Isaiah 59-63

Todays passage - http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=isaiah%2059-63&version=NIV

Isaiah 63:1 Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? "It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save."

Someone whom I love dearly has not accepted Christ as his Savior. He believes that our salvation comes from ourselves…from our works…you know, if we are good, we go to heaven. I’ve spent many nights on my knees in tears with my heart breaking, praying that God would intervene in his life. That He would take drastic measures. That He would show Himself in bold and amazing ways. That God would orchestrate the details of his life so that he can’t turn right or left without seeing His glory. That He would transform this man into a man who knows that God sent His only son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins so that we may have eternal life with Him (John 3:16).

I pray and I pray and I pray. Sometimes I get frustrated. Sometimes Satan fills my head with lies…He’s never going to change. He’s too stuck in his ways. He’s too stubborn to surrender to God.

But God is a God of transformation. He is a God who is mighty to save (Isaiah 63:1). He is a persistent God who desires that all are saved and come to a knowledge of truth (1 Tim 2:4).

I recently learned about a guy named Brian Welch. He was a founding member of the heavy metal rock n roll band called Korn. This band pretty much stands against everything godly. Welch was so addicted to drugs, alcohol, sleeping pills, and antidepressants that his life was out of control and miserable. He sang in anger about violence, sex, hate and drugs. And then, a friend invited him to church where he learned about God’s amazing saving grace & forgiveness. He checked himself into a hotel with nothing but his Bible and underwent a painful week of rehab. A week later, he checked himself out free from his addictions. He quit his band Korn, walking away from fame and fortune and is now a devoted dad and Christ follower.

All because someone, instead of giving up on him, invited him to church. All because someone did not buy the lie that God could never transform him. All because someone was faithful in believing that God IS mighty to save.

In the greatness of his own strength, in his own righteousness, He IS MIGHTY to save. If you’ve been reading the Old Testament with us, you’ve seen this time and again. God goes to great measures to offer life to His people. He doesn’t just make some half-hearted, weak attempt at an offer. He’s defeated armies, and slain giants, and parted seas, and turned water to blood, and sent manna from the sky and raised the dead. He can reveal himself to anybody at anytime and in anyway – with Samuel, he simply used an audible voice; with Job, he showed up in the storm; with Saul, he used dreams; with Moses, he used the burning bush; and my personal favorite – with Baalam, he spoke through a donkey!

God is mighty to SAVE. We cannot rescue our loved ones from a life without God. It’s up to the power of God through the Holy Spirit to move in the hearts of others. If He can reveal Himself through a donkey, if He can transform this Brian Welch guy, I think he can transform anyone. And He can. He transformed me after all. He IS MIGHTY TO SAVE.

Friends, if you know someone who hasn’t accepted Jesus Christ as their one and only Savior, stand firm in the knowledge that He is mighty to save and continue to faithfully pray for your loved one. Rest in the knowledge that God hears your prayers and that He is at work. Please let us know on the blog if we can pray for a loved one. You don’t even have to say who if you don’t want to…God knows who they are.

Today's post submitted by Kelly Coxe