Isaiah 4:2-6

          Psalm 27      Isaiah 4:2-6      Acts 11:1-18


          How beautiful is the Word of God. It is especially glorious and powerful when the people of God are eating a daily diet of grace and digesting the truth that is contained. How beautiful is the Word of God!

          Isaiah is offering a promise. It is a promise we have seen before. ‘In that day’ the Lord will become a God of transformation and glory. In that day the beauty of the Lord will flow and fruit will become a blessing. The things of the past will be washed away so the future can be pure and overflowing with possibility. Then something really beautiful will happen! God will appear over Mount Zion in the form of a cloud by day and a flame by night. And God will become a refuge from the storms of life. How beautiful is the Word of God!

          Is there a window close by as you are reading this section? Take a moment, look to the west, what do you see? I hope you can see the mountains. Perhaps Pikes Peak is in your view. Maybe it is covered brightly with fresh snow. Or you might have a view that simply reminds you of the power and beauty of creation.

          Now, imagine a cloud of smoke encircling the mountains by day. Can you visualize a glow of flame by night? That, my friends, is the image of how God desires to be present on ‘that day’ of the Lord. For the people hearing Isaiah’s prophecy it was an unknown day. It might be tomorrow or it could be somewhere far in the future. For us, the day has come. The Messiah has arrived. Oh yes, he will return! But for now, we get to live in the glow.

          How beautiful is the Word of God! How beautiful are the people of God! Can you claim that reality today?