Day 259

Isaiah 38:1-40:31, Galatians 2:11-3:9, Psalm 107:33-43

Somehow I can’t imagine Paul arguing with Peter, OK perhaps I can! When we look deeper into his later comments we see a real call to faith and the power of the Spirit. Paul is pointing the Galatians to the importance of faith not works. He is reminding them that the law did not lead to faith, it was the work of the Holy Spirit within them. The Spirit is at the start of everything, it was at the start of creation and is at the start of our faith.

Moving back into Isaiah we stumble across another of the classic prophecies relating to the life of Christ, and in this case the words of John the Baptist about Jesus. Although I love some of Isaiah’s more profound prophecies I think that we sometimes miss the challenge that it makes to us. Christ will come again, are we out in the wilderness proclaiming his coming? I spent some time with one of the house groups recently looking at Revelation and the prophecy of the end time when Christ will return and it is a promise that we can hold to, the promise of the coming Christ. Isaiah is prophesying that first coming now we are in the time of his return.

It starts with the Spirit, Paul tells us of that, our challenge is to be out in the wilderness introducing people to the Spirit that they may have faith in Christ.