Mon.’s Devo - He is Lord of All

Read: Isaiah 39:1-41:16; Ephesians 1:1-23: Psalm 66:1-20; Proverbs 23:25-28 Merodach, the son of the king of Babylon heard that Hezekiah was very sick and sent ambassadors with a gift for him. Hezekiah was so honored that he showed off to them everything he owned. When they left, Isaiah came to Hezekiah and asked him about his visitors and what he showed them. When Hezekiah told him they had seen all his royal treasures, Isaiah gave him a word from God. The time was coming when everything he had showed them along with his sons would be taken to Babylon. Some of his sons would be made eunuchs in the palace of Babylon. *** All Hezekiah could think was he was glad he would not be alive to see it. *** Isaiah gave a word to the people. The day would comes when the Lord would speak comfort for his people. He would send a voice in the wilderness telling the people to get their hearts right so that the Lord could come to them. We know that this was the voice of John the Baptist. He told them to humble themselves and repent and get their lives straight. He reminded them that their lives were temporary and they needed to live for eternity. The Lord was coming and they needed to get ready. *** When He comes he will come in power and be a shepherd to the people. He will lead in righteousness and justice. The wicked nations are nothing to him; they will not stand against him. He is not some man-made idol. He made the earth and he rules over it. He brings out the stars like an army calling them by name. They are his army! God made everything and we can never comprehend his wisdom. But when we wait on him and trust him, he renews our strength and we have the power to rise up and continue the race. *** God called Cyrus from Persia to be his deliverer. He will conquer many nations because the Lord has ordained this. Though their answer was to build more statutes to their gods - it’s all in vain. God will strengthen his people and encourage them but confuse and humiliate their enemies. Israel, that was once on the bottom would rise to be an instrument of destruction against God’s enemies. Then the people will rejoice. *** The city of Ephesus was a commercial epicenter. It was the home of the great temple of Diana which was one of the great wonders of the world. *** The church at Ephesus was made up of both Jews and Gentiles. Paul had lived there for three years so he knew and loved the people intimately. He wrote this letter while in prison in Rome. He addresses them as “faithful followers of Jesus Christ.” *** Paul reminds us that God knew us, chose us, and loved us before he even made the world. He adopted us as his children through Christ with great pleasure and joy. He purchased our freedom from sin and poured out on us his lavish grace. His plan is to bring us all together under the name of Christ. They were seeing the manifestation of this as they realized that the Gentile were invited into God’s family. *** Lord, we pray that our hearts will be filled with spiritual wisdom and the knowledge of you. We pray that we will understand the greatness of your power for us who believe. Thank you for Jesus, our head, who makes us complete.