There are two passages assigned for today!
SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 4
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel. [Isaiah 4:2]
Isaiah uses the imagery of a vineyard – God’s vineyard – a lush, fruit-filled vineyard that is a joy to all who share in it.
But Israel had become a barren, neglected vineyard; those charged with caring for it had ruined it [Isaiah 3:14].
And so as he declares God’s judgment against those who ruined God’s vineyard, he also promises that a day is coming when the Lord Himself will restore the vineyard – God’s family in God’s world -a place of joy, peace, love, beauty, fullness, contentment.
In that day God’s vineyard will be “a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.” [Isaiah 4:6]
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. [John 15:5].
Jesus is the fulfillment of this vision; He is the one that will prune and clean God’s vineyard until it becomes the lush, fruit-filled vineyard God intended it to be.
With His help – and we cannot do it on our own – He will restore God’s world and God’s family, a place of joy, peace, love, beauty, fullness, contentment.
As we cling to Jesus – by faith and obedience – He produces His good fruit in us, the fruit of the Spirit.
And as we live out this fruit, as we demonstrate the love, joy, peace, patience, etc. with the help of the Spirit, this world becomes more and more like the paradise He created it to be.
This is His plan, this is His purpose, this is how He is restoring the kingdom of God.
We become ‘circles of light’ in a dark world, and these circles multiply throughout the world, until one day the whole world will be filled with the glory and goodness of God.
We have a choice: surrender to the way of the flesh, or surrender to the fruit of the Spirit.
If we allow Him, He will gently prune us so that more and more we produce this kind of lifestyle.
If we refuse Him, He will keep on urging us to change, but eventually He will uproot us.
He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. [John 15:2]
What kind of fruit is my life producing?
Do I find in Jesus “a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.” [Isaiah 4:6]; do others find it in me?
PRAYER:
Lord, I know what kind of world You are working by Your Spirit to produce – in me and around me. Prune me and use me to share Your love and goodness with others.
This chapter gives hope to all who listen. Remember the children of Israel? How the Lord God lead them by the cloud by day and the fire by night? So too will be guide all of His children and He will be their resting place. He is our refuge. He is our hiding place from the storm. He is my All in all. May I continuously come to my Lord for ALL my needs. I need to be GodStrong so I can be ArmStrong to do His will for my life.
You’ve kept watch over me since I was a child
You’ve stayed close when my heart has gone running wild
You’ve welcomed me back again and again
You’ve offered your kindness, forgiven my sin
You’re the source of all the good gifts I know
No one else can equal the love you show
Though my praise for you often comes so slow
How I long for my life with you to grow
In your actions you show the proof of your care
In your presence comes comfort, you’re ev’rywhere
In your mercy I find hope that will last
In your second life I am saved from my past.