"Trouble and anguish have found and taken hold on me, yet Your commandments are my delight. Your righteous testimonies are everlasting and Your decrees are binding to eternity; give me understanding and I shall live [give me discernment and comprehension and I shall not die]." (Psalm 119:143, 144- Amplified Bible)
No wonder Paul, after writing the best treatise on the place of the Jews in Salvation History, burst forth with, "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unfathomable (inscrutable, unsearchable) are His judgments...! And how untraceable (mysterious, undiscoverable) are His ways (His methods, His paths)!" And, as His Words do so regularly, today's text spoke so much to something I read this morning.
The article was about the outbreak of extreme violence in Germany in recent months, a violence dominated by Middle Eastern expatriates. A little history reminder: After the rise of Mohammed, the Arab/Islamic curse on the world began its genocidal fulfillment by rampaging through the Middle East. Later they would attempt to conquer Europe, but were turned back "at the gates of Vienna." Moreover, for centuries, the "strongest" and most prominent Churches were in the Middle East. After Arab/Islam's reign of terror, the Church in the Middle East was almost nonexistent. Many Followers of Jesus were murdered, while others chose the Islamic "submit" over loyalty to Jesus Christ. I point no finger. Even though I would like to think otherwise, I cannot say what I would have done. "Trouble and anguish...found," the Church in the Middle East during the Middle Ages, yet those who could say with the psalmist, "yet Your commandments are my delight," overcame. That day is upon us throughout the world as never before, and victory over sin and the Devil will come on the same Word.
Fact: The attempt is currently under way to finish what Mohammed began. It is playing out globally, but most aggressively in Europe and The United States of America. Now most people, including most "Christians," don't believe any of this. They somehow think that 1500 years of history has been erased by politically correct mumbo jumbo, appeasement, nice talking and appearing political leaders, and that "goodwill" will be met by "goodwill." But this is just "Goodwill Hunting"; they will never find it. Some will just not take the lesson of history. The majority of humanity today does not believe the Biblical declaration, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God"--- ALL. Most think, however, that some are worse than others, e.g., Hitler was worse than Gandhi. I think the word, "All," takes care of such "good feeling" philosophy. Sin is sin; the sin nature is the sin nature, and it is in all of us. "He who believes in Jesus is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God"---------------- Hitler or Gandhi------ you or I. But I am confident that you have chosen Jesus Christ; you are of the Redeemed; you are righteous and on your way to those "mansions," not because you are a "good" person, but because you and I are "good" with the Goodness of Jesus.
I close with the admonition, "Remember now your Creator...before the difficult days come..," and come they will----------------------------------- but so will He, and we will be, "found in Him."
Father, in Jesus' Name, "Your commandments," and, "Your righteous testimonies," and, "Your decrees are binding to eternity." Bind me in them/Him. Amen.
*****************
Read the Article to which I referred: www.jerusalemberlinwashington.blogspot.com
No wonder Paul, after writing the best treatise on the place of the Jews in Salvation History, burst forth with, "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unfathomable (inscrutable, unsearchable) are His judgments...! And how untraceable (mysterious, undiscoverable) are His ways (His methods, His paths)!" And, as His Words do so regularly, today's text spoke so much to something I read this morning.
The article was about the outbreak of extreme violence in Germany in recent months, a violence dominated by Middle Eastern expatriates. A little history reminder: After the rise of Mohammed, the Arab/Islamic curse on the world began its genocidal fulfillment by rampaging through the Middle East. Later they would attempt to conquer Europe, but were turned back "at the gates of Vienna." Moreover, for centuries, the "strongest" and most prominent Churches were in the Middle East. After Arab/Islam's reign of terror, the Church in the Middle East was almost nonexistent. Many Followers of Jesus were murdered, while others chose the Islamic "submit" over loyalty to Jesus Christ. I point no finger. Even though I would like to think otherwise, I cannot say what I would have done. "Trouble and anguish...found," the Church in the Middle East during the Middle Ages, yet those who could say with the psalmist, "yet Your commandments are my delight," overcame. That day is upon us throughout the world as never before, and victory over sin and the Devil will come on the same Word.
Fact: The attempt is currently under way to finish what Mohammed began. It is playing out globally, but most aggressively in Europe and The United States of America. Now most people, including most "Christians," don't believe any of this. They somehow think that 1500 years of history has been erased by politically correct mumbo jumbo, appeasement, nice talking and appearing political leaders, and that "goodwill" will be met by "goodwill." But this is just "Goodwill Hunting"; they will never find it. Some will just not take the lesson of history. The majority of humanity today does not believe the Biblical declaration, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God"--- ALL. Most think, however, that some are worse than others, e.g., Hitler was worse than Gandhi. I think the word, "All," takes care of such "good feeling" philosophy. Sin is sin; the sin nature is the sin nature, and it is in all of us. "He who believes in Jesus is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God"---------------- Hitler or Gandhi------ you or I. But I am confident that you have chosen Jesus Christ; you are of the Redeemed; you are righteous and on your way to those "mansions," not because you are a "good" person, but because you and I are "good" with the Goodness of Jesus.
I close with the admonition, "Remember now your Creator...before the difficult days come..," and come they will----------------------------------- but so will He, and we will be, "found in Him."
Father, in Jesus' Name, "Your commandments," and, "Your righteous testimonies," and, "Your decrees are binding to eternity." Bind me in them/Him. Amen.
*****************
Read the Article to which I referred: www.jerusalemberlinwashington.blogspot.com
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
