Day 15
Scripture: Isaiah 55
“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me;
listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.
See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a ruler and commander of the peoples.
Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations you do not know will come running to you,
because of the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor.”
Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the Lord’s renown,
for an everlasting sign,
that will endure forever.”
Story from the Blue Seats:
Isaiah 55 reminds us that there is spiritual nourishment as well as physical nourishment. The verse points out that physical nourishment is temporary but spiritual nourishment is forever. This focus on nourishment led us to recall the “Table” sermon series about the simple activity of eating together to get to know one another and change your life forever.
We live on a cul-de-sac of about twelve houses. We decided to host a potluck dinner at the end of the cul-de-sac and drop off a note to invite each of our neighbors to share a meal together. We had no idea how many people would show up, but we were thrilled that most everyone came. The elderly couple on the street did not show up. I knocked on their door to invite them and it turned out they had forgotten and did not want to come because they had nothing to bring. I sincerely said come and just spend time together with us and they did!
It was a great time for all of us to be together and get to know each other a little more. It was scheduled for two hours and turned into a 3+ hour event. We exchanged phone numbers and another neighbor put together a map of everyone on the street and listed all of their family names as well as cell phone numbers. It was a great way to connect on that Sunday evening and to get to know each other better. We not only got to enjoy some good food, we were able to develop those bonds as neighbors that provide the interconnections that feed our spiritual nourishment.
