Bible Studies

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The Scriptures
Isaiah 65:17-25 - Heaven on Earth
Key Verses: (NRSV)

• 17: "For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind." - Isaiah had foretold of the death and destruction that befell the Israelites at the hands of the Babylonians, but the story did not end there. In these verses Isaiah reveals the promise of redemption soon to come to the exiled Israelites. God's offer of redemption in our personal lives is just as glorious.
  
  
• 19: "I will rejoice in Jerusalem and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress." - Isaiah offers a picture of the kingdom of heaven.
  
  
• 23: "They shall not labor in vain, or bear children of calamity; for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord - and their descendants as well." - Children of God destined for glory.
  
  
• 25: "The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent - its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain." - All natural boundaries that keep us apart will be overcome.
  

Points to Contemplate:

• Are you free? The Israelites were captured, imprisoned, and enslaved but not simply by an invading force from a hostile country. Their bondage came as a result of the choices they had made in their lives to live far from God's law. What choices have you made in your life that now hold you bondage? What chains of your past have shackled you and kept you from being freed by the love of Jesus Christ? Are you filled with worry or anxiety? Are you paralyzed by old and destructive habits? Do you see that, through Christ, God has created a new heaven and earth just for you? Do you realize that your freedom from your former self is available now and that your past "shall not be remembered or come to mind?"
  
  
• Do you labor in vain? Do you feel that your life is a constant struggle and nothing you do will make a significant difference in the world? Let's say for a moment that you recognize that Jesus died for your sins and, by doing so, you have been set free to participate in the glory of God's kingdom. If you feel this is true, then why do you not fully trust God with your life? Why do you still resist following His guiding Spirit? Why do you watch the evening news with fear and trepidation? Why are you not hope-filled in all things? Why do you continue to resist sharing your love and the love of Christ to all people? Is your labor in vain or has God's love for you been in vain?
  
  
• Are you at peace? Have you found you continue to debate and argue with those around you? Do you scrap and fight to make your voice and your opinion heard? Do you feel that the world is becoming more divided with everyone in constant warfare of mind, heart, and spirit? If Isaiah's description of a new earth represents our world today, now that Christ has come, why does it appear there is less peace and more war? Martin Luther stated that the very essence of a Christian is joy. Martin Luther King Jr. talked about a dream of peace attainable through the love Christians hold in their hearts.¹ Were they wrong? Were they too optimistic? Or is the type of peace where the wolf and lamb feed together available today in each of our lives and throughout the world? What is keeping you from this type of peace? What steps can you take to bring Christ's peace into the world?
  

Promises of the Gospel:

Christ is risen; He is risen indeed. We are an Easter people living on the glorious side of the cross. With this in mind, the new heavens and earth that we read about from Isaiah are depicting the kingdom of heaven in which we now live. Our future is assured. God's love and guiding spirit lives in our hearts. We have been set free from the bondage of past mistakes and failures. We are no longer burdened to struggle in vain, hopelessly imprisoned to a future of ruin and decay. Rejoice and delight in God's love. We are children of the living God, richly blessed and forever ordained. God's peace and promise of Glory is a promise for now, not for some futuristic and idealistic time and place. Listen to our spiritual leaders and recognize that our essence as Christians is pure joy and that to dream of peace means to feed with the wolf and the lamb - creating a peace that surpasses all understanding.

¹ A Word That Sets Free, Mark Ellingsen, CSS Publishing Company, 2000, 0-7880-1725-X


FUMC Devotionals

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