Isaiah 38 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

(Has God spoken to you lately if not click to listen to God's teaching?)

Max Lucado Daily: Six Hours, One Friday

Six hours, one Friday.  Mundane to the casual observer.   A shepherd with his sheep, a housewife with her thoughts, a doctor with his patients.  But to a handful of awestruck witnesses, the most maddening of miracles is occurring. God is on a cross.  The creator of the universe is being executed.

It is no normal six hours.  It is no normal Friday.  Far worse than the breaking of his body is the shredding of his heart.  And now his own father is beginning to turn his back on him, leaving him alone. What do you do with that day in history?  What do you do with its claims?  They were the most critical hours in history.

Nails didn’t hold God to a cross.  Love did. The sinless One took on the face of a sinner so that we sinners could take on the face of a saint!

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

from Six Hours One Friday

Isaiah 38

Hezekiah’s Illness

38 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”

2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.

7 “‘This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: 8 I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.’” So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down.

9 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery:

10 I said, “In the prime of my life
    must I go through the gates of death
    and be robbed of the rest of my years?”
11 I said, “I will not again see the Lord himself
    in the land of the living;
no longer will I look on my fellow man,
    or be with those who now dwell in this world.
12 Like a shepherd’s tent my house
    has been pulled down and taken from me.
Like a weaver I have rolled up my life,
    and he has cut me off from the loom;
    day and night you made an end of me.
13 I waited patiently till dawn,
    but like a lion he broke all my bones;
    day and night you made an end of me.
14 I cried like a swift or thrush,
    I moaned like a mourning dove.
My eyes grew weak as I looked to the heavens.
    I am being threatened; Lord, come to my aid!”
15 But what can I say?
    He has spoken to me, and he himself has done this.
I will walk humbly all my years
    because of this anguish of my soul.
16 Lord, by such things people live;
    and my spirit finds life in them too.
You restored me to health
    and let me live.
17 Surely it was for my benefit
    that I suffered such anguish.
In your love you kept me
    from the pit of destruction;
you have put all my sins
    behind your back.
18 For the grave cannot praise you,
    death cannot sing your praise;
those who go down to the pit
    cannot hope for your faithfulness.
19 The living, the living—they praise you,
    as I am doing today;
parents tell their children
    about your faithfulness.
20 The Lord will save me,
    and we will sing with stringed instruments
all the days of our lives
    in the temple of the Lord.
21 Isaiah had said, “Prepare a poultice of figs and apply it to the boil, and he will recover.”

22 Hezekiah had asked, “What will be the sign that I will go up to the temple of the Lord?”


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: John 19:28-37

New International Version (NIV)
The Death of Jesus

28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

31 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,”[a] 37 and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”[b]

Shout Of Triumph

March 29, 2013 — by David C. McCasland

It is finished! —John 19:30

Recently I read about Aron Ralston, a hiker who was trapped alone at the bottom of a remote canyon. With scant hope of being found and his strength ebbing away, he had to take drastic measures to save his life. During a moment of excruciating pain, he shouted in agony and in victory, because he had freed himself and now had a chance to escape and live.

Those who witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus saw His hours of agony and heard Him cry out in a loud voice, “It is finished!” as He gave up His spirit (John 19:30). His final words from the cross were not a cry of painful defeat but a shout of triumph, because He had accomplished all that the Father sent Him to do.

When Jesus died, He shared in what all of us must experience. But far beyond that, He did what none of us can do. He paid the price for our sins that we might be forgiven and have eternal life through faith in Him.

“It is finished!” was the Lord’s shout of victory because now, through Him, we can escape the power of sin; we can live and be free.

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us, we call the day of His death Good Friday.

I have been to the cross where my Savior died,
And all of my life is made new—
In the person of Him I am crucified.
I have been to the cross. Have you?
—Helen Frazee-Bower © 1956 Helen Frazee-Bower
Jesus died that we might live.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
March 29, 2013

Our Lord’s Surprise Visits

You also be ready . . . —Luke 12:40

A Christian worker’s greatest need is a readiness to face Jesus Christ at any and every turn. This is not easy, no matter what our experience has been. This battle is not against sin, difficulties, or circumstances, but against being so absorbed in our service to Jesus Christ that we are not ready to face Jesus Himself at every turn. The greatest need is not facing our beliefs or doctrines, or even facing the question of whether or not we are of any use to Him, but the need is to face Him.

Jesus rarely comes where we expect Him; He appears where we least expect Him, and always in the most illogical situations. The only way a servant can remain true to God is to be ready for the Lord’s surprise visits. This readiness will not be brought about by service, but through intense spiritual reality, expecting Jesus Christ at every turn. This sense of expectation will give our life the attitude of childlike wonder He wants it to have. If we are going to be ready for Jesus Christ, we have to stop being religious. In other words, we must stop using religion as if it were some kind of a lofty lifestyle-we must be spiritually real.

If you are avoiding the call of the religious thinking of today’s world, and instead are “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2), setting your heart on what He wants, and thinking His thoughts, you will be considered impractical and a daydreamer. But when He suddenly appears in the work of the heat of the day, you will be the only one who is ready. You should trust no one, and even ignore the finest saint on earth if he blocks your sight of Jesus Christ.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Where Was I On Good Friday? - #6840

Friday, March 29, 2013

You gotta feel bad for the youngest child. I mean, there's a thousand pictures of the firstborn, "Hey, we've never had one of these before!" Maybe 300 or 400 of the second born. And then, if they're lucky, possibly 30 of the final arrival. Oh, we loved him just as much. We just didn't have as many pictures of him. Probably because his brother and sister wore us out.

When we watched our family movies each Christmas, the youngest wouldn't stay for long. But every once in a while, he'd poke his head in and ask, "Am I in it yet?" He got a whole lot done while he was waiting. Honestly, most of us look for ourselves when we look at pictures or videos. Oh, we'll moan about how we look in them, but we'll still try to find ourselves in the picture.

It's Good Friday and I think I've found me in the Bible picture of that dark day when Jesus died that unspeakable death on the cross; a death so horrible that the word "excruciating" actually comes from it. The word comes from the Latin words "out of the cross."

I can identify with Mel Gibson's conclusion when he was filming the crucifixion scene for "The Passion of the Christ." When it came time for the portrayal of a Roman soldier driving the spikes into Jesus' hands, Gibson asked the actor to step aside so his hand would be the one nailing Jesus to the cross. Here's how he explained it: "It was me who put Him on the cross. It was my sins."

Well, mine too. "He carried our sins in His own body on the tree," the Bible says (1 Peter 2:24). Beyond the historic event of the death of Christ...beyond all the religious ceremonies and symbols, what happened on that cross was something intensely personal, because sin isn't just some universal, theoretical spiritual idea. It's about me. About every dark and dirty, prideful and hurtful, selfish and God-defying thing I've ever done; a lifetime of open rebellion against the rule of the King of heaven.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Where Was I On Good Friday?"

As I review the cast of Good Friday, I've found me in the picture, and I'm Barabbas.

Here's how the Bible tells it. "It was the governor's custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, 'Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus, who is called Christ?' (Matthew 27:15-17).

The religious leaders who wanted Jesus dead "persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed" (Matthew 27:20). Barabbas went free. Jesus went to the cross.

My mind imagines this man, with his face covered, watching the torture and crucifixion of Jesus from the bottom of Skull Hill. Then, when that eerie darkness set in at noon and people began to leave, I see him slowly making his way up the hill to the foot of the cross. There stands Barabbas, looking up into Jesus' face, brutalized, the Bible says, beyond recognition. And the liberated prisoner chokes out these words: "Jesus, that's my cross! I'm the one who should be dying there. But because you're dying there, Jesus, I don't have to die!"

That's me. It still moves me beyond words. The punishment I deserve, Jesus took on Himself. Our word for today from the Word of God tell us in Isaiah 53:5-6 (and I'm going to make it personal), "He was pierced for my rebellion, crushed for my sins...the Lord laid on Him the sins of us all" (Isaiah 53:5-6 - NLT). Which means you're Barabbas, too. We all are.

And there couldn't be a better time than Good Friday to make your way up Skull Hill to the foot of Jesus' cross. And say, "Jesus, I'm the one who should die for my sins. But because you died there, I don't have to die." And then the commitment that will make the Savior your Savior, "Jesus, I'm pinning all my hopes on You, because no one can rescue me but You. And no one loves me like You do."

You go to the cross dirty. You come away clean. You go to the cross with a death penalty. You come away with eternal life, because of two words that could change your now and change your forever.

"For me. Jesus, Good Friday was for me. And beginning today, I am Yours." I want to invite you to join me at our website where we can together find a way to begin your relationship with Jesus Christ this very day. It's YoursForLife.net.