DAY 261 or September 18. What a privilege we have!
Our thoughts today are rooted in Nahum chapter 1 verse 15. Look, there on the mountains,
the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace.
And now the big picture surrounding this verse. There are two prophets who cry out to Nineveh,
the Assyrian capital city. The first is Jonah, who visits after taking a big detour into
a fish's stomach in the Mediterranean Sea, and the other is Nahum, who warns them from
afar from his home in Judah about a century later. After the initial revival under Jonah,
they slip back into their old sinful ways, and God urges Nahum to tell the inhabitants
of Nineveh that the end is coming, and that their city will be destroyed as the empire
of Assyria is conquered. From being a conquering nation, Assyria becomes a conquered nation,
and it is so complete that the remains of its amazing capital city are not found until
the middle of the nineteenth century. It is thought that Nahum's name is preserved
in the name of the city much visited by Jesus many centuries later, Capernaum. Nahum is
a shortened version of Nehemiah, and means comfort or consolation, which is a great name
for a prophet who sees Judah's major enemy wiped out. This was such a comfort to them.
And now today's action step. This verse always reminds me that we are to be eternally grateful
to the person God used to bring us into the kingdom. My spiritual father was a young Baptist
pastor called David Sayer, who came to be the minister of the church where I attended
the youth activities. Sadly, he died many years ago, so I am no longer able to thank
him in person. How about you? If you know, why not thank them now? More to the point,
are there any who will pray a word of thanks for you bringing them to the Lord? Always
be ready and available. Today could give you an opportunity to bring someone into God's
kingdom. Ask the Holy Spirit to prompt you, but always be on the lookout yourself too.