Well, as of right now I am halfway done with my senior year of college. I'll be graduating with a B.A. in Christian Studies and am extremely excited about graduation and then going to graduate school. I suppose that means I should apply relatively soon... :shock:

With all that said, I have a devotion from Isaiah 6:1-8.

(1) In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. (2) Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. (3) And they were calling to one another:

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

(4) At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

(5) "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

(6) Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. (7) With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

(8 ) Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"

And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

1 - Some may look at this passage and not see everything in it when in reality, it is one of my favorite passages and shows the glory of God in comparison to who we are. We first see Isaiah, who is writing, showing when this event happened, "In the year that King Uzziah died." This statement dealing with time shows that this is an event that happened within Isaiah's life, it's not just a story he created.

"I saw the Lord seated on a throne." A theophany is when a person physically sees God the Father. Due to God's holiness, we will be killed from seeing God as stated when Moses in on Mount Sinai. The physical manifestation of God is Jesus Christ and it is he who sits on the throne of glory (c.f. Rev. 4). So then, is it a Christophany depicted within this passage? Possibly and likely so.

"...high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple." It is God alone who is high and exalted, his name is above every name. He is YHWH, he is the great I AM. The train of the robe is also of importance. The length of the train depicts the greatness of the individual both in that age and many other ages. The robe of God is one which doesn't flow behind him, his robe fills the entire temple!

One thing which needs to be noted is the imagery of the temple. 1 Corinthians 6:19 speaks of the body being the temple of God. Corinthians state, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you." The Spirit indwells in those who follow Christ and therefore, the glory of God radiates from the hearts and lives of those who call Christ Lord!

2 - "Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying." Here we see the heavenly hosts. Within heaven there are multitudes of angels who constantly praise the name of God. This seraphs, these angels, are flying above proclaiming the name of God but were only using but two of their six wings to do so. Four of their wings were used entirely for relating to God! What does that say about our lives? Do we spend more time seeking to gain God's favor than we do seeking to have a relationship with him?

3 - "And they were calling to one another: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.'" These seraphs were praising God. The only discription of God every written more than two times in a row is that of holy. Does this signify that God is holy above everything else? Is it his holiness that all of his other characteristics pore out from? I personally think so. The love of God comes from his holiness. The mercy of God. The greatness of God. The sovereignty of God. The Word of God. The justice of God. The wrath of God. All of these radiate from his holiness.

Not only is God holy but his glory radiates from his creation. Everything from a sunset, a rainbow, the rocks of the earth, the sand on the seashore, declare the glory of God. We must also seek to declare the glory of God with our lives by living holy lives.

4 - "At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke." These angels were not merely chanting softly to themselves, they were shouting the praises to God. They were not ashamed, they were not holding back. We must also not be ashamed, we must also not hold back.

5 - "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." I love this verse. After Isaiah saw the holiness and glory of God, he realized in humility himself in comparison. We are we to think we compare to the majesty of the Lord most high? Isaiah realized his own faults in light of God's strength. He realized he did not compare. After Isaiah realized who God was, Isaiah realized who he was. This realization is something we must face in our lives if we ever want to call ourselves followers of Christ.

Some, especially unbelievers, may think this is a horrible passage, instead of God lifting up Isaiah he brought him down. This passage isn't about Isaiah, it is about God. It is God who is most high and due to that, Isaiah made a breakthrough in his life as we will see next.

6-7 - "Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." After Isaiah proclaimed his own failures in light of God's greatness, a seraph flew to him and took away his sin. A sin is when we miss the mark, when we do not live to the potential that God has set for us. God takes it away and makes Isaiah a new creation (John 3).

Isaiah then has the righteousness of Christ himself as it is his Holy Spirit which dwells within him. Through God's forgiveness, Isaiah is redeemed from his sin, his failure. We too can realized who we are in light of God's glory and find salvation. We too can live with the Spirit of God indwelling within us.

8 - "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'" After Isaiah received the redemption of God which can only be obtained through Christ Jesus, Isaiah sought to serve God. Isaiah's heart had been broken and changed into a new heart, one which sought to serve God with his live. God asks the same thing of us, "Whom shall I send?" Are we begging God for the ability to serve him? Are we seeking to serve God out of thanksgiving for the wonderous blessings he has bestowed upon our lives?