Wed.’s Devo - God’s Holy Inheritance

Read: Isaiah 39:1-41:16; Ephesians 1:1-23; Psalm 66:1-20; Proverbs 23:25-28 When Hezekiah recovered from his near death illness, the king of Babylon, Merodach-baladan sent a gift and his best wishes to Hezekiah. Merodach-Baladan means “Baal is lord.” His father’s name meant “not a lord.” When Hezekiah entertained his officers, he showed them everything in his treasury and his kingdom. After they had left, Isaiah came to visit Hezekiah and asked him who had come to see him and what he had showed them. Hezekiah told him the truth. Isaiah said that the day was coming when everything he showed them including his own sons would be taken to Babylon. His son would be made eunuchs to serve in the palace of Babylon’s king. Hezekiah was just glad it would not happen in his lifetime. (Sad.) Chapter 40 is a song from God for what was going to happen to Jerusalem. After all that Jerusalem would suffer, God wanted her to know that good days were in her future. A prophet would arise called John the Baptist and he would make a highway for the Messiah to walk down. The people would be told he was coming so they could prepare their hearts to receive him. God declares his own might and majesty so all will hope in him and find comfort. The ones who trust in the Lord, will find new strength. They will not faint. God would call his people back to Jerusalem from the ends of the earth. All who opposed them would die. Their attackers would be gone. God would help them and they would rejoice in their God. Paul wrote Ephesians while he was imprisoned in Rome. Paul had received the revelation that Christ’s body, his Church was God’s instrument to confound and overthrow evil powers. He wrote Ephesians to equip, empower, and mature them to do this till the end of time. In Ephesians we hear the same call of God to return but this time it is not only to the Jew but to the Gentiles also. God’s plan is to bring everything under the authority of Christ in heaven and on the earth. Paul prayed that they would be given a spirit of wisdom to grow in their knowledge of God and that their hearts would be flooded with light so they could understand the hope He had given them. He also prayed that they would understand God’s incredible power that raised Christ from the dead and sat him at his right hand in heaven. He has now been made our head and we are his body. We are made complete in Him. We are his holy inheritance. Lord, may we as the body do only what the head says. May we walk in the power of the resurrection.