Have you ever read a scripture. . .where you immediate response was “Wow?”
Isaiah 58:6-9 in the Message Bible says:
“This is the kind of fast day I'm after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts. What I'm interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families. Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once. Your righteousness will pave your way. The God of glory will secure your passage. Then when you pray, God will answer. You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.'”
Do yourself a big favor and read those verses at least two more times before proceeding to the rest of this blog.
Truthfully, I’ve read Isaiah 58:6-9 numerous times in other translations but never in the Message Bible until recently.