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Speaker 1: Life Audio. Thank you for listening to your Nightly Scripture,

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Speaker 1: a calming, scripture centered devotional podcast designed to help you

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Speaker 1: end each day with God's word in your mind and

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Speaker 1: on your heart. Right after the short word from our sponsors,

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Speaker 1: we'll reflect on Tonight's scripture Isaiah fifty four. Tonight's scripture

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Speaker 1: reflection is written by Kyle Norman and read by Lea Gerard.

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Speaker 1: Isaiah fifty four. Sing, Bear and woman, you who never

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Speaker 1: bore a child, burst into songs. Shout for joy, you

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Speaker 1: who were never in labor, Because more are the children

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Speaker 1: of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,

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Speaker 1: says the Lord Enlarge. The place of your tent, stretch

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Speaker 1: your tent curtains wide. Do not hold back. Lengthen your cords,

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Speaker 1: strengthen your stakes, for you will spread out to the

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Speaker 1: right and to the left. Your descendants will dispossess nations

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Speaker 1: and settle in their desolate cities. Do not be afraid.

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Speaker 1: You will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace.

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Speaker 1: You will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame

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Speaker 1: of your youth, and remember no more the reproach of

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Speaker 1: your widowhood. For your maker is your husband. The Lord

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Speaker 1: Almighty is his name. The Holy One of Israel is

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Speaker 1: your redeemer. He is called the God of all the earth.

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Speaker 1: The Lord will call you back as if you were

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Speaker 1: a wife deserted and distressed in spirit, a wife who

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Speaker 1: married young only to be rejected, says your God. For

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Speaker 1: a brief moment, I abandoned you, but with deep compassion

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Speaker 1: I will bring you back. In a surge of anger,

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Speaker 1: I hid my face from you for a moment, but

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Speaker 1: with ever lasting kindness I will have compassion on you,

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Speaker 1: says the Lord, your redeemer. To me, this is like

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Speaker 1: the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters

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Speaker 1: of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now

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Speaker 1: I have sworn not to be angry with you, never

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Speaker 1: to rebuke you again. Though the mountains be shaken and

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Speaker 1: the hills being removed, Yet my unfailing love for you

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Speaker 1: will not be shaken, nor my covenant of peace be removed,

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Speaker 1: says the Lord, who has compassion on you. Afflicted city,

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Speaker 1: lashed by storms, and not comforted, I will rebuild you

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Speaker 1: with stones of turquoise, your foundations, with lapis lazuli. I

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Speaker 1: will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels,

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Speaker 1: and all your walls of precious stones. All your children

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Speaker 1: will be taught by the Lord, and great will be

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Speaker 1: their peace. In righteousness you will be established. Tyranny will

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Speaker 1: be far from you. You will have nothing to fear.

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Speaker 1: Terror will be far removed. It will not come near you.

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Speaker 1: If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing.

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Speaker 1: Whoever attacks you will surrender to you. See, it is

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Speaker 1: I who created the blacksmith, who fans the coals into

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Speaker 1: flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And

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Speaker 1: it is I who have created the destroyer to wreak havoc.

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Speaker 1: No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will

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Speaker 1: refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage

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Speaker 1: of servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication

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Speaker 1: from me, declares the Lord. Isaiah fifty four talks about

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Speaker 1: God's kindness and compassion. It promises to a people who

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Speaker 1: had walked wearily through the exile that the Lord Almighty

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Speaker 1: would be with them, redeeming them and bringing them back

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Speaker 1: to their home with deep compassion. God says, I will

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Speaker 1: bring you back, and with ever lasting kindness, I will

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Speaker 1: have compassion on you. Compassion is an important word because

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Speaker 1: it doesn't mean pity or empathy or well wishes. Compassion

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Speaker 1: isn't about looking at someone's plight from afar and wishing

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Speaker 1: thoughts and prayers. Compassion demands intimacy. The word literally means

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Speaker 1: to suffer with. Compassion demands that one journey toward the hurting,

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Speaker 1: the tired, the anxious, and dwell with them. Compassion means

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Speaker 1: walking with them, crying with them, and sitting with them.

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Speaker 1: And this is what God does for us see Isaiah

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Speaker 1: fifty four. Doesn't erase all the struggles that these Israelites

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Speaker 1: had to walk through. They still went through the time

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Speaker 1: of the exile, and it was hard. In a surge

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Speaker 1: of anger, I hid my face from you, God says

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Speaker 1: Isaiah is honest about the trial, the disgrace, and the

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Speaker 1: shame that is reel felt. But then comes the word

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Speaker 1: of promise that it is directly into that situation that

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Speaker 1: God's compassion comes. God comes to receive us even if

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Speaker 1: we feel abandoned. God comes to exalt us, even if

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Speaker 1: all we can see is our shame. And God comes

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Speaker 1: to lead us home to God's own heart, even when

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Speaker 1: all we can see is how lost or far away

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Speaker 1: we are as you rest this evening, dare to believe

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Speaker 1: that you rest in the kindness and compassion of God

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Speaker 1: more deeply than you may be aware of it. The

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Speaker 1: Lord surrounds you in love, and in God's compassion, you

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Speaker 1: have life and salvation. Lord Jesus Christ, I thank you

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Speaker 1: for the deep compassion revealed to me in your Cross.

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Speaker 1: In your cross and with cries, tears and scars, you

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Speaker 1: truly suffer with the inflicted humanity. In times when I

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Speaker 1: feel overwhelmed by all that I face, May your compassion

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Speaker 1: and kindness before my strength and peace. As I rest

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Speaker 1: this night, May the knowledge of your mercy soothe my heart.

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Speaker 1: May the truth of your love fill my soul. And

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Speaker 1: may the promise of your compassionate presence keep me in

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Speaker 1: eternal safety. This I pray in your Holy name. Amen.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to your Nightly Scripture. Tonight's scripture

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Speaker 1: was read from the New International Version by Biblica. All

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Speaker 1: rights reserved. If tonight's episode blessed, you be sure to

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Speaker 1: Scripture is ready when you are. Your Nightly Scripture is

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Speaker 1: a production of Life Audio and Salem Media. Thank you,

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Speaker 1: and we'll see you tomorrow night. M