December 24th Read Is 44:21—45:13, 20–25 Isa 44:28-45:1 who says of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose; saying of Jerusalem, She shall be built, and of the temple, Your foundation shall be laid. (45:1) Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed:... 21 Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me. (22) Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. (23) By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance. (24) Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him. (25) In the LORD all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory. For those who doubt the Lord’s power to predict and dictate the future and to reveal it to man through the prophets, Isaiah 44:28-45:1 are a cause of offense. “Isaiah the prophet couldn’t have written this,” they say, “It was written after the fact.” But the point is that the Lord God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did speak this through the prophet Isaiah, that we may know that he alone is God and there is no other. If the God of Israel is alone God and there is no other, if we are accountable to him for everything we think, say and do then we might want to reconsider our ways and our faith which drives our ways. The good news is that in this God is salvation. In him there is redemption. His righteousness and strength he offer to all nations freely on account of himself in his incarnation, Jesus of Nazareth. Isaiah says every knee shall bow before the Lord and the apostles proclaim to us every knee shall bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Turn then to Jesus and no one and nothing else for your salvation. If you reject him, Jesus, you shall be ashamed for how you were incensed against him. Yet you will be compelled to confess him as your Lord. If you turn to him for help, he shall justify you and you will be glorified in him. Make Jesus your allegiance and you shall have knowledge and understanding, righteousness and glory. For he is God. There is no other. All else is sham and demons who await the eternal fire. Lord Jesus Christ, grant us such faith in you that we shall be justified and gloried on the day of your coming. May the word of your holy prophets and apostles convince and convert our hearts to your truth. Amen.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 13:17:46 +0000
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