Scripture Union Daily Guide 5 May 2024 (Sunday) Devotional Message
TOPIC: Mind-Blowing Divine Promises!
OPENING PRAYER: As I read through this passage dear Lord, let your word bring transformation to my life.
SCRIPTURE: ISAIAH 51:1-16
1 Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.
2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.
3 For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
4 Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.
5 My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.
6 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.
7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.
8 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.
9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?
10 Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?
11 Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
12 I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;
13 And forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?
14 The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail.
15 But I am the Lord thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The Lord of hosts is his name.
16 And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.
Question(s) for Reflection
* Q 1: What does the passage teach about God the Father, or God the Son or God the Holy Spirit?
Scripture Union Daily Guide 5 May 2024 OUTLINE
There are many precious promises of God in today’s passage. How many “will” are there? You may wish to study the promises the “wills” signify and work toward their realization in your own life. Note those in vs.3-6, 11 and 14.
Every believer is indeed cut out by the Lord. That is why we have His nature. But He works on us daily to make us into pleasant marbles. Therefore, look to Him in faith to perfect the work He has begun in you (Hebrews 12:2) and be comforted. Note God’s call to us in vs.4-6. What does He therefore expect of us? We can adhere longer to righteous living if we realize the truth and message of v.6. See also 1 John 2:17; 2 Peter 3:10, 11.
The fulfilment of God’s promises hinges squarely on this. Our Christian lifestyle is sure to attract insults (v.7) and sometimes, even untold hardships, but be encouraged by the truth of v.8 (see also Matthew 24:12-13). You can “clothe yourself with strength” by developing a lifestyle of rejoicing daily in the Lord (Nehemiah 8:10) and attending fellowship (Psalm 73:17). As we daily reflect on His might (vs. 9-10), believe in and appropriate His strength, v.11 shall come true in our lives. Point out from vs.12-13 some things that can rob us of God’s goodness.
* Any new insight or reinforcement of what you already know?
HYMN – CAPTIVES OF ISRAEL, HEAR
1. Captives of Israel, hear,
Who now as exiles mourn;
See your almighty God appear
To hasten your return.
2. Jehovah is His name;
Lord of celestial hosts;
Let Heav’n that saving power proclaim
In which His Israel trusts.
3. Tho’ helpless now ye lie,
As in a dungeon thrown,
When parched with painful thirst ye cry,
And when your bread is gone,
4. Deliverance comes apace;
Ye shall not there expire;
Prepare to sing redeeming grace
With His triumphant choir.
5. He smote the raging sea
’Midst its tumultuous roar,
And paved His chosen troops a way
Safe to its distant shore.
6. In Him let Israel hope,
At whose supreme command
Graves yield their breathless captives up,
And seas become dry land.
Closing Prayer
Help me, Lord, to look only and always unto you and to appropriate your precious promises.
Offer a prayer of faith in line with Romans 10:9 ‐ 10
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
One Year Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading Plan: Day 126 – Psalms 89, 96, 100-101, 105, 132
NATIONAL PRAYER BULLETIN May 5, 2024
PRAYER FOCUS
PLGRIMS, CHILDREN, MISSIONS AND SCHOOLS TRAINING THE TRAINERS
‘…be ye steadfast, Immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labour is not in vain’
1 Corinthians 15:58
THANK GOD FOR:
* The impact of training on the members of the Union.
* The successes recorded in mission fields, schools and children Ministries.
PRAY FOR:
* Steadfastness in faith and aglow in the spirit among schools, missions and children workers.
* Greater dedication to discipleship programmes in the Ministry among students and children.