Thursday, December 11, 2014

Our Daily Bread -- Snake In A Box


The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord. —Isaiah 11:9

At a nature center, I watched my friend’s rosy-cheeked toddler pat the side of a large glass box. Inside the box, a bull snake named Billy slithered slowly, eyeing the little girl. Billy’s body was as thick as my forearm and he sported brown and yellow markings. Although I knew Billy could not escape from his container, seeing a menacing-looking creature so close to a small child made me shudder.

The Bible speaks of a time in the future when fierce animals will fail to threaten each other or human beings. “The wolf . . . shall dwell with the lamb” and “the nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole” (Isa. 11:6,8). All the inhabitants of the world will experience total harmony and peace.

The Lord will establish this safe environment when He restores the world with His wisdom, might, and knowledge. At that time, He will judge the world with righteousness and justice (11:4). And everyone will acknowledge His greatness: “The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord” (11:9).

We live in a broken world. Unfairness and discord, fear and pain are a very real part of our daily lives. But one day God will change everything, and “the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings” (Mal. 4:2). Then Jesus will rule the world in righteousness. —Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Be still, my soul: the hour is hast’ning on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored. —von Schlegel
Leave final justice in the hands of a just God.

Insight

The future and everlasting kingdom of God will be one of peace and harmony. Many of the prophets looked forward to this day with great anticipation. In today’s passage, Isaiah describes this kingdom by picturing animals that would normally prey on each other at peace together. This will be a time of peace because the Messiah will rule (v.9).

No comments:

Post a Comment

RULES OF THE ROAD:

1)The Names and Titles of God our Father and Jesus Christ our Savior will be respected at all times.
2) Discussion is encouraged, however, respect for other people and their opinions is the rule---play nice.
3) No profanity, allusions, innuendos or just plain nastiness will be tolerated. Decency WILL prevail.

This is MY house and YOU are a guest here and differences of opinion will be tolerated as long as you conduct yourself accordingly. If "the exercise of civility is beyond your ability" or you were never taught by your parents, feel free to take your toys and go home and vent your pent-up anger elsewhere.

Total Pageviews