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Bible Passage: Isaiah 45:1-8
I’m sure that you know people who don’t believe in, love or worship God. My first thought when I encounter such people, and I do so every day, isn’t how God will use them to accomplish his purposes here on earth. When I think of those that God uses to accomplish his purposes, I think of pastors and extremely active church members. I apologize for putting God in a box. He is so much bigger than that.
The first king of Iran (Persia), King Cyrus, did not believe in God. He didn’t love him or worship him, but God actually called Cyrus his anointed. Wow! God also called Cyrus his servant, someone who would help God accomplish His purpose here on earth. The purpose: defeating the Babylonians and allowing the Israelites to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.
There are a couple timeless truths to be found in Isaiah 45:1-8. First, God is all powerful and can do whatever He pleases. Second, sometimes God decides to use those who are not yet Christian to help Him accomplish his purpose in the lives of believers.
The first King of Iran was a very enlightened leader who gave his subjects freedom, even freedom to worship differently than he did. What a difference a few thousand years in Iranian leadership makes. A few years back, Iranians who craved freedom marched in the streets and sacrificed their own lives in their fight for freedom. Did Christians pray for them to achieve freedom? That raises a question; how involved should the church or Christians in general be when it comes to social injustice, either locally or in Iran? What does the Bible say about it? That’s just something we can ponder today.
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Publisher: I. B. Tauris
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