Day of Praise

Th, Jun 6, 18th Day of Pentecost, "Day of Praise" (Thank you to Kristen Ferrier who is serving "Day of Praise" while I have some vacation time with my children.)

"Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, 'The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.'" - Ezra 1:2

So here is one of those instances in which I am blown away by the way that the Gospel can be communicated even through someone who has not yet realized that they are a part of it.

You see, king Cyrus knew that there was one true God of heaven and earth and that all authority and dominion and power were His to give to whom He pleased. And not only did king Cyrus know this, but he proclaimed it – to the Jews, to the Persians, and to what was at that time the whole world. And not only did he proclaim it, but he lived it by not just allowing, but ordering the Jews to return to their home and rebuild the house of God.

King Cyrus knew that all that he had came from God; it was God who gave him the land and the people that made up his kingdom. He had been entrusted with dominion over both, much like man had been in Genesis.

How unfortunate that, since creation, we have all strived to say, "I can do this on my own" or "Look at what I have accomplished all by myself." But not Cyrus and hopefully not you; hopefully you know that all that you have and all that you are called to do is attributed to God. You have been given what you have been given that you might be responsible with it, caring for it, and utilizing it to the glory of God. Now get out there, proclaim it, and live it!

Praise God!


Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson