Chapter 56 presents a powerful, stark contrast between the Lord and Israel’s leaders. Verses 1-8 reveal the Lord’s heart of compassion and kindness for the “outcasts of Israel” (8) and the “foreigners who join themselves to the Lord” (6). By…
Author: Rick and Linda Reed
Praise and Prayer Update (October 20, 2023)
We can praise the Lord together for answered prayer related to the accreditation visit from the team from ABHE (Association for Biblical Higher Education). Dr. Barry Howson reported that the visit went well. We received several commendations and some recommendations…
For All Who Are Waiting
Psalm 40 begins with the words: "I waited patiently for the Lord." I've found waiting for the Lord a hard thing to do. And waiting patiently is harder still. When the Lord's timing seems painfully slow, our patience tends to…
Tuesdays with Isaiah (Chapter 55)
Promise and appeal come together in the opening verses of chapter 55. The Lord calls His people to come to Him to receive full and free provision: “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and he who has not…
Praise and Prayer Update (October 13, 2023)
Linda and I have spent this past week on the West Coast visiting our families. Rick's mom has recently been through serious ailments and hospitalizations. By God's grace, she is home from the hospital but still facing a series of…
Tuesdays with Isaiah (Chapter 54)
Thanks to the Servant’s substitutional death for the nation of Israel and the “iniquity of us all” (53:6), Isaiah announces joyful news to the “afflicted, storm-tossed” Israelites. Because of the Servant’s vicious, victorious sacrifice, Jerusalem is called to “break forth…
Resource Spotlight (Leading the Lethargic)
One of the biggest challenges leaders have to overcome is lethargy. It's hard to motivate people who don't want to move forward. Several years ago, I spent half a year working through the book of Joshua, one chapter a week.…
Tuesdays with Isaiah (Chapter 53)
Isaiah begins chapter 53—a continuation of the fourth Servant Song—with two questions. Both imply what he is about to report had been dismissed or missed by many: “Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has…
Tips for Teachers (Getting Free From Your Notes)
If you are a teacher or preacher, you know the challenge of breaking free from looking at your notes as you teach. You probably would admit that, ideally, you'd like to be less tethered to your teaching notes. Yet, you…
Tuesdays with Isaiah (Chapter 52)
The chapter break between 51:23 and 52:1 obscures the fact that most of chapter 52 (1-12) is a continuation and culmination of the Lord’s message to His people in chapter 51 (4-23). Having already called His downcast, defeated people to…
Rick and Linda Reed 