Isaiah 11:3. The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
Oh friends, it’s Tuesday! Give thanks and praises unto our wonderful God that He has blessed us with another beautiful and bountiful day on planet earth; His beautiful universe! What a wonderful God we serve my faithful brethren! There’s no other deity like Him in this evil and godless world, and every day He gives us the strength to do whatever He needs us to do. No other supposed deity does that either.
So why shouldn’t we praise and worship and glorify Him eh, since we know from practical experience that He’s a great and good God? No reason whatsoever! That’s why I think this poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin is ever so appropriate for today, any day really. (smile) It’s titled‘Only Goodness.’What a wonderful title!
So please pray with me. ‘What glorious words of wonder Come from the Apostle Peter. He wrote, “But we are looking forward To God’s promise of new heavens And a new earth afterwards Where there will only be goodness.” (2 Pet. 3:13) O dear God “Where there will be only goodness.” After centuries of war, greed, and lust After indulgences shamelessly practiced After hatred, hostility Jealousy and abuse. Murder and martyrdom Crime and cruelty Curses and rebellion. After whimpering cries from starving children After tragedy and catastrophe Loneliness and despair At last…at long last “There will be only goodness.” O dear Lord Your promise is Your guarantee But please hurry a little.’
Yes, my fellow saints in Christ, one fine and glorious day, our Lord would have had enough of this sinful world and replace it with a world where there is only goodness. He has promised it, and we know that His promises are ever faithful, so it’s only a matter of time. And yes, I know that some of us are rather impatient, we can’t wait for that day to come, but as always, it’s in God’s timing, whenever He is ready, and He’s never in a rush like we are, neither is He ever late. I can testify to that!
And it’s not a new promise nuh mih bredrin. From since the days of the prophet Isaiah, the Lord faithfully promised: ‘And there shall come forth a rod (shoot) out of the stem (stock or trunk) of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow (bear fruit) out of his roots. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; And shall make him of quick understanding (his delight shall be in the) fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes (by what he sees), neither reprove after the hearing of his ears (decide by what he hears):
But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity (decide with uprightness) for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite (strike) the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle (belt) of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins (the belt of his waist).’ (Is. 11:1-5)
Yes, friends, that was the Lord’s promise of the Messiah’s Millennial Kingdom to His people Israel. But they misunderstood the whole thing. They expected a warrior king to come and release them from the bondage of Rome and were very disappointed when He came as a quiet, peaceful, LOVING rabbi. In any case, that particular promise was not supposed to happen in His first coming, but in the second. As John describes it in Revelation 21; the scripture promise on which our poem is based.
‘And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst (who thirsts) of the fountain of the water of life freely.’ (Rev. 21:1-6)
Oh my people, that’s what the faithful of God have to look forward to! It may not happen for a while yet, but we can be sure that it will happen when the Lord decides the time is right! That means we have to hang in there, keep being faithful even during these evil and godless times, because the promise is not for little while, but for eternity, which is forever! And as the prophet Habakkuk so rightly declared: ‘For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.’ (Hab. 3:3)
Yes friends, the time will eventually come when ‘the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.’ (Is. 11:6) Oh what a beautiful picture of peace and harmony! Those shall be the characteristics of Christ’s eventual kingdom! Glory be mih people! No more predatory stuff, no sin, no evil no pain and sorrow, only goodness and mercy, dwelling with our Triune God, till the end of time!
Wow! What a glorious time to look forward to! And for those of us who are eagerly looking forward to it, let’s go home now declaring (yeahhh!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know who and whose we are. In strong and sincere voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
Now it’s time to stop talking and go out and share Jesus’ LOVE and friendship with those who don’t know it. Much LOVE!
…faith without works is dead… (James 2:26)
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