Watch, I am about to do a new thing. Now it will spring up. Don’t you know about it? Indeed I will make a road in the wilderness. In the wasteland I will make rivers. Isaiah 43:10

Dear sisters and brothers of the new way:

For centuries God provided deliverance for His people through militaristic means. He had drowned Pharaoh’s army in the sea bringing to an end any hope Pharaoh had of reclaiming God’s people as slaves. He had leveled the wall of Jericho bringing to an end any hope the people of Jericho had that their monumental walls could not be breached. He had defeated the nations of the promised land bringing to an end their hope of holding back the tide of God’s people from claiming what God had given them. He had executed His judgment on the army of Assyria bringing to an end their conquest of Judah.

But now, in the time to come, in the appointed time, He would do a new thing. Salvation for His people would no longer come about militarily. Salvation would come spiritually. Could God’s people perceive it? Did they know about it? They should have. From the time of Adam and Eve, God had promised to send His head crusher. Many of the psalms they sang spoke of a Messiah who must suffer. God had foretold His plan. It simply was not the plan they had in mind. No, they did not know about it. By dwelling on the past, they could not see their future.

We, too, can get caught up in the past. The evil one would like nothing more than to have us do so. We have sinned. In our weakness, we have failed to stand. The evil one would have that failure be our focus. He would encourage us to try to stand on our own, by our own resolve, only to knock us down again with temptation. But God has done something new. He has sent a Champion to fight this battle in our place, not a Champion to fight our earthly battles, a Champion to take on the forces of evil in the spiritual realms. Our Champion levels the lies and deceptions of the evil one. Our Champion leads us to springs of life-giving water. In our world, this is a new thing.

Blessings.

Frank Van Brocklin Staff Minister

Coming up in this near future at Immanuel Lutheran School:

❖ Wednesday, March 30 Parent-Teacher Conferences - 3:30 - 5:30 PM

❖ Thursday, March 31 Parent-Teacher Conferences - 3:30 - 6:15 PM

❖ Monday, April 4 Circuit Pastors’ Meeting at Immanuel Lutheran Church

❖ Wednesday, April 6 Chapel Service - 8:30 AM

❖ Friday, April 8 All-School Musical Practice - 9:00 AM

❖ Sunday, April 10 Confirmation Service - Children Sing - Bake Sale - 10:30 Service