Isaiah 53
New International Version (NIV)
Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord make his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
Today, verse 11 captured my attention. "He will be the light of life and be satisfied." As I looked out over Prague this morning, as I looked over a city of 1.2 million people, I was reminded of the power Christ has in turning darkness into light. I was reminded of His power in defeating death. I believe He has big plans for the people of Prague and the Czech Republic as a whole. I believe in His power to shine His light on this city that has so much darkness, so many who do not believe and now live with no hope. I believe God can transform that unbelief into something beautiful. And I am very excited to be in this city, called here by Him, to be used so that His light may shine, to be used to share this good new:
"He is not here; He is risen, just as he said." said the Angel in Matthew 28:6.
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 NIV
Praises: That we can opening celebrate Easter and the good news of Christ here.
For this lovely city and how God is already at work in it.
That God has already given me some opportunities to share his good news with some who have not heard it before.
Prayer Requests: For God's light to shine brightly in Prague and the Czech Republic.
For those who do not know what we are truly celebrating on Easter.
For those who have heard the good news of Jesus's victory over sin and death on Easter, but have not responded to that news for themselves.
Happy Easter!! He is Risen!!
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