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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
This is what the Lord says:
“As when juice is still found in a
cluster of grapes and people say, ‘Don’t destroy it, there is still a blessing
in it,’ so will I do in behalf of My servants; I will not destroy them all.”
“I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah those who will possess My mountains; My chosen people will inherit them, and there will My servants live. Sharon will become a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds, for My people who seek Me.”
Isaiah 65:8-10
This ends today’s reading from God's holy
word. Thanks be to God.
This far in the next to the last chapter of Isaiah, the
news has not been good as the Lord speaks about judgment in return for them
choosing sinful wickedness, grounded in the worship of false gods and idols,
over His righteousness. Through His words, the Lord leaves little doubt that He
is angry at His people, angry to the point where He is ready to administer
harsh punishment to them.
But then we get to our passage today and find a glimmer of
hope in the midst of coming consequences, reminded that we serve a God who is
our Judge but also the source of amazing grace, mercy, and pardon. Look at
these words from Isaiah 65:
This is what the Lord says:
“As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes and people say,
‘Don’t destroy it, there is still a blessing in it,’ so will I do in behalf of
My servants; I will not destroy them all.”
“I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah those who will possess My mountains; My chosen people will inherit them, and there will My servants live. Sharon will become a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds, for My people who seek Me.” Isaiah 65:8-10
Note here that the people of Israel were in danger of
annihilation had it not been for God’s forgiveness and fairness. We know God is
perfectly just and so when He considered that some of His people were worth
salvaging, seeing that there was still blessing in them, He chose not to
destroy all His servants. A remnant would be preserved and allowed to return to
rebuild and inhabit Judah and especially the holy city of Jerusalem, both which
had been destroyed and left in ruins by the Babylonians. He spoke it and then
saw that it came to be (Read the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah for the account of
the Israelite remnant return).
So how does this apply to us today?
Well, it’s simple for the Lord that the Israelites served is
the same Lord we serve today. He is our Judge and has promised judgment to come
on this world and the people on it but He is also just and fair, promising that
not everyone will perish.
The final judgment of mankind is going to take place when
Jesus returns and on that day, many people will perish because they chose not
to receive Him and His gift of salvation. This fatal error of rejecting Jesus
will result in complete and utter destruction and annihilation, going the same
path into damnation by fire as Satan who they chose to partner with instead of
Christ.
But in the midst of this, there will be redemption
happening simultaneously. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son so that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish but have eternal
life (John 3:16). In other words, when Jesus returns, not everyone will perish
because there will be some good among the bad, those who placed their faith and
hope in Jesus as Savior. Thus, a remnant of people will be restored and it’s no
mere coincidence that this remnant will also get to go to Jerusalem but in this
instance, it will be a new Jerusalem where they will reside forever with God
and Jesus (Revelation 21).
Friends, the Lord speaks hope to us today but we have to
first receive it by professing and believing with all our heart and mind and
soul and strength that we are only saved from His coming wrath through placing
our full faith and hope in His Son as Savior.
Will you be counted among those the Lord will see as worth
saving because there is still blessing in you?
Amen.
In
Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
1 comment:
Amen
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