the Lord: As the wine is found in the cluster, and they say, "Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it," so I will do for my servants' sake, and not destroy them all. Verse 9I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah inheritors of my mountains; my chosen shall inherit it, and my servants shall settle there.
Devotion
Have you ever wondered at the power of faith to transform our cries for help into songs of praise? Each Sunday the congregation gathers to sing and pray, to praise and confess, to eat and be healed—all of us coming together in the name of Jesus Christ to devote ourselves to God, each one of us bringing along his or her own joys and struggles. When we gather to pray together our trust in God is restored, and that trust rests in God's faithfulness to the promises made to us through Jesus Christ. This trust is faith. It is the simplest of truths but it more often than not takes us our whole lives to truly grasp the freedom that comes in this faith—freedom even to praise God in the midst of our sorrows.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, continue to grant us your peace that surpasses all human understanding as we strive each day to live our lives in prayer and praise of you. Amen.