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October 17 Daily Devotional

Twilight: Land of Hope and Glory

the Rev. Andrew Kuyvenhoven

Monthly Theme:

Isaiah's God is the Holy One of Israel. In God's presence we have to be morally clean. God has chosen his Servant, who will rule in righteousness in a kingdom of peace.

Bible Reading:

Isaiah 3

Bible Text:

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped (Isa. 35:5).

Devotional:

People of all times and places have dreamed of the kind of country that's pictured in Isaiah 35. The wilderness has turned into a garden, and the desert teems with life. Hospitals are no longer needed. The lame leap, the mute sing, the deaf hear, and the blind see. Sin and terror have disappeared, and sorrow and sighing "flee away." The place is secure for the joyful.

This country that all people hope for will be a reality for those who trust God. It is God's kingdom.

To bring that kingdom, says Isaiah, "your God will come with vengeance and salvation" (v. 4). That's what God did through Jesus. We believe that God has come in Jesus to set up this kingdom in this world.

Sometimes even the most stalwart kingdom workers get discouraged. After two thousand years we see so little of the land of hope and glory.

John the Baptist looked for that land too. Fervently he expected the kingdom. At one time John sent his students to ask Jesus if he was really the one who would bring the kingdom of heaven. And Jesus answered by quoting Isaiah 35: "The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the deaf hear ... and the good news is preached to the poor" (Matt. 11:4–6). Keep the faith, he said.

The kingdom may be difficult for us to see. But in his own divine way, Jesus is bringing the land of everybody's dreams, the kingdom of heaven on earth.

So keep the faith.


Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published in 1994. This edition is copyright by Faith Alive Christian Resources, from whom may be ordered Daylight, the predecessor of Twilight.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this edition of Twilight are from the New International Version

Be sure to read the "Preface" and the "Acknowledgments" by the author.

 

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