One of the great realities of scripture is that it testifies to God working in this world through people. The book of Ezra is such a great illustration.
“In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah. He stirred the heart of Cyrus (a pagan King) to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom: “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Any of you who are his people may go to Jerusalem in Judah to rebuild this Temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives in Jerusalem. And may your God be with you!
What an incredible picture – God using a pagan King to help rebuild the temple and give a pathway for the Israelites to return to their land after 70 years of captivity. The bottom line here; God works and God uses people to accomplish His work.
Let me press those truths from Ezra on to our campaign theme – “Making Space for Change”. Realize that this process will force us to wrestle with two weighty questions that are easy to ignore. The two questions:
- Are we willing to “make space” for
spiritual work by God in our own hearts? - Are we willing to “make space” to be used by God so change can take place in other people’s hearts?
“Making Space for Change” is so much more than figuring out what kind of space we want and how do we pay for that space. It is much more about allowing God to interrupt our lives like He interrupted King Cyrus’s life, and to be used for His desires and His purposes. More coming.
~Pastor Ken Abramson
Leave a Reply