Sun.’s Devo - God’s Grace and Deliverance

Read: Isaiah 43:14-45:10; Ephesians 3:1-21; Psalm 68:1-18; Proverbs 24:1-2
God gave them a promise of deliverance from the bondage of the Babylonians. He promised them that they would come back on the very boats they were carried away on. He is the one who led the Israelites through the desert and fed them and gave them water once, and he could do it again. But, he didn’t want them to dwell on the past, because he is going to do a new thing. He was not going to deliver then like he did then. He just wants them to know that he can deliver them and he will. God would blot out all their sins and transgressions.
Isaiah was speaking about Jesus, their Messiah, who would come in a most peculiar way and dressed in humility and love. He would not be a wooden idol but a real person - God coming to earth in a form we could relate to. He would be the final sacrifice to blot out all of their sins.
God controls kingdoms and raises up and throws down kings. In Isaish 45:7 it says that God formed the light and creates darkness. He makes peace and creates evil. The word “creates” in the Hebrew means “to cut down”. So it should read, God molds the light and cuts down misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow and wickedness. He brings forth peace, health, prosperity, happiness, perfection and cuts down evil, calamity, distress, and harm. The devil is the one who brings all these hurricanes and tornadoes against our nation. We need to stand up and say “Peace be still” to the storm.
I have had two storm dreams lately. Storms come in so many different ways so I say “Peace be still” to all of our storms.
Paul tells his people in Ephesians that surely you have heard about the grace that God has given us. He still gives out this grace to whatever is going on in our lives. Grace is the ability to do through God what you can’t do yourself.
Paul prays for his people and us that we would be strengthened with power in our inner man and that we would know how wide and long and high and deep Jesus love for us is. God is able to do more than we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us.
Lord, thank you for the power of your love that works through us.