Saturday, November 8, 2014

WHAT WE FIND IN JESUS (PART 10)



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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

In that day the Lord will reach out His hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of His people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.

He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; He will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth. Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish, and Judah’s enemies will be destroyed; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim. They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west; together they will plunder the people to the east. They will subdue Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be subject to them. The Lord will dry up the gulf of the Egyptian sea; with a scorching wind He will sweep His hand over the Euphrates River. He will break it up into seven streams so that anyone can cross over in sandals. There will be a highway for the remnant of His people that is left from Assyria, as there was for Israel when they came up from Egypt.

Isaiah 11:11-16

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today is the final devotion in the series, What We Find in Jesus, as we come to a summation of the many blessings we have in Him. For when you sum it all up, we find deliverance and rescue in life when we choose to devote ourselves to our Savior.

As we look at the final verses of Isaiah, Chapter 11, we find good news proclaimed for the people of Israel no matter if they chose to align with the northern kingdom of Israel or the southern kingdom of Judah. Either way, liberation would be coming for the people who had experienced God’s judgment in exile. Look again at our scripture for today:

In that day the Lord will reach out His hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of His people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.

He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; He will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth. Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish, and Judah’s enemies will be destroyed; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim. They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west; together they will plunder the people to the east. They will subdue Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be subject to them. The Lord will dry up the gulf of the Egyptian sea; with a scorching wind He will sweep His hand over the Euphrates River. He will break it up into seven streams so that anyone can cross over in sandals. There will be a highway for the remnant of His people that is left from Assyria, as there was for Israel when they came up from Egypt.  Isaiah 11:11-16

Note here that it is the Lord who reclaims His people. He sent them into punishment and it is He who will bring them out of it at His appointed time. We know that this rescued remnant will go about rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple, the place where God would return to dwell with His people.

So how does this apply to us today?

Well, in a way, we are all in exile here on earth, living in an alien land. For this is not the dwelling place the Lord truly desires for us. Rather, it is just a temporary stop on the way to enjoying a life free from all the things that trouble or afflict us in this life. Jesus, the only One through which we can be saved, is the way the Father provided for us to find our deliverance and rescue today. When He returns, the Lord God Almighty will reclaim all who are His and they will be taken from this earth which will pass away, saved from destruction and transferred to a new heaven and earth where they will dwell with God the Father and Jesus, His Son, forever.

This is the awesome hope we find in Jesus, the hope that says we will be saved, delivered and rescued from the trials, tribulations, difficulties, and afflictions of the world, liberated from hurt and pain and sin and worry and set free into a new everlasting life filled with love and peace and light.

If you haven’t accepted Him as Savior today, don’t delay another second and possibly miss your opportunity. Place your faith, hope, and trust in the One who is ready to save you and live in peace knowing you will be marked for deliverance and rescue through His salvation promise when He returns.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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