THE LORD SPOKE (July 8)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Ezra 1-2

How does God move hearts?

Ezra 1:1 - "the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus"
He moved the heart of Cyrus, a pagan Persian king, by orchestrating the history of the Ancient Near East to the point that it was politically expedient to allow exiles to return to their homelands.

• He changed the heart/attitude of the king of Assyria (6:22)
• He "put it into the heart" of King Artaxerxes (7:27)
• "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases." (Proverbs 21:1)

Ezra 1:5 - "everyone whose heart God had moved"
He moved the heart of the people, discouraged during their life in Babylonian Exile, to return to Jerusalem...

• by creating in them that longing for their homeland
• by giving them the necessary exit visas (1:3)
• by providing the finances for the trip (1:6)

Ezra 7:9-10 - "the gracious hand of God was on him...[and] Ezra set his heart"
He moved the heart of Ezra, his chosen leader, to give the people the direction they would need for the task at hand...

• by giving him a hunger for studying the Scriptures for himself (7:6,10a,11)
• by equipping him as a teacher and spiritual leader of others (7:10b)
• by granting him great influence with the authorities necessary to the success of the project (7:6)

Can I say how God moves hearts? Not really, but I'm sure He does. He has moved mine.


New Testament: II Thessalonians 2

“The man of lawlessness” is not Satan, for it is Satan who inspires and empowers him (II Thess. 2:9). John tells us of many antichrists (I Jn. 2:18) but there will be one in the end times who will be the worst of all (Rev. 13). Part of the reason for his success is due to the fact that “the secret power of lawlessness is already at work” (II Thess. 2:7).

Success? Yes, and great it will be. For awhile. But it is doomed. “Doomed to destruction” is how Paul terms it (II Thess. 2:3). There is a series of events, each one following close on the heels of the last, that will take place in “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”:

• Rapture - “our being gathered to him” (II Thess. 2:1)
• Tribulation - “the rebellion...and the man of lawlessness is revealed” (II Thess. 2:3)
• Return - “the Lord Jesus will overthrow...and destroy [him] by the splendor of his coming” (II Thess. 2:8)

For the time being, this secret power of lawlessness is limited. Though present and at work, it is held back by the Holy Spirit (II Thess. 2:7). The “Restrainer”, being omnipresent God, will never be removed but His restraining power will be “taken out of the way” so that Satan’s fury is unleashed “in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing” (II Thess. 2:9-10). Those who fall for this do so because they “refused to love the truth and so be saved”.

In stark contrast are those whom God has loved, chosen, and called to be saved (II Thess. 2:13-14). This happens “through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth”. That calls forth a mighty doxology:

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. (II Thess. 2:16-17)