Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Wise Men from the East

[I haven't posted on here for over a year, but what I have to share seems more important than a Facebook status.]

I was just reading in Isaiah (chapter 47) about the judgment that would come on Babylon because they trusted in their own strength and their magick instead of giving credit to the One True God. God had used them to judge Judah for their sin, but they would be punished for their own wickedness and pride. Today being the day before Christmas, I was reminded of the magi (Matthew 2:1-12). These were of the same people that God pronounced judgment on, but some of them recognized the birth of the Savior. Centuries before, Judah had been taken captive by Babylon for 70 years, and that was bad, but through that many Babylonians and later Persians came to know about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

In Acts we read about the development of the Church in the first century, and whenever there was persecution, the Church spread and grew. Many of the persecutors came to be believers themselves because the first Christians were ready to give a defense for the hope that was in them with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15). That is how God works--He must judge sin, but there are always some He has called from every tribe, people, and language.

We are still in the world, and the world is corrupt. We cannot change people, and even if we could it would not matter because nobody can earn salvation by their own works. Share what Christ has done for the world and trust the Holy Spirit to change individuals after they have accepted Jesus as Savior.

We mostly just hear the bad news through the media, but God is building His Church!