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anglican devotional

The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 21 December 2023 – Your Allegiance

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TOPIC: Your Allegiance

READ: Isaiah 45:15-25 (NKJV)

  1. Truly You [are] God, who hide Yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior!
  2. They shall be ashamed And also disgraced, all of them; They shall go in confusion together, [Who are] makers of idols.
  3. [But] Israel shall be saved by the LORD With an everlasting salvation; You shall not be ashamed or disgraced Forever and ever.
  4. For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I [am] the LORD, and [there is] no other.
  5. I have not spoken in secret, In a dark place of the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in vain’; I, the LORD, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
  6. ” Assemble yourselves and come; Draw near together, You [who have] escaped from the nations. They have no knowledge, Who carry the wood of their carved image, And pray to a god [that] cannot save.
  7. Tell and bring forth [your case;] Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? [Who] has told it from that time? [Have] not I, the LORD? And [there is] no other God besides Me, A just God and a Savior; [There is] none besides Me.
  8. “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I [am] God, and [there is] no other.
  9. I have sworn by Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth [in] righteousness, And shall not return, That to Me every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall take an oath.
  10. He shall say, ‘Surely in the LORD I have righteousness and strength. To Him [men] shall come, And all shall be ashamed Who are incensed against Him.
  11. In the LORD all the descendants of Israel Shall be justified, and shall glory.’ “

THE MESSAGE:

Isaiah, like us today, lived at a time and in a context where idolatry thrived. Many gods attracted the loyalty of people at that time. The gods were carved out of wood, rocks, metal, or out of clay. But whatever was the nature and popularity of those gods, it was very clear that they were all human creations, created by those who worshipped them. Such gods cannot save (verse 20); they cannot see into the future (verse 21); they cannot walk, they cannot talk and they cannot deliver those who trust in them (Psalm 115:5; Psalm 135:16; Deuteronomy 4:28). Those who trust in such gods will be disgraced both here and in the hereafter.

Unfortunately, many of us worship such gods even today, sometimes in a slightly different form: Money, certificates, career, position and possessions. As good as these things are in meeting the needs of life, none of them, however, can bring salvation or deliverance. From our passage, among many other attributes, our God is a living God, He saves (verse 17); He speaks (verse 19); He sees, knows and controls the future (verse 21); He is full of integrity (verse 23); He is the only Creator and ruler of all (verse 18). God is the only true God, and your allegiance must be to Him alone, because when the going gets to some point, all other gods you trust in will crumble and fail.

ACTION: Acknowledge the Lord as the only true God, and dedicate your entire life to Him alone.

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