The Confessing Lunatic

While reading yesterday's Daily Encouragement I came across a quote that I'd like to share here. The quote comes from Warren Wiersbe, a pastor and theologian. He says, " The peace of God is not the absence of problems; it is the presence of divine sufficiency in the midst of problems." This struck a chord with me because I would categorize today as a day that I am struggling with personal demons and I am miserable as I attempt to excise them on my own. The Daily Encouragement points us to the scripture in Isaiah 26:3. As I pulled up BibleGateway and read the whole chapter, I wondered how other translations or paraphrases read (I usually read NIV). Verses 3 and 4 of this chapter read like this in "The Message," "People with their minds set on you, you keep completely whole, Steady on their feet, because they keep at it and don't quit. Depend on God and keep at it because in the Lord God you have a sure thing." Here's what the New Iternatio...

If you read the entire chapter of Isaiah 12, you will see Isaiah make reference to God being our salvation. We discussed in Sunday School the context of this chapter. It appears that in the chapters leading up to this point, Isaiah is referring to a time when Israel will be redeemed. If we take Israel's redemption into consideration when reading the chapter in context to our redemption, it finds a deeper meaning: "In that day you will say" is said both in verse 1 and verse 4. The Israelites REACTION to their REDEMPTION on the day of their redemption was to proclaim God's salvation. It was also to proclaim the LORD as their strength and song. It was also to give thanks to the Lord and to MAKE HIS NAME FAMOUS. When WE are redeemed, the natural cry of our heart should be to proclaim God's salvation and all that it brings. We should be so filled with joy that we have but one goal, one purpose in life...to make His Name famous. The theme for our church this year is th...