Wednesday June 15, 2011

Read 2 Peter 1:19

The world is getting both better and worse! Huh? It’s getting better in terms of our understanding of things, our ability to fix things and our ability to make things better, faster or smaller - just for example. As a child a heart transplant was unheard of and largely unthinkable. Now it happens with common regularity! We can travel across the globe with unheard of speed. We can see to the far reaches of the universe.  But at the same time it’s getting worse. As technology grows and expands our sins seem to grow with it. We can kill more people now with less effort than ever before. We can spy on people's privacy more easily. We can access any number of sinful things (from porn to bomb making to magical incantations) on the web.  And to top it all off, there are many many people (many from inside the church) trying to nullify the Word and to prove it wrong. There is a growing desire to eradicate the Word.

But praise the Lord, it is in this dark world that the Word of God shines ever more brightly. We are assured by God that this word is a sure word.  “The testimony of the Lord is sure” (Psalms 19:7). “Thy testimonies are very sure” (Psalms 93:5). “All His commandments are sure” (Psalms 111:7). “Therefore I esteem all Thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way” (Psalms 119:128).

It is also a shining Word.  God is light and His Word is light. “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalms 119:105). When Jesus Christ began His ministry, “the people who sat in darkness saw a great light” (Matthew 4:16). His coming into this world was the dawning of a new day (Luke 1:78). We Christians are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14–16), and it is our privilege and responsibility to hold forth the Word of life - God’s light\ - so that men might see the way and be saved (Philippians 2:14–16).

No wonder God says that  we ‘will do well to pay attention to it!’.  As believers, we must heed this Word and govern our lives by what it says. For unbelievers, things will get darker and darker, until they end up in eternal darkness; but God’s people are looking for the return of Jesus Christ and the dawning of the new day of glory. The false teachers scoffed at the idea of Christ’s return and the dawning of a new day, but Peter affirmed the truth of the sure Word of God. “But the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night” (2 Peter 3:10).

Before the day dawns, the “day star” (or morning star) shines brightly as the herald of the dawn. To the church, Jesus Christ is “the Bright and Morning Star” (Revelations 22:16). The promise of His coming shines brightly, no matter how dark the day may be (see Numbers 24:17). He is also the “Sun of Righteousness,” who will bring healing to believers but judgment to unbelievers (Malachi 4:1–2). How thankful we ought to be for God’s sure and shining Word, and how we ought to heed it in these dark days!

Prayer:-

V Pray for the Chaplains in your local schools regarding the ‘battle’ with new government regulations.

V Pray that they have more and more opportunities to reach out to the students and staff.