“Turn to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other.
By myself I have sworn,
my mouth has uttered in all integrity
a word that will not be revoked:
Before me every knee will bow;
by me every tongue will swear.”
Isaiah 45:22-23 NIV
Be Saved
A married couple that was e-biking along a Canadian trail startled two bears that attacked them, requiring one person to undergo surgery, according to local officials. The incident occurred around 4:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, July 26, as the husband and wife were e-biking along the Kootenay River when two grizzly bears attacked them. The woman told officials she heard her husband scream, then she saw a grizzly bear running toward her. As she grabbed her bear spray, she noticed a second bear attacking her husband. He later recovered.
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As much as we romanticize the coming of the magi at Jesus’ birth, the timeline of the biblical narrative suggests that Jesus was older than a newborn when the wise men arrived. He could have been as old as almost two years. At any rate, these leaders from the East point to who this child truly is. As they came to him, they offered him gifts – gold for the King, frankincense for worship, and myrrh for sacrifice – odd gifts for a young child. They were prophetic gifts, but they were themselves the fulfillment of prophecy. In Isaiah 45:22-23, we read, “’Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear.’” When the magi brought their gifts and offered them, likely on bended knee – they were, after all, before the One who was the King of the Jews – they taught us that Jesus alone deserves the bowed knees of each one of us. Have you bowed your knee to Him?
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley