Seek First – Kingdom Focused Devotionals

“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “When I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah” (Jer. 31:31).

                We understand the language of a covenant.  A covenant is a binding agreement.  Israel was God’s covenant community.  Tragically, Israel continually ignored the conditions of the covenant established by the King.  The results were always tragic as Israel experienced God’s judgment for their sin. 

                Jeremiah promises that God is establishing a new covenant.  This new covenant will be an internal one written on the heart and not simply on tablets of stone.  “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (31:33).  This new “inner covenant” will be accompanied with forgiveness (34). 

                I have some great news for you.  This new covenant was established by the coming of Christ.  His word is now written on our heart and we have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit who enables us to obey His Word.  It is wonderful to know that our sins are forgiven and that we now have a personal relationship with God through Christ.  It should compel us to obey that has now been written on our hearts. 

Prayer: May this be the year that I remain faithful to the law You have written on my heart.  Amen

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be remembered or come to mind” (Isa. 65:17).

                Israel’s captivity had come about because of their stubborn rebellion.  God’s mercy is enduring.  God declares that He had spread out His hands all day long to a rebellious people.  Yet they continued to walk in their own ways and have continually followed their own thoughts (65:3).  As you look back over 2009, would you have to admit that you have walked in your own ways and followed your own thoughts. If so, you will find hope in this promise of a new beginning.

                If you read the entire promise in context, you will find that God promises continued judgment for those who do not return to Him.  But for those who will be His servants will forget their former troubles because they will be hidden from God’s sight (65:16).  Isn’t it wonderful to know that God is a God of forgiveness and a God of new beginnings?  The phrase “new heavens and a new earth” is synonymous with a fresh new start.  When God gives us a new start the former things will not even be remembered.  When God forgives our sin, He forgets our sin. 

                Such news will cause us to be glad and rejoice (65:17).  God declares that He created Jerusalem for rejoicing and for gladness.  We know that the final consummation of this promise will not be experienced until the King returns to reclaim the earth (Rev. 21), but we can experience the “newness” of God today.  If we are willing to turn from our own ways and our own thoughts and follow His word. 

Prayer:  Father, I turn from my way and my thoughts to Your ways.  I will be glad and rejoice in You.  Amen.

“The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; and you will be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord will designate” (Isa. 62:2)

                 Israel had suffered the indignity of captivity by a pagan nation.  Prophets had warned Israel of impending judgment if they did not turn from their wicked ways, but they stubbornly refused to respond.  That judgment came by the hand of the hated Babylonians.  They were defeated, discouraged, and disheartened.  God raised up the prophet Isaiah to interpret the events they had suffered.  Isaiah holds out a day of hope yet to come.

                God declares that, for Jerusalem’s sake, He will not keep silent.  His work will continue, “Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that is burning” (62:1).  Because of God’s redemptive work on behalf of Israel the nations will witness her righteousness and they will be called by a new name.  This is not just any new name, but a name which will be designated by the Lord Himself. 

                Israel will no longer be called “forsaken” and “desolate,” words that would be used to describe the condition of a barren woman.  Now they will be called, “My delight is in her,” and her land will be called “Married” (62:4).  The image of the barren woman becoming fruitful was used earlier (Isa. 54) to describe the future greatness of Israel.  Our God is a God of redemption, a God of “new names.”

                What is the “new name” that you desire from the Lord?  Ask the Father to give you a new name from His own mouth.

Prayer:  Father, may I be called “righteous” as my friends and neighbors see your character in my life.  Amen.

“Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it?  I will make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert” Isa. 43:19. 

Can you imagine such a wonderful thing?  Imagine, for a moment, that you lived in the desert.  Would you find it hard to believe that someone could make a river in the desert?  Why would you have such difficulty in believing such a promise?  The challenge to your belief would be the cold hard reality that you had never seen anything like a river in the desert in the past.  If you have opened your Bible to Isa. 43 you may have already read the context.  Did you notice the verse and warning that preceded this promise?  “Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past.”

                We can be bound by our past experiences in such a manner that it keeps us from believing that God can do anything new in our lives.  It is possible that you have experienced repeated spiritual failures in the past and thus you are reluctant to believe that God can do “something new” in your life this year.  If that is your situation, you need to first be reminded of who God is.  “I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King” (43:15).  God is the Creator and thus knows no limitations.  Second, heed God’s warning and forget the “former things.”  Trust God for something new this year.  Let Him make a roadway in the wilderness and a river in the desert. 

Prayer:   Your majesty is more than I can comprehend.  I will trust You to do something new in my heart this year.  Amen

“Behold, the former things have come to pass, now I declare new things before they spring forth I proclaim them to you” (Isa. 42:9). 

                I hope you will take the time today to read all of Isaiah 42.  It contains wonderful promises concerning the “chosen one” in whom God delights (1).  Who is this chosen one?  Listen to how the prophet Isaiah describes Him.  God has put His Spirit on Him.  He will bring justice to the nations.  He will not cry out or raise His voice.  In His gentleness He will not break a bruised reed.  He will faithfully bring forth justice and establish justice in the earth. 

                Further, God who created the heavens and the earth, promised to watch over His servant who has been appointed as a light to the nations (6).   God will empower Him to open blind eyes and bring prisoners from the dungeon (7).  God seemingly interrupts this litany of promises to make a declaration about Himself—“I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, nor my praise to graven images.”

                In other words, these promises are based on the authority and integrity of the One True God.  Only God, who exists outside of time can declare “new things” before they come to pass.  One of the distinctive aspect of the Bible that sets it apart from other religious books is prophecy that declares “new things” before they come to pass.  The God who governs the universe is timeless and thus knows all things.  

                A timeless God controls your life and your coming year.  It is this truth that allows you to “sing a new song” (10). 

Prayer:  Thank you for making all things new.  I give you myself in this New Year.  Amen

“Is there anything of which one might say, ‘See this, it is new’?  Already it has existed for ages which were before us” (Ecc. 1:10). 

                If you are familiar with the book of Ecclesiastes you will remember the refrain, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity” (1:2).  Solomon had lived with excess.  He had filled his life with things such as houses, beauty, money, and learning and had come to the conclusion that life is utter vanity.  His assessment is not simply based on observation, it is based on his own experience He drank deeply from all that life had to offer and found that it was empty.  It was fraught with brevity and insubstantiality.  Man’s life is like a “breath” and an “evaporating cloud.” 

                He argues that “things are wearisome” (8).  If you have children, did you notice how quickly they became tired of the new toy they were so eager to receive?  I wonder how many of those carefully selected gifts were returned the week after Christmas.  Thus he concludes that there is nothing new and that when we think something is new, we are simply ignoring history (11). 

                Fortunately, the book Solomon does not remain negative in tone throughout the book.  In chapter three Solomon argues that God has given appropriate time for everything.  “He has made everything appropriate in its time.  He has also set eternity in their heart” (3:11a).  Man’s life does have earthly meaning and purpose and thus he should labor with all his might (9:10), but he should also labor with eternity in view.  God has created man with eternal purpose.  You were not created simply for this world but for the one to come.  This is why earthly stuff can become wearisome.  So what is the bottom line?  “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth” (Ecc. 12:1).  As you face a “new year” prioritize those things which will have meaning and purpose in eternity. 

Prayer:  Father, as I face a new year, I renew my covenant with you.  Help me to live with eternal impact.  Amen

“Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy” (Ps.  33:3).

                The idea of a “new song” is repeated frequently in Scripture.  If you take a moment to read the context of Psalm 33 you will find the occasion for a “new song.”  A new song is born when one takes a moment to reflect that the word of the Lord is upright and His work is done in faithfulness (33:4).  Take a moment to think back over the last year.  List those events which convinced you that the Lord’s word is upright and His work is done faithfully.  Compose a song about those events and utter them in praise to the Lord.

                If you took a moment to reflect back on the year, you found many reasons to praise the Lord.  Did God put a new song in your mouth?  Do you know why He wants to do so?  Listen to the Psalmist—“He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord” (40:3).  Our new song will provide a wonderful testimony to those who need to know the Lord.  Share your new song with a friend who needs to know Christ. 

                Isaiah the prophet exhorts us to sing our new song to the “end of the earth” (42:10).  Take a moment and read Isaiah 42 and you will find that Isaiah was talking about the wonderful servant who was to come.  We know that this prophecy was fulfilled in the coming of Christ and yet 1.65 billion persons do not know of His coming.  We must make it our priority to tell the nations. 

Prayer: Father, today I sing to You a new song.  May I be bold in declaring Your name to the nations.  Amen.

“Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day.  For it is a statue for Israel” (Ps. 81:3-4a).

                The “new moon” was a monthly celebration in the life of Israel that was characterized by the giving of special offerings that were both great in quantity and quality (Num. 28:11-15) and celebration that required the blowing of trumpets (Num. 10:10).  The festival of the new moon and the Sabbath are often mentioned together in the Old Testament.  Once again the festival was a time of celebration and recognition of God’s abundant favor.  

                In time the festivals began to lose their religious significance and became little more than holidays.  Thus the prophets include the new moon festival in their list of indictments against Israel.  Listen to Isaiah—“Bring your worthless offerings no longer, incense is an abomination to Me, new moon and Sabbath, the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.  I hate your new moon festivals.” (Isa. 1:13-14a).  God did not hate the festivals He had proscribed for His people, He hated the way they had abused them and ignored their true significance.  Thus God instructs them to cleanse themselves, cease to do evil, and learn to do right (read Isaiah 1:16-17). 

                Have we allowed holidays (holy days) to become little more than a day of self-indulgence rather than a day to celebrate God’s goodness.  The apostle Paul warned that the holy days such as a festival or a new moon were but a shadow that has come to its full fruition in Christ (Col. 2:16-17).  Now that we know the full meaning of such holy days, are we “blowing the trumpet” as we celebrate God’s goodness. 

                Will you pledge yourself anew to worship and service to the King this year?

Prayer: Father, forgive me when I think holidays are about me.  I will serve You as my King throughout the coming year.  Amen.

“Also on the day of the first fruits, when you present a new grain offering to the Lord in your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work” (Num. 28:27).

                One of the earliest uses of the term “new” is found in this passage in Numbers where Israel is instructed to bring a “new grain offering” to the Lord.  Israel has now occupied the Promised Land and thus they are becoming an agricultural people. 

                You may know the Feast of Weeks as Pentecost.  It was the second of three annual festivals.  It was variously referred to as the feast of weeks, the feast of harvest and the day of first fruits.  It was celebrated seven complete weeks (50 days) after Passover, thus the name Pentecost.  It was essentially a harvest celebration.  The term “weeks” was used of the period of grain harvest from the time of the barley harvest to the wheat harvest (7 weeks). 

                Its purpose was to acknowledge that the Lord was the source of all that Israel possessed.  He provided the rain and caused the harvest.  It was called the first fruits because it marked the beginning of the time in which people were allowed to bring offerings of their “new grain” to the Lord.  It was a day of celebration and a holy convocation and thus the people were to rest from their labors and enjoy the Lord’s presence and celebrate His goodness.  The whole feast was a day of celebration which culminated with a communal meal to which the poor, the strangers, and the Levites were invited.  In other words, they shared the bounty which the Lord had so richly provided. 

                As you begin this New Year, have you taken time to bring the Lord a “new grain offering?”   Have you thanked Him for the bountiful harvest?  Have you shared your “new grain” with those less fortunate? 

Father:  I recognize You as the source of all I have.  This year I offer You myself as a new grain offering.  Amen

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Cor. 5:17).

                I love the idea of “new.”  We get excited about buying something new.  Whether it is a new car or a new item of clothing, there is something stimulating about having something that is brand new.  Maybe, this is one of the reasons we love the idea of a new year.  It allows us to start over.  It gives us hope.  For that reason, we are going to spend a few minutes together each day thinking about the concept of “new.”  Hope you enjoy these New Years devotionals.  Share them with your friends. 

                I enjoy playing golf.  Often in a friendly match, your playing partners may offer you a “mulligan.”  A “mulligan” is essentially a “do-over.”  You get to take the shot again without having to count the first stroke. In other words there is no penalty.  I sometimes refer to this as “grace golf.”  It is as if the first shot never happened.  Do you ever wish you could get a mulligan in life? 

                Look back at our focal verse for today.  Paul indicates that “old things passed away” and “new things have come.”  Where is such a radical “do-over” possible?  The answer is “in Christ.”  The person who is “in Christ” is a new creature.  How is this possible?  It was accomplished by God who reconciled sinful man to holy God.  If you are not “in Christ” ask Him to forgive your sin and come into your life.  What a way to begin the New Year.  If you are a Christian, you might want to notice that verse 18 ends with the reminder that we have been given the ministry of reconciliation.  Who do you know that needs to hear this message?  Why not tell them?

Prayer:  Thank You for providing Jesus that I might know you and become a new creature.  Amen