Archive for category: GAMEtime Sharing

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 6:1-13.

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. — Isaiah 6:1

One summer during my teen years, the King Tut exhibit came to a city only five hours’ drive away from our farming community, and a group of us took the challenge of trying to get in to view it. Since the exhibit was highly advertised, it drew people from hundreds of miles around. We left home in the middle of the night to make the journey, arriving early in the morning. Even so, we waited in an extremely slow line for many, many hours before entering the front doors of the museum.

Once we were inside, we were quite thrilled at what we saw! The magnificence of those displays was beyond anything my little country girl’s heart could imagine. There was more gold in one place than I will probably ever see again in my lifetime. King Tutankhamen’s burial mask was shaped of smooth gold, and painted with the youthful, elegant features we have come to associate with these rulers of long ago. Aside from the sheer value of the gold, there was the priceless significance of these centuries-old treasures. My opportunity to view this amazing collection was certainly the chance of a lifetime.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 4:1-6.  Let’s go!

Isaiah 4:1 (NIV)
1  In that day seven women will take hold of one man and say, “We will eat our own food and provide our own clothes; only let us be called by your name. Take away our disgrace!”

On verse 1:  Even though both verses 1-2 of chapter 4 both begin with the words “in that day”, verses 1 and 2 appear to be talking about two very different things.  Also, verse 1 of chapter 4 seems to continue the final verses of chapter 3 which describe the shame and desperation that the women of Judah would face when Jerusalem and Judah fall to the Babylonians.  For this reason it is best to group verse 1 of chapter 4 with the rest of chapter 3.

Keep in mind that Isaiah himself did not insert the chapter and verse references himself; rather these were added in later for convenience and general reference.  So the chapter and verse references can often, though not always, serve as a helpful guide, but they are not inspired the way we believe the actual Scriptures themselves are.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 2:6-22.  Let’s go!

Isaiah 2:6-22 (NIV)
6  You have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob. They are full of superstitions from the East; they practice divination like the Philistines and clasp hands with pagans.
7  Their land is full of silver and gold; there is no end to their treasures. Their land is full of horses; there is no end to their chariots.
8  Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made.
9  So man will be brought low and mankind humbled– do not forgive them.

On verses 6-22:  When my sister and I were much younger, we would take a bunch of our favourite stuffed animals, put them on a large blanket, and with a hand on each corner of the blanket, we would shake the blanket up and down.  The animals would bounce high in the air before coming down either back onto the blanket or onto the ground.  We would keep shaking that blanket until only one animal was left on the blanket, and that surviving animal we called the winner of our “animal battle royal”.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 1:21-31.  Let’s go!

Isaiah 1:21-23 (NIV)
21  See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her– but now murderers!
22  Your silver has become dross, your choice wine is diluted with water.
23  Your rulers are rebels, companions of thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not come before them.

On verses 21-23:  These verses describe two transformations that the people of Judah would go through.  The first is a negative transformation as a result of sin (v21-23):  Jerusalem was once “the faithful city (v21) but has become a whore.  Her riches are now depleted and diluted (v22).  Once they had the almighty, just and compassionate God as their best friend, ruler and protector, but now, having forsaken Him, they have heartless rebels for rulers and evil thieves for companions (v23).

Hi GAMErs!

If you want to get to know God, Jesus or the Bible better, Isaiah is an excellent and important book to study.

Today’s passage is Isaiah 1:1-9.  Let’s go!

Isaiah 1:1 (NIV)
1  The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

On verse 1:  Isaiah’s ministry as a prophet spanned the reign of 4 kings of Judah: Uzziah (790-739 BC), Jotham (750-732 BC), Ahaz (735-715 BC) and Hezekiah (715-686 BC).  If King Uzziah died in 739 B.C. and Isaiah lived to report the defeat and death of Assyria’s king Sennacherib in 681 B.C., that means Isaiah’s ministry lasted at least 58 years.

Isaiah’s light didn’t burn bright for a moment only to flame out after a few years.  Isaiah served God with great longevity.  I pray that, like Isaiah, you and I would serve God with longevity as well.  May we not burn bright for God for a season, only to flame out and disappear.  Rather, for as many as years God gives us on this earth, may we live out our calling to worship Jesus, to grow more like Him, to serve Him, to lead out others to Him, and to love the church family He gave us.