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May 28, 2023 – Hope in the Day of the Lord

Lesson Printed Text: 2 Peter 3:1-15A KJV

Keep in Mind the Key Verses: 2 Peter 3:9 (KJV)
"As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."

(Pop-up references come from The New Living Translation courtesy of Faithlife Reftagger)

What shall we learn from this lesson:

Peter starts our reference text by reminding the reader that in the final days (before the day of the Lord) those that mock the truth of the Lord will arise. They will try to cast doubt on the promise that a Judgment day will come. They will say that nothing has changed since the creation of the world (2 Peter 3:4) which is implying that the day of the Lord will not come.

Peter said for them to remember that a day is like a thousand years to the Lord and a thousand years is like a day (2 Peter 3:8). So the Lord is not being slow about His promise. He is just being patient because He wants us all to repent and be saved (2 Peter 3:9). He does not want anyone to be destroyed (2 Peter 3:9).

Chapter 3 is mainly about judgment. One of the signs that judgment is near is the existence of those that mock the idea that God will judge us.

We have to be ready when the Lord returns. We must first remind ourselves who God is. We must do this to avoid slipping back into our old sinful ways. Otherwise, our confidence in Him and His word may wain.

He is the one who created the world by wishing it into existence. He is the one who destroyed the existing mankind through Noah and the flood. We must understand that God is "for real" and is the most powerful Being in existence. If His word says He will judge us, then He will. Because of that knowledge, Peter tells us how we should live (2 Peter 3:14).

God is this minute giving us time to live like He wants us to. We should not turn our back on this opportunity.

The word says the day of the Lord will come as unexpected as a thief (2 Peter 3:10). But we know that the day of the Lord is really coming. Since we know that fact then we should "wake up" and live the way God wants us to.


The Bible lesson link (at the beginning of the lesson) is for the King James Version. You may also wish to read the New Living Translation Bible Version of 2 Peter 3:1-15A NLT

Keep in Mind the Key Verses: 2 Peter 3:9 (NLT) - "God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.”

June 4, 2023 – Holy, Holy, Holy

Lesson Printed Text: Isaiah 6:1-8 KJV

Keep in Mind the Key Verse: Isaiah 6:3 (KJV)
"And one cried to another and said: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!'"

(Pop-up references come from The New Living Translation courtesy of Faithlife Reftagger)

What shall we learn from this lesson:

This book starts with reference to the year that King Uzziah died. This king ruled for over 50 years and some say he was overall a good king. However, he let his rebellious and prideful side get the best of him.

Because he thought he was so powerful he went into the Holy of Holies in the Temple even though he was not a high priest. This was strictly forbidden. As a result, God struck Uzziah with leprosy, a disease that has been described as a living death. He eventually died with the disease in disgrace.

Isaiah knew he was not Holy but there he was witnessing the Lord on His throne. So what does "Holy" mean? It means being associated only with God and set apart from other uses. God Himself is the ultimate in holiness. He is set apart from many things. We will list 3 below:

1. He is set apart from creation. He was not created but instead is the one who created everything.
2. He is set apart from humanity. He is not a human. He is God who created humanity.
3. He is set apart from sin. God cannot sin. In general, sin is doing something against God's wishes.

Isaiah knew that bad things could happen to unholy people who find themselves in the presence of the Holy God. This is another reason why Isaiah was so concerned about the fact that he witnessed God on His throne. He said,

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”
Isaiah 6:5 NIV

We don't know for sure if Isaiah in our text was seeing a vision or in a dream or something Else. The Bible does not specifically reveal this level of detail. All we know is that Isaiah had an encounter with God.

He knew that what is unholy cannot coexist with that which is holy. Therefore, because he was not without sin (he had unclean lips) and was in the presence of God, his life was in danger.

But, he was purged of sin when one of the mighty seraphim that were attending to God flew over to him and touched his lips with a hot coal which had come from the altar. The seraphim then said to Isaiah that because the coal had touched his lips his sins were forgiven. (Isaiah 6:7 KJV).

This would allow Isaiah to be in the presence of the Lord since he was then sinless. The very next thing in the text is the first word of verse 8. That word is "also". "Also" implies something that happens simultaneously or in conjunction with something else.

In our text, the simultaneously occurring things are #1- Isaiah was cleansed of sin when the coal touched his lips and #2- he heard the voice of the Lord. This is the first time in our reference text that Isaiah is said to hear what the Lord said.

This is the way it is expressed in verse 8:

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. (Isaiah 6:8 KJV)

Notice that Isaiah did not hesitate to answer the Lord's interrogative offer. He didn't ask for more details or where he would have to go, or how long he would be gone. He just said, "Here am I; send me. The sense is that he was happy just to be doing something for the Lord.

That's really how we all should be; anxious to do things for God. Even though Isaiah was there with Angelic beings who would love to do something for God, he did not hesitate volunteering.

How would a similar scene play out if everyone was human and in a human environment? Let's explore that for a moment. In a human environment, I suspect many times we would act like the people in a popular TV commercial that I see almost every day.

In this commercial, the boss opens a door to a room where 10 employees are at their desks working. Without looking up, the boss announces to the group that they have a big project coming up.

Sensing that the announcement means extra work, 9 of the 10 employees vanish behind or under desks or other pieces of furniture. When the boss finally looks up, only one employee is visible at her desk. The others are hiding to avoid extra work. She willingly volunteered to take on the project without hesitation by raising her hand before any other details are given.

In some respects her attitude was like that of Isaiah's. She vounteered to do what was needed for the new project. Isaiah volunteered to do whatever God needed. This employee didn't ask how long it would take to complete the work or any other details. She just did as Isaiah had done by immediately volunteering for the assignment. That's how our attitude should also be toward the Lord.


The Bible lesson link (at the beginning of the lesson) is for the King James Version. You may also wish to read the New Living Translation Bible Version of Isaiah 6:1-8 NLT

Keep in Mind the Key Verse: Isaiah 6:3 (NLT) - "They were calling out to each other, 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!'”

June 11, 2023 – Give Thanks

Lesson Printed Text: Isaiah 12 KJV

Keep in Mind the Key Verse: Isaiah 12:4 (KJV)
"And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted."

(Pop-up references come from The New Living Translation courtesy of Faithlife Reftagger)

What shall we learn from this lesson:

Isaiah 12 is a chapter which describes what is experienced through the eyes of a worshipper of God. The prophet reminds us of how the Lord is worthy of our praise and gratitude.

The worshipper who is featured in this chapter was excited that the Lord had previously been angry with him but not any more. Instead of anger, the Lord comforts him as shown in verse one:

And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. Isaiah 12:1 (KJV)

It's always good to know that God is a loving and forgiving God. It is good when the Lord gives us His favor for He is in control of our destiny.

The worshipper declares that God is his salvation; so much so that he is joyful and says that JEHOVAH is his strength and his song:

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Isaiah 12:2 (KJV)

The worshipper does not give his personal efforts toward righteousness any credit for his joyfulness. He does not say that he himself is responsible for his own salvation.

No, he gives God that credit by saying, "Behold, God is my salvation." Because of that, he will trust in the Lord and not be afraid.

He wants everyone to trust in the Lord and not be afraid. That is the reason he starts off by saying, "Behold." That word captures our attention and prepares us for something important to follow.

The Lord is worthy of our complete trust. We cannot give all of our trust to man because many times man will let us down. We cannot even trust ourselves always for we are sinners.

But God's salvation is like living water that comes from a deep and unending source. The Bible says in Isaiah 12:3 (KJV), "Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation."

For access to all chapters of the King James Version Bible in audio and visual formats, visit the Audio-Bible.com web site.

For other versions (NIV, New Living Translation, etc.) of the Bible in audio and visual formats, visit the World Wide Study Bible page of Christian Classics Eternal Library site. Also visit the New Living Translation web site.

Some information on this page may be referenced from the NLT Study Bible, the Standard Lesson Commentary, Precepts for Living, Commentary by David Guzik, and gotquestions.org. Frederick L. Marsh is the commentary author of the information contained in this page. He is the author of the book: "The Book of the Holy Spirit: Joyful living." The opinions expressed on this page are his alone.