Monday 27 Aug 2012

Monday Reading: Isaiah 65:17-19

Key Verse: Isaiah 65:17
17  For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

Devotion:
One question that I have been asked as a youth leader is “how can we enjoy heaven if we know that some of our friends and relatives will not be there?” and if it was not for God’s Word given to us hundreds of years before John was shown what lay ahead for us, we would probably be asking similar questions. We can be very thankful that God is a God of mercy and that He will continue to do all that He has promised us.

I could not imagine having to live for eternity with the pre-knowledge of all those people who have refused to believe in Christ spending their eternity in a place where they will face the exact opposite to heaven. So when God says that He will not let those former things come to mind He is showing us grace and mercy by giving us the peace of mind that we shall be able to enjoy eternal peace and not have to spend it worrying and fretting about what has happened in the past.

God is not someone or something that is guessing at what could happen next or whether things will go one way or the other. He is the God of heaven and earth. He is our Creator who created the heaven and earth! When He described Himself as the Alpha and Omega He was reminding us that He was in charge and still is in charge and will forever be in charge and in control of everything! As I sit here and listen to the animals out the back window as they continue their lives in the field and woods behind my home I marvel at His creation. I know that this has not happened by some random accidental collision of various particles and I know that there is nothing random about that life out there. This is a perfect creation that God continues to uphold. Yes we see all manner of corruption because of the sin that encompasses man’s existence now – but we can look forward to that time when we will not have to live in that corruption and we will not have to remember it either!

It is on wonderful summer evenings like this that I know that my God cares for me in a way that I only begin to marvel at. I know that what He has created for us goes far beyond my expectations and I also know that He has done this all even though I do not deserve one little bit of it. It is because of His marvellous love for us that we can know that we have a certain future that if Glorious!

Points to Ponder:
How do you try to cut off bad memories?

Have you asked God for the comfort that He is offering you?