A famous footballer stepped onto a stage that wasn’t a sports stadium. He spoke to three hundred inmates in a prison, sharing with them words from Isaiah.
This moment, though, was not about the spectacle of a famous athlete but about a sea of souls broken and hurting. In this special time, God showed up behind bars. One observer tweeted that “the place began to erupt in worship and praise”. Men were weeping and praying together. In the end, twenty-seven inmates gave their lives to Christ.
In a way, we are all in prisons of our own making, trapped behind bars of our greed, selfishness and addiction. But amazingly, God shows up. In the prison that morning, the key verse was, “I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19). The passage encourages us to “forget the former things” and “do not dwell on the past” (v. 18) for God says, “I, even I, am he who . . . remembers your sins no more” (v. 25).
Yet God makes it clear: “Apart from me there is no saviour” (v. 11). It is only by giving our lives to Christ that we’re made free. Some of us need to do that; some of us have done that but need to be reminded of who the Lord of our life truly is. We’re assured that, through Christ, God will indeed do “a new thing”. So let’s see what springs up!
By Kenneth Petersen
REFLECT & PRAY
In what way are you imprisoned by your own sin? What do you need to do to break free from your brokenness?
Heavenly Father, please free me from the prison bars of my sin.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
We have more background information on Isaiah than on most other prophets. There’s much speculation, though no actual proof, that he was a priest. He had two sons: Shear-Jashub (7:3), which means “a remnant will return,” and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (8:3), which means “swift to the spoils, quick to plunder.” According to tradition that goes back to the second century AD, Isaiah was executed by King Manasseh, who allegedly had him sawn in two, perhaps referenced in Hebrews 11:37 . Isaiah is quoted in the New Testament more than any other Old Testament book (Psalms is the second most quoted).
Bill Crowder
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