Day 18 – Isaiah 52:13-53:12 The Servant Crushed…And Exalted
James Smith
June 24, 2026
The world sees a despised and defeated man, God sees his victorious Servant, and faith sees the substitute who bears our sins.
Day 17 – Isaiah 51:17-52:12 Awake, Awake, O Zion
James Smith
June 23, 2026
God awakens Zion from condemnation and shame, announces his return as King, and leads his redeemed people out in a new exodus.
Day 16 – Isaiah 51:1-16 Remember the Rock, Awake to Hope
James Smith
June 22, 2026
God strengthens his pilgrim people by calling them to remember his past faithfulness, trust his everlasting salvation, and stop fearing mortal opposition.
Life that is truly ours
James Smith
June 19, 2026
Over the long weekend I read Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library. Published in 2020, it became a worldwide bestseller and has sold more than ten million copies. Its heroine, Nora Seed, reaches a point where she no longer wants to live. Instead of dying, she enters a mysterious library in which every book contains a different life she might have lived had she made other choices…
Day 15 – Isaiah 50:4-11 The Obedient Servant, The Stubborn People
James Smith
June 19, 2026
Unlike stubborn Israel, God’s Servant listens, obeys, suffers faithfully, and trusts the LORD to vindicate him.
Day 14 – Isaiah 49:14-50:3 Forgotten? Never Forsaken
James Smith
June 18, 2026
Zion fears that God has forgotten her, but the LORD answers with tender compassion, unbreakable commitment, and the promise of a family larger than she can imagine.
Day 13 – Isaiah 49:1-13 Too Small A Thing
James Smith
June 17, 2026
God’s Servant will restore Israel, but that is too small a thing: he will also bring God’s salvation to the ends of the earth.
Day 12 – Isaiah 48:1-22 Stubborn People, Refining Grace
James Smith
June 16, 2026
God calls his stubborn people to leave Babylon, but only his refining grace and the coming Servant can deal with their deeper exile of sin.