Do not be afraid - apart from the Lord there is no Savior.

Nov. 11, 2013 - Isaiah 43:13

    ¹ But now, this is what the LORD says—
   he who created you, Jacob,
   he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
   I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
² When you pass through the waters,
   I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
   they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
   you will not be burned;
   the flames will not set you ablaze.
³ For I am the LORD your God,
   the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
   Cush and Seba in your stead.
⁴ Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
   and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
   nations in exchange for your life.
⁵ Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
   I will bring your children from the east
   and gather you from the west.
⁶ I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
   and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
   and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
⁷ everyone who is called by my name,
   whom I created for my glory,
   whom I formed and made.”

   ⁸ Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,
   who have ears but are deaf.
⁹ All the nations gather together
   and the peoples assemble.
Which of their gods foretold this
   and proclaimed to us the former things?
Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,
   so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”
¹⁰ “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD,
   “and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
   and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
   nor will there be one after me.
¹¹ I, even I, am the LORD,
   and apart from me there is no savior.
¹² I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
   I, and not some foreign god among you.
You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “that I am God.
   ¹³ Yes, and from ancient days I am he.
No one can deliver out of my hand.
   When I act, who can reverse it?”

Isaiah saw the vision that apart from God there is no Savior. The Lord God called and chose Israel to be His servant and witnesses. Though they passed through waters and fire, the Lord would still be with them; they would not be burned and would not be swept away. God's people are precious and honored in His sight, and because the Lord loved them, He would save and provide the ransom. 

My Master Lord, thanks for choosing me to be your servant and witness. You promise to be with me whatever I pass through fires and water. Fires will not burn me, and waters will not sweep over me. You love me - You reveal, You save, and You proclaim that apart from You there is no Savior. Do not be afraid - You are my God. 

Do not become a blind and deaf servant of the Lord.

November 9, 2013 - Isaiah 42:18-25

    ¹⁸ “Hear, you deaf;
   look, you blind, and see!
¹⁹ Who is blind but my servant,
   and deaf like the messenger I send?
Who is blind like the one in covenant with me,
   blind like the servant of the LORD?
²⁰ You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;
   your ears are open, but you do not listen.”
²¹ It pleased the LORD
   for the sake of his righteousness
   to make his law great and glorious.
²² But this is a people plundered and looted,
   all of them trapped in pits
   or hidden away in prisons.
They have become plunder,
   with no one to rescue them;
they have been made loot,
   with no one to say, “Send them back.”

   ²³ Which of you will listen to this
   or pay close attention in time to come?
²⁴ Who handed Jacob over to become loot,
   and Israel to the plunderers?
Was it not the LORD,
   against whom we have sinned?
For they would not follow his ways;
   they did not obey his law.
²⁵ So he poured out on them his burning anger,
   the violence of war.
It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand;
   it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.

Jesus is the Servant of the Lord who chose and delighted in. However, Isaiah saw another vision that Israel was also the servant of the Lord but was a servant who was blind and deaf. Israel saw the new things the Lord had done but she paid no attention to; Israel heard the words of the Lord but did not follow. Israel, though being a servant of the Lord, did not follow the ways of the Lord. Israel was disciplined and had become plunder and loot by the gentiles. 

My Master Lord, we are Your servants to follow Your ways. You have opened our eyes to see the new things You have done in us; You have opened our ears to listen to Your words; You have sent Your chosen Servant of the Lord, Jesus Christ, to be our Master and Teacher. Let's follow Your ways and being Your faithful servants of the Lord. My dear Lord, open my eyes to see the new things You are doing while my physical eyes fade; open my ears to listen to Your words while I meditate on You; igniting the passion in my heart as I stand before You - "Here am I, send me!"

Join God's people to sing a new song to the Lord.

November 8, 2013 - Isaiah 42:10-17

    ¹⁰ Sing to the LORD a new song,
   his praise from the ends of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,
   you islands, and all who live in them.
¹¹ Let the wilderness and its towns raise their voices;
   let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice.
Let the people of Sela sing for joy;
   let them shout from the mountaintops.
¹² Let them give glory to the LORD
   and proclaim his praise in the islands.
¹³ The LORD will march out like a champion,
   like a warrior he will stir up his zeal;
with a shout he will raise the battle cry
   and will triumph over his enemies.

   ¹⁴ “For a long time I have kept silent,
   I have been quiet and held myself back.
But now, like a woman in childbirth,
   I cry out, I gasp and pant.
¹⁵ I will lay waste the mountains and hills
   and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn rivers into islands
   and dry up the pools.
¹⁶ I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
   along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light before them
   and make the rough places smooth.
These are the things I will do;
   I will not forsake them.
¹⁷ But those who trust in idols,
   who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’
   will be turned back in utter shame.

Prophet Isaiah joined singing the song of praise of God's people to the Lord. This is a new song singing to the Lord as He has done new things on earth. This is the song that can only be sung by the redeemed as they experience God's works in their lives. Isaiah Prophet saw the vision that the Lord raised Himself up as a warrior and champion, conquering His enemies. The Lord did not keep Himself silent anymore and hold Himself back; He cried out and destroyed all the obstacles; He came to rescue the blind and the needy; He never forsook them. He proclaimed Himself to be the Lord.

Dear Lord, let me start this morning with praise to You; let me join the prophet and Your people to sing song of praise to You. You are the Lord; You never forsake Your people; You never leave Your glory to the idols; You are the warrior and champion who leads us to have the victory over Your enemies. Experience Your works afresh daily and sing new songs to You always. 

Our Lord Jesus Christ - the most wonderful Servant of the Lord.

November 7, 2013 - Isaiah 42:1-9

    ¹ “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
   my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
   and he will bring justice to the nations.
² He will not shout or cry out,
   or raise his voice in the streets.
³ A bruised reed he will not break,
   and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
   ⁴ he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
   In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”

   ⁵ This is what God the LORD says—
the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
   who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,
   who gives breath to its people,
   and life to those who walk on it:
⁶ “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness;
   I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
   to be a covenant for the people
   and a light for the Gentiles,
⁷ to open eyes that are blind,
   to free captives from prison
   and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

   ⁸ “I am the LORD; that is my name!
   I will not yield my glory to another
   or my praise to idols.
⁹ See, the former things have taken place,
   and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
   I announce them to you.”

Prophet Isaiah saw the most wonderful vision of God's salvation. He saw how the Lord raised up the Servant of the Lord - He upheld the Servant; He chose the Servant; He delighted in the Servant; He put His Spirit on the Servant. The Servant of the Lord is our most beloved Master Jesus Christ who brings justice to the nations and at the same time gently treats the weak and needy - He will not break a bruised reed and snuff out a smoldering wick. Our Lord Jesus Christ becomes a covenant for God's people and a light for the gentiles; He opens eyes that are blind, and releases people who are in prison and sit in darkness. The Lord has declared that he will do new things and will not yield His glory to idols. 

My Master Jesus, You are the most wonderful Servant of the Lord. That's my honor to be Your servant and to follow Your way of justice and mercy to the needy. Follow Your humility; follow Your mercy; follow Your righteousness; follow Your faithfulness to the Lord; follow Your footsteps to be a light to the blind, the captives, and those who sit in darkness. My dear Lord, thanks for choosing me to be the beloved son of the heavenly Father, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, the friend of my Master Jesus, and also the servant like the Servant of the Lord. 

The Lord will turn the deserts into pools of water and the parched grounds into springs.

November 6, 2013 - Isaiah 41:17-29

¹⁷ “The poor and needy search for water,
   but there is none;
   their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the LORD will answer them;
   I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
¹⁸ I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
   and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
   and the parched ground into springs.
¹⁹ I will put in the desert
   the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers in the wasteland,
   the fir and the cypress together,
²⁰ so that people may see and know,
   may consider and understand,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
   that the Holy One of Israel has created it.

   ²¹ “Present your case,” says the LORD.
   “Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.
²² “Tell us, you idols,
   what is going to happen.
Tell us what the former things were,
   so that we may consider them
   and know their final outcome.
Or declare to us the things to come,
   ²³ tell us what the future holds,
   so we may know that you are gods.
Do something, whether good or bad,
   so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.
²⁴ But you are less than nothing
   and your works are utterly worthless;
   whoever chooses you is detestable.

   ²⁵ “I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes—
   one from the rising sun who calls on my name.
He treads on rulers as if they were mortar,
   as if he were a potter treading the clay.
²⁶ Who told of this from the beginning, so we could know,
   or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’?
No one told of this,
   no one foretold it,
   no one heard any words from you.
²⁷ I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’
   I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.
²⁸ I look but there is no one—
   no one among the gods to give counsel,
   no one to give answer when I ask them.
²⁹ See, they are all false!
   Their deeds amount to nothing;
   their images are but wind and confusion.

Prophet Isaiah saw the vision that the Lord was going to do new things on earth. The Lord, the God of Israel, had not forsaken the poor and the needy. He would turn the desert into pools of water, and parched ground into springs. People would then consider and understand that the Lord has done this. Isaiah envisioned that the Spirit, like pools of water and springs of water, will soon satisfy human's thirst and needs. The poor and needy will be satisfied; the foolish will become wise; the dead will be alive again by the Spirit. 

Dear Lord, open my eyes to see what Isaiah has seen; open my eyes to see how the thirsty will be satisfied, the poor will be fed, the needy will be fulfilled; open my eyes to see how the deserts and parched grounds of human's souls will be turned into springs and fertile land by the Spirit. Nothing is impossible in God who is the Lord of the earth. 

God chooses the weak to become His powerful witness on earth.

November 5, 2013 - Isaiah 41:1-16

The Helper of Israel

    ¹ “Be silent before me, you islands!
   Let the nations renew their strength!
Let them come forward and speak;
   let us meet together at the place of judgment.

   ² “Who has stirred up one from the east,
   calling him in righteousness to his service?
He hands nations over to him
   and subdues kings before him.
He turns them to dust with his sword,
   to windblown chaff with his bow.
³ He pursues them and moves on unscathed,
   by a path his feet have not traveled before.
⁴ Who has done this and carried it through,
   calling forth the generations from the beginning?
I, the LORD—with the first of them
   and with the last—I am he.”

   ⁵ The islands have seen it and fear;
   the ends of the earth tremble.
They approach and come forward;
   ⁶ they help each other
   and say to their companions, “Be strong!”
⁷ The metalworker encourages the goldsmith,
   and the one who smooths with the hammer
   spurs on the one who strikes the anvil.
One says of the welding, “It is good.”
   The other nails down the idol so it will not topple.

   ⁸ “But you, Israel, my servant,
   Jacob, whom I have chosen,
   you descendants of Abraham my friend,
⁹ I took you from the ends of the earth,
   from its farthest corners I called you.
I said, ‘You are my servant’;
   I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
¹⁰ So do not fear, for I am with you;
   do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
   I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

   ¹¹ “All who rage against you
   will surely be ashamed and disgraced;
those who oppose you
   will be as nothing and perish.
¹² Though you search for your enemies,
   you will not find them.
Those who wage war against you
   will be as nothing at all.
¹³ For I am the LORD your God
   who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
   I will help you.
¹⁴ Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,
   little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help you,” declares the LORD,
   your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
¹⁵ “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,
   new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains and crush them,
   and reduce the hills to chaff.
¹⁶ You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up,
   and a gale will blow them away.
But you will rejoice in the LORD
   and glory in the Holy One of Israel.

Prophet Isaiah saw the vision that the Lord called Israel to be His servant. Israel, was seen weak in other nations' eyes, and like a worm Jacob. But the Lord promised to uphold Jacob with His righteous hand, and the Lord called Himself to be the Redeemer and the Holy One of Israel. Jacob was not to be afraid; God has chosen Jacob and will not reject Jacob. Jacob will soon be strengthened by the Lord to be like a threshing sledge, new and sharp, and threshing and crushing the mountain ahead of him. The weak one Jacob, chosen by the Lord, will become the most powerful instrument for proclaiming the Name of the Lord on earth. 

My dear Lord, You are the Redeemer and the Holy One of Your people. On whom we can be dependent. You choose us to be Your Witness; You choose us to be Your servant on earth; You choose us to destroy all the strongholds that hinder people to come to You; and You are our strength to rejoice forever. 

Renew your strength from the Lord - Soar on wings like eagles in the sky.

November 4, 2013 - Isaiah 40:23-31

²³ He brings princes to naught
   and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
²⁴ No sooner are they planted,
   no sooner are they sown,
   no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than he blows on them and they wither,
   and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

   ²⁵ “To whom will you compare me?
   Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
²⁶ Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
   Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
   and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
   not one of them is missing.

   ²⁷ Why do you complain, Jacob?
   Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD;
   my cause is disregarded by my God”?
²⁸ Do you not know?
   Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
   the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
   and his understanding no one can fathom.
²⁹ He gives strength to the weary
   and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
   and young men stumble and fall;
³¹ but those who hope in the LORD
   will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
   they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint.

Prophet Isaiah saw the vision that all authorities compare to God are nothing. They are like flowers that fade, or chaff in the whirlwind. He saw that our God is the most Mighty and Wise God. He is the everlasting God and the Creator of the ends of the earth. He never gets weary or tired and at the same time gives strength to the weary and power to the weak. Strength and power belongs to God alone. Prophet Isaiah saw the vision that the weak or weary, once relying power and strength from the Lord, can renew their strength and fly again like an eagle which soars on wings in the sky. Prophet Isaiah envisions the spiritual life of a Christian is the life of freedom, like eagles soaring in the sky on wings that conquers the earthly attraction, temptations, and all kinds of evil powers. 

Dear Lord, thanks for Your wonderful promise to me that I can also live a life of freedom, and a life of power and strength that comes from You. You call me to soar in the sky that conquers my fear, lack of faith, inner drives or complusiveness of own satisfaction, Satanic temptations, or all other kinds of earthly authorities. Draw me closer to You daily to put my hope in You, to praise You, to live out Your calling for bringing blessings to others. 

Our Lord is the most Majestic One of the universe.

November 3, 2013 - Isaiah 40:12-22

 ¹² Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
   or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
   or weighed the mountains on the scales
   and the hills in a balance?
¹³ Who can fathom the Spirit of the LORD,
   or instruct the LORD as his counselor?
¹⁴ Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him,
   and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,
   or showed him the path of understanding?

   ¹⁵ Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
   they are regarded as dust on the scales;
   he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
¹⁶ Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,
   nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
¹⁷ Before him all the nations are as nothing;
   they are regarded by him as worthless
   and less than nothing.

   ¹⁸ With whom, then, will you compare God?
   To what image will you liken him?
¹⁹ As for an idol, a metalworker casts it,
   and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
   and fashions silver chains for it.
²⁰ A person too poor to present such an offering
   selects wood that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
   to set up an idol that will not topple.

²¹ Do you not know? 
   Have you not heard? 
Has it not been told you from the beginning? 
   Have you not understood since the earth was founded? 
²² He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, 
   and its people are like grasshoppers. 
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, 
   and spreads them out like a tent to live in. 

Isaiah saw the vision that the hope of God's people comes from God who is the most Mighty One of the universe. His hand created the mountain and the earth. He is merely just like a giant compared to the earth. His hand holds the waters, measures the heavens, and lifts up the weight of the earth. He is the most wise One, and no one can fathom the Spirit or wisdom of the Lord. He alone is the Majestic One who sits enthroned above the earth, and no idol made by men can compared with Him. 

My most Majestic, Mighty, and Wise God who is also my Shepherd, may I lift up my spirit to worship and praise You in the early morning. The beginning of my life shall start with worship as You are my God whom no one or other idol can compare with. Whom should I fear of apart from You? What should I worry about? Worshiping my God and trusting my Mighty Shepherd is the only response to all circumstances of my life. My Lord, sharpen my heart with passion for loving You and shaping my life with Christ-likedness that I become a masterpiece of Your hand for Your Kingdom. 

Shout on the top of the mountain - here is God, our Shepherd.

November 2, 2013 - Isaiah 40:1-11

    ¹ Comfort, comfort my people,
   says your God.
² Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
   and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
   that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD’s hand
   double for all her sins.

   ³ A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
   the way for the LORD;
make straight in the desert
   a highway for our God.
⁴ Every valley shall be raised up,
   every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
   the rugged places a plain.
⁵ And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
   and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

   ⁶ A voice says, “Cry out.”
   And I said, “What shall I cry?”

   “All people are like grass,
   and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
⁷ The grass withers and the flowers fall,
   because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
   Surely the people are grass.
⁸ The grass withers and the flowers fall,
   but the word of our God endures forever.”

   ⁹ You who bring good news to Zion,
   go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,
   lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
   say to the towns of Judah,
   “Here is your God!”
¹⁰ See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power,
   and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
   and his recompense accompanies him.
¹¹ He tends his flock like a shepherd:
   He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
   he gently leads those that have young.

Prophet Isaiah saw the vision of God's comfort while God's people would be exiled very soon. Isaiah saw that people were like grass that withers and flowers that fall. But God's faithfulness and His words endure forever. Isaiah exhorts us to shout and lift up our voice on the top of mountain to proclaim the comfort message from God. Our God will prepare a highway, removing the obstacles and leveling the valley and the mountains, for all God's people to come to Him. God becomes the Shepherd for His people, tending the flock, gathering the lambs in His arms, carrying them close to His heart, and gently leading those that are young and weak. Isaiah served the Lord for more than 30 years after his calling from the Lord. Isaiah encourages us to rely on the Lord who also shepherded his whole life. Some recorded that Isaiah was sawed in two (Heb. 11:36-37) but he still spoke God's comfort message after his death. 

Here is our God who gives us hope and comfort in the midst of sadness and desperate conditions. He is our Shepherd; He forgives our sins; He prepares the way to lead us home; He tends us; and He is our God. Dear God, You are my Shepherd, I shall not want as I rely on Your faithfulness to walk faithfully on Your way in the rest of my life. 

Downfall of spiritual leaders.

November 1, 2013 - Isaiah 39

    ¹ At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of his illness and recovery. ² Hezekiah received the envoys gladly and showed them what was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices, the fine olive oil—his entire armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.

   ³ Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?”

   “From a distant land,” Hezekiah replied. “They came to me from Babylon.”

   ⁴ The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”

   “They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”

   ⁵ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD Almighty: ⁶ The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD. ⁷ And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

   ⁸ “The word of the LORD you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.”

King Hezekiah experienced the miraculous healing of his life while he faced the imminent death. Nevertheless, this miraculous experience could not stop him from his spiritual downfall. Facing the impending attack from Assyria (701 B.C.), Hezekiah had not consulted God but rather sought for an allegiance with Babylon (712 B.C.). Spiritual leaders fall or slip away from God so easily while facing external pressures that come from works or people. Hezekiah fell and slipped away from reliance of God who delivered him from death but rather chose to rely on Babylon to resist against the invasion from Assyria. Isaiah brought the words of discipline from the Lord to the king but Hezekiah failed again to immediately repent and to pray for his nation. He failed again in his promise to teach his children the faithfulness of the Lord after he was delivered from death by the Lord. 

Dear Master Lord, deliver me as well from any self-reliance or dependence on people rather than on Your mercy and power. Spiritual leaders also failed unexpectedly while facing fear, burdens or stresses. Preserve my purity in trusting You no matter what crises I will face in the future. Not the army or gods of Babylon, military armies of any nation, or my own strength is to be relied on but only You Lord is the mighty One whom I trust each day. 

An earnest prayer while facing the imminent death.

October 31, 2013 - Isaiah 38

    ¹ In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”

   ² Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, ³ “Remember, LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

   ⁴ Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: ⁵ “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. ⁶ And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.

   ⁷ “‘This is the LORD’s sign to you that the LORD will do what he has promised: ⁸ I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.’” So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down.

   ⁹ A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery:

   ¹⁰ I said, “In the prime of my life
   must I go through the gates of death
   and be robbed of the rest of my years?”
¹¹ I said, “I will not again see the LORD himself
   in the land of the living;
no longer will I look on my fellow man,
   or be with those who now dwell in this world.
¹² Like a shepherd’s tent my house
   has been pulled down and taken from me.
Like a weaver I have rolled up my life,
   and he has cut me off from the loom;
   day and night you made an end of me.
¹³ I waited patiently till dawn,
   but like a lion he broke all my bones;
   day and night you made an end of me.
¹⁴ I cried like a swift or thrush,
   I moaned like a mourning dove.
My eyes grew weak as I looked to the heavens.
   I am being threatened; Lord, come to my aid!”

   ¹⁵ But what can I say?
   He has spoken to me, and he himself has done this.
I will walk humbly all my years
   because of this anguish of my soul.
¹⁶ Lord, by such things people live;
   and my spirit finds life in them too.
You restored me to health
   and let me live.
¹⁷ Surely it was for my benefit
   that I suffered such anguish.
In your love you kept me
   from the pit of destruction;
you have put all my sins
   behind your back.
¹⁸ For the grave cannot praise you,
   death cannot sing your praise;
those who go down to the pit
   cannot hope for your faithfulness.
¹⁹ The living, the living—they praise you,
   as I am doing today;
parents tell their children
   about your faithfulness.

   ²⁰ The LORD will save me,
   and we will sing with stringed instruments
all the days of our lives
   in the temple of the LORD.

   ²¹ Isaiah had said, “Prepare a poultice of figs and apply it to the boil, and he will recover.”

   ²² Hezekiah had asked, “What will be the sign that I will go up to the temple of the LORD?”

Hezekiah prayed and wept bitterly before the Lord while he was sick to the point of death. He prayed from the bottom of his heart while he was facing the end of his life. He recalled how he had been faithfully and wholeheartedly walked before the Lord. He earnestly asked for God's healing in the most desperate situation of his life. Hezekiah prayed; and he prayed without any pretense of words or rituals; he prayed to the Lord who had been His Lord of his life. God saved; and He saved out of His mercy; and He saved Hezekiah miraculously. The Lord gave Hezekiah a longer life span of fifteen years. He even gave a sign that the sun went back ten steps as His affirmation to the king. Hezekiah was delivered by the Lord again and he started praising the Lord again and promised to tell his children about God's faithfulness. 

Dear Lord, I know that one day I will face death like Hezekiah did before. Preserve my faithfulness and wholeheartedness like that of Hezekiah. I may be very sad and weeping bitterly but draw me to pray to You from the bottom of my heart. I know that You are the living God. I may not experience God's miraculous healing as that of Hezekiah. But You are my God no matter I am living or I am entering into eternity after my physical life. Pray to You. You are my Lord. Praise You. You are the shepherd of my life. 

The zeal of the Lord will defeat our greatest enemy for His glory.

October 30, 2013 - Isaiah 37:21-38

    ²¹ Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, ²² this is the word the LORD has spoken against him:

   “Virgin Daughter Zion
   despises and mocks you.
Daughter Jerusalem
   tosses her head as you flee.
²³ Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed?
   Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?
   Against the Holy One of Israel!
²⁴ By your messengers
   you have ridiculed the Lord.
And you have said,
   ‘With my many chariots
I have ascended the heights of the mountains,
   the utmost heights of Lebanon.
I have cut down its tallest cedars,
   the choicest of its junipers.
I have reached its remotest heights,
   the finest of its forests.
²⁵ I have dug wells in foreign lands
   and drunk the water there.
With the soles of my feet
   I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.’

   ²⁶ “Have you not heard?
   Long ago I ordained it.
In days of old I planned it;
   now I have brought it to pass,
that you have turned fortified cities
   into piles of stone.
²⁷ Their people, drained of power,
   are dismayed and put to shame.
They are like plants in the field,
   like tender green shoots,
like grass sprouting on the roof,
   scorched before it grows up.

   ²⁸ “But I know where you are
   and when you come and go
   and how you rage against me.
²⁹ Because you rage against me
   and because your insolence has reached my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose
   and my bit in your mouth,
and I will make you return
   by the way you came.

   ³⁰ “This will be the sign for you, Hezekiah:

   “This year you will eat what grows by itself,
   and the second year what springs from that.
But in the third year sow and reap,
   plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
³¹ Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah
   will take root below and bear fruit above.
³² For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,
   and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
   will accomplish this.

   ³³ “Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning the king of Assyria:

   “He will not enter this city
   or shoot an arrow here.
He will not come before it with shield
   or build a siege ramp against it.
³⁴ By the way that he came he will return;
   he will not enter this city,” declares the LORD.
³⁵ “I will defend this city and save it,
   for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!”

   ³⁶ Then the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! ³⁷ So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.

   ³⁸ One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.

Isaiah prophesied the final defeat of the most powerful enemy of God's people, king Sennacherib. He was not merely the enemy of God's people but the enemy of God. The zeal of the Lord accomplished the defeat of the enemy by sending His angel to kill 185,000 soldiers of king Sennacherib within a night. People opposed the Lord in vain as they are merely human. But the Lord loved His people and protected His remnant. He preserved His remnant and promised that they will take root below and bear fruit above. 

Dear Master Lord, You are the Mighty and Sovereign King of the earth. All enemies ahead of us are merely humans and mortal. The Lord's zeal will accomplish His glory through us as we faithfully follow and trust His will. We are God's remnant and He is our God. Let's praise Him, taking root below in His love and power, and bearing fruit above for witnessing His Name. 

Our God, manifest Yourself to be the only God over all the kingdoms of the earth.

October 29, 2013 - Isaiah 37:1-20

    ¹ When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the LORD. ² He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. ³ They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the moment of birth and there is no strength to deliver them. ⁴ It may be that the LORD your God will hear the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the LORD your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives.”

   ⁵ When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, ⁶ Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. ⁷ Listen! When he hears a certain report, I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.’”

   ⁸ When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.

   ⁹ Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the king of Cush, was marching out to fight against him. When he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: ¹⁰ “Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.’ ¹¹ Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? ¹² Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors deliver them—the gods of Gozan, Harran, Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? ¹³ Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad? Where are the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah?”

    ¹⁴ Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. ¹⁵ And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: ¹⁶ “LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. ¹⁷ Give ear, LORD, and hear; open your eyes, LORD, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.

   ¹⁸ “It is true, LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. ¹⁹They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. ²⁰ Now, LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, LORD, are the only God.”

King Hezekiah faced the most critical crisis of his life. His country was attacked by Sennacherib who was the most powerful nation on the earth at this time and had indeed destroyed numerous nations as he was proud of. Nevertheless, Hezekiah could still resort to the Prophet Isaiah and His Lord. He received affirmation from the Lord through the prophecy of Isaiah. And Hezekiah also brought the crisis to the temple, praying to the Lord from the bottom of his heart. He prayed for the deliverance from the Lord; he prayed for the manifestation of the Lord's glory among the kingdoms of the earth as he believed that the Lord God was the only God on earth; he prayed in trusting the Lord alone. 

Dear Lord, the enemy wants to bring us down in crisis, but the Lord strengthens our faith instead. He reveals to us that He is Lord, He shatters our self-reliance, and He alone receives glory from us. My Lord, You are the Living God and I want to see Your face, to hear Your words, and to witness the works of Your hands as You manifest Yourself and Your glory as I pray to You. 

On whom are you depending in the crisis of your life?

October 28, 2013 - Isaiah 36

    ¹ In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. ² Then the king of Assyria sent his field commander with a large army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. When the commander stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field, ³ Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to him.

   ⁴ The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah:

   “‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours? ⁵ You say you have counsel and might for war—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me? ⁶ Look, I know you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. ⁷ But if you say to me, “We are depending on the LORD our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar”?

   ⁸ “‘Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them! ⁹ How then can you repulse one officer of the least of my master’s officials, even though you are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? ¹⁰Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this land without the LORD? The LORD himself told me to march against this country and destroy it.’”

   ¹¹ Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah said to the field commander, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”

   ¹² But the commander replied, “Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the people sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?”

   ¹³ Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! ¹⁴ This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you! ¹⁵ Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the LORD when he says, ‘The LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’

   ¹⁶ “Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree and drink water from your own cistern, ¹⁷ until I come and take you to a land like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

   ¹⁸ “Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’ Have the gods of any nations ever delivered their lands from the hand of the king of Assyria? ¹⁹ Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? ²⁰Who of all the gods of these countries have been able to save their lands from me? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”

   ²¹ But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.”

   ²² Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn, and told him what the field commander had said.

Prophet Isaiah not only saw the vision of the future works of the Lord, he also witnessed how the Lord humbled the proud of the nations and delivered His people from the danger. The king of Assyria Sennacherib confronted Hezekiah about his dependence on the Lord for His delivery. He listed out various kings or nations who depended on their gods and had been ultimately defeated by him. God's people faced a serious crisis in their lives and had to make decision regarding on if they should still trust their Lord or give in to their enemy's threatening. 

On whom are we depending? My Lord, this is always the question we are asked to respond when we face crisis of our life. I know my own lack of faith but I have no hesitation to shout to You for Your help and strengthening. Because You are the only God on earth and also the One I trust. On the Lord, my Jesus Christ who delivers me from the power of sin and death, I depended in the past, I am depending now, and I will depend in the future. 

Let all the redeemed of the Lord walk on the Highway of Holiness with everlasting joy.

October 26, 2013 - Isaiah 35:1-10

Joy of the Redeemed

    ¹ The desert and the parched land will be glad;
   the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, ² it will burst into bloom;
   it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
   the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the LORD,
   the splendor of our God.

   ³ Strengthen the feeble hands,
   steady the knees that give way;
⁴ say to those with fearful hearts,
   “Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
   he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
   he will come to save you.”

   ⁵ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
   and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
⁶ Then will the lame leap like a deer,
   and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
   and streams in the desert.
⁷ The burning sand will become a pool,
   the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
   grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

   ⁸ And a highway will be there;
   it will be called the Way of Holiness;
   it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean will not journey on it;
   wicked fools will not go about on it.
⁹ No lion will be there,
   nor any ravenous beast;
   they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
   ¹⁰ and those the LORD has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
   everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
   and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Prophet Isaiah saw the vision of the joy of the redeemed. That is a tremendous joy for those who have experienced God's redemption. Their fear have gone and their hearts been strengthened by the Lord; the eyes of the blind are opened; the ears of the deaf are healed; the lame leap like a deer; the mute shout for joy; the streams gush forth in the desert; and the waste land becomes like an oasis. Isaiah saw the Highway of Holiness where all the redeemed walk on there and sing for the salvation of the Lord with everlasting joy. 

Dear Lord, we are all invited to walk on this Highway of Holiness. This is a Highway for all the redeemed. God will cleanse us with His Son's blood, take away our fear, heal our diseases, and fill our hearts with everlasting joy. Let's join with all the saints to sing with joy for the Lord's salvation. He is King and He is also Saviour of the earth. No more fear; no more wickedness; no more diseases; and God's glory alone and the joy of all the redeemed will fill up the earth soon. 

The Kingdom of Righteousness will come as the Spirit pours out on God's people.

October 25, 2013 - Isaiah 32:1-4; 15-20

    ¹ See, a king will reign in righteousness
   and rulers will rule with justice.
² Each one will be like a shelter from the wind
   and a refuge from the storm,
like streams of water in the desert
   and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.

   ³ Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,
   and the ears of those who hear will listen.
⁴ The fearful heart will know and understand,
   and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear. 

¹⁵ till the Spirit is poured on us from on high, 
   and the desert becomes a fertile field, 
   and the fertile field seems like a forest. 
¹⁶ The LORD’s justice will dwell in the desert, 
   his righteousness live in the fertile field. 
¹⁷ The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; 
   its effect will be quietness and confidence forever. 
¹⁸ My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, 
   in secure homes, 
   in undisturbed places of rest. 
¹⁹ Though hail flattens the forest 
   and the city is leveled completely, 
²⁰ how blessed you will be, 
   sowing your seed by every stream, 
   and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.

Prophet Isaiah saw the vision of the Kingdom of Righteousness, and the reign of the Righteous King. This Kingdom would come as the Spirit of God is poured on His people, turning the desert into fertile field, and fertile field into forest. The Lord's righteousness and justice would dwell in His people and they would live in security and eternal rest. Isaiah's vision of the Righteous Kingdom gave the prophet's hope in the midst of God's punishment of the rebellious nations. God's punishment would bring the ultimate coming of the Kingdom of Righteousness as the Spirit pours out on His people. The Spirit converts people's hearts from rebellion, and transforms people's state from desert into fertile field, and fertile field into forest. Dear Holy Spirit, keep me in listening to Your voice as I minister and await for Your works and guidance in my life. 

God's vineyard will fill the earth with its fruit.

October 24, 2013 - Isaiah 27

    ¹ In that day,

   the LORD will punish with his sword—
   his fierce, great and powerful sword—
Leviathan the gliding serpent,
   Leviathan the coiling serpent;
he will slay the monster of the sea.

   ² In that day—

   “Sing about a fruitful vineyard:
   ³ I, the LORD, watch over it;
   I water it continually.
I guard it day and night
   so that no one may harm it.
   ⁴ I am not angry.
If only there were briers and thorns confronting me!
   I would march against them in battle;
   I would set them all on fire.
⁵ Or else let them come to me for refuge;
   let them make peace with me,
   yes, let them make peace with me.”

   ⁶ In days to come Jacob will take root,
   Israel will bud and blossom
   and fill all the world with fruit.

   ⁷ Has the LORD struck her
   as he struck down those who struck her?
Has she been killed
   as those were killed who killed her?
⁸ By warfare and exile you contend with her—
   with his fierce blast he drives her out,
   as on a day the east wind blows.
⁹ By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned for,
   and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:
When he makes all the altar stones
   to be like limestone crushed to pieces,
no Asherah poles or incense altars
   will be left standing.
¹⁰ The fortified city stands desolate,
   an abandoned settlement, forsaken like the wilderness;
there the calves graze,
   there they lie down;
   they strip its branches bare.
¹¹ When its twigs are dry, they are broken off
   and women come and make fires with them.
For this is a people without understanding;
   so their Maker has no compassion on them,
   and their Creator shows them no favor.

   ¹² In that day the LORD will thresh from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, Israel, will be gathered up one by one. ¹³ And in that day a great trumpet will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled in Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.

Prophet Isaiah saw the vision of God that the Lord would triumph over the enemy - the Lord would slay the monster of the sea, Leviathan. The Lord would also at the same time discipline His people. They would be punished for the sake of atonement. God's people would be purged of idolatry and they would be gathered on the holy mountain in Jerusalem from the exile in Egypt and Assyria. God disciplines His people but never without compassion on restoring them back to His love. Isaiah saw the vision that in that Day God's vineyard would would become a fruitful vineyard and fill the earth with all its fruit. God's works and witnesses will fill the whole earth through His people in that Day. Isaiah saw the vision of hope in the midst of the attacks of enemy and the discipline of God. God's people feel painful but yet without hope as God is still watering and guarding His vineyard, growing it to fill the whole earth with His love and glory. 

My dear Lord, let me see what Isaiah has seen in that Day. God is the victorious One. He is also the One who guards His church to fill the earth with His fruits. He is also the One who shepherds my life to be His witness. 

The vision of praising the Lord.

October 23, 2013 - Isaiah 26

    ¹ In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

   We have a strong city;
   God makes salvation
   its walls and ramparts.
² Open the gates
   that the righteous nation may enter,
   the nation that keeps faith.
³ You will keep in perfect peace
   those whose minds are steadfast,
   because they trust in you.
⁴ Trust in the LORD forever,
   for the LORD, the LORD himself, is the Rock eternal.
⁵ He humbles those who dwell on high,
   he lays the lofty city low;
he levels it to the ground
   and casts it down to the dust.
⁶ Feet trample it down—
   the feet of the oppressed,
   the footsteps of the poor.

   ⁷ The path of the righteous is level;
   you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth.
⁸ Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws,
   we wait for you;
your name and renown
   are the desire of our hearts.
⁹ My soul yearns for you in the night;
   in the morning my spirit longs for you.
When your judgments come upon the earth,
   the people of the world learn righteousness.
¹⁰ But when grace is shown to the wicked,
   they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil
   and do not regard the majesty of the LORD.
¹¹ LORD, your hand is lifted high,
   but they do not see it.
Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame;
   let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them.

   ¹² LORD, you establish peace for us;
   all that we have accomplished you have done for us.
¹³ LORD our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us,
   but your name alone do we honor.
¹⁴ They are now dead, they live no more;
   their spirits do not rise.
You punished them and brought them to ruin;
   you wiped out all memory of them.
¹⁵ You have enlarged the nation, LORD;
   you have enlarged the nation.
You have gained glory for yourself;
   you have extended all the borders of the land.

   ¹⁶ LORD, they came to you in their distress;
   when you disciplined them,
   they could barely whisper a prayer.
¹⁷ As a pregnant woman about to give birth
   writhes and cries out in her pain,
   so were we in your presence, LORD.
¹⁸ We were with child, we writhed in labor,
   but we gave birth to wind.
We have not brought salvation to the earth,
   and the people of the world have not come to life.

   ¹⁹ But your dead will live, LORD;
   their bodies will rise—
let those who dwell in the dust
   wake up and shout for joy—
your dew is like the dew of the morning;
   the earth will give birth to her dead.

   ²⁰ Go, my people, enter your rooms
   and shut the doors behind you;
hide yourselves for a little while
   until his wrath has passed by.
²¹ See, the LORD is coming out of his dwelling
   to punish the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the blood shed on it;
   the earth will conceal its slain no longer.

Prophet Isaiah repeatedly saw the vision of salvation of the Lord in his ministry life. He lifted up his heart to praise the Lord in the midst of darkness of his nation and the earth. He saw the Lord as the Rock Eternal; he saw the lifting of God's hand; he saw the righteous punishment of God on the wicked; he saw how the Lord humbled the lofty and the proud. He reminded his heart to trust in the Lord forever; he kept his soul and spirit to long for the Lord in the night and in the morning as the Lord alone was his salvation. He saw that all the glory belonged to the Lord; and He alone would bring the dead to live again. He is Lord. 

My Almighty Lord, may my spirit resonate with Isaiah's spirit, longing for Your Salvation and trusting You alone as our Lord. You alone receive my attention and reliance. Praise the Lord in the morning and in the night. May praising You become my vision and my strength.