Verse of the Day - Isaiah 45:8

"You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the LORD, have created it. ~ Isaiah 45:8 (NIV)

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It's raining again today here in Sacramento. It rained all day yesterday, and I heard it coming down before the alarm clock went off this morning. (...or was that after I reset my alarm clock for 15 more precious minutes under the cozy covers... :-)

So I did a Bible word search on 'rain' this morning, and found this verse. It's kind-of a 'wow' to me, as I see God's plan of salvation likened to the cycle of rain. As the rain falls, the seeds germinate, the plants grow. The water evaporates, clouds form, rain falls, and the cycle renews. So think of God's righteousness like rain. Jesus was the Righteous Rainfall, coming from heaven to wash and water a dry and desert land. He watered the people with righteousness and truth and many flourished. He went into the ground, like the rain, and ascended into heaven, like water evaporates into the sky. And He continues the cycle, through His Holy Spirit, falling on people of the earth. Some seeds germinate and salvation is born -- rebirth of the dead. Then the believer grows in righteousness, and their prayers of thanksgiving and petition evaporating into the heavens to rain down again on others.

I, the Lord, have created it...

As the fields could not produce shrubs or plants until God sent rain (Genesis 2:5), so we cannot have salvation or produce righteousness apart from the Righteous Rainfall, Jesus Christ. He gives us the living water to awaken our souls from death, just like the seeds in the ground are awakened by the rain. And when we commit ourselves to Him and allow the Holy Spirit to nourish us, we grow like the green plants of the field, yielding a harvest of righteousness.

I love God's analogies, don't you?

So, the next time you hear or see or feel the rain, remember Jesus, our Righteous Rainfall. May you be open to the life-giving water that He rains down for salvation and the growth of right living -- a healthy crop in keeping with the Grower.

Love,
Joelene