June 13, 2025

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“‘Shall I bring a baby to the point of birth and not deliver it?‘ says the LORD.

‘Or will I who deliver close the womb?‘ says your God.

‘Be glad for Jerusalem and rejoice over her, all who love her. Rejoice greatly with her, all who mourn over her, so that you may nurse and be satisfied at her comforting breasts; you may drink deeply and delight yourselves in her glorious abundance.’” (Isaiah 66.9-11)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD TO US:

The theme continues:

1. God is doing a great thing! In spite of the circumstances as they are in the moment due to the exile, the devastation of Jerusalem and the Temple and the intrusion into the Jewish culture by other cultures- God is doing a great thing. So often, people ask that curious question “Why do bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people?” A part of that answer is simply this is the consequence of living in a sin-fected world. Things are not always as they should be and the rules of engagement are not always the desired protocol for righteous living. Still, some of these topsy-turvy recognitions are a part of God’s corrective plan which challenge the heart, mind, body and soul. That “good” thing which is happening to bad people may not actually be good as the world sees it. It may appear good on the outside but remember it is the condition of the heart of the receiver which allows the gift to grow to the glory of God or miss the mark. Here we can be reminded “It is the love (pursuit for one’s own gain) of money which is rooted in evil.” Equally, that bad thing which happens to good people may be the reminder to them to remain humble, focused and in the service of God. Too often, for the right reason, we get ahead of ourselves and miss what God has been trying to show us. Sometimes we even know the right thing to think, say and do but don’t. It is in those times of don’t that we forget ourselves and God and sin pops up its ugly head. Lament, repent and be restored.

2. God will do a great thing! He will not fail to do what He has intended to do for His children. He has promised to save and deliver us from the evil that awaits all those who forsake Him and deny His sovereignty throughout all creation. Saving us is significant but it is not all that He will do. He will deliver us from this life into a new life free from the clutches and temptations of sin. Remember the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus in the gospel of John, chapter 3. Nicodemus came to Jesus to seeking to truly understand. He acknowledged that Jesus was a great teacher who had come from God. He did not acknowledge that Jesus was the Messiah. He did not confess his sin nor profess Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” He believed in the goodness of Jesus but was not yet convinced that He was Son of God. In the midst of their conversation Jesus told Nicodemus, “You really can’t see (the truth of which he spoke) unless you are born again.” Nicodemus had no idea what Jesus was talking about. He asked “How can I be born again? Must I enter into my mother’s womb a second time?” Of course, what Nicodemus asked was ludicrous and physically impossible. He was demonstrating the failure of the Pharisees. They were compelled to uphold the literal word of God; at least by outward appearances and with the games they played with words. Jesus ignored the response and pressed further. He said, “No one can enter the Kingdom of God unless they are born of water (in the flesh) and the Spirit (in the depth of their soul where the Spirit of God exists). You must not be surprised then that I tell you ‘You must be born again!’” This is the God that is going to do. He is going to make us new creations upon our confession of faith (declaring we are sinners in need of salvation lest we return to the dust from which we came at the end of our days) and our profession of faith (that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Son of the Living God and accept Him alone as our personal Lord and Savior.) We hear it in that conversation and remember by the most known verse of all scripture: John 3.16. Paul speaks of such a reality in his discourse about the body we will receive after death called the doxa soma, “the glory body.” We will resemble who were are in this world just as Jesus did when He appeared to over 500 people following His death and resurrection. Only God can do this. He did it for Jesus. He will do it for us. This is the witness of the third part of this perspective:

3. God has done a great thing! What God has done (forgiven us our sin, invited us to follow after Him in obedience and service and confirmed it with the presentation of the Savior of the world in Jesus of Nazareth), no other “deity” has done. The foreshadowing of all of this that will come has been revealed “in the Garden,” “outside of the Garden with Cain,” “Noah and the Flood,” “the Passover out of Egypt,” “the Blessing of Abraham,” “the deliverance of Israel out of Babylonian captivity” and, of course, in Jesus of Nazareth who is the Christ who lived, died and was raised from death by God on the third day who now sits at the right hand of God in Heaven. This is the evidence of God’s love and purposeful intent to redeem, reconcile and restore order to His creation from the chaos to nothingness to the perfection of humanity at worship on earth as it will be in Heaven. Mighty ones of God, this is what we look forward to because we have seen how God has worked for us in the past. This is the birth without birth pain. This is the narrow gate of faith through which we must pass which leads to eternal life. All of this is for those who will believe in Him and receive the fullness of His promise as their very own. It is the gift of assurance from the God who was and is and will always be. Let us give thanks to God whose love surpasses all understanding and overcomes all wrong in those who will humble themselves before Him and call upon His Name to worship together in spirit and in truth.

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 but as righteous works leading others to call Jesus Lord in faith, hope and love. AMEN.