The Jesus Bible Reading Plan / A FUTURE HOPE

The Jesus Bible Reading Plan

Day 339 of 365 A FUTURE HOPE Joel prophesied that God would judge other nations for how they treated his people. On the day of the Lord, this future judgment would come; however, on that terrible day, the Lord promised to be a refuge for his people. In this passage, God promised to be the God of his people and live among them in Jerusalem. As a result of God's presence among the people, the land would be blessed, fruitful and safe from foreign invasion. This blessing points believers to the day referenced in Revelation 22:1 - 2, where in the new heaven and the new earth, the river of life will flow from the throne of God and bring life to all the city - including the tree of life, which will continually bear fruit. The people of God can take part in this beautiful blessing because of the work of Jesus on the cross. When Jesus died on the cross, he took on the guilt of all who will trust in him for salvation, and he became the one way that God would pardon human sin. Jesus, then, is the ultimate refuge for the people of God. He not only protects them from their enemies, but he has also absorbed the wrath of God on their behalf. This is what makes it possible for God to dwell within his people. Now, the people of God, with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, live each day of their lives with the hope of a great future and wait for this promise of eternal blessing to be realized. Jesus, thank you for bearing the weight of my guilt. Help me to live free of this guilt, living every second in the knowledge of the future you've made possible for me. Amen. Joel 3:17-21 NASB 17 Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain. So Jerusalem will be holy, And strangers will pass through it no more. Judah Will Be Blessed 18 And in that day The mountains will drip with sweet wine, And the hills will flow with milk, And all the brooks of Judah will flow with water; And a spring will go out from the house of the Lord To water the valley of Shittim. 19 Egypt will become a waste, And Edom will become a desolate wilderness, Because of the violence done to the sons of Judah, In whose land they have shed innocent blood. 20 But Judah will be inhabited forever And Jerusalem for all generations. 21 And I will avenge their blood which I have not avenged, Revelation 22:1-2 NASB 1 Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.