"Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer and all its troops; the house or Togarmah from the far north and all its troops-- many people...." (Ezekiel 38:5, 6)
I remind you that my devotionals come from my daily reading schedule. Part of my "Major Prophets" reading for today includes our text, a passage which speaks of God's dealing with nations in the "end time." Notice some of the nations mentioned in our text. Someone once pointed out that Genesis 10 mentions "the 70 original tribal groups,..The Table of Nations." From these all the nations of the globe today came forth. The remainder of Scripture is a history of God's dealing with those nations, directing, delivering, saving, and offering to them entrance into His Kingdom.
I remind you that my devotionals come from my daily reading schedule. Part of my "Major Prophets" reading for today includes our text, a passage which speaks of God's dealing with nations in the "end time." Notice some of the nations mentioned in our text. Someone once pointed out that Genesis 10 mentions "the 70 original tribal groups,..The Table of Nations." From these all the nations of the globe today came forth. The remainder of Scripture is a history of God's dealing with those nations, directing, delivering, saving, and offering to them entrance into His Kingdom.
Since the three services in which I will be preaching, July 1 (Westville, Ohio), July 8 (CCE Greensburg, PA) and July 15 (Amsterdam, Ohio) are around America's July 4th celebration, I plan to speak about "The King of Nations;" should be an interesting "treatise." I intend to show in a Biblical overview that God deals with kings and nations. No non-agenda reading of the Bible can escape this. I intend to show how Jesus Christ was directing events which led to the founding of the United States of America, and that the "ministry" of the Church in any generation has been to affect the total life of all people groups, "Go....make disciples of all the nations." My premise is that "beyond" the Church is the Kingdom. The Church is the "Community of the Redeemed," the "twice born," those whom people call Christians. But beyond the Church, Jesus continues to deal with "the 70 original tribal groups," their descendants, their life styles, morality, education, governments, yes He does. A reading of the Biblical Prophets reveals warnings to the nations of the cost of rejecting the reign of God.
Across that desk today, that room, that city, and your nation is the reign of God. It may not always seem so to us, but no King, President, Prime Minister, Congress, Parliament or any other thing or person can keep out King Jesus. "And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." The first public declaration of John the Baptist and our Lord Jesus Christ was, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Jesus' teachings reveal that, "The Kingdom of Heaven," rules over, "the kingdoms of this world." And He right now rules over kings and lords, over nations, over governments. You know the statement, "History is His story;" it is. And you and I are a part of that "story," integrally a part, in the very working out of His purposes throughout history, right up to the day of, "His appearing." The concluding Book of the Bible, The Revelation, reveals just where the history of the nations is heading, and while fearful, it is also very exciting.
Father, in Jesus' Name, forgive me if I ever try to "keep" you "out" of anything, and forgive those who think You are only God of the religious. Amen.
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I sent a copy of one of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's devotionals to our New Blog-- Genius
www.jerberwash.blogspot.com
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
