"God Pause Daily Devotional" The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Tuesday, 14 June 2016 with Scripture Isaiah 65:1-9 or Isaiah 65:19-28

"God Pause Daily Devotional" The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Tuesday, 14 June 2016 with Scripture Isaiah 65:1-9 or Isaiah 65:19-28
Isaiah 65:1 “I made myself accessible

to those who didn’t ask for me,

I let myself be found

by those who didn’t seek me.

I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’

to a nation not called by my name.

2 I spread out my hands all day long

to a rebellious people

who live in a way that is not good,

who follow their own inclinations;

3 a people who provoke me to my face all the time,

sacrificing in gardens and burning incense on bricks.

4 They sit among the graves

and spend the night in caverns;

they eat pig meat

and their pots hold soup made from disgusting things.

5 They say, ‘Keep your distance, don’t come near me,

because I am holier than you.’

These are smoke in my nose,

a fire that burns all day!

6 See, it is written before me;

I will not be silent until I repay them;

I will repay them to the full,

7 your own crimes and those of your ancestors together,”

says Adonai.

“They offered incense on the mountains

and insulted me on the hills.

First I will measure out their wages

and then repay them in full.”

8 Here is what Adonai says:

“As when juice is found in a cluster of grapes,

and people say, ‘Don’t destroy it,

there is still some good in it,’

so I will do likewise for the sake of my servants,

and not destroy them all.

9 I will bring forth descendants from Ya‘akov,

heirs of my mountains from Y’hudah;

my chosen ones will possess them,

and my servants will live there. or Isaiah 25:19-28[Complete Jewish Bible]
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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.
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.
Chris Enstad
Pastor, Elim Lutheran Church, Robbinsdale, Minn.
Master of Divinity, 2000
Isaiah 65:19 But you, O Lord, do not be far away! O my help, come quickly to my aid!
20 Deliver my soul from the sword, my life from the power of the dog!
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion! From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me.
22 I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him; stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him.
25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord. May your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.
28 For dominion belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. [New Revised Standard Version]
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