Saturday, February 17, 2024

Washington, Lincoln, and Reagan Still Speak for Our Time

As a boy, my favorite months of the year were February, May, and December.  In May, we celebrated my birthday and the beginning of summer vacation from school.  December brought the much-anticipated celebration of Christmas and the advent of snow.  But February was special because my teachers taught us about two great American heroes born in that short month:  George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

Interestingly, while I was gaining a boyhood knowledge of Washington and Lincoln, a man who would become the third February president was becoming well known as a movie star and television personality.
  Our family first encountered Ronald Reagan while watching General Electric Theater [Click HERE.] and Death Valley Days.  Reagan often starred in the exciting dramatic episodes of both programs.

Little did we know in those years of the 1950’s that Ronald Reagan was also emerging as the leader of what has come to be known as the conservative movement in governing philosophy.
 Reagan’s famous speech, “A Time for Choosing” [Click HERE.] in support of Barry Goldwater’s bid for the presidency in 1964, soon launched him into his first political office.  Reagan served two terms as governor of the State of California (1967-1975) and two terms as President of the United States during the tumultuous Vietnam War era and post-war era of American History (1980-1988).  He restored American hope and led the world in bringing an end to the cold war with the communistic Soviet Union.  These and other achievements have earned Ronald Reagan the honor along with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln to be ranked in the top 10 of our greatest U.S. presidents.

"February Presidents" 
We dedicate this month’s blog to the three “February Presidents” of the United States.
  We will do so by emphasizing their faith, beliefs, and values as expressed in their own words.  What follows are expressions from these great leaders, each speaking in their own times; Washington in the 18th century, Lincoln in the 19th, and Reagan in the 20th century; and with words clearly relevant to our time.

To begin, let's assess your knowledge of the three "February presidents."  The following quiz will challenge you to match the description in each item with the correct name of the president, Washington (GW), Lincoln (AL), or Reagan (RR).  [Answers are given at the end of this blog.]

Quiz:
1.   Known as “the great communicator.”
2.   He was the tallest of all U.S. presidents.

3.      The man who humbly “refused to be king.”

4.      Famous for his policy of “Peace through Strength.”

5.      He is in the Wrestling Hall of Fame.

6.      This president survived an assassination attempt.

7.      Over 12 billion $1-bills in circulation bear his image.

8.      “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”

9.      He was the only U.S. president to have a patent.

10.   As a young man, served as a surveyor in the Ohio Valley.

11.   Read the Bible every day, but never joined a church.
12.  He had no direct association with the state of Illinois.


Quotes from February Presidents

We have chosen several topics that represent timeless American values.  These were important to each of our three “February presidents.” We hope you will sense how clearly each leader expressed a similar strong and steadfast support for the timeless moral and ethical values of our Founding Fathers.  As Scott S. Powell has written in The Federalist [Click HERE.], "To the extent we can internalize and build character around the virtues that each embodied, we to can regain our voice and courage to fight and reestablish our unalienable rights that define who we are as Americans.  Our success in this may well be the key to preventing our nation's downfall.

Parents and Family
My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother.  I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.   ~ GW

All that I am or hope ever to be, I get from my mother – God bless her.  ~ AL

From my mother I learned the value of prayer, how to have dreams and believe I could make them come true.  … She said all things were part of God's plan, even the most disheartening setbacks, and in the end, everything worked out for the best.  ~ RR


Faith and Morality
Let us with caution indulge the notion that morality can be maintained without religion.   …reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.   ~ GW

I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have.  I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.  ~ AL

The struggle now going on for the world will never be decided by bombs or rockets, by armies or military might. The real crisis we face today is a spiritual one; at root, it is a test of moral will and faith.”  ~ RR

War and Peace
To be prepared for war is one of the most effective ways of preserving peace.  ~ GW

Let your military measures be strong enough to repel the invader and keep the peace… ~ AL

“Peace through Strength:”  We know only too well that war comes not when the forces of freedom are strong, but when they are weak.  It is then that tyrants are tempted. ~ RR

Preserving Our Freedom
If the freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.  …The liberty enjoyed by the people of these states of worshiping Almighty God agreeably to their conscience, is not only among the choicest of their blessings, but also of their rights. ~ GW

At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected?  If it ever reaches us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. … As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.”  ~ AL 

The constitution was never meant to prevent people from praying; its declared purpose was to protect their freedom to pray.  ~ RR

Meaning and Purpose

Fondly do we hope—fervently do we pray—that this mighty scourge of war might speedily pass away.... Yet if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bond-man’s two hundred years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid with another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago so still it must be said, “the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether.  ~ AL

If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under. ~ RR

Science and the Arts
There is nothing which can better deserve your patronage, than the promotion of science and literature.  Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness. ~ GW

I know of no pursuit in which more real and important services can be rendered to any country than by improving its agriculture, its breed of useful animals, and other branches of a husbandman’s cares.  ~ GW

Upon the subject of education, not presuming to dictate any plan or system respecting it, I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we as a people can be engaged in. ~ AL

If America is to offer greater economic opportunity to her citizens, if she’s to defend our freedom, democracy, and keep the peace, then our children will need wisdom, courage, and strength – virtues beyond their reach without education.  In the words of Thomas Jefferson:  If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never will be.”  ~ RR

Salvation by Faith

In 1891, a book of prayers by Washington in his own handwriting was sold at auction.  Whether composed by Washington or copied for personal use, in one prayer, Washington asks God to pardon him of his sins, and remove them from thy presence, as far as the east is from the west, and accept me for the merits of thy son, Jesus Christ, that when I come into thy temple and compass thine altar, my prayers may come before thee as incense. – From: George Washington the Christian, by William Johnson   ~ GW

When I left Springfield, I asked the people to pray for me; I was not a Christian. When I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when I saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ. I do love Jesus.” ~ AL

From Ronald Reagan’s letter to his father-in-law, a professing atheist, near his death [Click HERE.]: 
“Loyal, you and Edith have known a great love — more than many have been permitted to know. That love will not end with the end of this life, …all that is required is that you believe and tell God you put yourself in his hands.”  [According to Nancy Reagan, two days before Loyal’s death on Aug. 19, 1982, her father sought out a hospital chaplain, and prayed with him.]
Reagan’s diary [Click HERE.] records his prayer for the soul of his would-be assassin and pledge to serve God with his life now spared from death.  ~ RR

Favorite Scripture Verse
Judge not, that ye be not judged.  – Matthew 7: 1   ~ AL

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  -- John 3:16   ~ RR


Love of Country
I was summoned by my country, whose voice I can never hear but with veneration and love. ~ GW

… we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. ~ AL (From: His “Gettysburg Address”)

“…lesson number one about America:   All great change in America begins at the dinner table.  So, tomorrow night in the kitchen I hope the talking begins.  And children, if your parents haven’t been teaching you what it means to be an American, let ’em know and nail ’em on it.  That would be a very American thing to do.”  ~ RR

Limited Government
Government is not reason and it is not eloquence.  It is force!  Like fire it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.  Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action. ~ GW

We who live in free market societies believe that growth prosperity and ultimately human fulfillment, are created from the bottom up, not the government down. Only when the human spirit is allowed to invent and create, only when individuals are given a personal stake in deciding economic policies and benefitting from their success—only then can society remain economically alive, dynamic, progressive, and free. Trust the people.”  ~ RR

Hand of Providence
The Hand of providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked, that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations. ~ GW

I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.  ~ AL

Reagan speaking with Pope John Paul II regarding a plan to bring down the Soviet Union:  “I must say, Holiness, that I am not a man who attends church regularly. I don’t even consider myself overtly religious.  But I am spiritual.  I believe in God.  And I draw strength from those deeply held beliefs.”  [Referring to the fact that both had survived assassination attempts, Reagan continued:] “You and I share a common bond.  God saved us both so that we can do what we are about to do. How else can it be explained?”   [Read more, click HERE.]  ~ RR

Compassion toward Suffering

Let your heart feel for the afflictions and distresses of every one, and let your hand give in proportion to your purse; remembering always the estimation of the widow's mite, but, that it is not every one who asketh that deserveth charity; all, however, are worthy of the inquiry, or the deserving may suffer.  ~ GW

Lincoln was deeply familiar with the sting of death, having lost his mother at age 9, and his sister a decade later; and then, the first romantic love of his life, Ann Rutledge, to typhoid fever.  His consoling letter to Fanny McCullough [Click HERE for full detail.], following the death of her father, Lt. Col. William McCullough, in the American Civil War reveals Lincoln’s deep compassion and empathy, born from personal experience:
You cannot now realize that you will ever feel better. Is not this so? And yet it is a mistake. You are sure to be happy again. To know this, which is certainly true, will make you some less miserable now.  I have had experience enough to know what I say; and you need only to believe it, to feel better at once. ~ AL

Address to the Nation after the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger:
They, the members of the Challenger crew, were pioneers.  And I want to say something to the school children of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle’s takeoff.   I know it’s hard to understand but sometimes painful things like this happen.   It’s all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It’s all part of taking a chance and expanding man’s horizons. The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted.  It belongs to the brave.  The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we’ll continue to follow them.  …[They] honored us for the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and slipped the surly bonds of Earth, to touch the face of God.  Thank you.  ~ RR  [Click HERE for video of full message.]

“Military-Industrial Complex”
Over grown military establishments are under any form of government inauspicious to liberty, and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty. ~ GW

...corporations have been enthroned, and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands, and the Republic is destroyed. ~ AL

There’s a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics:  As government expands, liberty contracts.  [as applied to the Pentagon or any branch of government].  ~ RR

Civil Rights and Slavery
I wish from my soul that the legislature of this State could see the policy of a gradual Abolition of Slavery. ~ GW

This is a world of compensations; and he who would be no slave, must consent to have no slave. Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, cannot long retain it. ~ AL

I leave you, hoping that the lamp of liberty will burn in your bosoms until there shall no longer be a doubt that all men are created free and equal. ~ AL

Devotion to the Cause

The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the Courage and Conduct of this army—Our cruel and unrelenting Enemy leaves us no choice but a brave resistance, or the most abject submission; this is all we can expect…Our own Country’s Honor, all call upon us for a vigorous and manly exertion, and if we now shamefully fail, we shall become infamous to the whole world
—Let us therefore rely upon the goodness of the Cause, and the aid of the Supreme Being, in whose hands Victory is….  – From Founders Online  [Click HERE.]    ~ GW

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan – to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations. ~AL

We’re blessed with the opportunity to stand for something, for liberty and freedom and fairness, and these are things worth fighting for, worth devoting our lives to.  ~ RR

Additional Reading:
1)  “The Man Who Would Not Be King”  Click HERE, by Matthew Spalding, Heritage Foundati
on.
2)  “Lincoln and Christianity” – dissertation by Kermit White.   Click HERE.
3)  Ronald Reagan’s best debate moments:   Click HERE.
4)  “Character Qualities of a Steward-Leader”  Oikonomia, May 31, 2012   Click HERE.

Answers to Quiz:
1.  RR               5.  AL                9.    AL
2.  AL                6.  RR               10. GW
3.  GW              7.  GW              11.  AL
4.   RR              8.  RR               12.  GW

Now It's Your Turn:
We would like to hear from you?  Who is your favorite U.S. president and why?  Just use the "Comment" link below to respond, or write to us at silviusj@gmail.com

Acknowledgement:
Special thanks to Larry and Donna Moore for their hospitality, conversations, encouragement, and access to their WiFi necessary to publish this blog.

Saturday, January 13, 2024

Eight Devotional Meditations to Start a New Year

The New Year is still new enough for us to offer our “Happy New Year” greeting.  
Who among us does not want 2024 to be a HAPPY year?  But in reality, many of us wonder if 2024 will be an extension of the “unhappy” issues of last year.  Let us hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.  

We have just published a blog entitled
“Time to Wake Up!” [Click HERE.]  It is Part 2 of a series called, “Is Light Dimming and Darkness Winning?”  As a complement to that article, what follows below is a series of eight devotional meditations based on Isaiah Chapter 52.  We hope your reading, study, and prayer over each of these meditations will help to “awaken you” in mind, body, and spirit as you begin this New Year.

Day 1: “Our Lover Comes Calling: Wake Up!”
Scripture: 
Isaiah 52: 1
Background
:  Isaiah 52 contains the prophet’s warning to Judah that if they continue in rebellion against God they will be taken into exile.  But because of God’s enduring, covenant love for His people, He couldn’t wait to tell them ahead of time that He would eventually set them free from His judgment.  God’s warning of judgment and promise of release after 70 years of captivity came through the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 29: 10-14).  What is more amazing, again before they were to be exiled, God consoles Judah through Isaiah exactly how they would be assisted in their migration from exile back to the Holy Land.  God would raise up the Persian King Cyrus who would conquer Babylon and set the Jewish exiles free (Isaiah 44: 28-45: 1; 2 Chronicles 36: 21-23).
Consider: Our Scripture verse for today finds Isaiah conveying what would be God’s “wake-up call” to the Jewish exiles in Babylon (yet future).  God comes like a lover beneath the window of the prison in which His beloved is still a sleeping captive above.  He calls out, “Awake, Awake, my beloved!  Put on thy strength!”  Isaiah had already proclaimed, Those who trust in the LORD will gain new strength (Isaiah 40: 31).  God also wants to free us from the slave master of sin. But, we must “wake up” and use the strength He gives us.  God also calls His beloved to clothe herself in royal and pure robes befitting of her position as His redeemed. 
Response:   God still calls out today to awaken people under sin’s captivity.  Maybe you have never been spiritually reborn or experienced freedom in Christ (John 3).  Or, perhaps you are born again but have neglected to yield to Christ’s call to be His disciple (a disciplined Christ-follower; see Luke 9: 23-25; John 8: 31-32) and to dress in His armor to walk as a new person in purity of heart and mind (Ephesians 6: 10ff; Colossians 3: 5-11).  How will you respond?

Day 2:
Loose Yourself from the Chains
[Listen to Hymn? Go
HERE.]
Scripture: 
Isaiah 52: 2
Consider
:  The Holy Spirit of God, our divine Lover calls out again, “Shake off the dust!”  Arise from the low position of dishonor.  Your time of captivity in sin, fear, and grief are over.  Rise up to a position of freedom and dignity in Christ.  Then, Isaiah continues:  Loose yourself from the chains around your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.  But you say, I have no key!  How can I unlock the chains around my neck?  In the Gospel of John, we read of a man who had been ill for 38 years and had no one to help him into the supposedly healing waters of the Bethesda pool.  Jesus asked him, “Do you wish to get well?”  When the man said “Yes,” Jesus said, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.”   Read the story in John 5: 1-9.
Response:   Maybe God is calling you, His beloved:  Get up, shake off every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles [you], and [then] run with endurance the race that is set before [you], fixing [your] eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12: 1-2a).  Are there unnecessary encumbrances and sins that you need to “shake off,” or shackles from which you need to “loose yourself” so you can be free?  Learn how in 1 John 1: 9 and John 8: 31-34.

Day 3:  The Priceless Gift We Couldn’t Afford
Scripture: 
Isaiah 52: 3
Consider
:  In yesterday’s meditation, we read of God’s call to the captives--“shake off the dust” and “loose yourself.”  God calls us to take responsibility to lay aside the encumbrances and sins that beset us.  Today’s Scripture, continues with God’s answer to those who may accuse Him of “selling out His people” for a ransom.   God’s reply:  You were sold for nothing and you will be redeemed, but not with money.  In other words, “I did not sell you for a monetary gain or a ransom.  Instead, because you chose to abandon My commands, you sold yourselves into bondage for nothing.  But, because you are precious to Me, I will set you free, but not with money.”  This idea of “buying back without money” foreshadows our redemption through Christ as 1 Peter 1: 18-19 explains, For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.…  The psalmist expresses a similar theme:
No man can by any means redeem his brother
    Or give to God a ransom for him—
For the redemption of his soul is costly,
    And he should cease trying forever
— Psalm 49: 7-8
Response:   Devote time to meditate on these Scriptures with the Cross of Christ in your mind’s eye.  Our Savior-Redeemer ransomed us at a cost far beyond what money.  Instead of money, He gave His own life on a Roman cross
to offer us Liberty and Everlasting Life.  How will this truth affect you today?

Day 4:  
A Holy God in Dark Places
Scripture: 
Isaiah 52: 4-6
Consider
:  Throughout the Bible, God the Holy Sovereign of the universe is repeatedly misjudged and His Name blasphemed.  In contrast, our history is one of continual rebellion against God.  Yet God is blamed and considered cruel and uncaring when people and nations suffer tragic losses, sometimes the consequences of their sin.  In today’s Scripture, we read how God’s Name was blasphemed when His Chosen people suffered under the exile of Assyria and Babylon because they trusted in their own power and not God’s.  Their captors “howled” while they asked, “Where is your God while you suffer here in bondage under our power?”  Today, some people prefer the God of the New Testament because He is much less violent and murderous than the “Old Testament God.”  But the New Testament reveals how Jesus as God in human flesh also faced scornful and blasphemous accusations: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them (Luke 15: 2)!”  But God does not remain silent in defense of His Name.  Speaking through Isaiah God declares,
Therefore My people shall know my name (52: 6)
to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.
They will say of Me, ‘Only in the LORD are righteousness and strength.’
Men will come to Him,
And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame
(45: 23b-24).
Response:   Have you ever risked your name and reputation to help someone else while onlookers accused you of selfish motives or something worse?  Many of us know this experience.  We hope it comforts you (“brings you strength from God’s truth and love”) as you read throughout the Bible the story of God repeatedly going into dark places to rescue and redeem His beloved people.  And remember the dark day of the Cross where Jesus died and where God …made Him [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.  Your sin, mine, and the sins of the world were laid upon the crucified Christ.  Pray for those who labor in "dark places" and often suffer greatly as a result.

Day 5:  God Our Deliverer and Comforter
Scripture: 
Isaiah 52: 9-10; Isaiah 52:13 to 53:1
Consider
:  In Day 4, we honored the God who went into “dark places,” welcomed sinners, ate with them, and ultimately died for sinners.  God in Christ bore all of our sin on His Cross giving His life for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works (Titus 2: 14).  Written 700 years earlier, Isaiah’s words in verses 9-10 also praise God, exclaiming,
Break forth, shout joyfully together,
       You waste places of Jerusalem;
For the LORD has comforted His people,
       He has redeemed Jerusalem.
F.B. Meyer, referring to verse 10, writes, “Their Almighty Deliverer, throwing back the loose sleeve of His robe to leave His arm free, bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations,
that all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our God
.
Response:  Pause in the quietness of your time in God’s presence and meditate on these Scriptures, including Isaiah 52: 13 to 53: 1, telling of your Deliverer and what He suffered in order to reach with his strong, holy arm to rescue you.  Then, “break forth” in praise to Him, our Deliverer and Comforter.


Day 6:  Go Forth in His Righteousness
Scripture: 
Isaiah 52: 1-2 and 52: 11
Consider
:  Thank you for continuing in this series of devotional meditations.  In Day 1, our Scriptures from Isaiah 52: 1-2, shouted out, “Awake!  Awake!” This was a call through Isaiah to the (future) Israelite exiles in Babylon to awaken, rise up, shake off the dust, and unshackle themselves so they can enjoy and follow God in freedom.  Isaiah 52: 11 continues this challenge to the captives:
Depart, depart, go out from there,
    Touch nothing unclean;
 Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves,
    You who carry the vessels of the LORD
.
These Scriptures remind us that; whereas, God is our Mighty Deliverer who paid the price that we could never pay to redeem us from the exile of sin, still we have the daily responsibility to walk in purity and integrity. 
Response:  Yesterday’s reference to Titus 2: 14 reminded us of the price and purpose of Christ’s Cross and deliverance.  Quietly meditate on the wider context of this passage  quoted below (Titus 2: 11-14).  Then, allow God’s Spirit to convict you in areas in which your life is not pure and pleasing to God and to strengthen you in the “blessed hope” of Christ’s return as you move forward in this New Year:
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.  

Day 7:  Look Ahead, Look Behind, Without Fear!
Scripture: 
Isaiah 52: 10-12
Consider
:  Yesterday, Isaiah’s prophesy foretold the coming Israelite exile and eventual release from captivity.  He challenged them, and all of us today, to awaken, arise, shake off hindrances, unshackle ourselves from sin, and go forward in purity of heart and mind.  But Isaiah has another message for the future exiles; namely, they will not go forth from captivity in haste or in fear like fugitives as their ancestors had fled from Egypt centuries before (Exodus 12: 39).  Instead, declares Isaiah (v. 12): 

For the LORD will go before you,
And the God of Israel will be your rear guard
.
Here Isaiah calls to mind how the Israelites had departed from captivity in Egypt centuries earlier.  They had followed God who went before them in a pillar of cloud during the daytime.  At night, it turned into a glowing pillar of fire (Exodus 13: 21).  And, when the escaping Israelites thought they were trapped between the sea and the pursuing Egyptians, the pillar moved around behind them and God became their “read guard” against their enemies.
Response:  As you begin this New Year, may this reminder that the LORD will go before you and also be your rear guard be fixed in your mind.  With the psalmist (Psalm 16: 8 ), may we each declare: 
I have set the LORD continually before me;
Realizing that 2024 will bring many challenges, but
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken

Because the God of Israel will be [my] rear guard,”
I will not remain a captive of the sin and regrets of the past.
I will wake up, “deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously,” and joyously in the New Year!

Day 8:  You Can’t Keep Quiet?  Good!
Scripture: 
Isaiah 52: 7-12
Consider
:  We had intended to write seven (7) daily devotional meditations to complete one week.  But because we believe God’s Spirit directed our thoughts and writing to add one more, we are adding one more.  We awakened this morning with the reminder that verses 7-12 of Isaiah 52 provide a fitting ending to the weeks-worth we had written.  Please read and re-read these verses which offer glorious praise to God who came and will come again to set the captives free.  The Pulpit Commentary interprets this passage as “A Vision of the Day of Deliverance:”
The prophet sees the messenger come bounding over the mountains of Judaea, to bring the news to Jerusalem that her deliverance is come (v. 7). The angelic watchers sing with joy (v. 8). The prophet calls upon the waste places of Jerusalem to do the same, and dwells on the greatness of the mercy wrought (vv. 9-10). Finally, he exhorts the exiles to avail themselves of the permission to [leave] Babylon… in peace, without hurry, under the guidance and protection of God (vv. 11-12).  
The commentary concludes that Jerusalem's deliverance is a foreshadowing of the future redemption of the world by Christ.  What a blessed hope for Christ’s redeemed followers to anticipate!
Response:  God’s proclamation in verses 5b and 6 describes the cruel mocking that God still receives, but then predicts the future day when all mocking will stop (emphasis added):  And all day long my name is constantly blasphemed.  Therefore, my people will know my name; therefore, in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it.  Yes, it is I.
For all of us who have been awakened when we heard the Good News (Gospel) of Christ, have shaken off the shackles of our “works salvation,” and followed Christ out of our prison of sin, this should indeed be Good News we can’t keep to ourselves. 

How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”
Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
together they shout for joy.
When the Lord returns to Zion,
they will see it with their own eyes.
Yes, it is I.”


We hope the joyous exclamation of praise in verses 7-8 will resonate with your heart and motivate you to proclaim His salvation from day to day in 2024.  The eternal destiny of multitudes will depend upon it!  See also Isaiah 62: 6-7.   Click HERE to hear “For Zion’s Sake” by Marty Goetz.

Care to Comment?
If you have questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you.  Maybe you would like to share a spiritual insight or recommend a devotional source.  Just post a “Comment” below or e-mail to silviusj@gmail.com

Maybe you are left with a sense of confusion, uncertainty, and even fear.  If you have never encountered the “Good News” or Gospel, let us help.   The “Good News” is summarized in an outline called “Steps to Peace with God” (Click
HERE.).  It explains God’s love, our predicament (sin and separation from God), what Jesus has done to address our predicament, and what you can do by faith to receive God’s righteousness (right standing with a Holy God).  Let's commit to "wake up" and serve Him in this New Year!