Sun.’s Devo - God Holds the Future

Read: Isaiah 45:11-48:11; Ephesians 4:1-16; Psalm 68:19-35; Proverbs 24:3-4 God makes it clear who we are - his creation, and who he is - the one who made the earth and created us. He would raise up Cyrus to fulfill his righteous purpose. He would guide his actions to restore his city and free God’s captive people. Cyrus would do all this without seeking a reward. I think of how Trump served as President refusing to take a salary but donating it to different groups of people - mainly the military. God says that Cyrus would rule the Egyptians, the Ethiopians, and the Sabeans and receive the wealth of these nations, the fruit of their labor. Their knees would bow before the Lord and acknowledge that He is God. Babylon will be judged and their gods, Bel and Nebo will be brought to the ground no more to be exalted as having power. Bel was Babylon’s version of Baal and was identified with the planet Jupiter, which, with the planet Venus (under the name Astarte or Astaroth), was worshipped in the East as the god of fortune. Nebo was identified with the planet Mercury or Hermes, in astrology. One of the names associated with it was Nebuchadnezzar. God says that all of the people who were angry with him would come to him ashamed and bow and declare their allegiance to him. The gods that they worshipped, Bel and Nebo would be carried off on ox carts with no one to protect the idols. Their idols could not protect the people either. God spoke to the remnant of Jacob and he proclaimed his love for them. He told them to remember the idols that people trusted could not save them. He is the only God who can tell us the future before it happens. God was bringing a “ravenous bird from the east”. This man, Cyrus would execute God’s will from a far country. Cyrus’s standard was a golden eagle on a spear. Trump is bringing us back to the gold standard, America is the eagle and the sword is God’s Word. To Satan’s kingdom, God describes them as pleasure-loving, living in ease and feeling secure. They who made many widows and childless would become widows and childless themselves. They would lose their husband, the devil and their inheritance - the nations of the world. Despite all their witchcraft and magic, this would happened. They wouldn’t be able to buy themselves out of the mess they have made. Catastrophe would strike them so suddenly and they wouldn’t be prepared. All their charms and spells and astrologers that they trusted in before would not be able to save them from God’s fire. God turned his attention back to his remnant and he rebuked them for hearing God’s predictions but when they happened they had refused to admit it was the Lord. Now he would tell them new things, secrets they had not yet heard. It will be things that they had never heard of before so they wouldn’t be able to say they knew all the time. We have modern day prophets who are telling us what is about to happen and it would behove us to listen. Kent Christmas has a great prophecies he gives concerning America. It is encouragement to the righteous but a scary warning to those who claimed Jesus with their lips but hold secret sins in their heart. God has great things prepared for the remnant so we can be joyfully expectant because God is about to do a new thing and it will be glorious. In Ephesians, Paul gives the gifts that God has given to the church to equip God’s people to do his work and to build up the church. They are the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. They are to serve the Body not be worshipped by the Body. It is God’s will that the whole Body is healthy and growing and full of love. Lord, may we be part of your Body that is becoming healthy and growing in love. Help us to be quick to forgive and slow to anger. Put your will in our hearts.