July 28 - Prophetic Proof Positive

 Read today’s texts first: Isaiah 53-56; 2 Peter 2

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Pride is public enemy #1
and if we don’t deal with it, God will!

I’ve learned over the years not to rush through the prophetic books of the Bible, dismissing them as old news, no longer relevant to our day or our lives. For me, at least two passages in today’s readings dispel that notion.

First is the incredible description of the suffering Saviour, found in chapter 53. This passage, written 700 years before Jesus was born on earth, provides some of the most irrefutable proof that the Bible is God’s Word and that Jesus was indeed the long-awaited Messiah:

• Despised and rejected (3)
• Bore our infirmities (4)
• Considered smitten by God (4)
• Wounded for our transgressions (5)
• We are healed by his stripes (5)
• He was flogged (5)
• Silent before His accusers (7)
• Died for our sins (8)
• Died with the wicked (9)
• Buried with the rich (9)
• Lived a sinless life (9)
• Offered for our sin (10)
• Justified many (11)
• Numbered with transgressors (12)
• Made intercession for sinners (12)

The second passage that convinces me of the importance of prophecy is found in chapter 54. It is far more subjective and intensely personal for Jan and me. We are at a wonderful stage of life now when we have more time to spend with our two adult children and three precocious grand children.  But there was a time when we thought we wouldn’t be able to have any children of our own.

Late December 1981, as we were fasting and praying about whether to adopt, God pointed out Isaiah 54:1, His promise of offspring for the “barren woman,” to Jan and to me separately. We then picked that same verse from the offering plate during a New Year’s Eve service a week later. It is not a typical promise normally found in the Daily Bread promise cards used that night. It applies to Israel and seemed far out of context for our situation, but that week God showed us through a miraculous chain of events (involving a random friend, a waiting room and The National Enquirer!) what was wrong medically and how to fix the problem. Our two beautiful children and three incredible grand kids are the result of God’s prophetic words spoken directly into our hearts.

“Lord, for me there is no doubt Your Words are true, whether they are written in the pages of Scripture or spoken directly to us by Your Spirit. The gift of our children and grandkids are proof positive!”