What's the best news you could receive? (Isaiah 50-57)

50:1

Christ will not leave us. He will not go back on his word. "Thus saith the Lord, Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away." The only person that can separate us from Christ is ourselves.

We sell our future reward for present iniquities. We value the pleasure over the potential. The price of our favorite sins is future growth.

It doesn't make logical sense why we would do this. It illustrates the strong pull of the natural man. I demonstrates how hard this challenge is. It shows how much growth we will experience if we can resist temptation.

50:2

So, if Christ won't ever leave, our little brains consider that we may be out of his reach. "Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness." Christ has the ability to redeem us. He is all powerful. There is nothing we can do that will put us out of his reach. He has both the willingness and ability to save us. We cannot forget that.

50:11

We must live by the Light of Christ. The most strong and wise among us may counterfeit the Light of Christ with wisdom and willpower. "Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow." This is about pride.

Those of us who believe that we can live a righteous life based on our own intelligence and strength shall surely fail. Our light is not sufficient to see clearly. There is no inherent strength generated by ourselves. The minute we believe that it is up to us to save ourselves is the time we have let pride in. When pride is present, our teachability decreases. This is what is damning in the eternities.

51:6, 8

"Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished." We are getting a clear image of what matters and what doesn't. This beautiful world with the beautiful things that we surround ourselves with will eventually go away. Nothing we see with our natural eyes will exist at some point. It's helpful if we keep that in mind as we consider our priorities.

"For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation." The main thing that will last after we die is our strength and desire to be righteous. God's plan doesn't have an end date. It continues on and on, worlds without end.

52:3

"For thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money." Many of us have sold ourselves for nought at some point. In other words, we have made bad choices for money or other worldly reward.

When my kids were young, the company I worked for offered a job where I would travel around the country and open up photography studios. This meant that I would be gone much of the year. I missed a lot of my children's lives. I wasn't there. I wanted to build the company and make more money. I believe that I sold myself (and my family) for nought.

I also was interested in Ironman triathlons. I would train every morning. That meant that I would leave early and go to the gym. I wasn't there in the mornings to be with my family. I loved triathlons. I believe this is another example of trading something that is very valuable for something that doesn't matter much.

The good news is that we can be redeemed without money. Christ is not expecting payment from us other than to follow him. Instead of selling ourselves for nought, we are giving up our will to be swallowed up in his.

52:7

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!" I love good tidings. Many people refer to Christ's gospel as 'good news.' I'll admit that, for much of my life, I didn't understand why it was called good news.

However, as I've learned about the atonement, I understand clearly why this is called the good news. There are many examples of good news in our lives.

• Job promotion.

• Good weather in the forecast.

• Your stock goes up.

Most good news that we receive is very temporary. Good news can change to bad news. A new pregnancy can suddenly miscarriage. You could be terminated from your new job. An engagement can be broken off.

There is one type of good news that will never turn to bad news. Jesus Christ overcame death and sin. It already happened. He was successful. All of us will be saved because of that. It's good news.

No matter what bad news we receive in this life, Christ's good news will outlast and overcome all of it. Wounds will heal. Conflicts will be resolved. Aging will reverse. There is nothing bad that can happen to us in this life that isn't resolved by the good news of Christ's atonement.

This good news is meant to be shared. If we carry this news about Christ and his gospel, how beautiful are our feet that bring it!? I want to be in that group that the Lord views as beautiful.

53:2

"He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him." Christ draws men and women to him. He was the best of us and did what none of us could do and none of it had to do with his appearance. It was his character and attracted others to him. It was what he said and did that inspired others to follow him. The substance of who he was had nothing to do with him appearing beautiful.

It does give us some indication of how important appearances are...

53:3-5

"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." It wasn't only in Gesthemane and on the cross that Christ suffered. He struggled through life. He felt sorrow. He was despised. Some people considered him sinful. There were plent who simply thought of him as a criminal who deserved his punishment. He bore many things throughout his life. It is his life experience that further qualifies him to succor us and advocate for us.

I like the phrase, "the chastisement of our peace was upon him." We can feel peace in this life because of what Christ took upon himself. We don't have to be filled with guilt and regret about the past - and fear and anxiety about the future. Our impending chastisement for our sins was placed on Christ.

54:7-8, 10

"For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer." With the apostasy, God removed himself for a "small moment" from Israel.

Obviously, it was necessary for Israel. However, I don't believe that God does this with individuals. He doesn't abandon us for a moment. He is always there with outstretched arms. He doesn't hide from us. He isn't every turned away with shame.

I think too many people don't feel worthy to interact with God. Or they feel that they've sinned so much that God has left. I don't think this is ever the case. Every single time we repent, God is right there.

"For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee." His kindness and mercy will never leave us. We can count on God doing exactly what he said he will do. We won't change his mind with our bad decisions.

54:11

"O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires." All of us, at times, feel afflicted, tossed and not comforted. Christ is promising that he is building a beautiful place for all of us to return to. Everyone's story has a happy ending.

54:17

"...every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn." As members of the church, we want to be Christlike and non-confrontational. We avoid contention. However, we do need to be vocal about defending the church and the principles of the gospel.

55:2

"Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness." This is another reminder to not look for joy and satisfaction from what the world delivers. All of the material wealth will not satisfy.

We are heavenly creatures that cannot be truly satisfied with the things of this world. Our souls consciously or subconsciously yearn to return to God. That yearning can only be satisfied as we progress to becoming more like the Savior.

Striving to be more Christlike is the only lasting cure for feeling dissatisfied and not content. I truly feel sorry for those who are looking for possessions and prestige to be happy. Our souls aren't calibrated for that.

55:7

"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." I love the phrase abundantly pardon! I heard someone speak and ask, "how many times will God allow you to ask for forgiveness?" He answered his own question with, "a million times if that will lead to someone finally, truly repent."

55:8-9

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." We've heard this scripture many times. We need to remind ourselves that God's thoughts are higher than ours.

We can't attempt to figure out the will of God. Things may happen that don't make sense to us and that's okay. We must trust and accept that our logic is not God's logic. We don't see the whole picture that he sees.

55:10-11

This imagery is very effective. "For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Rain isn't futile. When it rains, plants and animals flourish. There is always a successful result. The more rain, the more grows.

It is the same with the word of God and our souls. If we hearken to the word of God, we will prosper. God is not speaking futilely. His words do not just fade into the void. For us to benefit, we must receive His words. Just like a plant has to absorb the rain that falls upon it.

56:10-11

"His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter." This is a fair assessment of church leaders during the time of Christ. It's ironic and predictable that they couldn't see this in themselves.

The Pharisees and Sadducees were about their position and the honor they received from the lowly church members. I think they were concerned mostly about their own condition. The truly looked "to their own way, every one for his gain."

Are we very different? I have a lot of work in this area. I'm mostly concerned with how things are going for me. I plan and prepare for my future. I hope I can progress to thinking more about others' welfare than my own.

These two verses are talking about laziness and greed. I hope those aren't two words that are carved on my gravestone. I do think I suffer from bouts of laziness and greed...

57:21

"There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." This is a major message. It is not to say that we must be perfect to experience peace. We simply must be on the path. We must be holding on to the word of God and moving one step in front of the other. If we know we are in the right place, striving to do what is right, we can feel peace - regardless of where we are at in our progression.

For someone who has been a sinner and finally accepted Christ and makes that first commitment to follow him, he can feel peace in that moment. Another may struggle staying on the path, he can feel peace the moment he turns and places a foot back on the path. Perfection isn't a qualification for peace. Progress is.