Heavenly Father
give us grace to know and trust your nature which permeates everything, both light and darkness1 Yahweh says to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him,
and strip kings of their armour;
to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut:2 “I will go before you
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and make the rough places smooth.
I will break the doors of bronze in pieces
and cut apart the bars of iron.
3 I will…Heavenly Father
give us grace to trust you as our father to bring forth righteousness and salvation in us and for us in your own ways8 Rain, you heavens, from above,
and let the skies pour down righteousness.
Let the earth open, that it may produce salvation,
and let it cause righteousness to spring up with it.
I, Yahweh, have created it.9 Woe to him who strives with his Maker—
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a clay pot among the clay…Heavenly Father, our maker
give us grace to trust in your saving power, even when you are hidden from us11 Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel
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and his Maker says:
“You ask me about the things that are to come, concerning my sons,
and you command me concerning the work of my hands!
12 I have made the earth, and created man on it.
13 I have raised him up in righteousness,
and I will make all his ways straight.
He shall build my city,…Heavenly Father
give us grace to seek you and your righteousness today18 For Yahweh who created the heavens,
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the God who formed the earth and made it,
who established it and didn’t create it a waste,
who formed it to be inhabited says:
“I am Yahweh.
There is no other.
19 I have not spoken in secret,
in a place of the land of darkness.
I didn’t say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in…Heavenly Father
give us grace to see how we turn away to other sources of fulfilment and strength, and to turn to you for these today.20 “Assemble yourselves and come.
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Draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations.
Those have no knowledge who carry the wood of their engraved image,
and pray to a god that can’t save.
21 Declare and present it.
Yes, let them take counsel together.
Who has shown this from ancient time?…Heavenly Father
give us grace to have confidence and hope in proclaiming in deed and word that Jesus was reconciling ALL things to himself22 “Look to me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
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for I am God, and there is no other.
23 I have sworn by myself.
The word has gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and will not be revoked,
that to me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall take an oath.
24 …Heavenly Father
give us grace to allow you to carry us when we are weary, rather than look to those things which bring us aditional burdens.1 [The Babylonian] idols are a burden for the weary.
2 They could not deliver the burden,
but they have gone into captivity.3 “Listen to me, all the remnant of the house of Israel,
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that have been carried from their birth,
that have been carried from the womb.
4 Even to old age I am…3 ‘Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob, all the remnant of the people of Israel, you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born. 4 Even to your old age and grey hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you
Heavenly Father
give us grace to see those things/people who we put in place of you.5 “To whom will you compare me, and consider my equal,
and compare me, as if we were the same?
6 Some pour out gold from the bag,
and hire a goldsmith,
and he makes it a god.
They fall down—
yes, they worship.
8 “Remember this, and show yourselves men.
Bring it to mind again, you transgressors…Heavenly Father
give us grace to trust you for today and tomorrow.9 Remember the former things of old:
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for I am God, and there is no other.
I am God, and there is none like me.
10 I declare the end from the beginning,
and from ancient times things that are not yet done.
I say: My counsel will stand,
and I will do all that I please.
11 I call a ravenous bird from the east,
…Heavenly Father
give us grace to consider what is taking place today and reflect on what might happen tomorrow.1 ‘Go down, sit in the dust, Virgin Daughter Babylon;
3 Your nakedness will be exposed - I will take vengeance;
4 Our Redeemer – the Lord Almighty is his name –
is the Holy One of Israel.6 I was angry with my people and desecrated my inheritance;
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I gave them into your hand,…Heavenly Father
give us grace to be careful and wise in what we trust today, particularly being wary of what makes us comfortable.8 ‘Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure, lounging in your security
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and saying to yourself, “I am, and there is none besides me.
10 You have trusted in your wickedness and have said, “No one sees me.”
Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you
11 Disaster will come upon you, and you will not know how to conjure it away.
a catastrophe you cannot foresee…Heavenly Father
give us grace to listen to your voice today, and grace to rely on you as citizens of the kingdom of heaven, in truth and righteousness1 “Hear this, house of Jacob,
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you who are called by the name of Israel,
and have come out of the waters of Judah.
You swear by Yahweh’s name,
and make mention of the God of Israel,
but not in truth, nor in righteousness—
2 …Heavenly Father
give us grace to be guided by you today, whether the guidance is from of old, or whether it is from today.[God revealing things in advance]
4 Because I knew that you are obstinate;
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5 therefore I have declared it to you from of old;
before it came to pass I showed it to you;
lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them.
My engraved image and my molten image has commanded them.’
6 You have heard it.
…Heavenly Father
give us grace to be merciful today, particularly in difficult circumstances9 For my name’s sake, I will defer my anger,
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and for my praise, I hold it back for you
so that I don’t cut you off.
10 Behold, I have refined you,
but not as silver.
I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction.
11 For my own sake,
for my own sake, I will do…Heavenly Father
give us grace to hear your eternal voice today.12 “Listen to me, O Jacob,
and Israel my called:
I am he.
I am the first.
I am also the last.
13 Yes, my hand has laid the foundation of the earth,
and my right hand has spread out the heavens.
when I call to them, they stand up together.Heavenly Father
give us grace to trust that your purposes are being worked out in our world (just as they were when the Chaldeans in Babylon who had taken Israel into exile were defeated by Cyrus who then permitted Israel to return from exile)14 “Assemble yourselves, all of you, and hear!
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Who among them has declared these things?
He whom Yahweh loves will do what he likes to Babylon,
and his arm will be against the Chaldeans.
15 I, even I, have spoken.
…Heavenly Father
give us grace to be obedient to you today so that we may live in peace and righteousness17 Yahweh,
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your Redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel says:
“I am Yahweh your God,
who teaches you to profit,
who leads you by the way that you should go.
18 Oh that you had listened to my commandments!
Then your peace would have been like a river
and your…Heavenly Father
give us grace to open our hearts to you today so that we may live in peace20 Leave Babylon! [The place where Israel went into exile]
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Flee from the Chaldeans! [The new power who will return Israel to their own land]
With a voice of singing announce this,
tell it even to the end of the earth:
say, “Yahweh has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
21 They didn’t thirst when he led them through the deserts. [Remembering back to when…Heavenly Father
give us grace to live in the knowledge that our pasts, our presents and our futures are in you.1 Listen, islands, to me.
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Listen, you peoples, from afar:
Yahweh has called me from the womb;
from the inside of my mother, he has mentioned my name.
2 He has made my mouth like a sharp sword.
He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand.
He has made me a polished shaft.
He has kept me close in his…Heavenly Father
give us grace to live as Jesus did- finding strength in you and being a blessing to others5 Now Yahweh, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant,
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says to bring Jacob again to him,
and to gather Israel to him,
for I am honourable in Yahweh’s eyes,
and my God has become my strength.
6 Indeed, he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
…Heavenly Father
give us grace to trust your guidance today, particularly when we are out of our comfort zone8 Yahweh says, “I have answered you in an acceptable time.
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I have helped you in a day of salvation.
I will preserve you and give you for a covenant of the people,
to raise up the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritage,
9 saying to those who are bound, ‘Come out!’;
to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves!’
“They…Heavenly Father
give us grace to be a blessing to ALL those we meet today, particularly bringing comfort where it is needed11 I will make all my mountains a road,
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and my highways shall be exalted.
12 Behold, these shall come from afar,
and behold, these from the north and from the west;
and these from the land of Sinim.” [probably China]
13 Sing, heavens, and be joyful, earth!
Break out into singing,…Heavenly Father
give us grace to trust your love even when we feel forgotten.14 But Zion said, “Yahweh has forsaken me,
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and the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child,
that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Yes, these may forget,
yet I will not forget you!
16 Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.
Your walls are continually…Heavenly Father
open our eyes today so that we may see all the ways in which we are not alone by your grace, particularly when we feel alone[A Message of Hope to God’s people who find themselves in a lonely place - in exile]
17 Your children hurry. [to return to you - because ….]
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Your destroyers and those who devastated you will leave you.
18 Lift up your eyes all around, and see:
all these [your children] gather themselves…Heavenly Father
give us grace to walk with you patiently today22 The Lord Yahweh says, “Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations,
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and lift up my banner to the peoples.
They shall bring your sons in their bosom,
and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
23 Kings shall be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.
They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth,
and lick the dust of…Heavenly Father
give us grace to live in hope, particularly when things look bleak.[Isaiah gives a message of hope to the Jews who had been taken into captivity by the Babylonians,
that the Persian empire would take the Babylonians into captivity and allow the Jews to return to Judea]24 Shall the plunder be taken from the mighty,
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or the lawful captives be delivered?
25 But Yahweh says, “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away,
and the plunder…Heavenly Father
give us grace to listen to you, and the trust in your power to save[God’s people have suffered the consequences of their rebellion]
1 Yahweh says, “Where is the bill of your mother’s divorce, with which I have put her away?
Or to which of my creditors have I sold you?
Behold, you were sold for your iniquities,
and your mother was put away for your transgressions.[But when God approached them to deliver them, no-one was listening]
…
moreHeavenly Father
give us grace to listen to you so that we may be a blessing to those who are weary4 The Lord Yahweh has given me the tongue of those who are taught,
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that I may know how to sustain with words him who is weary.
He awakens morning by morning,
he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.
5 The Lord Yahweh has opened my ear.
I was not rebellious.
I have not turned back.
…Heavenly Father
give us grace to live today as those who are confident in the help you give us6 I gave my back to those who beat me,
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and my cheeks to those who plucked off the hair.
I didn’t hide my face from shame and spitting.
7 For the Lord Yahweh will help me.
Therefore I have not been confounded.
Therefore I have set my face like a flint,
and I know that I won’t be disappointed.
8 He…Heavenly Father
give us grace to trust in you today
10 Who among you fears Yahweh
and obeys the voice of his servant?
He who walks in darkness
and has no light,
let him trust in Yahweh’s name,
and rely on his God.
[the alternative is to make our own fire, our own light which leads to lying down in sorrow]11 Behold, all you who kindle a fire,
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who adorn yourselves with torches around yourselves,…Heavenly Father
give us grace to find our joy in you today
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1 “Listen to me, you who follow after righteousness,
you who seek Yahweh.
Look to the rock you were cut from,
and to the quarry you were dug from.
2 Look to Abraham your father,
and to Sarah who bore you;
for when he was but one I called him,
I blessed him,
and made him many.
3 For Yahweh has…Heavenly Father
give us grace to be agents of your justice today, trusting in you
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4 “Listen to me, my people;
and hear me, my nation,
for a law will go out from me,
and I will establish my justice for a light to the peoples.
5 My righteousness is near.
My salvation has gone out,
and my arms will judge the peoples.
The islands will wait for me,
and they…Heavenly Father
give us grace to open our hearts today to you so that we may know your righteousness and live accordingly.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look at the earth beneath;
for the heavens will vanish away like smoke,
and the earth will wear out like a garment.
Its inhabitants will die in the same way,
but my salvation will be forever,
and my righteousness will not be abolished.7 “Listen to…
moreHeavenly Father
give us grace to place today and tomorrow in your hands with joy, trusting in your power shown in the past.[the power of Yahweh existed before history and is attested to in mythical stories of monsters such as Rahab]
9 Awake, awake, put on strength, arm of Yahweh!
Awake, as in the days of old,
the generations of ancient times.
Isn’t it you who cut Rahab in pieces,
who pierced the monster?[the power of Yahweh was shown in history .e.g.…
moreHeavenly Father
give us grace to not be afraid today, but to find comfort in you.12 “I, even I, am he who comforts you.
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Who are you, that you are afraid of man who shall die,
and of the son of man who will be made as grass?
13 Have you forgotten Yahweh your Maker,
who stretched out the heavens,
and laid the foundations of the earth?
Do you live in fear continually all day because of the…Heavenly Father
give us grace to turn to you when we have problems, particularly when we are trapped, when we face death and when our resources fail.14 The captive exile will speedily be freed.
He will not die and go down into the pit.
His bread won’t fail.
15 For I am Yahweh your God, who stirs up the sea
so that its waves roar.
Yahweh of Armies is his name.…
Heavenly Father
give us grace to live as your children so that your kingdom may come on earth as it is in heaven.16 I have put my words in your mouth
and have covered you in the shadow of my hand,
that I may plant the heavens,
and lay the foundations of the earth,
and tell Zion, ‘You are my people.’”Heavenly Father
give us grace to trust in your justice today[The consequences of turning from the peaceful and righteous way of the Lord apply to all people.
In this case this has happened to the people of Jerusalem (in the shape of desolation, destruction, famine and sword),
but it will also happen to those who have walked over and afflicted them]17 Awake, awake!
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Stand up, Jerusalem,
you who have drunk from Yahweh’s hand the cup of his wrath.
19 …Heavenly Father
give us grace to know you and your justice today and have no part in oppression.1Awake, awake! Put on your strength, Zion.
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Put on your beautiful garments, Jerusalem, the holy city:
for from now on the uncircumcised and the unclean will no more come into you. [and oppress you]
2 Shake yourself from the dust!
Arise, sit up, Jerusalem!
Release yourself from the bonds of your neck, captive daughter of Zion! […
Daily Bible Verses
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