And Yet

In the Old Testament there are numerous examples of various nations (think Philistine, Ammorites, Moabites, etc.) that are confronted with the God of the Israelites, and become fearful.

See, word travels fast when you're hanging with the Guy that parts seas and sends plagues.  And yet, did they ever stop and think, hmm, maybe we're serving the wrong gods?  Even when they honored the God of the Israelites, they never forsook their own gods to follow Him.  King Darius even made a decree in Daniel chapter 6 that "all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel; For He is the living God and enduring forever, And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, And His dominion will be forever." (v.26).  History tells us that the Median never brought the Hebrew faith to the world when they took over the Babylonian empire, why not?  The ancient peoples of the Middle East had seen God do great and wondrous things for His people; even when God took the hedge of protection away and let His people fail, there were still wondrous things going on that couldn't be denied.  And yet they still chose to follow idols.

Even in today's modern age, Christians bear witness the the Good News of the resurrection of Christ, and yet....  And yet, two words that can mean the difference between life and death.  I believe, and yet I follow the gods of this world when I choose the easy path.  When I choose to force my will because it's faster, more efficient.  And yet, God still calls.  And yet, God still loves.  And yet, God still lives.

Redemption is a beautiful thing.  Oh but for the grace of God, the Holy One of Israel.  One of the verses from the well known "Roman road to salvation" is Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  You see beloved, God knows how messed up we are; He knows that we often fail and chase idols; and yet He loves us anyway.  The Creator God created you, created me, and He wants you back.  He just wants to love you.  My prayer is that you know that, and that you know Truth.