Wed.’s Devo - The Beauty of the Body

Read: Isaiah 45:11-48:11; Ephesians 4:1-16; Psalm 68:19-35; Proverbs 24:3-4
Isaiah continues speaking for the Lord. He is proclaiming what is to come and rebukes them for questioning him about his plans. He was going to raise up Cyrus, non-Jewish king of Persia in His righteousness. He would use him to rebuild Jerusalem for no selfish gain.
The Gentile nations would come to Jerusalem and bow down before God proclaiming that there is no other God. Israel would be saved by the Lord and never be disgraced again. Babylon would be brought down and not one of their prophets could foretell this. Only God who knows the end from the beginning could predict the fall of Babylon and the rise of Israel. None of their sorcery or horoscopes or their occult worship could see this nor would it be able to save them when God sends disaster upon them. Even Israel will be surprised when they see God’s redemption for them. God declared that he will have a bride and he will have his children.
In Revelation, Babylon is the last kingdom to fall. Babylon stands for Satan’s kingdom. It is an invisible kingdom of evil that permeates our society. It is the thought behind political correctness, religion, transgender, envy, strife, abortion, you name it. One day, God will say, “Enough” and it will all come crashing down.
Paul urges us to walk in our calling and to do everything we can to walk in unity with those who are of the same Spirit.
When Jesus died he went down to Sheol and led those who lived by faith with him to heaven. He gave the Church the gift of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers so that the body could carry on his work. He was all of these in one man, but he dispersed himself so that everyone would work together knowing that they needed what each other had. These gifts keep us from being tossed about by every crazy doctrine that comes along. These gifts operating in the body keep us on track with Jesus as our head. They are what make us a complete body.
Lord, help us to be the part of the body we are made to be. Help the body grow to be strong and healthy with balance and purpose. May we always look to Christ as our head and love one another.