Saturday, June 30, 2007
MANY CALLED!!! FEW CHOSEN!!!
In an earlier article, I wrote about the few men in the Old Testament that God called good, and why He considered them good. For those who missed that article, God showed me two important things # I. that "good", in God's lexicon, is not perfect conduct, but perfect love as in the great commandment, (luke 10:27) and # 2, that we must walk with God, as told in Amos 3:3, "Can two walk together except they be agreed?" Anyway, I was about to start an article about the good men of the New Testament, when a thought came to me with considerable force, as well as consternation Could it be that the few men singled out in the Bible as being good, were the only good ones of all the people who lived back then? At first, this seemed preposterous, like Elijah saying he was the only good man left. (I Kings 19:14& 18) But, as I thought about it, verses came to mind: "The gate is tight, the way is narrow and few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14) "Many are called, few are chosen." (Matthew 20:16) I had to pursue this thought!
Going back to the Patriarchs, we know some of them lived for as long as nine centuries and they filled the earth with
people. But, how many were chosen? We read) "Enoch walked with God," (Genesis 5:24) "Noah walked with God " (Genesis
6:9) Apparently only these two pleased God. We know this is so because the next big event was the flood, which destroyed all
the rest of them. (Genesis 6:13) Two is definitely few in my book. Actually eight people were saved. Some say his family must
have been good, but nowhere does it say so, and three times God calls Noah good. (Genesis 6:8,9 & 7:1) God just needed Noah's family to start all over again.
After the flood, the population multiplied again and unbelievably, the new ones were just as bad as the earlier ones. They began to build a tower to show how great they were, which highly offended God. He showed His displeasure by confounding their language and scattering them abroad. (Genesis 11:7 & 8)
Many years later, God found a family that responded to Him. the family of Abraham. God told them to leave their city, Ur of the Chaldees, and go to Canaan Land. (Genesis 11:31) They were very slow about it and in the end only Abraham and hia nephew, Lot, reached Canaan. Soon, they bad a disagreement and Lot moved to Sodom.' So, of all the people God called so far three were chosen: Enoch, Noah and Abraham
God now really concentrated on Abraham, promising him the whole land of Canaan and a family that would bless the entire world if he would stay faithful. He said, "I am your shield and exceeding great reward " (Genesis 15:1) It was like God had found a little rill coming out of a very polluted river and was determined to keep it pure. Abraham was by no means perfect, but he knew how to believe and obey God. As a result, God blessed him in his old age with a miracle son. Isaac (Genesis 21:1-3) later Isaac had two sons. Esau, who was bad, and Jacob, who started out bad, but became good. After an encounter with God, Jacob's name was changed to Israel, meaning Prince of God. Israel had twelve sons Ten of them were bad, even plotting to kill their brother, Joseph, but instead, they sold him as a slave
Joseph was a very good man and God rewarded him by arranging for him to be the ruler of Egypt. During a famine, Joseph showed his goodness by inviting his father and brothers to live with him in Fgypt. The "children of Israel", as they were now called, remained in E:gypt for 400 years, during which time they became two million strong However, a new ruler of Egypt saw them as a threat and made them slaves. We pause now for a count of God's chosen men: Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph; six in all.
God's purpose now was to take the children of Israel out of Fgypt by a miraculous deliverance and bring them into Canaan, the land of promise. Hopefully, this great deliverance would cause them to be a godly nation He needed an extraordinarily good leader, and found him in Moses. Briefly, through many miracles, Moses led two million people out of Egypt. But again, unbelievably, they all turned out bad. While Moses was up on the mountain with God, they decided to worship a golden calf and have a party. (Exodus 32: I & 25) The Lord was so furious, He wanted to destroy them all, but Moses interceded and God agreed to keep working with them. When they reached the Promised land, there was another failure. Only two men, Joshua and Caleb, were willing to go in. So God said, you can wander in the wilderness until you all die, and the next generation will go in. Forty years later, they went in, led by Joshua. We pause for another count of chosen men. We had six before, now, add Moses, Joshua and Caleb, and we have nine.
Israel now begins the conquest of Canaan, taking over one nation after the other. They Were very successful, being led by God's all-time favorite man, David. In a short while, they became the most powerful nation on earth. But, the good times didn't last. They failed to conquer all the land and then began to intermarry with the heathen and to worship their idols. David's own son, Solomon, turned away from God. It wasn't long before their nation split in two, and actually fought against each other. They went deeper and deeper into idolatry until God gave up on them and let them be conquered by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. Seventy years later, about 50,000 were allowed to go back to Jerusalem, led by Ezra and Nehemiah, to resettle and rebuild. Almost immediately, they began, again, to intermarry with the heathen. (Ezra 9: I & 2) You'd have to say by now, they were incorrigible. During this time, there were, no doubt, some good judges, like Samuel; some good kings, like David and Hezekiah, some good prophets, like Isaiah, and some good individuals, like Amos, (Amos 7:14-13), Naomi, Ruth and Boaz,
(Ruth 1:16 & 2:4), Esther and Mordecai (Esther 4:16), Ezra, (Ezra 7:6,10), Nehermah (Nehemiah I :4) and some others hidden
away, but they were not enough to stem the tide. It should be noted here that there are people saved by the skin of their teeth -
"as by fire", (I Corinthians 3 :15), like the thief on the cross. However, Jesus said in Revelations 3:16, that He would cast out
the lukewarm. Why take a chance and miss the best? ~
God finally had enough. Israel was allowed to be conquered and scattered again, with nothing left to bind them together, but the hope of a messiah. We read in Malachi 3:1, the last prophet of the Old Testament, "I will send my messenger before me" (John the Baptist) "The Lord, whom ye seek shall suddenly come" (Jesus) (3:2) "He shall be like a refiner's fire " (verse 5) "I will come for judgment — " (4:1) "The day shall burn as an oven — " (4:6) Turn your hearts lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." (4:6) These last words of God to Israel were a warning and a promise, but they went unheeded.
When Jesus came, only a handful were ready, or even knew about it. Only Mary and Joseph, Elizabeth and Zechariah, a few shepherds and wise men, and Anna and Simeon were in touch with the Lord, after all those centuries of training. Thirty years later, when Jesus began His ministry, the leaders despised and rejected Him. Finally, to top off their wickedness, they killed Him. Soon after this, Rome destroyed their city and scattered them everywhere. An accurate head count of the chosen, by this time, would be impossible, but it is clear that there were very few in the Old Testament who walked with God. The scariest part of this story is the words of Jesus in Luke 17:26-30, "As it was in the days of Noah and in the days of Sodom, so shall it be when the Son of Man is revealed. They bought, they sold, they married, until the flood came." It is clear that people, throughout history, are too busy to think about God. Consider what Jesus told us in Matthew 22:2-5, about a king (God) who planned a wedding for his son and sent out invitations. They made light of it and refused to come. Can you believe it? Also consider what Jesus says in Luke 18:8, "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" The implication is He won't. How unbelievable it is that even the disciples failed the Lord. When He was arrested, they all fled except John and Peter, and Peter denied the Lord when he felt threatened. (Matthew 26:56 & 72) After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to them and commanded them to wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts I 8) Only 120 obeyed, a very low percentage of all the people that saw and heard Jesus.
The record of subsequent years is a sorry one. The church, in a very short time, was practically dead. It held on to the form of godliness, but denied the power of the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3 5) It was soon captured by the Romans, under Constantine and became, for them, a money machine (2 Peter 2:3) It bardy survived the dark ages In general, it was dead until the early 1900s. When the Holy Spint was poured out in los Angeles. But, believe it or not, the visible, established churches said loud and clear "We don't want any of that," and this is still true today. Many Christians believe that the Lord is about to return. There should be a great revival, but instead, there is a falling away, modernism, etc (2 Thessalonians 2:3) There is more violence and more wickedness today than ever, idolatry is rampant (TV especially) all moral standards have been cast out and the greed for money is like an epidemic. In other words, it's just like it was in the days of Noah.
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So, what's in store for the world? We only have the Bible to go by and this is what it says: '
1. Judgment will come unexpectedly (2 Peter 3 10)
2. Judgment will begin at the house of God (the church) (I Peter 4:17
3. The earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up (2 Peter 3 10 A 12)
4. Jesus will appear suddenly in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that do not wish to know God. (2 Thessalonians 1:7)
5. The wicked (anti God) shall drink of the wine of the wrath of (God — forever (Revelation 14:10)
6. The Sun shall be darkened. the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. (Matthew 24:29)
7. Except the days be shortened, there should be no flesh saved. (Matthew 24:22)
8. He shall gather His elect. (Matthew 24 3)
9. A new heaven and a new earth will come (2 Peter 3:13)
Friend, if you think this assessment might be right and you want to escape what is coming and make your calling and
election sure, (2 Peter 1:10), here's what to do:
1. Watch and pray always (Luke 21:36)
2. Continue in the Word (John 831)
3. Keep listening to Flis voice (John 10 27)
4. Be filled with the Spirit (Fphesians 5 18 & Matthew 25 8)
5. Abide in Mim (I John 2 28)
6. Don't go to sleep (Mark 13:36)
7. Buy gold tried in the fire (Revdation 3:18)
8. Keep your wedding garment on (Matthew 22:12)
9. Remove any spot or wrinkle (Ephesians 5:27
10. Keep looking for Him (Hebrews 9 28)
11. Love His appearing (2 Timothy 4:1)
12. Endure to the end (Matthew 24:13)
choices
Every day we make hundreds of choices Some of them seem to have no consequence, but mixed up in the middle of all those easy choices are the ones that are critical, ones that have eternal consequences You choose where to sit when you come into a room Most likely, it would be of no consequence, but the possibility is that it could have eternal consequences. You could say a word to your neighbor that would change his life and his family's for generations
I have made choices in my life that have completely turned my life around, but at the time, I didn't have any idea that they were critical. Some of them were good, some bad I 've learned it pays to pray about everything No doubt, that's why Paul said, "Pray without ceasing"
Listed below are some crucial choices made by well-known people in the Bible and the consequences thereof
1) Genesis 2:17, 3:14-29
God told Adam and Eve to stay away from a certain tree They could eat of every other tree, just stay away from one. They were told that the consequences of disobedience would be death. This should have been a great help in making the right choice, but they failed anyway. That consequence brought the curse of death on the whole human race
2) Genesis 4
God commanded Cane and Abel both to bring a blood sacrifice for the covering of their sins. Abel brought a lamb (right choice) Cam brought a basket of fruit (wrong choice) God loved Cain so much that he even reasoned with him and told him that he could change his mind (vs 7) However, Cain got angry and made another bad choice. He killed his brother This brought a curse on him and his family Right after that, he made another bad choice. "He went out from the presence of God." (Gen 4:1) He could have chosen to repent and God would have forgiven him.
3) Genesis 16
God promised Abraham a son, but when God delayed the fulfillment, Abraham chose to take matters into his own hands He had the child, Ishmael, with his Egyptian maid. Ishmael's descendants, the Arabs, have been at war with Israel ever since. It was a bad choice.
4) Genesis 22:7-9
Isaac was faced with a hard decision He was probably a young adult when he was climbing a mountain to make a sacrifice unto the Lord with his father In verse 7, Isaac asks, "Where is the lamb?" When Isaac heard he was to be that sacrifice, he had a choice to make, to run or submit! He submitted and because of that choice, he became a type of Christ, submitting to the cross In our walk with the Lord, we often have to make choices about either running from, or submitting to God's dealings
5) Genesis 25:31-34
Esau was the firstborn and was to inherit all the blessings However, one day he became very hungry and sold his birthright to Jacob for something to eat. How many people give up their inheritance in Christ for a little material pleasure? He did not value God's covenant promises Esau made a bad choice and all his descendants suffered for it. So many times, our choices affect many others around us!
6) Hebrews 11:25
Moses was the opposite of Esau. He chose to suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short while. Because of that good choice, Moses became the greatest leader this world has ever known.
7) Nation of Israel
Before Israel was to enter the promise land, Moses gave them this warning (Deut. 30:19) "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live."
8) Joshua 24:15
Joshua, the successor of Moses, also warned the people to stay with God He told them, "Choose you this day whom you will serve. . .as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." But Israel made so many wrong choices that God let them be conquered and scattered all over the world
9) 1 Samuel 10:8, 13:8 and 31:2
King Saul was given strict orders by Samuel twice, and chose to disobey both times For this, he lost the kingdom and his life.
10) 1 Samuel 23:17
Jonathan made a sad choice He was the Crown Prince of Israel, but God revealed to him that David was to be the next king. Jonathan loved David dearly and was glad to take the lower position. So, he pledged his allegiance to David, but when he met David in the wilderness, he wasn't willing to stay with him. He would return to his father, King Saul. Then a war broke out and Saul and all his sons were killed. If Jonathan had stayed with David, he would, doubtless, have lived to rule with David (Incidentally, Christians who aren't willing to go all out for Jesus will miss the golden opportunity of ruling with Christ in the millennium
11) Psalm 27:4
David, one of the greatest men that ever lived, made good choices In one sentence he gives the key to success: "One thing have I desired (or chosen) of the Lord, that will 1 seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. David was a man after God's own heart! We won't go into the one big mistake he made at this time
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12) 1 Samuel 2:33
Eli chose not to discipline his two sons and instead of living the good life, they died in their youth.
13) Judges 19
Samson was chosen by the Lord to be a judge of Israel He would have made a wonderful leader, but he had a
weakness for women and he chose to give in to it rather than fight it. He paid with his life. ;
14) Ruth 1:16
Ruth and Orpah were two Moabite women who married the two sons of Naomi, an Israelite. They both learned of the salvation of the Lord. When Naomi decided to move back to Israel, they had to choose to go or stay. Ruth chose to go with Naomi. She said, "Your God will be my God. " She was rewarded with the honor of being David's great grandmother. Orpah was never heard of again.
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15) Esther 4:13
Esther was the Queen, but she could only see the King when he invited her. Anyone entering his court without an
invitation would be put to death. When a law was passed to kill all the Jews in the land, Esther had to choose
risking her life to see the King and ask for help, or to ignore the situation. She chose the first and saved thousands
of lives.
16) At the crucifixion of our Lord we see two thieves were crucified with him, one chose to scoff at him, one chose to believe Him. One went to heaven, the other to hell.
17) Two disciples betrayed the Lord. One chose to repent and receive God's mercy (Peter), the other chose to kill himself. (Judas) One went to heaven, the other went to hell.
Choices that face us every day:
18) To walk the broad or the narrow way (Matthew 7:13)
19) To build on sand or on the Rock (Matthew 7 24)
20) To build with gold and silver, or wood and hay (1 Corinthians 3:12)
21) To walk in the flesh or in the Spirit (Romans 8,1 & 14)
22) To open the door to Jesus or not (Revelations 3:20 {not salvation})
23) To let the Word of God dwell in you (memori/je) or not (Colossians 3:16)
24) To be filled with the Spirit or not (Ephesians 5:18)
25) To be witnesses unto Jesus or not (Acts 1:8)
26) To keep yourself unspotted from the world or not (James 1 27)
The Lord give us the knowledge as to what is at stake and the wisdom to make the right choice.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Sharing
In 1991 I learned I had cancer all through me. It was quite a jolt and it made me take stock of my life. I had been a Christian for many years and thought I was as committed to the Lord as anybody else, probably more so. But with a sudden, or early demise staring me in the face, I saw things differently. I'd been retired about ten years and was having a ball (or blast?). I traveled everywhere, even to China; played golf, volley ball and tennis; took up oil painting, sculpture and ceramics; and played the piano for jug bands, sing alongs and nursing homes. At the same time, I was trying to keep up with Bible reading and prayer. But now, many verses seemed to have my name on them. I'll never forget Philippians 1:21, "To me to live is Christ." I hung my head in shame. To me to live was fun. It didn't even come close to the Christ life.
With final exams coming up really fast, I decided to quit everything and start seeking the Lord. For the first tune in my life, I felt the nearness and the reality of God. The Word and prayer became my daily routine. I began writing thoughts on Bible topics. First I threw them into a drawer. Then I began sharing them with friends. Some wrote back, saying they received much help from them. One said, "Your article was just what I needed," Some sent their insights on a topic, which were helpful to me. It struck me that sharing insights should be my next article, so this is it. I'm sure many people have insights they could share, but with no opportunity to do so, the insight dies in a drawer somewhere. Jesus said that after experiencing salvation, we would become wells of water. (John 4:14) That's just a little sharing, something you have to pump up, like a well. But later, He said we would become rivers of living water. (John 7:38) That's quite an increase. That would be like sharing all the time, giving out tracts and talking about the Lord at every opportunity. What made the change? Verse 39 explains about the river: "This spoke He of the Holy Spirit, which they that believe on Him (Jesus) should receive." The actual fulfillment of this prophecy happened in the early days of the church. (See Acts 2 and following.) Of course, it was supposed to continue, but for some reason, the wells and the rivers dried up. Sharing is not the "in" thing today.
Testimony time used to be part of every service. Today it's long gone, but what's to keep people from writing? So, if you have an insight the Lord has given you, don't throw it into a drawer. Ask the Lord to show you how and where to share it. Your insight could be just what someone needs. Jesus said giving a cup of water to someone would be rewarded. (Matthew 10:42) Isaiah 35:6 says we should be streams in the desert. We have the object lesson of the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. The first is surrounded by life. The second is surrounded by a desert. Our world today is certainly a desert and needs living water desperately.
For those who aren't sure what an insight is, here's two the Lord just gave me. In Revelation 5, John is given a vision of heaven. Verse 6 says, "In the midst of the throne - stood a Lamb as it had been slain." 14:1 says, "A Lamb stood on Mt. Zion." Very briefly, the Lamb on the throne is telling us that to rule and reign with Christ as He promised, we need to have a lamb nature. The Lamb on Mt. Zion tells us that to be an overcomer, (Mt. Zion is a type of the overcomer), we need to have a lamb nature. These two insights call for an article or two. Needless to say, they are super important. Believe me, a lamb nature is not easy to come by.
In conclusion, make the words of Jesus come true. Begin with a well and draw out some spiritual water. If you continue, it will become a river. You will be glad you did.
"Not with drums, light comes. lit is gentle, unobtrusive It will not open doors or go around corners like sound does, but it will enter every place that is open." These, as I recall, are the first lines of a poem that I enjoyed, long ago, but unfortunately, can't find now. However, the thought about light has lingered, especially as to how it relates to God We read in Romans 1.20, "The invisible things of God are seen and understood by the things that are made," (things we can see). First off, we know that God is light, (1 John 1:5 and John 8:12), so it's certain we can learn much from light.
The first characteristic of light is its invisibility We don't see light. We see the objects that reflect light.
God, as a Spirit, is invisible, but He can be seen as reflected in His people. The moon is another example of reflected
light.
The second characteristic of light is what has already been alluded to in the poem. Light is gentle. It doesn't force its way into any place. It's not like sound, which to me can be torturous at times! How like God this is. In 1 Thessalonians 2:7 & 11, Paul tells how he treated his converts: "We were as gentle with you as a nurse and as a father." These words came from a former murderer. This is the change that takes place when one lets the light in. He becomes as gentle as light. Isaiah 42:1-4 said about Jesus, "He will not fight nor shout nor crush the weak or quench hope." Any opaque surface can stop light. And God, having given man free will, allows him to block out the light, but warns of the consequences.
The third characteristic of light is also alluded to in the poem. Light goes in straight lines. It doesn't turn corners. John the Baptist, the introducer of Jesus, went straight to his task and he went straight to the problem. He called a spade a spade. "You snakes," He said to the Pharisees. (Matthew 3:7) Jesus also went straight to His task. In Mark 1:10, He was baptized in water and straightway He was baptized in the Spirit; in verse 12, He straightway was driven into the wilderness to be tested; in verse 20, He straightway called the disciples; in verse 21, He straightway went into the Synagogue and taught; in verse 28, His fame immediately spread abroad; in verse 31, He immediately healed the sick. In Luke 4:28 & 29, they mobbed Him and tried to kill Him, and in verse 30, He walked straight through them!
The fourth characteristic is its mystery. Believe it or not, no one knows what light is. There are theories, but no agreement. It is shrouded in mystery. How fitting a picture of God. Isaiah 45:15 says, "God hides Himself." For thousands of years people have looked for God in all the wrong places and, of course, they can't agree on who or what God is. God does proclaim Himself to be mysterious. 1 Corinthians 2:7 says, "We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery." Romans 11:33 says, "His ways are past finding out." 1 Timothy 3:16 says, "Great is the mystery of Godliness." Isaiah 55:9 says, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my thoughts than yours." To those who can't find time for God, He will always be a mystery, but to those who seek Him, He may be found (Isaiah 55:6) Where do you seek Him? In the Bible. God's Word is Spirit and light. (John 6:63)
The fifth characteristic of light is that it is our only source of life. The magic word is photosynthesis. It means put together with light! Without it, we wouldn't have anything to eat. It happens in plants. We should acknowledge this miracle every day, at least when we sit down to eat! Likewise, the only source of eternal life is Jesus. The miracle of the incarnation and substitutionary atonement, alone gives us salvation. John 1:4 says, "In Him (Jesus) was life and the life was the light of men." We can turn this around and say in Him was light and the light was the life of men. The light, the life and the Word are all the same. Psalm 119:5 says, "Thy Word is a lamp and a light." Psalm 119:130 says, "The entrance of Thy Word giveth light." Matthew 4:16 says, "People that sat in the dark saw the light." That is, they heard the Word of God. They saw the righteousness and holiness of God, compared to the darkness, evil, impurity and wickedness of Satan. If they accepted the truth, they became children of light. (1 Thessalonians 5:5) In this physical world, we can't live without sunlight. In the spiritual world, we can't live without Son light.
The sixth characteristic of light is that it is our only source of water, which makes it as important as photosynthesis. The magic words are evaporation and condensation. The sun draws up the water from the earth and returns it as the gentle rain. Question: How many thank the Lord for a rainy day? The Lord uses showers as an illustration of the moving of His Spirit. "My speech shall distill as showers on the grass." (Deuteronomy 32:2) "There shall be showers of blessing." (Ezekiel 34:26) "Ask the Lord for rain — He shall give showers of rain." (Zechariah 10:1) "As the rain comes down - so shall my Word be --." (Isaiah 55:10) "He will give you the former rain and the latter rain. I will pour out my Spirit." (Joel 2:23 & 28) "He will rain righteousness on you." (Hosea 10:12) Pray much for raia
The seventh characteristic of light is a very personal one. Light enables us to see. Where would we be without sight? How would we know where we were going? Everyone agrees that physical sight is absolutely necessary- But, how many agree that to know aboutvJesus and heaven, and Satan and hell, and how to make the transfer from one to the other is even more important? Jesus said it would be much better to be blind physically than to be blind spiritually. (Mark 9:47) Of the Christian He says, "You were darkness, now you are light." (Ephesians 5:8) Paul said he never stopped "Praying for his people that the eyes of their understanding be enlightened, they would know the hope of God's calling and the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints." (Ephesians 1:18)
The eighth characteristic of light is its healing quality. Years ago it was considered important to get as much sunshine as possible. Today, they're not so sure. But everyone will agree that sunlight has a cheerful, uplifting effect on people. We never welcome an overcast day with, "What a beautiful day!" Malachi 4:2 says, "Unto you that fear my'name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings." When He comes to the world or to the individual, He will dispel all darkness and wickedness and evil and disease and pollution that today engulf the world (and individuals).
The ninth characteristic is its spectrum of colors. By passing a light through a prism, the light is divided into a band of colors, from infrared to ultraviolet, God used the prism shape of raindrops to give us the rainbow. We remember Joseph's coat of many colors and the colors used in the tabernacle. All of them are significant and should be studied in a later article.
The tenth characteristic is the speed of light. In an instant, it can go around the world more than seven times - 186,000 miles per second. God is omnipotent, so we must believe that anything He wants to do can be done in an instant, including creating the world. This might stretch your thinker, which is good. There is a reference to Satan flying out of heaven like lightning, (Luke 10:18), also to our change occurring in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. (1 Corinthians 15:52)
The eleventh characteristic of light is a recent development called the laser beam, meaning the amplification of light into a narrow, intense beam, which can burn a hole in a diamond! That sounds pretty frightening. We can only hope it will be used for good purposes. This does tell us that God can do anything with speed and great power. We all know about the flood and should know what's ahead for the world. In 2 Peter 3:10, we read, "The day of the Lord will come as a thief- in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the elements shall melt with fervent heat." This is a grim reminder of how dark the world is and what payday will be like.
To shorten this study, we will bunch up a few more characteristics and challenge you to see the spiritual correlation:
I Light is usually accompanied by warmth.
2 Light is free (not like coal, oil, lumber, etc.)
3 The sun has a tremendous gravitational force, holding the planets in their orbits. (Are we in His orbit?)
4 Light is everywhere. The highest-powered telescopes report lights as far as they can see.
5 Light is a reward. Daniel 12:3 says, "They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of die firmament and
they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever."
We conclude with two quotes: Matthew 6:22 says, "The light of the body is the eye. If the eye be single (a narrow beam - only have eyes for Jesus), the body will be full of light," and Matthew 5:16 says, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father."
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
I have a friend, who's name is Arthur.
He writes articles; Christian perspectives, if you will.
Folks who know him call them Arthur nuggetts.
These short articles are just a few paragraphs which attempt to explain various Christian principles and ideas to anyone who might be inclined
to seek the Lord. I am putting these articles here on the web, in the hopes that someone will not only read them, but be edified by them, and also inspired, as I have been.
As we seek the pearl of great price, who would mind getting a little help with their quest? Certainly not I! If there is something that might help me understand a little better, or avoid making some common mistake, I am all for it!.
I do this as a tiny way to bring glory to God. It is in His service that I post
these nuggetts from my friend Arthur.
I encourage you to read your Bible, and double check the principles you learn
here.
Pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance and illumination. I am hoping that what i post
here will feed you, in the same way spoken of by Luke 12:23-24 nkjv
" Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they
neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them.
Of how much more value are you than the birds?
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