Brett Hawthorn @BrettHawthorn@dingdash.com

*‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭26:3‬ ‭NIV* “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”‬‬

*26:3* We can never avoid strife in the world around us, but with God we can know perfect peace even in turmoil. When we are devoted to him, our whole attitude is steady and stable. Supported by God’s unchanging love and mighty power, we are not shaken by the surrounding chaos (See Philippians 4:7). Do you want peace? Keep your thoughts on and your trust in God.

*‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭26:7-8‬ ‭NIV* “The path of the righteous is level; you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth. Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.”‬‬

*26:7,8* At time the “path of the righteous” doesn’t seem smooth and it isn’t easy to do God’s will, but we are never alone when we face tough times. God is there to help us through difficulties, to comfort us, and to lead us. God does this by giving us a purpose (keeping our mind centered on him, 26:3) and giving us provisions as we travel. God provides us with relationships of family, friends, and mentors. God gives us wisdom to make decisions and faith to trust him. Don’t despair, stay on God’s path.

*Ezekiel‬ ‭37:4-5‬ ‭NIV‬‬* “Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.”

*37:4,5* The dry bones represented the people’s spiritually dead condition. Your church may seem like a heap of dry bones to you, spiritually dead with no hope of vitality. But just as God promised to restore his nation, he can restore any church, no matter how dry or dead it may be. Rather than give up, pray for renewal, for God can restore it to life. The hope and prayer of every church should be that God will put his Spirit into it (37:14). In fact, God is at work calling his people back to himself, bringing new life into dead churches.

*‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭37:26-27‬ ‭NIV* “I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.”‬‬

*37:26,27* God’s promise here goes beyond the physical and geographical restoration of Israel. He promises to breathe new spiritual life into his people so that their hearts and attitudes will be right with him and united with one another. This same process is described throughout God’s Word as the cleansing and renewing of our hearts by God’s Spirit (Titus 3:4-6).

*1 John‬ ‭3:17-18‬ ‭NIV* “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”‬‬

*3:17,18* These versus give an example of how to lay down our lives for others - to help those in need. This is strikingly similar to James teaching (James 2:14-17). How clearly do your actions say you really love others? Are you as generous as you should be with your money, possessions, and time?

*‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭25:6‬ ‭NIV* “On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines.”‬‬

*25:6* Here is a marvelous prophecy of “all peoples” - Gentiles and Jews together - at God’s Messianic feast, celebrating the overthrow of evil and the joy of eternity with God. It shows that God intended his saving message to go out to the whole world, not just to the Jews. During the feast, God will end death forever (25:7,8). The people who participate in this great feast will be those who have been living by faith. That is why they say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us” (25:9). See also chapter 55 for another presentation of this great banquet.

*Ezekiel‬ ‭36:21-23‬ ‭NIV* “I had concern for my holy name, which the people of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone. “Therefore say to the Israelites, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.”‬‬

*36:21-23* Why did God want to protect his holy name-his reputation-among the nations of the world? God was concerned about the salvation not only of his people, but also of the whole world. To allow his people to remain in sin and be permanently destroyed by their enemies would lead other nations to conclude that their pagan gods were more powerful than Israel’s God (Isaiah 48:11). Thus, to protect his holy name, God will not share his glory with false gods - he alone is the one true God. The people had the responsibility to represent God properly to the rest of the world. Believers today have that same responsibility. How do you represent God to the world?

*Ezekiel‬ ‭36:25-27‬ ‭NIV* “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”‬‬

*36:25-27* God promised to restore Israel not only physically, but spiritually. To accomplish this, God would give them a new heart for following him and put his Spirit within them (see 11:19,20; Psalm 51:7-11) to transform them and empower them to do his will. Again the new covenant was promised (16:61-63; 34:23-25), ultimately to be fulfilled in Christ. No matter how impure your life is right now, God offers you a fresh start. You can have your sins washed away, receive a new heart for God, and have his Spirit within you - if you accept God’s promise. Why try to patch up your old life when you can have a new one?

*‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6:18‬ ‭NIV* “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”‬‬

*6:18* How can anyone pray on all occasions? One way is to make quick, brief prayers your habitual response to every situation you meet throughout the day. Another way is to order your life around God’s desires and teachings so that your very life becomes a prayer. You don’t have to isolate yourself from other people and from daily work in order to pray constantly. You can make prayer your life and your life a prayer while living in a world that needs God’s powerful influence. “Praying for all the saints” means praying for all believers in Christ; so pray for the Christians you know and for the church around the world.

@Rinati @Knittinggrace @xixiangdong @jjmiller33756 you are 100% correct, we do need to exalt our kings name and spread the Word of God more now than ever. That is exactly why I share the word almost daily on every social media platform that there is. People are so blinded and so easily deceived. We need to be faithful in sharing the Word of God and God will be faithful in making His Word work for his good and to glorify Him. Have a blessed day.

*Isaiah 24-27* These four chapters are often called “Isaiah’s Apocalypse.” They discuss God’s judgment on the entire world for its sin. Isaiah’s prophecies were first directed to Judah, then to Israel, then to the surrounding nations, and finally to the world. These chapters describe the last days when God will judge the whole world. At that time he will finally and permanently remove evil.

*‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭24:4-5‬ ‭NIV* “The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the heavens languish with the earth. The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant.”‬‬

*24:4,5* Not only the people suffered from their sins; even the land suffered the effects of evil and lawbreaking. Today we see the results of sin in our land - pollution, crime, addiction, poverty. Sin affects every aspect of society so extensively that even those faithful to God suffer. We cannot blame God for these conditions because human sin has brought them about. The more we who are believers renounce sin, speak against immoral practices, and share God’s Word with others, the more we slow our society’s deterioration. We must not give up: sin is rampant, but we can make a difference.