Read Isaiah 65:17-25

Tuesday

Read Isaiah 65:17-25

17 The Lord says, “I am making a new earth and new heavens. The events of the past will be completely forgotten. ¹⁸Be glad and rejoice for ever in what I create. The new Jerusalem I make will be full of joy, and her people will be happy. ¹⁹I myself will be filled with joy because of Jerusalem and her people. There will be no weeping there, no calling for help. ²⁰Babies will no longer die in infancy, and all people will live out their life span. Those who live to be a hundred will be considered young. To die before that would be a sign that I had punished them. ^21–22People will build houses and live in them themselves—they will not be used by someone else. They will plant vineyards and enjoy the wine—it will not be drunk by others. Like trees, my people will live long lives. They will fully enjoy the things that they have worked for. ²³The work they do will be successful, and their children will not meet with disaster. I will bless them and their descendants for all time to come. ²⁴Even before they finish praying to me, I will answer their prayers. ²⁵Wolves and lambs will eat together; lions will eat straw, as cattle do, and snakes will no longer be dangerous. On Zion, my sacred hill,^p there will be nothing harmful or evil.”

Think

Isaiah describes the way the world will be when God's Kingdom has come.  He offers so many beautiful images - this reality dawns when Jesus is raised - but it still needs to be brought to completion.

Pray

Lord, help me never to lose hope - but to hold on to the dream of your coming Kingdom and its birth.