Pleasing People Or Pleasing God

I Thessalonians 2:1-8

Many of us, at one time or another, have run across people at work, in the neighborhood, perhaps among some relatives, or even at church who try to curry favor with other, often supposedly more important people.  They are sycophants, trying to gain favor or advantage with their obsequious behavior.  They act servile and fawning, thinking that by pleasing the others they will gain the approval and support they so want.  What if, though, the people we were toadying up to wanted us to do something that went against God and His Word?  What if they wanted us to stop telling others about Jesus?  Who would we listen to and follow, the people we were trying to please, or the Lord?  This was a situation that the Apostle Paul sometimes found himself in.  As we look at our portion of Scripture from his letter to the Thessalonians we can find out what he thought and did about that.

Prior to coming to the city of Thessalonica, Paul and his companions had been ministering in the city of Philippi.  However, their enemies did what they could to get Paul and Silas arrested.  Not only were they arrested, but prior to that they were stripped and beaten with rods, and then put into stocks in the prison cell (Acts 16:20-24).  After their release they were strongly told to leave the city, and they journeyed on to Thessalonica.  At Thessalonica Paul preached the Gospel message of Jesus for three weeks, when the unbelievers got all riled up and a mob ran him and his group out of town again (Acts 17:5-10).

What could Paul have said or done to make his message and his very presence more acceptable to the people in both of these cities, and in truth, wherever he went?  Some people, when reading these accounts in Scripture, may think that Paul should have been more sensitive to his audience and the community at large, and tailored his message to not offend the people.  We see that so much today, including in the pulpits of the majority of churches.  The preachers are so careful not to step on anyone’s toes, to not offend or anger this or that person or group, that they water down the Gospel message.  They won’t preach on this verse or that passage, can’t say this, and won’t say that.  Did Paul do that?  If he had, he may have avoided the many actual beatings he received, he may have avoided several imprisonments, and may have been invited to stay longer at certain locations.

Fear of imprisonment did not stop Paul from preaching the Gospel.  He never changed his message to make it more acceptable.  He did not just tell the audience what they wanted to hear in order to avoid offending anyone, especially super-sensitive people.  Paul was not a smooth-talking preacher who tried to make a favorable impression in order to gain influence or selfish advantage, nor to spare himself from the ire of the crowds who may have disliked what he was saying.

Paul was also not motivated by money, so he didn’t tailor his message in order to get a bigger offering, or to try and get a promotion.  He did not try to get rich in the ministry at the expense of the flock.  Paul did not have any ulterior motives or impure motives, nor did he use trickery.  He did not seek praise from people, or his own personal glory.  His only motive was to preach the true and sincere message of God from the Scriptures, in order to see souls get saved, and bring glory to God.

Many people are people-pleasers, including many in the church today.  They tippy-toe around when preaching a message, making sure that absolutely no one could possibly have their feathers ruffled, and the true Gospel is never preached, and the Blood of Jesus and salvation is never even mentioned.  Was that what Paul did?  And even more important, is that what Jesus did?  Jesus certainly offended many, especially the Pharisees!  If He had been more particular about His messages, He may never have offended the Pharisees and Sadducees, and they would never have sent Him to the cross.  Then where would we be if that had never happened?!  Jesus only cared about what One “Person” thought about Him, God the Father.  Everything Jesus did revolved around what the Father wanted, what He liked, what He valued, and what He asked Jesus to do.

If I am pleasing God, if I am living for Him, if I am following His direction, then I don’t have to worry about whether people like me.  When we seek God’s approval, like Paul did, we need to turn from the desire for the applause of others.  We need to allow God’s Spirit to make us more like Jesus.

Walk, Stand, And Sit

Psalm 1

Who we get our counsel and advice from, and who we choose as our friends and companions is important.  We don’t want guidance from someone who will lead us down a wrong path. Listening to the wrong person’s suggestions or instructions, and having the wrong companions can have a very bad outcome.  It is especially important if we are a believer and follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Our psalm for this week stresses how important the Lord thinks this is.  Let’s look at where He feels we should be getting our advice and instruction from.

Everyone, I’m fairly certain, would like to be blessed or happy, rather than cursed or troubled.  Right in the opening psalm in the Bible, God tells us how we can have a blessed life (vs. 1).  The word blessed here refers to happiness many times over.  The cause of this blessedness is the uncompromising purity of a righteous walk with God.  A dedicated follower of Jesus should never be walking in step with unbelievers and the wicked, nor going along in their direction or on their chosen way.

The psalmist doesn’t waste any time, nor beat around the bush in letting us know how a godly person should conduct themselves regarding who they keep company with.  First, he says we need to watch out whom we walk with.  He instructs us to not to walk with, or to imitate the life of the ungodly.  An ungodly person is someone who doesn’t follow the Lord, who doesn’t love Him, or obey His Word.  We need to refuse to listen to ungodly advice, counsel, and false philosophies popular in the world.  This would certainly include those who are unsaved.

Next, our Scripture warns us against standing with sinners.  We should not be taking a stand with the wicked and their lifestyle.  Instead, a Christian should take a firm stand for righteousness and for God’s Word and His message and commands therein.  We are warned against being with the scornful.  This is someone who mocks and scoffs at God and His Word.  They make light of that which is sacred.  This is the blasphemous crowd.  We should not be going around and associating with such people.

Are these types of people our good friends?  Are these the ones we go to when we need advice?  When we want to get together with friends, invite some people over, or spend the day with someone, are these the ones we call on?  Why would a Christian even want to be friends with, or associate with someone who mocks the Lord Jesus?  Such friendships only drag one down to their level.  True friends should help, not hinder us to draw closer to God.

Instead of walking, standing, and sitting with the unbelievers, God tells us that the one He will bless is one who delights in His Word, reading and meditating on it (vs. 2). This is a person who chooses to live a godly life. He resists compromise, and is wary of anything that would erode his commitment to the Lord.

God compares such a blessed person as being like a tree that is planted by the river, one that is well-watered, growing, thriving, and bearing fruit (vs. 3).  Those who study God’s Word and obey it will be like that fruitful tree.  Dry times may come in our life, but our faith can be strengthened if we are deeply rooted in Scripture and prayer.  When the storms of life strike, we are perfectly secure because God is our eternal shelter.

Jesus told us that we can know people by their fruit.  A good tree will bear good fruit, and a bad tree will bear bad fruit (Matthew 7:17-20).  When we abide in Jesus, we can’t help but bear fruit in our life.  God calls His followers, His children, a good, fruit-bearing tree.  However He calls the unsaved and ungodly, chaff, which is the worthless outer shell of grain that is blown away (vs. 4-6).  That person’s destiny will be judgment.

Lot and Samson are two examples of men who did not follow this godly advice, and their lives were shipwrecked.  Joseph, one of the sons of Jacob, was one who did follow the advice of this psalm, and he was abundantly blessed.  There are two paths that we face in life.  One is God’s way of obedience.  The other is the way of rebellion and destruction.  Which path do you choose?

Jochebed's Faith

Exodus 2:1-10

Suppose a law has been made in your country that is completely immoral.  Not just immoral, but absolutely wicked.  And what if this evil law would directly impact you.  What would you do?  The penalty for breaking this law might have some very serious consequences.  This is what faced a woman named Jochebed in our Scripture for today.  Let’s see what she did.

Jochebed was a Hebrew woman who lived in ancient Egypt several generations after that of the great Joseph, the son of Jacob, who had risen to great heights in Egypt.  The new Pharaoh intensely hated the Jewish people, and wanted to see them eliminated.  So this Pharaoh made a law that all baby boys born to Jewish families were to be killed, thrown into the Nile river (Exodus 1:22).  Shortly after this law was given, and the power given to enforce it, is where our Scripture account begins.

As our Scripture passage opens, Jochebed had just given birth to a son, who would be Moses, the great leader of the Jewish people.  Being of the Jewish people, she knew that this beautiful baby boy of hers would be executed, cast into the river and killed.  However, being a God-fearing woman, and a mother who deeply loved her son, there was no way that she was going to obey this law!  Jochebed kept her little boy Moses hidden for three months, but she knew that that couldn’t last much longer (vs. 2).  As he grew, his cries were becoming louder, and soon enough he would be crawling and then walking around.  How was she going to accomplish and follow through with her determination to keep her son Moses alive?  Jochebed was going to need help, Divine help.

When we are faced with a dire situation, what do we do?  Do we panic and get ourselves worked up into a full-blown anxiety attack?  Do we throw our hands up in the air and say that there is nothing we can do, and resign ourselves to a bad outcome?   Jochebed did neither.  She was a woman of great faith in Yahweh, and she turned to Him (Hebrews 11:23).  Even though she knew that she was no match against Pharaoh and his police force, she knew Someone who was!  Jochebed entrusted her son to the Lord, knowing that He would protect him.

Jochebed had faith, but she also took action.  During the three months that her son remained with her, hidden in her house, she must have been both praying and coming up with an idea of how to spare this child’s life.  When we are facing a crisis, we need to do all we can to prepare ourselves for the battle, understanding that the outcome rests with the Lord.  To trust God does not imply becoming lazy or apathetic.  Acting foolishly or thoughtlessly, and expecting God to bail us out if things go wrong isn’t faith, it’s presumption.  When we are out of work, we need to pray for a job, but also prepare our resume, actively look for open positions, and go to interviews.  God may send us a job, but He won’t just drop one in our lap if all we’re doing is playing games on the computer and streaming movies online.  We may pray to graduate with honors, but that won’t happen if we don’t study.  God won’t give us good grades if we’re goofing off!  In many cases, faith, and then effort on our part such as the careful efforts that Jochebed took, go hand in hand.

As this young mother prayed, God gave her an idea, a plan which she started to carry out.  During the early weeks of Moses’ life, Jochebed began to weave a basket of reeds that were gathered from the swampy shores of the Nile.  They were woven together and then waterproofed with tar.  Then, when she could no longer hide him, she put him in the basket, and placed the basket among the reeds in the Nile river (vs. 3)  She set her daughter, who was about seven years older, to watch and see what would happen.

Jochebed had done her part.  Now she would trust and rely on God to do His part, to protect and save her child.  She had to trust that He would protect the baby from crocodiles, hippopotamus, and deadly snakes, which all live in the Nile river.  God was faithful, and very shortly afterwards, Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the river to bathe.  She heard the baby crying, and went to investigate (vs. 5-6).  God had Jochebed place the basket in just the right place and at the right time.  He also had the child start crying, and just loud enough for the princess to hear.  And He moved upon the princess to have compassion on the child, even though it was a Hebrew baby, as she took the child and raised him as her own.  Jochebed was allowed to care for the baby until he was weaned, which in those days would have been till he was around the age of four, and she was paid by Pharaoh’s household for doing so! (vs. 7-9).

The Lord can take the evil of men and use it for great good.  God took Pharaoh’s edict to kill the Jewish boys, and He used it to get Moses, their deliverer, into the royal courts, where he would get the best education in the world at that time, and all the skills he would later need to lead God’s people.  This, all because Jochebed knew not to follow an evil law and was willing to trust God to help her when she would need His help.

The Trap

Matthew 22:15-22

No one likes to run into someone who tries to trick or trap them, getting them to do or say something that might incriminate them, and bring them down.  We see this frequently in politics.  One side plots and connives, and often they get the media to also try to trap their opponent.  This also sometimes happens in the business world, and sometimes among religious leaders, as well.  This is what we see happen to the Lord Jesus in our Gospel Scripture passage this week.  Let’s look at what was said and how Jesus responded.

Those who are godly and righteous will frequently face opposition and attack.  It was no different for the Lord Jesus.  As we read through the Gospels we see the Pharisees always coming against Him in disapproval, and sometimes even in very strong opposition.  This time two groups of enemies joined forces to plot and scheme to trap Jesus (vs. 15-16).  The Pharisees were a religious party that most Bible readers are familiar with.  They were a very strict, conservative group that rigorously followed every item in the Law of Moses, even adding more laws than God ordained in the Scriptures.  They also strongly opposed the Roman occupation of their homeland.

The Herodians were a Jewish political party, not a religious party, like the Pharisees or Sadducees were. They supported the Roman-backed Herodian dynasty. Since the Pharisees hated Rome, the Herodians probably consisted mainly of the Sadducees, which were a more liberal group, which did not believe in angels, the resurrection, or many miracles.  The fact that these two groups conspired together to entrap Jesus shows how deeply they both hated Him, and thought Him a threat.

When the representatives of the Pharisees and Herodians came to the Lord, they first sought to flatter Him.  Frequently when one group tries to entrap and bring down someone, they will use flattery to put them at ease, and perhaps unsuspecting of the treachery to come.  The Pharisees were not motivated by love of God, nor the Herodians by love or loyalty to Caesar or Rome.

The entrapment they came up with consisted of whether Jesus supported paying taxes to Rome, and they asked Him if taxes to the Emperor was right or not (vs. 17).  Israel, being an occupied land, had to pay heavy taxes to Rome.  The Pharisees didn’t like that, and only reluctantly paid.  They felt anyone who supported that was a traitor to God and the Jewish people.  The Herodians, on the other hand, felt if someone opposed the taxes, that was treason against Caesar.  So whichever way Jesus answered, He would be in trouble, and one group or the other could bring Him down.  If Jesus answered “no”, the Herodians could charge Him with treason.  If He said “yes”, the Pharisees could accuse Him of disloyalty to the Jewish nation, and He would lose support among the people.

Jesus was not gullible or naïve.  He knew what they were doing (vs. 18).  He asked to see one of the coins used to pay the taxes.  They brought Him a denarius, which would be equivalent to a day’s wage for a laborer.  That coin showed the face of Tiberius Caesar (Roman emperor from AD 14 - AD 37) on one side, and him seated on the throne on the other side (vs. 19-21).  If their commerce, and the money they used each day came from Caesar, then he could have some of it back.

Our citizenship in the nation they live in requires that we pay money for the services and benefits that we receive.  Our citizenship as believers in the Kingdom of Heaven requires that we pledge to God our primary obedience and commitment.  Caesar’s image is stamped on the coin.  God’s image is stamped on the person.  The Christian is to render obedience to Caesar in Caesar’s realm (Romans 13:1-7; I Peter 2:13-17).  However, the things that are God’s do not belong to Caesar, and are to be given only to God (vs. 21).

These two enemy groups were silenced by Jesus’ answer.  They were silenced, but their evil hearts were not changed.  They would continue to look for opportunities to entrap Jesus and to destroy Him.  

Sending A Good Message

I Thessalonians 1:1-10

How are you known around your neighborhood?  If someone were to come to town and ask around the neighborhood about you, what would they say?  What kind of reputation do you have?  Are you the woman with the ear and tongue for gossip, or the cranky old man who chases the neighborhood children away?  Would they even know whether you are a Christian?  How about your church?  Does it have the reputation for solidly preaching the Word of God, or is it more like the neighborhood country club?  The church in Thessalonica had a reputation in the area.  Let’s look at Paul’s letter to the believers there, and see what these believers were like.

Prior to coming to town, the Apostle Paul had been in Philippi preaching the Gospel, where he was promptly whipped and beaten, and then thrown in prison.  After finding out that Paul was a Roman citizen (it was illegal to beat or imprison a Roman citizen prior to having a trial), the city ran him out of town.  Paul then traveled further west and came to the city of Thessalonica where he proceeded to preach the Gospel of the Lord Jesus there.  Paul was only in the city a few weeks when word got to his enemies, those who opposed the spreading of the Gospel, and they came to town to cause trouble and bring further persecution.  Again, Paul needed to flee for his life (Acts 16:35 - 17:10).

Thessalonica was the capital and largest city of the Roman province of Macedonia.  It was a thriving seaport, and being on a busy highway, made it one of the wealthiest and most flourishing trade centers in the empire.  With the thousands of people coming and going every day in the city, the church Paul started in Thessalonica had the ear of the world.  Travelers could hear the Gospel, and then take it back and share it with their own community.  In order for others to hear, though, the believers needed to preach the message of Jesus, which they did (vs. 8).

When Paul and his companions were run out of the city, fleeing for their lives, the enemies of the Gospel turned their attention on the brand new converts, and they, too, began to experience persecution.  However, despite the harsh opposition, the Thessalonian believers remained faithful to the Lord, and they enthusiastically shared their faith with others.

Paul wrote this epistle not that long after he left the city, and it was quite possibly the first epistle that he wrote.  He was sure that their faith was genuine, as they stood true to the Lord despite the harsh persecution.  They faced opposition from former friends and relatives.  But the more that Satan afflicted, the more the Holy Spirit poured in His joy (vs. 6).  By remaining firm in their faith, they became a powerful witness to others.

People throughout the city could look at their new Christian neighbors, and they saw changed lives.  A quarrelsome, disagreeable, and cursing neighbor was now a peaceful one, filled with the joy and love of the Holy Spirit.  The one who went out carousing till all hours, coming home drunk and fighting with their family, no longer lived like that.  They were living examples of what the Gospel of Jesus could do in a person’s life.  Nothing advertises the Gospel like changed lives.

What about us?  What kind of message are we sending out to our neighborhoods?  Are we “good advertising” for Jesus?  Despite all the persecution they faced, the Thessalonians were.  There are some parts of the world where persecution and attacks against Christians are openly done, and even approved of by the government.  In other places, those who believe in the Bible and are faithful Christians are mocked by the news and on social media, including in many parts of the U.S., Canada, and Europe, even making things difficult for them at work and in school.

Will we trust in God and remain true, or will we hide our faith under a bushel so that no one will know we are Christians?  Will we stand out for Jesus, or try to blend in with the heathen?  Let us be like the Thessalonians, where our changed lives will be noticeable.  Let us tell others, and despite what may happen, just like those in our Scripture today, let the Gospel sound forth, and word of our faith will go out to others.

A Time Of Celebration

Psalm 96:1-9

When special events are scheduled to happen, often those planning these events will have music written for the celebrations.  We see this frequently at political rallies and conventions.  One real famous song used for a politician and campaign was Happy Days Are Here Again which Franklin Roosevelt used during his campaign during the Depression.  We have music for graduations, weddings, and other big events.  Our psalm for this week was a song written to celebrate a special event.  Let’s look at this celebratory psalm.

Psalm 96 was written to celebrate the bringing of the Ark of the Covenant by King David into the City of Jerusalem, and was possibly written by him, as well.  This was a momentous event, and worthy of a great celebration.  For many years, the Ark of the Covenant had been in the hands of the Philistines, Israel’s pagan and idol worshiping enemies.  Then when it was returned into the Israelites possession, it stayed in the house of a Hebrew named Abinadab for about twenty years (I Samuel 7:1-2).  Finally David decided to bring the Ark of the Covenant up to Jerusalem, his capital city.   This was not going to the great Temple in Jerusalem, as that was not built yet.  David would be making plans for this later, and his son Solomon would actually be the one to build that.  At this time, the Ark was housed in the Tabernacle, which was a tent-like structure.  Yet this was a great time of celebration, especially for King David, as he loved the Lord, and wanted to ensure that the Ark of the Covenant was safe and in a place of honor.

On this day of celebration, King David wanted all of the people of Israel to bring praise to God.  He wanted them to sing forth, as the Ark was back in their land, and was now coming to the capital.  It was not being held by their pagan enemies, and since it was now coming to Jerusalem, it would hopefully never be in threat of that again.  Not only should Israel praise the Lord, but David proclaims that the whole earth should, as well, along with all nature.

Genuine praise includes a testimony to others of God’s plan of salvation (vs. 2).  Because God is so great we cannot help but tell others about Him.  We should tell of His marvelous deeds to all people.  David certainly spent his whole life telling others about the marvelous works of Yahweh, and how He had saved him from his sins.  Certainly on a day like this, when the Ark was returning to His people, and to the great city of Jerusalem, David wanted to proclaim the might and power of the Lord.

It was important to David that everyone knew that Yahweh was greater than any of the false gods of the Philistines and other surrounding nations.  Of course, none of their false gods really existed.  There was actually no true deity of Baal, Astarte, Dagon, or any of the other myriads of pagan gods and goddesses they worshiped.  However, since these pagans believed in them, David wanted them to know that beyond any doubt, Yahweh was above and totally superior to their idols.  He, alone, was God, and their gods were nothing (vs. 4-5).

Today there are still some religions where people bow down to false, pagan gods, which are in reality demonic spirits.  Most of the world is deep into false religions, whether they have actual idols they bow down to or not.  They follow after ungodly philosophies and beliefs that reject Jesus, salvation in His Name alone, and belief in His Word, the Bible.  However, one day, when the Lord Jesus returns, they will all finally know and acknowledge His Glory.

David continued on in this psalm by describing the beauty, honor, and majesty of the sanctuary where the Ark of the Covenant would rest in the Tabernacle (vs. 6).  A sanctuary is a holy place, where God’s people can find refuge and safety.  This world has many “sanctuaries”, places where they go when searching for a place of safety.  However, they will find them all ineffective and useless.  There is only one place that is a true sanctuary, a true place of refuge and safety, and that is with the Lord Jesus Christ.  Every place else is futile.

As our Scripture closes, let us follow the words of King David, and worship the Lord God (vs. 7-9).  Be humble before Him, and bring an offering of praise.  Give the Lord Jesus the glory that is due His Name!

A Tool In God's Hand

Isaiah 44:28 - 45:7

If you were reading in some recently discovered papers from several hundred years ago, and saw written the name of a contemporary person, you would be surprised.  You might think the author was some type of a prophet.  Imagine if someone at the time of the American Revolutionary War, around when the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, spoke of a coming president, one two hundred years later, and named a name, that of Jimmy Carter, president in 1976!  Giving a specific name, and then having the prediction come to pass shows that the prophecy is true.  Rarely is this ever done.  However, in our Scripture today we see this exact occurrence.  Let’s take a look at this rare prophecy.

The Old Testament prophets did two things.  First they spoke God’s Word, admonishing the people to follow and obey God, proclaiming blessings if they did, and punishment from God if they didn’t.  Secondly, the prophets often spoke of coming events.  They prophesied the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus.  They prophesied of coming judgments from the Lord God, often in wars, famines, and droughts.  The key point to know if they were a true prophet of the Lord God Yahweh was if their words came true and were fulfilled.  A false prophet, one not sent from the Lord, would not have their words fulfilled.  They were speaking their own words, or that of the devil, and people were not to listen to them (Deuteronomy 18:20-22).

Isaiah spoke the Words of God, we can be sure.  When he spoke to admonish and reprove the people for turning to their own ways, and would direct them back to the ways of the Lord, that was Yahweh’s Words.  When he spoke of the coming of the Messiah, each of those prophecies came true, along with those of God’s coming judgments for their wicked ways.  And there was one particular prophecy that Isaiah gave which was very specific, and its fulfillment showed that he, indeed, was speaking the Words of the Lord.

Beginning in the last verse of the 44th chapter of Isaiah, and continuing on in the first several verses of chapter 45, the Prophet Isaiah speaks of a certain political and military leader by his specific name, that of Cyrus.  Cyrus was the great military general and then later emperor of the vast Persian empire.  The Persian empire spread across 2,000 miles, including both the areas of the earlier Assyrian and Babylonian empires, and then even more, and was the largest empire of the world at that time.  When Isaiah gave his prophecy it was at least 150 years before Cyrus was born, and 200 years before the events came to pass that he spoke of.

God, of course, knows all world events, from the dawn of time until the end, as He is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.  God knew of Cyrus long before he was born, just as He does with each of us.  And He set Cyrus apart for a divine purpose.  God chose Cyrus to be a tool to do a job, which was to send His people back to the land of Israel and to rebuild the Temple.  Nearly seventy years after the Temple was destroyed and the last of the people of Judah were brought into captivity, Cyrus, who had defeated the Kingdom of Babylon, gave the order for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple.  God gave His prophet Isaiah this message, nearly 200 years prior, and specifically had him speak of Cyrus by name, so that this pagan emperor would be aware that the God of the Jews was the One in charge of everything, and it was He who was giving him victorious conquests (vs. 3).

God is the power over all powers on earth, both back in ages past, and even today.  When we see events unfolding in the world today, countries rising and falling, political leaders growing strong and then being defeated, we do not need to fear if we are one of God’s children.  He anoints whom He chooses for His special purposes.  As Cyrus and the people of that day saw, the God of Israel is in control of human events.

Isaiah spoke these words to give the people reassurance, and we can also take reassurance as we see major events unfolding around the world.  God will take care of the situations that concern us.  We don’t have to worry.  God is omnipotent.  He is all-powerful and in full control.  Whatever He allows into our life is for a reason.

There is coming a day when the whole world will know that Yahweh alone is God.  World leaders throw their bombs and missiles around, thinking that they are in charge, but they’re not.  Other world leaders speak bold words, thinking they are the ones to be listened to, but they aren't.  When Cyrus became aware that a prophet of Yahweh had mentioned him by name 200 years prior, did he turn to the God of Israel in belief, and become a child of God?  We don’t know.  We do know that he was a tool, used by God.  Tools get used and then put away.  A child, though, lasts forever.  Are you just a tool, or are you a child?  Turn to the Lord Jesus today, and become a part of His family, a child of God.