We're not the masters of our fate

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Chronicles 18-20; Psalm 75

TO CHEW ON: “And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel.” 2 Chronicles 20:29

“For exaltation comes neither from the east
Nor from the west nor from the south.
But God is the Judge:
He puts down one,
And exalts another. Psalm 75:6,7

William Ernest Henley ends his poem Invictus with the assertion:

I am the master of my fate,
      I am the captain of my soul.

He echoes the sentiment we humans cling to. From life’s beginning (via artificial means of conception) to middle (change our gender if we so desire) to end (lengthen life with medical science or legally end our own lives at the time we choose), we like to think we’re in control.

We kid ourselves, of course. Psalm 75 gives us a more realistic picture. There we see that God is behind it all, determining the times of everyone, from individuals to rulers of nations (Psalm 75:6-8).

Our reading  in 2 Chronicles today describes two events that illustrate that.

Before Ahab and Jehoshaphat went to war, prophet Micaiah predicted that Ahab would be killed in battle. Determined to prove him wrong, Ahab disguised himself as a common soldier. Though the enemy pursued the kingly figure of Jehoshaphat, he managed to survive. Meanwhile Ahab was hit by a “random” arrow that happened to get him in one of the few vulnerable places on his well-armoured person (2 Chronicles 18).

In the second event King Jehoshaphat, threatened by the Ammonites and Moabites, took his problem to God: "We have no power against this great multitude...nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You" - 2 Chronicles 20:12.

God's solution came via the words of the prophet Jahaziel, who said, "You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord" - 2 Chronicles 20:17.

The next day the army entered battle in a very unconventional way, behind the singers and worshipers. Even as the praise began "...the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir ... and they were defeated" - 2 Chronicles 20:22.
As people of faith, I think we put too little stock in God's ability to manipulate the course of our own lives and of history. We need to spend less time criticizing and scheming how to make things happen and more time acknowledging "We have no power, nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You," and then praise Him for the victory He is accomplishing.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Your sovereignty over individuals, rulers, and nations.  Help me entrust my future to you, and to keep praying for the leaders of my country and the countries of the world, knowing that You are in control. Amen.
PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 75

 *********
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Thanks for reading! This year we are using The Bible Project "Timeless Reading Plan" to read through the Bible in 2018. If you'd like to read along in your own Bible, you can download a pdf of the reading plan HERE.

The prayer that changed a nation's story

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Nehemiah 1-3; Psalm 48

TO CHEW ON: "And so it was, when I heard these words that I sat down and wept and mourned for many days' I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven." - Nehemiah 1:4


The word economy of the Bible quickly gets us to the crux of the matter in this story that takes place at the end of the Old Testament time. The described state of his fellow Hebrews in Jerusalem distresses Nehemiah (who is a servant of Persian King Artaxerxes) immensely. So he does what we should all do when we're distressed—goes to the One who can help.

Nehemiah 1:5-11 is Nehemiah's heartfelt prayer. Let's look closely at it to see what we can learn about prayer from it.

1. Nehemiah begins by addressing God: "Lord God of heaven, O great and awesome God..." His beginning puts him in his place and vaults God to His. By saying these faith-building words (Nehemiah 1:5) Nehemiah also reminds himself of God's power and ability to answer.

2. Nehemiah includes himself with the people (Nehemiah 1:6-7).  Though he is many miles away and probably hasn't participated personally in the sins he confesses, he stands in solidarity with his countrymen. His identification with them also shows his understanding of how God works in and through nations.

3. He prays God's words back to Him. Nehemiah 1:8-9 are a paraphrase a Moses' words in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, recalling words of warning and blessing to Israel from centuries earlier (see Leviticus 26:33 and Deuteronomy 4:25-27, 29-30; 28:63-67; 30:4).

4. He names his request. He reminds God of the investment He has already made in Israel (Nehemiah 1:10) and pleads for mercy, for himself (from his boss, the King of Persia; 'would God move the heart of a king to give him favor?') and in that, also for all of Israel (Nehemiah 1:11).

The rest of the book of Nehemiah tells the story of how King Artaxerxes releases Nehemiah from his duties, finances and equips his trip to Jerusalem, and then how Nehemiah leads the rebuilding of the Jerusalem wall and eventually a spiritual revival.

What large and small things are troubling us today? Let's pray about them. Let's pray remembering how big and capable God is in contrast to our own neediness, frailty, and unworthiness. Let's pray God's words—His promises—back to Him, naming our requests with all the passion and emotion they bring up in his.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for prayer. Help me to realize that a burden about a situation or person is also an invitation to pray about it. Help me to pray from my heart,  with faith in You and Your power. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 48

*****************
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Story of a proud tree

Tree hit by lightning (Photo - RGB stock)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 31-33; Psalm 40

TO CHEW ON: "Therefore thus says the Lord God: 'Because you have increased in height, and it set its top among the thick boughs, and its heart was lifted up in its height, therefore I will deliver it into the hand of the mighty one of the nations, and he shall shurely deal with it; I have driven it out for its wickedness.' " Ezekiel 31:10,11

The fault of the great tree in Ezekiel's prophecy was not that it was so magnificent and towered over all the other trees in the forest—but that its "heart was lifted up in its height" - Ezekiel 31:10.

This chapter is a prophetic warning to Egypt. In it, Ezekiel recalls magnificent Assyria, the great tree in our reading. Ezekiel says that just as God allowed Assyria to be cut down by "…aliens the most terrible of nations" (thought to be Babylon), so Egypt is on notice:

 " 'To which of the trees in Eden will you then be likened in glory and greatness? Yet you shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the depths of the earth …. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude,' says the Lord God" - Ezekiel 31:18.

I find this passage both a warning and a comfort.

It's a warning against pride—exalting oneself. And this is certainly not the only place in the Bible we are warned. We cautioned against pride by:

• The example of the angel Lucifer—the father of pride - Isaiah 14:13,14.

• The stories of those who were proud, like Pharaoh (Exodus 9:17); Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26:16); Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 32:25), Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:30) and Belshazzar (Daniel 5:23).

• The Bible's proverbs and wisdom - Proverbs 17:19; 25:6,7,27; 27:2.

• Jesus Himself - Matthew 23:12; Mark 9:33-36.

• Paul - Romans 12:3; 1 Corinthians 4:6; 2 Corinthians 10:5,17.

• Peter - 1 Peter 5:3.

• James - James 3:16; 4:10.

• John - 3 John 1:9

It's also a comfort to know that God has the kings and kingdoms of earth under His control (Proverbs 21:1). Any dynasty or regime can be toppled at His bidding (Isaiah 40:23; Ezekiel 17:20; 29:4).

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to be wary of the sin of pride in my life and of how foolish any self-exaltation is in the face of Your sovereignty. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 40

The Bible Project VIDEO: Ezekiel - Part 2 (Read Scripture Series)



*********
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

All knees will bow

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah 45:14-25

TO CHEW ON: "I have sworn to Myself;

The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness,

And shall not return,

That to Me every knee shall bow,

Every tongue shall take an oath." Isaiah 45:23

Our reading today is a continuation of Isaiah's prophecy to Cyrus—a Persian king who would not be born for about another 100 years. The way Isaiah addresses him by name (Isaiah 45:1) has caused some scholars to question whether Isaiah really wrote this prophecy. Of course, people who believe in the supernatural character of prophecy and the divine inspiration of Scripture have no trouble trusting that God can make such predictions.

Today we read how Cyrus will dominate Egypt and Arabia (the Sabeans) (Isaiah 45:14). But he will prove to be God's instrument of freedom for the exiled Jews in Babylon (Isaiah 45:17).

This prophecy was fulfilled. In 539 B.C. Cyrus came to power. First he returned the temple valuables to the Jews (the Babylonians had taken them, along with the people, when they looted Jerusalem) and let some exiles return to rebuild the temple. Eventually he let them all return to their land. The book of Ezra is the story of that return. (Read Cyrus's decree in Ezra 1:1-5.)

From predicting the specifics of using Cyrus for His purposes, God declares (through Isaiah) His dominion over all the earth.
- He is the only God - Isaiah 45:21.
- He is the only Saviour - Isaiah 45:22
- It is only to Him that every knee will bow and tongue take an oath (of allegiance) (Isaiah 45:23, see also Philippians 2:9-11).

As a citizen of a nation that prides itself on tolerance, openness to, and acceptance of any and all religious creeds as equally true, I find myself, despite knowing better, cringing at such bold pronouncements. The way I have been influenced by my prevailing culture demonstrates how I need as much faith to believe this as the Israelites did at the time it was spoken. 

The Hebrews of the exodus needed faith that God had sent Moses and that he would indeed lead them out of Egypt, slavery and eventually to the Promised Land.

The Jews of the Babylonian exile needed faith that Yahweh was God over the idols of their captors.

We in our time need faith that the God of the Bible is who He says He is and will show Himself the only God, in the face of our culture's intolerance toward claims of objective truth.


PRAYER: Dear God, I believe You when You say that every knee will someday bow to You and every tongue confess that You are Lord. Help me to work out what this means in regard to how I interact with people all around me who don't believe. Amen.

**********

Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Registered in Zion

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 87:1-7

TO CHEW ON: "And of Zion it will be said,
'This one and that one were born in her; …
The Lord will record,
When He registers the peoples;
This one was born there.'" Psalm 87:5,6


"The most resistant Gentile peoples will find spiritual birth in Zion," is my Bible's footnote explanation of this psalm (K. R. "Dick" Iverson, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 752).

I love how the psalmist names specific nations as representative of its inhabitants: Rahab (symbolic of Egypt - Isaiah 30:7), Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia. These were Israel's neighbours.  Some had been or were enemies. Of individuals from these tribes/nations the writer says, "This one and that one were born in her; … The Lord will record, When He registers the peoples; This one was born there."

"He shall enrigister every individual among the converted nations as a true citizen of Zion, entitled to all covenant privileges" - Pulpit Commentary.

I see a picture of God, constantly scanning the peoples of earth, looking for signs of movement toward Him: "… to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him" - 2 Chronicles 16:9.

I see Him writing the names of these from every nation in His book: "…The Lord will record, /  When He registers the peoples…"  They are holy (separate). They are His - Isaiah 4:3.

Finally, I see this international crowd, before the throne, praising God:

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” - Revelation 7:9-10.

There is no basis to the criticism that Christianity is a European/North American religion foisted on other nations and people groups by the white man. It is, from its inception, truly international. It knows no borders and has no language or race barriers.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for sending Jesus to die for everyone. Regardless of skin color, language or location, all of us can be born again ("born in her [Zion]").  We thank you for drawing and claiming the most resistant heart. Amen.

 *********
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Roar

"Last Judgment" by Peter Von Cornelius

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Joel 3:1-21

TO CHEW ON: "But the Lord also will roar from Zion,

And utter His voice from Jerusalem;

The heavens and earth will shake;

but the Lord will be a shelter for His people,

And the strength of the children of Israel." Joel 3:16

Here, as we come to the last part of Joel's prophecy we see another side of God as He gathers the nations for judgment. Like prophets tend to do, Joel has leaped ahead in time. He goes from talking about God's punishment of Judah (his audience) to a time in the future.

Yesterday he spoke of a time ("...afterward...") when God would pour out His Spirit on everyone. Today we see another event connected to that time ("For behold in those days and at that time..." [referring back to Joel 2:28-30]). It's a gathering of nations for judgment in the Valley of Jehoshaphat.

Where is this place?

Jerry Cook, writer of my Bible's study notes on Joel, says, "In Jewish tradition this is thought to be part of the Kidron Valley between the temple and the Mount of Olives. 'Jehoshaphat' means 'Yahweh is Judge.' This, therefore, may be a symbolic place of judgment and decision rather than an actual place in Joel's mind" (New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p. 1167).

Joel sees the nations gathering there for God's verdict on their roles in history and specifically their relationships to Israel.

God shows Himself a ferocious judge. He will "roar." [Sha'ag a word used to describe the roar of a lion or the rumble of thunder. A word study in my Bible says that though sha'ag is used occasionally to describe angry, growling men, most of the time it describes the roaring God does as He goes to battle—here against Israel's enemies.]

These days God is rarely depicted as roaring, fierce, and terrible. We are familiar with the Good Shepherd image of Him, or the unconditionally loving friend, or the dispenser of unlimited grace. And He is those things. But He is also a God who roars. I sometimes wish that I could live one day with the Israelites as they gathered at the foot of Mount Sinai and experienced this roaring, flinty-fierce side of God. I'm sure it would smarten me up in my own often casual approach to Him.

It would also probably give me new eyes with which to see my unsaved family members, neighbors and friends. A comment in my Bible describes a possible reaction to Joel's image of the Valley of Decision: (Joel 3:9-16): "Cry out to God, and ask Him to give you spiritual eyes to see the multitudes of people still in the valley of decision" (New Spirit Filled Bible, p. 1169).

PRAYER: Dear God, please forgive me for my so-often casual approach to You. Help me to see You accurately and order my life in a way that acknowledges Your holiness and justice as well as Your love and grace. Amen.


MORE: "Worthy" sung by Paul Wilbur



************
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

O Canada, we live on guard for thee

Canada's flag on Seahorse Tugboat - Ganges Harbor, Salt Spring Island, BC

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah 32:1-20

TO CHEW ON: "Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
And righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
The work of righteousness will be peace
and the effect of righteousness,
quietness and assurance forever." - Isaiah 32:16,17

Today is Canada Day—a day we Canadians focus on our country. We celebrate with parades, picnics and face painting, citizenship ceremonies and fireworks. Though our celebrations may seem superficial, they are an expression of a deep thankfulness for so many things:
- democracy.
- a country where, to a great extent, color, race, and religion don't matter.
- clean air and water and, in most places, lots of room to live, explore, hike.
- unity in diversity, of provinces, races, culture, natural resources.

My friend Satwant is an immigrant to this country. In a poem titled "Let's Celebrate Canada Day" she expresses what many of us feel. Here is the last stanza:

"Let's dream together, work together,
and keep this country safe and whole
Because this is the best country in the world
Because this is 'HOME.'"
- Satwant Kaur Pandher, from The Healing Power of Nature, p. 101.

That picture of peace and plenty is what our focus verse paints. However, it begins with the word "Then…" signifying this condition hinges on something. The verse just above it tells us what: "Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high…"

My Bible's notes explain:

"He (Isaiah) pictures the Holy Spirit as the source of all end times blessings. Here is the first time there is a connection between the ministry of the Spirit and the moral and ethical results of salvation such as justice and righteousness. The Spirit is not only involved in the ministry of judgment (Isaiah 28:6) but He is also the source of a peaceful, ethical existence" - Nathaniel Van Cleave, notes on Isaiah, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 910.

This is where I see an application for myself and for all of us who claim to know and be indwelt by the Holy Spirit. We can be an asset to the peace, well-being, and fruitfulness of our country as we allow the Spirit to move us in channels of peace, righteousness, justice, honesty, and integrity. He can help us live on guard for our country!


PRAYER: Dear Holy Spirit, may Your control in my life impact how I live my life in my home, city and nation. I pray for Canada today, that we will have the justice, righteousness, peace, quietness, and fruitfulness these verses speak of. Amen.

MORE: O Canada

Our national anthem, O Canada, has four stanzas. The last one is a prayer:

Ruler supreme, who hearest humble prayer,
Hold our Dominion, in thy loving care.
Help us to find, O God, in thee,
A lasting rich reward.
As waiting for the better day,
We ever stand on guard.
God keep our land, glorious and free.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!

***********

The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Seek God

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Zephaniah 2:1-15


TO CHEW ON: "Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth,

Who have upheld His justice.

Seek righteousness, seek humility.

It may be that you will be hidden

In the day of the Lord's anger." Zephaniah 2:3

After sounding the alarm about the coming Day of the Lord, Zephaniah begs Judah—both the shameless sinners ("O undesirable [shameless] nation") and those who upheld His ways all along—to seek God.

The Bible is peppered with similar advice. We are to seek God:

• When He feels distant - Acts 17:27
• When we're in trouble - Hosea 10:12; Amos 5:4.
• When we're in need - Matthew 6:33; Luke 11:10.
• Continually - Psalm 105:4.
• Wholeheartedly - Deuteronomy 4:29; Jeremiah 29:13
• Before it is too late - Isaiah 55:6, Zephaniah 2:2-3.
• Personally - Psalm 27:8

About such personal seeking, Matthew Henry in his commentary about our Zephaniah passage says:

"How careful should we all be to seek peace with God, before the Holy Spirit withdraws from us, or ceases to strive with us; before the day of grace is over, or the day of life; before our everlasting state is determined! Let the poor, despised, and afflicted, seek the Lord, and seek to understand and keep his commandments better, that they may be more humbled for their sins" (emphasis added).

• And as a nation - 2 Chronicles 14:4; Zephaniah 2:1.

Matthew Henry on a nation seeking God in repentance:

"The prophet calls to national repentance, as the only way to prevent national ruin. A nation not desiring, that has no desires toward God, is not desirous of his favour and grace, has no mind to repent and reform....The chief hope of deliverance from national judgments rests upon prayer" (Matthew Henry's Commentary - his commentary and more study helps here - emphasis added).

I ask myself, am I seeking God with the zeal and urgency that Zephaniah begs his listeners to have? Do I pray for unsaved loved ones to seek God before it is too late? Do I have faith for my nation, and pray for a national turning to God?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Zephaniah's words of warning. Help me to be diligent about seeking You, helping others to find You, and praying for my nation to seek You before it is too late. Amen.

MORE: Seeking God's face for my nation

Recently a letter came to us from Bruce Clemenger, president of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), asking that we pray for a case that is currently before the Supreme Court of Canada. (The case has arisen from circumstances outlined here.)  In his words:

"In November we will be in the Court to defend the rights of Evangelicals and others to speak truth—sometimes hard truth—into the public square.


The Court will decide if we can speak about a biblical understanding of sexual morality without being fined or imprisoned. This is what is at stake. This is one of the most crucial and challenging cases we have taken on. We need your prayer and your support."

The two questions the court will rule on are, again as outlined in his letter:

"1. Can Christians preach and teach against what we believe to be a sinful behaviour—a behaviour that we believe ultimately harms the person involved—but still love the person?

2. Can Christians be critical—in public—of the activities of a person or community without this criticism being understood as hatred?"

Will you join me in prayer for Canada, and the continuation of our freedom to speak God's truth?

God and our nation

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 47:1-9

TO CHEW ON: "For the Lord Most High is awesome;

He is a great King over all the earth.

He will subdue the peoples under us,

And all nations under our feet.

He will choose our inheritance for us..." Psalm 47:2-4

I am writing this the day after the Canadian election. I read the passage yesterday when Canada was still busy voting and no one knew what the outcome would be.

Frenetic polling in the last week had showed a change was in the wind. Canada's left-wing party (the NDP) was rising with each poll. Some pundits even predicted an NDP minority government (this after three years of a Conservative-led minority).

As I read Psalm 47 yesterday with that possibility in mind (one I personally would not choose) it felt like a prayer of faith. Could I be happy and say with sincerity, "God, You are awesome. You have chosen our inheritance for us," even if the outcome wasn't what I wanted? "God reigns over the nations," declares verse 8. Could I believe He still reigned over Canada if the electorate chose a government  that implemented policies I personally couldn't support?

Yesterday the results in Canada (a majority Conservative government) were a "yes" to my prayers. But even if that hadn't been the result, Psalm 47 would still be true. God is awesome no matter who rules over us. He is still king over all the earth. He will still be the chooser of our inheritance. He is way bigger than any election outcome - disappointing or joyful.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for my country Canada and a democracy with peaceful elections. Lord, I pray that You will reign over Canada. Give our one-month-ago re-elected Prime Minister and all the members of parliament your thoughts about Canada's governance. Amen.

MORE: God and elections

John Piper in a sermon he preached before the U.S. election in 1988 said these things about Christians and their stance towards elections (speaking from the text Daniel 4:28-37):

An Application to the Coming Election 

"I close with a simple application of the text to the election on Tuesday. One simple and awesome truth: God will choose the next President of the United States. Verse 32b:

"The Most High rules the kingdom of men,
and gives it to whom he will."
God will give the presidency to whom he will. Now there are two things this does not mean:

1. It does not mean that you should not vote. God will govern the election by governing the voters. "He does according to his will in the hosts of heaven AND among the inhabitants of [the U.S.A.]" (v. 35).

2. It does not mean that God will approve all the policies of the man who wins. Sovereign rule over sinful men is no endorsement of their deeds.


God will choose the president on Tuesday. And there are two things that this does mean:

1. It means that the winner should not boast like Nebuchadnezzar and say, "By my power and my wisdom I have won this presidency." But he should be humbled under the mighty hand of God . . . "who rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will."

2. It means that you should take heart and be encouraged by the sovereignty of God in this election. If your candidate is elected, or if he is not, God reigns!


His purposes will ripen fast
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.


Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain;
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain."  Read entire...

By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

Earth gathering

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah 66:7-24

TO CHEW ON: "'…It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. 

19 I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. 

20 Then they shall bring all your brethren for an offering to the LORD out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,' says the LORD, 'as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.'" Isaiah 66:18b-20

One of the most moving parts of the recent Winter Olympics was the parade of nations during the Opening Ceremonies. As nation after nation entered B.C. Place led by their flag-bearer, its members decked out in the outfits that often incorporated national colors and ethnic designs and symbols, it was hard not to think of the parade of nations described here in Isaiah and in other places in the Bible. Only, this parade will not assemble athletes to compete in physical games of sport, but peoples from every nationality and language to worship God.

The theme of the nations of earth worshiping God spans the Scriptures.
- David predicts it in the Psalms (Psalm 22:27).

- Isaiah describes a time when "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea" (Isaiah 11:9).

- God's presence in the nations will bring with it a welcomed justice (Isaiah 42:4).

- Jesus commanded His disciples to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of theSon and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19).

- The Holy Spirit was poured out on Christians at Pentecost for the express purpose of expediting our witness "to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

- The gathering we see in Isaiah 66 when "all flesh shall come to worship before me (66:23) reminds us of other prophetic scenes. The one in Revelation 7:9-10, for example: "I looked and behold, a great multitude which no one could number of all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands saying 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!'"

- But we're not at that time yet. Jesus has promised to delay His return until the gospel has been preached "in all the world" (Matthew 24:14).

I ask myself, what am I doing to make the parade of worshiping nations a reality? What are you doing?

PRAYER: Dear God, I bow to You as ruler supreme. May the day when these scenes of every nation and tribe gathering to worship You come soon. Amen.

MORE: Interceding for nations

Dick Eastman in his book Love On Its Knees devotes a chapter to praying for nations. He says:

"Because the Bible tells us redeemed humanity will come from every tribe, tongue, people and nation, we know that we are interceding in God's will when praying for all four of these categories systematically in our prayers."

He suggests four types of prayers based on the four categories:

1. Interceding for "every tribe": "We must pray for frontier evangelism."
2. Interceding for "every tongue": "We must pray for translation evangelism."
3. Interceding for "every people": "We must pray for national evangelism."
4. Interceding for "every nation": "We must pray for systematic evangelism."

from Dick Eastman On Prayer: Love On Its Knees, pages 106-109.

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.