January 15, 2025

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“I summon a bird of prey from the east. I call a man for My purpose from a far-off land. Truly I have spoken. Truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it. I will surely do it.” (Isaiah 46.11)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

God’s being “in control” is much different than our being “in control.” God’s being “in control” is working for the good of others. Generally, our being “in control” is working others for our good. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule for us. God’s rule remains consistent from start to finish. His Word never changes. His Promise never changes. His Hope never changes. His love never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Yes, God’s “tomorrow” is a forever. I wonder if we embraced our salvation with authenticity, would we understand that since confessing our sins to God by professing our belief and hope in Jesus Christ we have been living in a forever sense of time and place?

I wonder if we have failed to see the path of redemption, reconciliation and restoration which humanity has been on since God first “saved” us from our sin. What does being saved actually mean? Doesn’t it hinge on the fact that when Adam and Eve went against God’s instruction for how to live in the Garden of Eden, they put themselves on the path to destruction and perdition? Honestly, we do not know what life would have been like in the Garden a year, five years, ten years or a hundred years later if they hadn’t “eaten the apple.” Would it have been a human heaven on earth as the angels enjoy in heaven? We can think about that. We can give time considering it. The truth is “we will never know.” What we do know is what living on earth was like outside of the Garden of Eden. The continuing revelation of the movement of God to redeem, reconcile and restore the “people of His hand” into a healthy, thriving and servant community is apparent from that moment on. What moment is that?

It is the moment when Adam and Eve confessed their disobedience (in a very unhealthy way, mind you) and submitted to God’s will be done. Possessing the knowledge of “good and evil” did not mean they possessed all knowledge and wisdom. It did mean that they knew there was truly a difference between them and God, His will and not His will and the consequences of both. In that moment, God made the decision based on those differences in light of their consequences. What did God do “in that moment”? He saved them. He made the sacrifice of a lamb of God and covered them with His promise to protect them, sustain them and prosper them so they could do His will and fulfill their purpose on earth. And their purpose on earth was not to satisfy themselves, their desires and their needs at the expense of all else. Their purpose was to be the caretakers and caregivers of earth so that it maintained it witness of God’s glory on earth as it was, is and will forever be in Heaven. The story of Israel is all about redemption and God’s love for “His people.”

Regardless of how far off the path they wandered (and they meandered far and wide), God was working out His plan to save them. Who was He saving them from? Themselves, of course. They were their own worst enemy just as we are ours. Oh, we can do what Adam and Eve did in the Garden and blame Satan. Satan is an enemy of God and humanity. He so wants to be “God.” And we think we don’t? Satan is an enabler of the dream that “you can be God; you don’t need God when you can be God.” Satan knows it is a lie. Satan knows the truth: there is only One True God. But Satan has rehearsed his desire to be God so much that he is convinced there can be another way than the one which God has planned. The truth is there cannot be another plan. God has planned it and God is doing it. That was the word given to Isaiah to deliver to the people of Israel and all those who would hear it. God was making such a demonstration of His plan of salvation that even those who did not know the story wanted to know the story. Further, the hope was and is that they will adopt the story as their own.

Well, at least the good story. The good story is the gospel of Jesus Christ. He demonstrated the full measure of God’s love for His people and those who would become one of His people. God will use all means possible to bring us to the conclusion of the story which is not “the end” but a true beginning. Jesus showed us that with the cross and the grave. They are not the end of the story nor the finish of God’s plan. They are the steppingstones through the valley of the shadow of death which lead to forever House of the Lord. Mighty ones, this is our story. This is the plan of working out our salvation as Paul sought to inform the community of faith in Jesus Christ there in Philippi. (Philippians 2.12-13) Israel’s history, the Old Testament, is a part of our history, the New Testament. One has moved into another and together we are moving to a conclusion of our choosing. God has already determined the consequences of life and death. He has shown us those consequences from the beginning and will do so until the end. But in that moment, the choice is ours. What shall we do in that moment? That is for each of us to answer for ourselves.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit brought us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit in order that others be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind so we would know we are Your people and You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the manifestation of that love for us all. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.