Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Isaiah 6:6-7

Isaiah 6:6-7

“Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, `Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven’.” (please read vv. 5-7)

Brokenness and confession from me lead to forgiveness and restoration from God!

The angel touched Isaiah’s lips with a coal from the sacrificial altar. God gave the people of Israel the sacrificial system as a symbol of what Christ would do for them at the cross. Jesus had not yet come and so God gave them the symbol of the substitutionary death of an animal as payment for their sins. But really it was the great sacrifice of Jesus for us that would make a way for our sins to be taken away and forgiven”.

After Isaiah’s heart cry of brokenness and despair over his own sin, “then” came God’s forgiveness.

God’s reminding you today that He doesn’t want you to downplay your sin and make it seem not so bad. What He responds to in your life is open confession and grief in your heart about your sin against Him. And He’s also assuring you that when you see your sin the way He sees it and come to Him with it, He’s so ready to restore your relationship with Him to relational closeness.

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and downloadable in the Audio Lounge.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Isaiah 6:5- His personal Encounter with God!

Isaiah 6:5

"Then I said, `Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I live among a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.'"

(please read vv. 1-5 again)


You'll only really understand yourself when you have a personal encounter with God!

Isaiah's immediate response to his personal encounter with God wasn't great joy, excitement and vigour. No, Isaiah was devastated. He'd thought quite well of himself. He had a good self-image.

But suddenly that self-image was shattered by his exposure to God. In the face of God's presence, holiness and glory, Isaiah suddenly realised that he wasn't the centre of his own existence, that his sense of his own goodness was a delusion in the face of God's holiness. Here was this unfallen, perfect angel covering his face in the presence of God. What hope did Isaiah have?

Isaiah fell before his great God a broken man, aware of his weaknesses, failings and sins. That is just where he needed to be; it was where God wanted him. That brokenness was God's goal in Isaiah's life.

It is God's goal in your life too. Brokenness comes first; anointing comes later. Tears come first; joy comes later. Confession comes first; healing comes later. God comes first; then He makes you what you need to be. But you'll never find that brokenness until you encounter God Himself.

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and downloadable in the Audio Lounge.

Monday, May 21, 2007

Inspiring Prayers

I have often wondered what or how other devoted followers of God would pray to him... or say... I have found this website that is just that... their thoughts, snippets of inspirational prayers. click here for more.

Its great to know that there are those that have gone before us that are bold enough to speak out God's truth and what he has done in their lives. It is truly powerful... and a power not to be underestimated!


What you need to do, is to put your will over completely into the hands of your Lord, surrendering to Him the entire control of it. Say, "Yes, Lord, YES!" to everything, and trust Him to work in you to will, as to bring your whole wishes and affections into conformity with His own sweet, and lovable, and most lovely will. It is wonderful what miracles God works in wills that are utterly surrendered to Him. He turns hard things into easy, and bitter things into sweet. It is not that He puts easy things in the place of the hard, but He actually changes the hard thing into an easy one.

Hannah Whitall Smith

Isaiah 6:1-2

Isaiah 6:1-2

"I saw the Lord.Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew." (please read vv.1-5 again)

A personal encounter with God removes all your pride!

There are many different kinds of heavenly beings, which we lump together and call "angels". The Bible talks about angels, archangels, principalities, powers, cherubim and seraphim. These that Isaiah saw were the seraphim, which means "burning ones". Their name implies that they have a brilliance and glory about them.

These are probably the same beings that appeared to the shepherds at the birth of Jesus. When the first one appeared, Luke tells us (Luke 2:9) that "an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened".

The appearance of one of these angels brought awe and fear to those who saw them, and yet the far greater brilliance and glory of God causes even these great and amazing beings to cover their faces. They also covered their feet, a sign of deep humility before God.

If you find yourself thinking that maybe your opinion is almost as significant as God's opinion, or placing a low value on God's place in your life, then you need to set aside some time simply to ask God to reveal Himself to you in a greater way.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Isaiah 6:1

Isaiah 6:1

“In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.” (please read vv.1-5 again)

God’s glory always accompanies His presence!

The “train” of a robe is the long part of the robe that trails behind the king. It represents the king’s glory and majesty.

When Isaiah saw the Lord in all His beauty and greatness and magnificence, the train of God’s robe filled the temple. That is, there was an overwhelming sense of the glory of God!

This is the same thing that happened when Solomon first dedicated the temple. 2 Chronicles 5:13-14 tells us: “Then the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.”

When you have a personal encounter with God, you too will begin to see His glory — the evidence of His presence — in everything. In the circumstances of your life, in the Bible, in your prayer life, in your worship, in your fellowship with other believers, in your ministry to others, in God’s provision of your needs.

At every turn you will find reasons to honour and praise God for His kingly presence filling every corner of your life.

Friday, May 11, 2007

Isaiah 5:20

Isaiah 5:20

Isaiah 5:20

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”

There is such a thing as absolute truth, despite how `good’ and `sweet’ popular opinion may seem!

God is not just a power that can be bent in whatever way suits us. God will not be what we want Him to be or what we think He should be. He will not behave according to our plans; nor will He adjust His morality to fit our expectations.

Remember, God was here long before humanity existed. God is who He is, not who we want Him to be.

Our job is not to decide what God is like, but to find out what He is like. He has a moral nature that defines morality in His universe. He has revealed His moral guidelines in the Bible and in His Son Jesus.

When we start redefining what God has said about morality, or sexuality, or spirituality, or marriage, or love, or any other area of right and wrong, we are setting ourselves against who God is and how He has revealed Himself.

Today the Lord is reminding us to go to His word for our guidance on the issues of life. It makes life so much simpler and ultimately sweeter when we trust God’s wisdom and obey Him.

Written by John North of Ambassadors For Christ for FM103.2. You can hear John Weekday mornings at 6.05am on FM103.2 and in our Audio Lounge.

who are these goofy kids? :D



“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the Glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
- Nelson Mandela