By Pastor William Y. K. Brown Ph.D
(Resident Pastor)
Seventh-day Adventist Church
Osu-Bethel.
Tel: 0244165628/0243310773.
wykbrown@gmail.com
FRIDAY
THEME: “DEAD IDOLS AND THE LIVING GOD”
SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 46:4
“Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you.”
REFLECTIONS
The Bible is a remarkable book that contains amazingly transformative information and instructions. You cannot take your time to read the Bible, meditate on it, and not be pricked, convicted, or converted by its instructions. You cannot study the Bible with diligence and the patience to learn under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and not come out refined, wiser, and nobler. We find inspiration from the Bible as the word of God that comes fresh and alive whenever we study it.
Isaiah Chapter 46 has an exciting title: “Dead Idols and the Living God.” The prophet explains in verses 1 and 2 that idols cannot move unless someone carries them, and worse of all, they are not capable of saving themselves – the one who made them has to protect them. In contrast, the Living God, the Omnipotent God, and Ancient of Days lives, moves, delivers and directs. Isaiah 46:3-5 relates, [3]“Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, Who have been upheld by Me from birth, Who have been carried from the womb: [4]Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you. [5]“To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal And compare Me, that we should be alike?”
God is the One who upholds human beings from birth, even before that. Psalms 139:13,16 reads, “[13]For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. [16]Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.” Jeremiah 1:5 confirms, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; . . .” From the beginning to the end, it is God – God from the start, God to the end. Psalms 48:14 affirms, “For this is God, Our God forever and ever; He will be our guide Even to death.”
We dedicate today’s devotion to the retirees and those advanced in age. That God who created you and has been with you through your earlier scores of years and has kept you through all life’s challenges is and will be with you to the end. Remember, in Christ, your end will be glorious. The pain, ill health, general weakness, loss of vision, lack of strength, and inability to walk and do your everyday chores are intended to make you look beyond this life and yourself unto God, who can grant you eternal life of bliss. Have you not yet experienced the fulfillment of the promise: “Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs, I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you.”? In advanced age, God desires that you get focused and prepare to be with Him eternally. All the getting you have gotten, therefore, let every day of your life now count for eternity. May your name appear and remain in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
MY SONG OF COMMITMENT
“Ancient Words, Ever True”
LET US PRAY
– Praise and thank God for His abiding presence and care; thank God for preserving your life; pray to trust God in your daily life;
– Pray for victims of war, the wounded, the displaced, and the traumatized; pray for the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas and Russia and Ukraine;
– Pray for job opportunities for the teeming unemployed youth; pray for the preaching of the word of God to bring hope to a hopeless world;
– Pray for bereaved families, the sick – those with terminal conditions, and health care providers; pray for the aged to be loved and treated warmly and kindly; pray for the coming of Jesus Christ.
