From Gary... Top Secret

Top Secret Drum Corps

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHXNaYoguNU

The Top Secret Drum Corps is perhaps the best in the world. The level of their precision is amazing!! I enjoyed this video so much that I watched it several times and I hope you will find it entertaining as well.  After a bit of reflection on their performance, the question came to me: Why name the group "Top Secret"? And if it has to do with a secret- What is it?  I am curious about this, so if anyone out there knows, please, please be kind enough to tell me!!!!  After this, my thoughts naturally turned to God... and I thought: If God has a secret- what is it?  Then, with a little more thought and some searching, I copied and pasted the following...

Deuteronomy, Chapter 29 (WEB)

29  The secret things belong to Yahweh our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. 

Romans, Chapter 14 (WEB)

 23 ...... Now to him who is able to establish you according to my Good News and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret through long ages, but now is revealed, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, is made known for obedience of faith to all the nations; to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.

Ephesians, Chapter 3 (WEB)

 1 For this cause I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles,  2 if it is so that you have heard of the administration of that grace of God which was given me toward you;  3 how that by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I wrote before in few words,  4 by which, when you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ;  5 which in other generations was not made known to the children of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;  6 that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News,  7 of which I was made a servant, according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power.  8 To me, the very least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,  9 and to make all men see what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ;  10 to the intent that now through the assembly the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places,  11 according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord;  12 in whom we have boldness and access in confidence through our faith in him.

1 Timothy, Chapter 3 (WEB)

16 Without controversy, the mystery of godliness is great:
God was revealed in the flesh,
justified in the spirit,
seen by angels,
preached among the nations,
believed on in the world,
and received up in glory.

1 Corinthians, Chapter 15 (WEB)

 1 Now I declare to you, brothers, the Good News which I preached to you, which also you received, in which you also stand,  2 by which also you are saved, if you hold firmly the word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.  3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,  5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.  6 Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers at once, most of whom remain until now, but some have also fallen asleep.  7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,  8 and last of all, as to the child born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, who is not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God.  10 But by the grace of God I am what I am. His grace which was bestowed on me was not futile, but I worked more than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.  11 Whether then it is I or they, so we preach, and so you believed. 

Acts, Chapter 2 (WEB)

 14  But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke out to them, “You men of Judea, and all you who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words.  15 For these aren’t drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is only the third hour of the day.  16 But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel: 
  17 ‘It will be in the last days, says God,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.
Your sons and your daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions.
Your old men will dream dreams.
  18 Yes, and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days,
I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy.
  19 I will show wonders in the sky above,
and signs on the earth beneath;
blood, and fire, and billows of smoke.
  20 The sun will be turned into darkness,
and the moon into blood,
before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.
  21 It will be, that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

  22  “Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in your midst, even as you yourselves know,  23 him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men, crucified and killed;  24 whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it.  25 For David says concerning him, 
‘I saw the Lord always before my face,
For he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved.
  26 Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced.
Moreover my flesh also will dwell in hope;
  27 because you will not leave my soul in Hades,
neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay.
  28 You made known to me the ways of life.
You will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

  29  “Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.  30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,  31 he foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was his soul left in Hades, nor did his flesh see decay. 32 This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses.  33 Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this, which you now see and hear.  34 For David didn’t ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, 
‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit by my right hand,
  35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’

  36  “Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 

  37  Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 

  38  Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  39 For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.”

The mystery of God is in fact the story of the Bible- How God chose to deal with the disobedience of man (from the beginnings found in Genesis to this very day) and provide a way for man to be a creature of godliness (1 Timothy 3, Acts 2). The "mystery" has been fully revealed in Jesus (Romans 14, Ephesians 3 and 1 Corinthians 15 listed above) and is for everyone to both understand and follow. Please, take some time and both read and contemplate these Scriptures; it will be the best possible thing you could possibly do today. I will be doing these things myself and I fully expect that God will bless me for the effort. Any thoughts you might have on these things would be appreciated. Feel free to share anything you wish...

From Gary... Bible Reading November 10

Bible Reading  

November 10

The World English Bible

Nov. 10

Isaiah 57-60

Isa 57:1 The righteous perishes, and no man lays it to heart; and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.

Isa 57:2 He enters into peace; they rest in their beds, each one who walks in his uprightness.

Isa 57:3 "But draw near here, you sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the prostitute.

Isa 57:4 Against whom do you sport yourselves? against whom make you a wide mouth, and put out the tongue? Aren't you children of disobedience, a seed of falsehood,

Isa 57:5 you who inflame yourselves among the oaks, under every green tree; who kill the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?

Isa 57:6 Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion; they, they are your lot; even to them have you poured a drink offering, you have offered an offering. Shall I be appeased for these things?

Isa 57:7 On a high and lofty mountain have you set your bed; there also you went up to offer sacrifice.

Isa 57:8 Behind the doors and the posts have you set up your memorial: for you have uncoveredyourself to another than me, and have gone up; you have enlarged your bed, and made you a covenant with them: you loved their bed where you saw it.

Isa 57:9 You went to the king with oil, and did increase your perfumes, and did send your ambassadors far off, and did debase yourself even to Sheol.

Isa 57:10 You were wearied with the length of your way; yet you didn't say, It is in vain: you found a reviving of your strength; therefore you weren't faint.

Isa 57:11 "Of whom have you been afraid and in fear, that you lie, and have not remembered me, nor laid it to your heart? Haven't I held my peace even of long time, and you don't fear me?

Isa 57:12 I will declare your righteousness; and as for your works, they shall not profit you.

Isa 57:13 When you cry, let those who you have gathered deliver you; but the wind shall take them, a breath shall carry them all away: but he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain."

Isa 57:14 He will say, "Cast up, cast up, prepare the way, take up the stumbling-block out of the way of my people."

Isa 57:15 For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

Isa 57:16 For I will not contend forever, neither will I be always angry; for the spirit would faint before me, and the souls who I have made.

Isa 57:17 For the iniquity of his covetousness was I angry, and struck him; I hid my face and was angry; and he went on backsliding in the way of his heart.

Isa 57:18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts to him and to his mourners.

Isa 57:19 I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace, to him who is far off and to him who is near," says Yahweh; "and I will heal them."

Isa 57:20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea; for it can't rest, and its waters cast up mire and dirt.

Isa 57:21 "There is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked."

Isa 58:1 "Cry aloud, don't spare, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and declare to my people their disobedience, and to the house of Jacob their sins.

Isa 58:2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways: as a nation that did righteousness, and didn't forsake the ordinance of their God, they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God.

Isa 58:3 'Why have we fasted,' say they, 'and you don't see? why have we afflicted our soul, and you take no knowledge?' "Behold, in the day of your fast you find your ownpleasure, and exact all your labors.

Isa 58:4 Behold, you fast for strife and contention, and to strike with the fist of wickedness: you don't fast this day so as to make your voice to be heard on high.

Isa 58:5 Is such the fast that I have chosen? the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? will you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to Yahweh?

Isa 58:6 "Isn't this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?

Isa 58:7 Isn't it to deal your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor who are cast out to your house? when you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you not hide yourself from your own flesh?

Isa 58:8 Then your light shall break forth as the morning, and your healing shall spring forth speedily; and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of Yahweh shall be your rear guard.

Isa 58:9 Then you shall call, and Yahweh will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am.' "If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly;

Isa 58:10 and if you draw out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then your light shall rise in darkness, and your obscurity be as the noonday;

Isa 58:11 and Yahweh will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in dry places, and make strong your bones; and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters don't fail.

Isa 58:12 Those who shall be of you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.

Isa 58:13 "If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy of Yahweh honorable; and shall honor it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speakingyour own words:

Isa 58:14 then you shall delight yourself in Yahweh; and I will make you to ride on the high places of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father:" for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.

Isa 59:1 Behold, Yahweh's hand is not shortened, that it can't save; neither his ear heavy, that it can't hear:

Isa 59:2 but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

Isa 59:3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue mutters wickedness.

Isa 59:4 None sues in righteousness, and none pleads in truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

Isa 59:5 They hatch adders' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he who eats of their eggs dies; and that which is crushed breaks out into a viper.

Isa 59:6 Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.

Isa 59:7 Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their paths.

Isa 59:8 The way of peace they don't know; and there is no justice in their goings: they have made them crooked paths; whoever goes therein does not know peace.

Isa 59:9 Therefore is justice far from us, neither does righteousness overtake us: we look for light, but, behold, darkness; for brightness, but we walk in obscurity.

Isa 59:10 We grope for the wall like the blind; yes, we grope as those who have no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the twilight; among those who are lusty we are as dead men.

Isa 59:11 We roar all like bears, and moan sore like doves: we look for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us.

Isa 59:12 For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and as for our iniquities, we know them:

Isa 59:13 transgressing and denying Yahweh, and turning away from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.

Isa 59:14 Justice is turned away backward, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and uprightness can't enter.

Isa 59:15 Yes, truth is lacking; and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Yahweh saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice.

Isa 59:16 He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his own arm brought salvation to him; and his righteousness, it upheld him.

Isa 59:17 He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; and he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a mantle.

Isa 59:18 According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, wrath to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompense.

Isa 59:19 So shall they fear the name of Yahweh from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come as a rushing stream, which the breath of Yahweh drives.

Isa 59:20 "A Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from disobedience in Jacob," says Yahweh.

Isa 59:21 "As for me, this is my covenant with them," says Yahweh: "my Spirit who is on you, and my words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, nor out of the mouth of your seed, nor out of the mouth of your seed's seed," says Yahweh, "from henceforth and forever."

Isa 60:1 "Arise, shine; for your light is come, and the glory of Yahweh is risen on you.

Isa 60:2 For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples; but Yahweh will arise on you, and his glory shall be seen on you.

Isa 60:3 Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

Isa 60:4 "Lift up your eyes all around, and see: they all gather themselves together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be carried in the arms.

Isa 60:5 Then you shall see and be radiant, and your heart shall thrill and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

Isa 60:6 The multitude of camels shall cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praises of Yahweh.

Isa 60:7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together to you, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you; they shall come up with acceptance on my altar; and I will glorify the house of my glory.

Isa 60:8 "Who are these who fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?

Isa 60:9 Surely the islands shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring your sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, for the name of Yahweh your God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he has glorified you.

Isa 60:10 "Foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you: for in my wrath I struck you, but in my favor have I had mercy on you.

Isa 60:11 Your gates also shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations, and their kings led captive.

Isa 60:12 For that nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; yes, those nations shall be utterly wasted.

Isa 60:13 "The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the fir tree, the pine, and the box tree together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.

Isa 60:14 The sons of those who afflicted you shall come bending to you; and all those who despised you shall bow themselves down at the soles of your feet; and they shall call you The city of Yahweh, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

Isa 60:15 "Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, so that no man passed through you, I will make you an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.

Isa 60:16 You shall also suck the milk of the nations, and shall suck the breast of kings; and you shall know that I, Yahweh, am your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

Isa 60:17 For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron. I will also make your officers peace, and righteousness your ruler.

Isa 60:18 Violence shall no more be heard in your land, desolation nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.

Isa 60:19 The sun shall be no more your light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light to you: but Yahweh will be to you an everlasting light, and your God your glory.

Isa 60:20 Your sun shall no more go down, neither shall your moon withdraw itself; for Yahweh will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended.

Isa 60:21 Your people also shall be all righteous; they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.

Isa 60:22 The little one shall become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation; I, Yahweh, will hasten it in its time."

Nov. 10

2 Timothy 4

2Ti 4:1 I command you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his Kingdom:

2Ti 4:2 preach the word; be urgent in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with all patience and teaching.

2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not listen to the sound doctrine, but, having itching ears, will heap up for themselves teachers after their own lusts;

2Ti 4:4 and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside to fables.

2Ti 4:5 But you be sober in all things, suffer hardship, do the work of an evangelist, and fulfill your ministry.

2Ti 4:6 For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure has come.

2Ti 4:7 I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith.

2Ti 4:8 From now on, there is stored up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day; and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved his appearing.

2Ti 4:9 Be diligent to come to me soon,

2Ti 4:10 for Demas left me, having loved this present world, and went to Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.

2Ti 4:11 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.

2Ti 4:12 But I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.

2Ti 4:13 Bring the cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus when you come, and the books, especially the parchments.

2Ti 4:14 Alexander, the coppersmith, did much evil to me. The Lord will repay him according to his works,

2Ti 4:15 of whom you also must beware; for he greatly opposed our words.

2Ti 4:16 At my first defense, no one came to help me, but all left me. May it not be held against them.

2Ti 4:17 But the Lord stood by me, and strengthened me, that through me the message might be fully proclaimed, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

2Ti 4:18 And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me for his heavenly Kingdom; to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

2Ti 4:19 Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the house of Onesiphorus.

2Ti 4:20 Erastus remained at Corinth, but I left Trophimus at Miletus sick.

2Ti 4:21 Be diligent to come before winter. Eubulus salutes you, as do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers.

2Ti 4:22 The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen. 

From Jim McGuiggan... CHRISTIAN "LUNACY"

CHRISTIAN "LUNACY"

In Ephesians size matters. Paul isn’t content with talking about mercy or grace or love or power. He adds superlatives. He talks about the exceeding greatness or riches of or the unimaginable nature of God’s love or mercy or power or grace. The will of God, he tells us, stretches from one eternity to another and the stage on which we shows himself (limited though it is) is the entire universe. The God we’re face to face with in Ephesians beggars description and his wisdom is something the principalities and powers in the spiritual realm must be instructed in and are privileged to catch a glimpse of (3:10).

And why would such a one bother with the likes of us? Yes, we’ve been told why but while that means we’re not left utterly in the dark, how much light does it really give us? He’s infinitely above and beyond us. It isn’t just his power and wisdom—it’s his character, his love and mercy and grace, they drive us to pile up words on words and phrases on phrases in a vain attempt to grasp and express something of the meaning of it all. It doesn’t surprise us to hear David ask in Psalm 8, "What are humans that you bother with them?" But incredible as it seems and however often we look around to see if anyone else can believe it or if we’re the only ones who find it difficult to take in—incredible as it seems, it’s true! He cares about us.

Well, all right then, so it’s true, but can we gain access to him or must we always speak of him and deal with him at a great distance? If we do gain access to his presence, what is it that gives us this privilege? What hoops do we have to jump through? What great feats do we have to accomplish? What Herculean tasks do we have to undertake to be assured of entering into the company of the Great God? What assures us, even now, of his favor and that in a coming day that communion we now enjoy by faith will have an added dimension—his very presence? What gets us from the gutter, through the door and into the palace?

A wooden stake, a public gallows, on a little hill just outside ancient Jerusalem!

Why is that? Is there some magic in wood? Is there a mysterious power in a hanging tree? Does the cruel and brutal death of some young man make God cry and go all weak and sentimental? There have been millions of deaths like that down the centuries! How does that one, that particular one, enable us to enter God’s presence in peace (2:17-18)? What is it about that death that opens the gates to breathless wonder?

It’s that one because in that one as in no other, in that death as in no other event in all of creation’s history that God makes himself known.

It isn’t God’s love of shed blood that opens his home to us! It’s God himself—his nature and character. His shed blood didn’t make him a loving or welcoming God—it proclaimed that he has eternally been like that! The hanging tree didn’t turn God into a gracious God—it revealed the truth that he already was and remains this!

Nowhere else in time or limitless space can we find the proof that God wants us to be home with him. Nowhere else, only at the hanging tree! There’s no crime in exploring the vastness of God's creation (though motives matter) but no matter how far we go it’s only here on this planet that we’ll find the truth that explains why we exist at all and how we will find new life, new life beyond this life, new life now as well as new life in the future.

If galaxies, constellations or black holes or supernovas don't speak to us now it’s not because they don't speak of Him. For they do speak of him and though we don’t realize it they speak of us also. God not only created this incredible universe he created humans capable of oohing and aahing over it, humans capable of rejoicing in it and humans capable of coming to admire the God who made it all.

But such magnitude can frighten us and make us feel we’re too tiny to matter. The good news is that this planet “too tiny to matter” is the "visited planet". It was here God’s young Prince dwelled with us, loved with us, rejoiced and suffered with us and died for us and it’s here that he will return to and dwell with us again.

It’s only because of that that sinners like us dare to imagine this as our home and that we are welcome here. We’re not (as some fool spoke of us) “fungus clinging to the surface of a nowhere planet.” Denigrate and despise God’s human creation, keep on telling them they are the mindless product of countless mindless and pointless events and then try telling them to act reasonably and compassionately; try telling them that and then tell them that vulnerable humans are worth protecting, worth listening to, worth working for, worth teaching. Tell them “even their highest thoughts are nothing more than chemical reactions” and that we must stamp “UNYIELDING DESPAIR” on them as their inescapable future. Try sowing that seed and expect something other than thorns and thistles and stinking swamps.

And here is the Christian’s “lunacy”: Every Sunday they gather and defy everything that preaches ultimate death and despair and they do it as they proclaim the death of their Lord Jesus until he returns. They proclaim the meaning of that death and they do it with full confidence for the Holy One himself vindicated the young man on the wooden stake by raising him from the dead and making him Lord of all principalities and powers and might and dominion and every name that is named not only in this world but in the world to come.

In Christ alone our hope is found!

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.