Peace on Earth

SCRIPTURE

Isaiah 19:18-25 (NRSV)
All nations shall praise God

On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts. One of these will be called the City of the Sun.

On that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the center of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border. It will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; when they cry to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a savior, and will defend and deliver them. The Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians; and the Egyptians will know the Lord on that day, and will worship with sacrifice and burnt offering, and they will make vows to the Lord and perform them. The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing; they will return to the Lord, and he will listen to their supplications and heal them.

On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.

On that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my heritage."



DEVOTION

I am so touched by Isaiah’s vision of world peace and worship! In 2009 this seems like the most unlikely of scenarios. As nations rise up against nations and war marches across so many of our lands, we seem a far cry away from “peace on Earth and goodwill toward all people.”

Yet, we know that this great day is coming! No matter what it looks like with our natural eyes, with our eyes of faith we know that God’s word is “Yay and Amen.”

God has promised us that a day will come when there are no more tears, death, mourning, crying, or pain! A day will also come when Jesus will return in glory to establish a new heaven and a new Earth ruled by our Great God and King!

On that day, God will dwell with humanity once again and “all will be well, all will be well, all manner of things will be well (Julian of Norwich).”

During this Advent season, I am living with great expectation. I have my eyes and ears attuned to the things of the Spirit. I am noticing all sorts of ways that the Kingdom of Love is breaking into our realm as I observe people feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and caring for the widows and orphans during this holy day season.

It is a great honor to “catch sight” of these happenings and to know that they are but harbingers of greater things to come.

Lately Psalm 24 has been “playing” in my head. It says,

Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory!

I can’t wait for that great day when the King of Glory returns! As we wait, we must work, sharing the love, joy, and peace of Jesus with everyone whom we meet.

Everybody needs to know that God loves us so much that God gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life.

Won’t you share this good news message in word, thought, and deed as you wait for Jesus to return?


Please pray with me:

Holy God, thank you that a day is surely coming when all of the nations will worship you in peace and harmony. I thank you that Jesus came into the world one Christmas morning over two thousand years ago. Thank you that he will one day come again in glory! Please forgive me of my sin and fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I will be empowered and equipped to share your love everywhere that I go. I pray this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.



THE INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html