Verse of the Day 10/15

Through the Bible - Isaiah 59-60, 2 Thessalonians 1   Good morning, In keeping with the sustainabilty theme we'll return once again to Isaiah 55, this time looking to the Word of God as the means by which God sustains us.   These verses are one of the reasons that I send out these devotionals.  It's not anything that I say or write, or other comments or song lyrics that I quote, but if anything is to be accomplished it is the power of His Word.   TJohn Piper points out that these verses reveal at least three things about the Word of God, three "S's" - a Span from heaven to earth, it is a "seed" of life, and it is "sovereign" and triumphant. Isa 55:10 "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, 11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.   NKJV Let's go through this, first there is a span, a distance between us and God, between heaven and earth that show us how helpless our situation is without God, without His Word.  But He sends His Word down.  As the rain and snow comes down, sometimes in storms sometimes in gentle showers and some times in the quiet solitude of snow (I love that quietness) he comes down to us and speaks to us.  And with the rain come blessings.  I won't quote the song lyrics here but think of the words to "Grace Like Rain".   Second God's Word is a seed of life.  Piper points out that it waters the earth, makes it bring forth, makes it sprout, it gives seed to the sower, and it gives bread to the eater. "In other words God wants you this morning when you read these two verses to believe with all your heart that his Word is a SEED OF LIFE. When he draws near to you in his Word, he wants you to feel the way your brown backyard would feel when the rain starts to fall on it. He wants you to feel the way a Minnesota cornstalk would feel when the moisture starts coursing up through the stem and pushing out plump, yellow kernels of corn, or the way the farmer would feel when there is plenty of corn for feed and for planting next year's crop. And he wants you to remember those cool, fall mornings at the breakfast table with the smell of fresh toast whetting your appetite. In other words God wants his Word to be eaten with joy and hope and satisfaction."   Third, His word proves, reveals, that He is sovereign, He is in control and He will accomplish His purposes, and it will stand forever.   Isa 40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever."   NKJV Think of the praise song "Lord I Lift Your Name on High"- You came from heaven to earth to show the way, from the earth to the cross - my debt to pay, from the cross to the grave from the grave to the sky, Lord I lift your name on high.   What does His Word mean to you today? In Christ, Mike   Isa 55:6-56:1 6 Seek the Lord while He may be found,Call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way,And the unrighteous man his thoughts;Let him return to the Lord,And He will have mercy on him;And to our God,For He will abundantly pardon. 8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts,Nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord. 9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth,So are My ways higher than your ways,And My thoughts than your thoughts. 10 "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,And do not return there,But water the earth,And make it bring forth and bud,That it may give seed to the sowerAnd bread to the eater, 11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;It shall not return to Me void,But it shall accomplish what I please,And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. 12 "For you shall go out with joy,And be led out with peace;The mountains and the hillsShall break forth into singing before you,And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;And it shall be to the Lord for a name,For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." NKJV