⁴ In that wonderful day you will sing:
    “Thank the Lord! Praise his name!
Tell the nations what he has done.
    Let them know how mighty he is!

Isaiah 12:4

Dear God, when I first read this verse this morning (the verse of the day from Bible Gateway) my thought was, “What day?” What’s Isaiah referring to. Is it some day when Israel is returned to glory? I’ll admit I was a little cynical about “that wonderful day” Isaiah talks about.

Then I backed up to chapter 11 to see what the day was that Isaiah was describing, and I found that he was describing a day that I materially benefit from. The day of Jesus (Isaiah 11:1-5):

11 Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—
    yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.
² And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
    the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
³ He will delight in obeying the Lord.
    He will not judge by appearance
    nor make a decision based on hearsay.
⁴ He will give justice to the poor
    and make fair decisions for the exploited.
The earth will shake at the force of his word,
    and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked.
⁵ He will wear righteousness like a belt
    and truth like an undergarment.

May I just say now, “Thank the Lord! Praise His Name! I will tell the nations how might you are and the things you have done. Let all the earth praise your name!”

The stump that was taken to the ground still had life, and it gave us a shoot. It gave more than Israel a shoot. It gave one to the whole world. It gave one to me.

Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection was quite remarkable. He taught us so much. He showed us so much. The history the men of the time recorded for us to have, even to this day, is really beyond belief. He was so special that even those who cannot bring themselves to believe in the resurrection want to follow his teaching and example.

Father, I don’t want to lose my awe and wonder about who Jesus is (he is part of who you are–God, man, alive today) and just how much I’ve been forgiven of. I’m presenting a Gospel message to the men in Christian Men’s Life Skills tomorrow night, but I’m also very distracted by the other lesson I’m supposed to teach afterwards. Wow. You just gave me an idea as I typed those words. Thank you. I think that will help. Tomorrow night, I’m supposed to teach a Bible study explaining the Gospel and inviting those in the room who are not already following you to follow you. Then I’m supposed to teach about applying for jobs. The idea you gave me just now is to switch the order so that we talk about the applications first and then we do the Bible study so they will be able to marinate in the Bible lesson and the seeds of it won’t be taken away by the birds like the seed that fell on the path. Thank you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen