Power to Save
Opening Prayer
Lord, I thank You that I am Your friend and not Your enemy.
Read Isaiah 45:9–25
9 “Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker,
those who are nothing but potsherds
among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,
‘What are you making?’
Does your work say,
‘The potter has no hands’?
10 Woe to the one who says to a father,
‘What have you begotten?’
or to a mother,
‘What have you brought to birth?’
11 “This is what the Lord says—
the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:
Concerning things to come,
do you question me about my children,
or give me orders about the work of my hands?
12 It is I who made the earth
and created mankind on it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens;
I marshaled their starry hosts.
13 I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness:
I will make all his ways straight.
He will rebuild my city
and set my exiles free,
but not for a price or reward,
says the Lord Almighty.”
14 This is what the Lord says:
“The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,
and those tall Sabeans—
they will come over to you
and will be yours;
they will trudge behind you,
coming over to you in chains.
They will bow down before you
and plead with you, saying,
‘Surely God is with you, and there is no other;
there is no other god.’”
15 Truly you are a God who has been hiding himself,
the God and Savior of Israel.
16 All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;
they will go off into disgrace together.
17 But Israel will be saved by the Lord
with an everlasting salvation;
you will never be put to shame or disgraced,
to ages everlasting.
18 For this is what the Lord says—
he who created the heavens,
he is God;
he who fashioned and made the earth,
he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,
but formed it to be inhabited—
he says:
“I am the Lord,
and there is no other.
19 I have not spoken in secret,
from somewhere in a land of darkness;
I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,
‘Seek me in vain.’
I, the Lord, speak the truth;
I declare what is right.
20 “Gather together and come;
assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood,
who pray to gods that cannot save.
21 Declare what is to be, present it—
let them take counsel together.
Who foretold this long ago,
who declared it from the distant past?
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no God apart from me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is none but me.
22 “Turn to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other.
23 By myself I have sworn,
my mouth has uttered in all integrity
a word that will not be revoked:
Before me every knee will bow;
by me every tongue will swear.
24 They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone
are deliverance and strength.’”
All who have raged against him
will come to him and be put to shame.
25 But all the descendants of Israel
will find deliverance in the Lord
and will make their boast in him.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
“The budgets we work on in Congress are more than just fiscal documents; they are a reflection of our moral values as well” (Tim Walz, b. 1964).
Think Further
The above statement is true for anybody elected to office. Whether it’s a president, prime minister, parish counselor or an association representative, the things for which people want to use power and the policies they articulate when running for election often reveal not only political priorities but also character. What is really important to them? Promises made during a campaign, however, are often broken, sometimes
willfully, and sometimes because more powerful opposition blocks the best of intentions.
These chapters in Isaiah reveal power on a much higher level—that of the Almighty God. Here again we are reminded that he is the one who created
everything (11,12,18), for there is no other god but him (18,21). He raises up earthly powers to fulfill his bidding (13), and he swears by himself that one day every knee will bow before him (23). That is real power!
More amazing are the purposes for which God deploys his power: in one glorious word—salvation! In at least five verses the theme of being saved appears, but two of them are particularly wonderful. In verse 17, we are told that Israel will be saved, the Israel that strayed from God, broke his covenant and worshipped idols. Yet the Lord promises that her salvation is everlasting. If that were not astonishing enough, this salvation spreads to the Gentiles, too. The Lord appeals to all people, “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth” (22). This is not just God’s command, but what he truly desires—seen by the fact that he would send his own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to make that possible.
Apply
As you rejoice in your own salvation, how will the invitation of verse 22 and the promise of verse 23 affect the way you relate to those you meet today?
Closing prayer
Lord, Your saving power is limitless. Thank You for including me in what You are doing.
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