Shalom 🙏
Blessed to be a Blessing to the Blessed People 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦

A light for the gentiles
(📖 Isaiah 49 : 6)

The phrase a “light to the Gentiles” points to God’s purpose for his people in the divine economy of redemption. In today’s text two things are enlighten :
1️⃣ Light to the Gentiles
2️⃣ Take the Good News (Salvation) to the ends of the earth.

Israel’s primary light to others is the light of Torah (Law). But there was a problem : Israel herself has strayed far from stewardship of that law.

📝 Isaiah 42:6 and 49:6 are to be noted in the context of Exodus 19:6 and Genesis 12:3.
📌 Israel failed to understand itself, in light of Yahweh’s governance of the world, as living in vacuum or in isolation.
📌 Yahweh has summoned Israel in love to be His partner.
📌 Israelites were under intense obligation to :
✅ be holy as Yahweh is holy (Lev 19:2-4).
✅ love the strangers as Yahweh loves them (Deut 10:19)
✅ depend the cause of the widows and the orphans (Exo 22:22; Deut 10:18)

🎯 Response to Yahweh’s sovereign goodness is Israel’s proper life (Light for the Gentiles) in the world. But they failed.

In NT Jesus called us to be the light of the world and tells us to let our light shine before men, that they may see our good deeds and praise Yahweh (Matthew 5:14, 16)

📌 We must function as the world’s light. The law we promote is Christ’s law of love, a purified form of Torah and a messenger to carry and share the Salvation (in Christ alone) to ends of the earth.

💞 Beloved Church, we all know that the Star of Bethlehem led the wise men from the east during their journey (over 2 years) to Bethlehem to worship the baby Jesus. 📌 Paul said in Philippians 2:15b that the Philippians were shining like stars in the universe by holding the Word of life. Yes, we all are the stars in this crooked and depraved generation. Are we leading the people of darkness to the throne of His grace❓

Let us spread the Saving Knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and bring many souls to the throne of His grace.

Glory to God 🙌
✍🏻 Mark Boje
Arunachal Pradesh, India 🇮🇳

Day 160. Isaiah 48 -52
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Isaiah 51:12. “God says, I am he who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies? Of the son of man who is made like grass?”

Chapters 51 and 52 give specific steps which believers can take when they feel discouraged and forsaken of God.

Here in the above verse, God says that if you are discouraged, look back and see from where you have come!

Israel was to look back to Abraham.

He had nothing.
But….. God called him and gave him everything.

Look at Sarah. She was 90 years old …..; Yet God multiplied her offspring to become the nation of Israel.

So…. Dear Friends, God is telling us today,…………
….. When we are discouraged, look back.

We may not be what we want to be, or even what we ought to be……….
…………… but *thank God we are not what we were!!!!!!

God has promised never to leave us nor forsake us and He continues to do it again and again.
We need not fear anything or anyone.

When I read this verse, I think about fear in my life, in all of our lives.

We’re afraid of so many things.
…… We’re afraid of what other people think about us.
We’re afraid of what the future might hold.
We’re afraid of sickness or disease.
We’re afraid of financial security.
We’re afraid of this or that happening to us.
We’re afraid of the unknown.
We’re afraid of dying. ……………… and many more…….

We are afraid of all kinds of things in this world,…….
…. but God over the world says……… we have nothing to fear because He is our comfort.

So Frends,…
When we face discouragement, Let’s say to ourselves, …..
IT DIDN’T COME TO STAY, IT CAME TO PASS……

That is what God is saying.
It will not last forever. We are headed for light, for peace, and for glory.

“What you fear the most reveals what you VALUE the most. What you fear the most reveals where you TRUST God the least” -Craig Groeschel

Jooley Mathew Z
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