Isaiah 53:1 Who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

Modern English translations generally render the first line of this verse as speaking of the prophet’s message, but the Japanese expresses it in terms of what we have heard from God. A prophet should certainly be speaking out what God is saying, but even prophets have trouble at times believing what God is saying, even when He uses their mouths to say it. One of the biggest “problems” with the Gospel is that it seems too good to be true, as indeed it is. It is miraculous, because it is entirely outside of human imagination and possibility. What follows after this verse is the clearest expression of the Gospel in the whole Old Testament. Isaiah 53 has been instrumental in the salvation of countless people, including the Ethiopian eunuch mentioned in Acts 8. When we lose our amazement at the depth and height of God’s grace and love in sending His Son to take the penalty for our sins, we lose a great deal, potentially even salvation itself. The minute we think we deserve salvation, we disqualify ourselves from it. This is why salvation is by grace through faith. (Ephesians 2:8-9) This is the starting point for discipleship. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is indeed a high honor, but the minute we think we deserve it, we poison the experience. Humility is essential! A disciple should have assurance of salvation, but at the same time know how incredible it is that it was granted to them. That is saving faith.

I proclaimed my love for Jesus at five and was baptized at seven, but that was because the Gospel was so integral to my family. That’s not at all a bad thing, but the problem came in my understanding that I didn’t deserve what God had poured out through Jesus. It wasn’t until I was 24 that it hit me just how unworthy I was of God’s grace toward me. I’m currently more than three times that age, and I’m still learning just how amazing God’s grace really is. Yesterday He used my younger daughter to make me realize just what my priorities really are, causing me to cancel my plans for an immediate, solo trip to the US, in favor of going later with my wife on a relaxed schedule. A few years ago a doctor told her she wasn’t to take any plane rides longer than two hours, which wiped out visiting the US. However, that was shortly after her 3^rd back surgery, and not because of her Parkinson’s disease. The surgery is indeed now past, and breaking the trip into intervals, with appropriate rest, it seems possible. The point is, I am her caregiver, and the idea of me being gone for over a week not only terrified her, it also greatly concerned medical staff who are associated with her. The timing of the decision not to go now, alone, was certainly appropriate, because yesterday was the 57^th anniversary of our first date. I have been committed to her that long, and the only thing stronger is my commitment to my Lord Jesus. Even as I have been telling others to listen to God, because He’s speaking to us, I need to listen obediently to Him myself!

Father, thank You for Your truly amazing grace. Help me be an ever more open, available channel of that grace to all around me, starting with those closest to me, for the blessing of all and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!