Samuel D. High
sdhigh@aristotle.net
-----Original Message-----
From: "Apostle Tom" <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Sent: Sun, 15 Jul 2007 21:30:16 -0500
To: pressingon@hotmail.com
Subject: Morning Manna (July 16); BP: Ps. 19; RBTTY: Acts 20:1-16; Ps. 16-17
July 16 “His Perfect Word”
“The Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the
soul. . .”
Psalm 19:7a
As someone once said, “You can take it to the bank.”
Down through the years one of the greatest “obstacles” to folks’
trusting God is their inability/unwillingness to take Him at His Word. They
look with skepticism or doubt at the Bible—pointing to the many times it has
been translated and the many translations that currently exist.
Likewise, so many find it difficult to believe in a literal Adam and
Eve. . .a literal Noah, ark and worldwide flood. . .a literal parting of the
Red Sea. . .Jesus’ virgin birth and resurrection, etc. Instead of accepting
these miracles as recorded in God’s Word, they pick them apart and try to
find “reasonable (worldly) explanations” for them.
Then, they wonder why they still reside in spiritual darkness.
The Apostle Paul summed it up well when he wrote, “The natural man
receives not the things of the Spirit of God—for they are foolishness unto
him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (I
Cor. 2:14). He also wrote that our natural minds are “at enmity (hostile)
toward God” (Rom. 8:7) and “blinded by the god of this world, lest the light
of the glorious Gospel of Christ, Who is the image of God, should shine unto
us” (II Cor. 4:4).
That’s also why Jesus said “Unless we humble ourselves and come as a
little child, we cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Mt. 18:2-4). He
knew sin will cause us to pride ourselves on our intellectual astuteness,
religious piety and practices.
Until we can say with the Psalmist David, “The Law of the Lord is
perfect (Heb. ‘tamiym’—‘entire, complete, integrity, truth, without blemish
or flaw, unright, etc.’),” we’ll be like John the Baptist, temporarily
filled with doubt, who asked “Are You the One that should come? Or, should
we look for another?” (Lk. 7:19).
Down through the centuries there have been many religions that rejected
the Bible as the Word of God. They, instead, came up with their own “sacred
book,” supposedly superior to the “Holy Scriptures” (Rom. 1:2) or “later
revelations” that are supposedly more dependable and trustworthy.
But, woe to any who believe and teach such heresy (I Cor. 2:4, 13; II
Cor. 4:2; Rev. 22:18-19)! How sad will be the day when they stand before
Christ, God’s living, eternal Word, Who “was made flesh and dwelt among us,
allowing us to behold the glory of God” (Jn. 1:1, 14). On that day He will
sadly say, “Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity—I never knew you” (Mt.
7:23).
David went on to say God’s Word is able to “convert (Heb. ‘shuwb’—‘to
turn back, bring to repentance, return to the starting point, etc.’) the
soul.” Simply put, it is through God’s written Word that we encounter
Jesus, His Living Word—and it is this transforming Encounter that ushers us
into His Kingdom and eternal life.
_________________________________________________________________
http://liveearth.msn.com
No comments:
Post a Comment