Daily Devotion

Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst

Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.



Redeeming LoveI will tell of the LORD'S unfailing love. I will praise the LORD for all he has done.
I will rejoice in his great goodness to Israel, which he has granted according to his mercy and love.
He said, "They are my very own people.
Surely they will not betray me again."
And he became their Savior.
In all their suffering he also suffered, and he personally rescued them.
In his love and mercy he redeemed them.
He lifted them up and carried them through all the years.
But they rebelled against him and grieved his Holy Spirit.
So he became their enemy and fought against them.
Then they remembered those days of old when Moses led his people out of Egypt.
They cried out, "Where is the one who brought Israel through the sea, with Moses as their shepherd?
Where is the one who sent his Holy Spirit to be among his people?" - Isaiah 63:7—I1 NLT

According to Paul's definition of love, "Love always trusts" and "always hopes." That definition of love was reflected in what God said to his people through Isaiah. Surely they would never betray God again. God thought that because that's what love is like.

The first half of Isaiah's book relayed God's words of anger over their idolatry. He foretold Israel's coming exile for idolatry. But the last half of his book records God's words of hope and joy when he predicted a future where God forgave his people and reconciled them to him. God remembered the past with his people. He remembered how much they had suffered and how much that suffering hurt him. He remembered how much he loved them, and so he chose to forgive them one more time.

Such love seems unreasonable. The abused child, the beaten wife, and the kicked dog willingly return to the very ones who hurt them. They hope that it will be different next time. How foolish, how dangerous it appears to those of us outside watching. God forgives repeat offenders. He paid all our debts and didn't take away our credit card even as we tried to rack up more debt. He forgives all in perpetuity and forever. We can't max out God's credit card. That bill is always paid in full.