Sunday Reading: Isaiah 35:1-4
Key Verse: Isaiah 35:1
1 The wilderness and the desert shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the crocus.
Key Verse: Isaiah 35:1
1 The wilderness and the desert shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the crocus.
Devotion:
Although this passage was actually foretelling of the state of the kingdom when Hezekiah was king, it does look far beyond simply saying how much the kingdom was to flourish at that time. This is typical of the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of heaven. We will be given to rejoicing about everything because we will have Christ in our midst. We will no longer have to face such hardship and evil as we have to face today. We have seen kingdoms flourish as they obey Christ, our king. We have seen kingdoms brought to their knees as they take it away from Christ. When will man learn that this is God’s world and that we have to come to Him?
Although this passage was actually foretelling of the state of the kingdom when Hezekiah was king, it does look far beyond simply saying how much the kingdom was to flourish at that time. This is typical of the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of heaven. We will be given to rejoicing about everything because we will have Christ in our midst. We will no longer have to face such hardship and evil as we have to face today. We have seen kingdoms flourish as they obey Christ, our king. We have seen kingdoms brought to their knees as they take it away from Christ. When will man learn that this is God’s world and that we have to come to Him?
We do not have to look too far to see people living a good life with Christ nowadays, even though we are reminded every day about the horrors of life that can await us because of the evil that is amongst us. We can see how people’s greed, lust and pride have continued to erode society away to such a point that many people have given up on society and simply try to look out for themselves. Bringing God back into a community will bring His love back into the community. With that love things will turn around for that community. But, as we were reminded yesterday, evil is always lurking around the corner, waiting to trip us up.
If God can take a desert and turn it into a wonderful place to live for His people, then He can take a backslidden community and turn it around so that He will once again get the glory. Man may be able to make a garden in the desert, but He cannot change the hearts of other men as God and His Word can. We need to show people that we care so much that we are willing to make sure God is in charge. We need to bring Him back into our communities so that He can love us the way He wants to and so we can love Him back.
Points to Ponder:
How much do you do in your community?
How much does God feature in your community?