Day 176

2 Kings 15:30-31; 16:10-18; 17:1-4; 18:1-8;  2 Chronicles 28:16-25; 29:1-2; Isaiah 12:1-6; 17:1-14; Hosea 1:1-2:13.  “Faithful Expressions”

Faithfulness is the theme of the week.  We will see illustrations of God’s faithfulness to us and the people’s faithfulness to Him.  We will also read vivid real-life examples of what it means to be unfaithful.  We will see what God thinks of being unfaithful, and we will also see how He responds to it (believe it or not, faithfully—both in love and judgment).

Isaiah 12 describes songs of praise sung on a specific day (vv. 1, 4), the day when the Messiah rules the earth.  Obviously, we look forward to that day with great anticipation and we will no doubt sing God’s praises, but what about days other than that?  Do we have as many reasons to praise the Lord now as we would then?
Isaiah describes the Lord as One who provides comfort and salvation, the source of my strength and the reason for my song, and the One who “has done wonderful things”.  What has the Lord done for you?  Do you faithfully recognize each of God’s blessings?
But Isaiah didn’t leave it there.  He added another dimension to it.  He said that if we feel that way about the Lord, we should thank Him, praise His name, “tell the world what He has done” and “make known His praise around the world.”
Why wait until then?  Practice praising Him now.  Express your gratitude daily.  Tell others of the greatness of God.

General Questions for each day:
Summarize the day’s Bible passage in your own words.
What thoughts, actions, attitudes or beliefs are addressed in the passage?
How is the Holy Spirit leading you to apply this passage to your life today?