February 4, 2025

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, that Israel might be gathered to Him— for I am honored in the sight of the LORD. My God is My strength and He says: ‘It is not enough for You to be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make You a light for the nations, to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.‘” (Isaiah 49.5-6)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

Yesterday, I posed the question “What are we in pursuit of?” The question focused on “our” needs personally and spiritually. One way of looking at that question is, and was, “What makes for peace?” As we know Jesus said to His disciples, “Peace I give you, My peace I leave with you, not as the world considers peace and not as the world gives peace but as I do.” (John 14.27) Of course, if we read through that verse a number of times we ought to be struck by the very core of truth of the peace Christ left with the disciples. It was a special dispensation which they had to grasp and place ownership on for themselves. What peace did Jesus “leave” them with? Jesus was speaking to them with just a little over 12 hours left before He would be crucified. Of course, He would not depart from them in a “real time” presence for another 40 plus days. Forty of those days would come following His death and resurrection. In those next twelve to eighteen hours they would experience the greatest and deepest hardships of their lives. Jesus knew this and was preparing them for it. That preparation came with reminding them of the purpose of it all. Mighty ones of God it is easier to bear through difficult times when we can come to “peace,” or “to terms” with what is going on and where it leads to. For Jesus and the disciples, it was leading to the cross and the tomb. I would be remiss in reminding us all again that they are now empty but pregnant with meaning and purpose. Joining the cross and the tomb is the empty womb of Mary. When Jesus was sanctified and circumcised in the Temple, Simeon told Mary of the greatness of what was happening as well as the cost. The greatness was the opportunity for the whole world to be saved. The cost was the experience of death to effect the opportunity which would pierce her heart as well. Salvation comes with a price. We may say “it is a gift from God.” Yet, if we are not willing to pay the price which salvation demands, then we miss the freedom of the gift.

Jesus left this gift with His disciples, those who were still in the Upper Room as Judas of Kerioth had already departed. It was the gift of purpose. Knowing that purpose aligned all other aspects of their lives. They would become laser-focused and on point. Strange that their purpose was not focused so much on Jesus and their relationship to Him interpersonally. That may sound a bit heretical. If we take note of what happened in those hours that followed, we see that their responses because of their affection for Jesus caused them to scatter. They clung to the personal, which is only normal, but Jesus was not there to have personal connections with them as a stand-alone purpose. Jesus came to bring salvation into the world. Isaiah 49, as we saw in Isaiah 43, brings this message home. The voice of God by which this prophetic word is uttered spoke in such a way that we could see the multi-faceted aspect of it. The call to salvation is promised by God because of His affection for His people and for all people. It would be through individuals such as Isaiah (a Jew), Cyrus (a Gentile) and the Messiah (the Son of God and Man) that this message would be presented first to Israel and then to the world. It is the message of meaning and purpose which would bring “peace to the world.” It is not the promotion nor the preservation of self that would do it. It is the promotion of the gospel and the welfare of the people for the glory of God that would.

What Jesus did that night when He promised He would leave them peace was to plant the seeds of faith, hope and love in their heart and mind. He would do so deep within their spirit so that they would not wander far from it as the days would proceed and pass. They would not recognize it immediately. They would recognize it eventually. Their recognition of it would fuel the fire of the gospel and deliver the word of salvation to the entire world. As Isaiah declared it, and Simeon repeated it that day with Mary and Joseph, “It is too small a thing to restore Israel; rather it is for the whole world that Jesus comes.” It is for that purpose, mighty ones of God, that we exist as well. Small wonder why we are at such unrest without authentic peace. We are not living aligned with our purpose. We are not fully engaged with the gospel connection of the meaning of our lives. There is time yet to do so. Know this, however, time is passing rapidly so there is no time to waste.

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

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness which we know is folly but righteous works which declare Your glory and further witness the truth that can set all who believe free from death. So may we live by the name of Jesus our Christ. AMEN.