Isaiah - NLT

I confess, I love the Bible! I love to read it, I love to study it, and I love to help others fall in love with it too! I use several different versions. I typically use the New American Standard for in depth study, but for my daily reading I now use the New Living Translation. I love the way it reads and uses current conversational language to express God's Word. Because I use different translations, and even paraphrases like the Message, I see Scripture as new each time I read it. Couple that with the fact that the Holy Spirit opens my eyes to see things He wants to grow me through as I am ready for them and the Bible is truly a living document. I am loving studying through Isaiah in my personal study time right now. I am gaining new insights every day. I'm sorry I can't take the time to blog about everything I see or am learning, but here is some things that caught my eye today as I looked at chapter 53:

1. We have a part and God has a part in leading people to Him (v1). We need to share the message, and God will reveal His saving power. It's so true that Christianity is always one generation from extinction. I know God won't let that happen, but think about the significance of the need for us to share God with others. We also need to remember that it isn't up to us whether someone accepts Christ or not. That is God's part. We just need to be faithful with our part.

2. It is talking about Christ, but do we care about the despised in our society? If we are to see Christ in "the least of these" than are we ignoring Christ when we turn our backs on those in need?

3. In spite of the fact that we are selfish and follow our own path, Jesus came and carried the weight of our sin and guilt. It's quaint to refer to Romans "while we were still sinners", but we need to truly acknowledge our personal desires instead of following God's desires.

4. Jesus should be honored because He "exposed himself to death" on our behalf.

5. God loves us so much!!!