Verse of the Day 12/28

Through the Bible - Zechariah 10-12, Revelation 18

 

Good morning,

My wife Jean and I visited a church this weekend with some friends.  As it turned out, the pastor was retiring at the age of 83 and we had the privilege to hear his final sermon in the church.  The main emphasis of the message was that "nothing is impossible when you put your trust in God and rest upon His Word."  He referenced Joshua and others who gave a similar charge.  The Angel of the Lord had a similar word for Mary in Luke 1:

 

Luke 1:37 For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment. Amplified Bible

 

The pastor chose Luke 2:7-11 for his final sermon, we'll go there for today's verse.

 

Luke 2:9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord flashed and shone all about them, and they were terribly frightened.

    ¹⁰But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people.  Amplified Bible

I was following along in my Amplified Bible and as I read these verses the words, "the glory of the Lord flashed" struck me.  With today's video techology and Dolby sound you can picture a filmaker producing this "flash" along with the sound to create great splendor.  Oh what it must have been like to be there.  But this flash was no ordinary flash, the impact of it will carry on for eternity.

 

I'm sure as Pastor Watts looks back on his life and minsitry it seems like it has come and "gone in a flash".  But for anyone who delivers the Word of the Lord, the impact goes on forever in the hearts of those who are touched by the Word.

 

Pastor Watts was encouraging the congregation to continually spend time in His Word on a personal level.  He shared the story of a time when he visited someone's home and before leaving they asked him to read something from the Bible for them.  Unfortunately, the man could not find his Bible in the house and the pastor had not brought his own with him for the vist.  Both were left embarrassed.   May we always know where our Bibles are, not so much because they have an assigned place on the shelf, but because we use it daily and always know where it is.

 

He also shared the story of someone that was looking for a new book titled "Jesus, Then and Now".  Unfortunately when the person went to the bookstore he couldn't find it.  He had gotten the words crossed and when he told the clerk what book he was looking for he said "Jesus, Now and Then".  All to often, that title would sum up the place that Jesus has in many professing Christians lives, Jesus, now and then.    May it not be so in our lives.

 

The older we get, the more we realize that our lives will be gone in a flash.  Let's make it our point to have God's Word as a priority in our lives, to live by it, and to pass it on to the next generation.

 

In closing Iet's turn to Matthew 22;37-39 from The Message which phrases the words somewhat differently than you may be used to.  But consider the words  your "passion, prayer and intelligence".  Would they convey your attitude towards God and HIs Word?  You can't effectively accomplish the second part of the verses without the first.

 

Matt 22:37 Jesus said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.'

May we have this passion when we're 83 or as long as we live.

 

In Christ,
Mike
mikevw@bellsouth.net
http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV

Luke 2:8-14

 

Glory in the Highest

 

8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them,"Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger."

 

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

 

14 "Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"
NKJV