Podcast Introduction Our reading today is Isaiah 40-44, and I’m calling the episode “No Blockheads.”  After my comments, we’ll have our On this day in church history segment, another comment on a past episode, and some other surprises.  Comments on the Reading Thoughts on Isaiah 41 and 42  In Matthew 12:17 we’re told that Isaiah 42 is about the Messiah. After reading the chapter I’m sure you’re not surprised. As you probably know, the Old Testament is replete with Messianic prophecies. The Jews for Jesus website lists 365 of them, and of those 365 prophecies, 132 are in the book of Isaiah. The vast majority of these prophecies were fulfilled during Jesus’ first incarnation, and only a small handful remain to be fulfilled at His second coming.  In chapter 41, God, speaking through the prophet Isaiah makes a point of asking how many prophecies the false gods and idols made and had been fulfilled. Of course, since they were only man made made, the answer is none. God made a point of telling mankind part of His plan in advance so that we would know that He is indeed God.  Imagine the mathematical odds of just the Messianic prophecies being fulfilled in the life of just one man. The odds are astronomically high. So high as to be impossible, unless the one in whom they were fulfilled was, indeed the Messiah. I don’t know about you, but I’m satisfied that Jesus is who He said He is.  And if He is who He said He is, then every word He said must be true, because God is incapable of being wrong or lying. If I had to pick just one thing He said that every person needs to understand, it would be this, from John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me.” ERV  There is no other way to God. Jesus is the One Way. Think of it this way. There are millions upon millions of cel phones on the planet. Each one has its own phone number. If you want to phone me, you can only call the number associated with my phone. If you misdial even one digit, you will not get me. It’s the same with salvation. There are many purported paths to God, but only one way is the right way. It doesn’t matter if you’re a good person. It doesn’t matter if your intentions are right. It doesn’t even matter if you are sorry that you have wronged someone. All that matters is that you have a relationship with Jesus.  This is not me saying this. It is Jesus Himself. He is the only way to the Father. Thoughts on Isaiah 44  In chapter 44, verses 9 through 20 we saw how silly it is for men to create a god out of a block of wood. I think you probably agree.  One of the things the fool in the passage does is to pray to the idol he created, “You are my god, save me!” We agree with Isaiah when he says, “People like that don’t know what they are doing! They don’t understand.” True. But how do we know a god carved from a block of wood is not God? Because it is a created thing, right? By definition, God is eternal. He is not created. God is omniscient, He has all knowledge. He is omnipotent, He has all power. He is omnipresent, He is everywhere. There are other attributes that God has that a created thing does not.  It’s easy to see that a God made from a block of wood is not God. It cannot save us. So why do so many people look to politicians to save us? Why do people expect, say, a presidential candidate to save them? Every