New things
Day 330, Monday, July 7
Isaiah Chapter 42 – 43:13
Isaiah, more than any other book of the Old Testament, introduces the coming messiah, sometimes referred to as the suffering servant or just as something new.
“See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you,” the prophet says in 42:9.
The “former things” are the things of the old covenant that we have read about in the Old Testament. The “new things” are the things of Jesus, that Isaiah is announcing before he even appears on earth.
In forshadowing the peace and justice Jesus will bring, 42:3-4 says, “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.”

-Rev. Mark Fleming

Monday meditation

Job 3:11-19
“Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb?
Why were there knees to receive me and breasts that I might be nursed?
For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at rest with kings and rulers of the earth, who built for themselves places now lying in ruins, with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver.
Or why was I not hidden away in the ground like a stillborn child, like an infant who never saw the light of day?
There the wicked cease from turmoil, and there the weary are at rest.
Captives also enjoy their ease; they no longer hear the slave driver’s shout.
The small and the great are there, and the slaves are freed from their owners.

Prayer focus
We thank you, God, for the things that have prepared us for new life, and we thank you for the new life that is and is to come.