Wednesday, July 29, 2015

New

I was in 2 Chronicles 24 today. Once again I read the account of Joash, one of the kings of Judah. He was 7 years old when he became king and reigned for 40 years. As long as Jehoiada the priest was alive to give this young king wise and godly counsel, Joash "did what was pleasing in the LORD's sight." (verse 2) But once Jehoiada died, King Joash was able to be led astray by some unnamed leaders. Despite prophetic warnings, King Joash not only continued to worship other gods, but by his order, he also had Zechariah, the Spirit filled prophet, put to death!

This Sunday, my husband will be preaching on John 3:16-17, a scripture many of us know well. "Nothing new" we say. "Heard it before."  So how can we look at it in a new way? How can we prevent ourselves from falling into the trap that Joash fell into? First, we cannot look to our priest (or pastor) to make us do what is pleasing in the LORD's sight. Second, we need to believe that God's mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23) and His Word is living and active (Hebrews 4:12). Let's approach the Book of John like it's new. Read it and mediate on it. Decide not to be led astray by anyone. What is God telling us about Himself? What is He instructing us to do?

"Behold I make all things new." Revelation 21:5

Thursday, July 23, 2015

A foretaste of glory

I know that everyone experiences times like these, when you feel like you have had too many deaths around you. In the past few weeks I've grieved the untimely death of a pastor's wife at age 53, the death of a second cousin who was only 41 and the death of a friend who was 62. The world says these women were all too young to die. Do I believe that?

I was reading Romans 8 this morning. Paul clearly says that all creation is subject to God's curse (of sin, suffering and death) (verse 20). He also says (verse 21) that "with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay." But verse 23 makes a distinction between all creation and we who are true believers and that is that "we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of the future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as His adopted children including the new bodies He promised us."

Continuing in the New Living Translation, verse 24: "We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don't need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don't yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)"

Wow! So having hope as an anchor for our souls (Hebrews 6:19) makes so much sense! It's like my soul is anchored in heaven while my body is here on earth being battered by the wind and waves. I will not fear death, but rather wait patiently and confidently for it. I already have a foretaste of the glory that awaits me. Praise God!

Friday, July 3, 2015

How much do you know about July Fourth?

We recently visited Independence Hall in Philadelphia. I've been there before, but was impressed once again with the knowledge of the Park Rangers and depressed by my horrible memory at all the important facts surrounding the founding of our country.

Did you know that on July 4, 1776 only 2 individuals signed the Declaration of Independence? Do you know who? It wasn't until July 8th that it was proclaimed to the city of Philadelphia by members of congress.

After the proclamation was read, the Liberty Bell was rung. Do you know what the inscription around the top the Liberty Bell says?

Read the following article from the National Day of Prayer website to find the answer to these questions. The final paragraph of the article says:
"Preserving American liberty depends first upon our understanding the foundations on which this great country was built and then preserving the principles on which it was founded. Let’s not let the purpose for which we were established be forgotten. The Founding Fathers have passed us a torch; let’s not let it go out."