THE OFFENSIVE "US - THEM" DISTINCTION

Your Brother Daniel

For more great blogs as this one go to Daniel’s blog site at: www.Mannsword.blogspot.com

The Offensive “Us - Them” Distinction

The central message of the Gospel is that we are sinners who must be forgiven and “born again” from above. Those who are born again become “new creations,” have passed from death into life, and are no longer of this world (John 15-17). This means that we are different from others. We are God’s redeemed – the Body of Christ – and have become “one with Him in Spirit” (1 Cor. 6:17).

Understandably, the Gospel is offensive. It claims that Christians are a distinct and special people, but this is the Gospel, and any attempt to modify this teaching undermines the Gospel. However, many who call themselves Postmodern or Progressive “Christians” have rejected this critical distinction.

For example, a manager of a “Christian” Evolutionist Facebook group wrote:

·       This group is unusual because we can all come together without having an us-them mentality. We're proud of that.

For Mystics, Emergents, Progressives, and “Christian” Evolutionists, this distinction is offensive. It separates people. It seems that, for them, removing such distinctions is to make a more peaceful world. However, for the Christian, peace is a matter of loving others despite the unavoidable distinctions. (Somehow, my wife and I are able to love each other despite our many differences!)

I responded:

·       What then do you make of the many verses that claim a sharp distinction between believers and those who aren't, for instance 2 Corinthians 6:14-16: “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God.”

What a set of politically incorrect verses! Of course, the world regards such beliefs as the height of arrogance and not the grace of God.

I did not receive a response – not from anyone. Perhaps, though, it might make them wonder whether they can consistently call themselves “Christian.” Of course, they hate me, as Jesus had promised (John 15:18-20). But I ask myself, “How can I best love them? Through pleasantries or prophetic warnings? Through enabling them to have a false sense of security or through exposing them to the painful, revealing light?

There is a radical distinction between the children of the light - those who come to the light - and the children of darkness, who detest the light and will avoid it at all costs, even by destroying the lamps of that light (John 16:1-3).

The Apostle Paul put it this way:

·       For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. (2 Cor. 2:15-16)

Consequently, for some, the light carries a nauseating stench of death. However, this evil response often disguises itself in the garments of righteousness (2 Cor. 11:14-15).

One Progressive “Christian” Facebook group rejected my concern for our persecuted Christian brethren:

·       We are called to love all people, not just Christians!

This reminded me of the synagogue ruler who had criticized Jesus because He had healed on the Sabbath rather than on one of the six other days (Luke 13). Of course, he justified his criticism by an appeal to the Law of Moses, making his evil sound righteous.

Yes, we are called to love all, but sincere love must begin with our own household:

·       Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Gal. 6:10)

Why? This is the best way to love the world! How do we love our children? By starting with loving our wives! This is entirely consistent with Jesus’ prayer:

·       “My prayer is… that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (John 17:20-23)

Loving the brethren is our primary vocation! Sadly, the church is plagued with all kinds of problems. Nevertheless, the greatest gift we can give others is to show them the reality of Jesus. We are to do this by loving our brethren before anyone else! Our mandate is to maintain the unity of Christ’s Church (Eph. 4:1-5) not the non-existent “unity” of all humanity!

WHERE DO YOU TURN WHEN THREATENED?

Today's promise: God comforts those who are persecuted

Where do you turn when threatened?

"Send your light and your truth; let them guide me

Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to the place where you live.

There I will go to the altar of God, to God — the source of all my joy.

I will praise you with my harp, O God, my God!

Why am I discouraged? Why so sad?

I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again — my Savior and my God!"

Psalm 43:3-5 NLT

An appeal for guidance

"Being lost in the darkness can be a very frightening situation. But imagine if you were also being pursued by people who were out to kill you!

This was the psalmist's urgent dilemma, and he didn't know which way to turn. But he did know to whom he would cry out for help. He asked God to show him the way, to guide him in the truth, and to lead him to the Lord's presence.

Pray that God will guide your steps.

Set your sights on your final destination — God's dwelling place — and encourage yourself with the prospect of living joyfully in the Lord's presence.

A pray for today…

Dear God, guide me with your light and truth…

From The One Year® Book of Bible Prayers edited by Bruce Barton (Tyndale) entry for October 11

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

WHAT DO PEOPLE READ IN YOUR LIFE?

Today's promise: God will never stop working in our lives

What do people read in your life?

"Your lives are a letter written in our hearts, and everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you."

2 Corinthians 3:2 NLT

My Utmost for His Highest

Oswald Chambers was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1874, the son of a Baptist minister.

Chambers and his wife Gertrude, known to all as Biddy, were dedicated to a life of ministry. When World War I broke out, they were sent by the YMCA to minister to English and Australian troops stationed in Egypt. They set up "study huts", places where soldiers could come and relax — and hear teaching from the Bible. In Zeitoun, up to 400 packed in each night to hear him, and hundreds came to Christ. In 1916, the YMCA planned evangelistic crusades throughout all of the Egyptian military camps with Chambers as evangelist.

On October 17, 1917, Chambers returned from a Wednesday night prayer meeting feeling ill. Within two weeks, his appendix had been removed. Chambers began to recover, but on November 4 he developed a blood clot, and on November 15, 1917, he died.

Chambers had written just one book before he died, Baffled to Fight Better, but he kept a journal. Biddy was a trained stenographer and had taken down word for word many of his hundreds of messages.

Several years after Oswald's death, Biddy began editing his material into 365 daily readings and named it My Utmost for His Highest. She completed it in 1927, and it remains among the top-ten Christian titles sold annually. Biddy edited 12 more books from Oswald's material and published them under his name, never once mentioning her own.

Adapted from The One Year® Book of Christian History by E. Michael and Sharon Rusten (Tyndale) p 640-41

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

GOD'S "PROTECTIVE SHADE"

Today's promise: God will never stop working in our lives

God's "protective shade"

The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.

Psalm 121:5 NLT

Secure with the keeper

It was dark and cold that November morning when the Livingstone family woke up to say farewell to their son David. He was leaving Scotland for the heart of Africa. Mrs. Livingstone made coffee; Mr. Livingstone dressed warmly to walk his son to Glasgow. David got the family Bible and read the comforting words of Psalm 121 with the family.

A dozen years later, Dr. Livingstone was contemplating a trip deeper into the unexplored interior of Africa along with his wife and children. Just before he left, he received a letter from his mother-in-law, Mary Moffat, who was also a missionary. "My dear Livingstone," she began. "Hitherto I have kept up my spirits and have been enabled to believe that our Great Master may yet bring you out in safety." She said that she was clinging to the promises of Psalm 121 and Psalm 91. "Unceasing prayer is made for you." Then she added, "Every petition, however fervent, must be with submission to his will."

Protected? Yes. Submissive to his will? That, too.

Jesus guaranteed us that in this world we will have trouble (John 16:33). But no matter what happens, we can never be separated from God's love or God's purposes. He promises to preserve us from evil but not to pave over every pothole in life's road.

Adapted from The One Year® Book of Psalms with devotionals by William J. Petersen and Randy Petersen (Tyndale) entry for October 17

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

HE WHO BEGAN WILL NOT QUIT

Today's promise: God will never stop working in our lives

He who began will not quit

"And I am sure that God, who began a good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again."

Philippians 1:6 NLT

Let this encourage God's holy people to endure persecution patiently and remain firm to the end, obeying his commands and trusting in Jesus.

Revelation 14:12 NLT

About this week's promise:

God's promise to continue working in our lives requires perseverance on our part.

Whether you are an athlete undergoing grueling physical conditioning, an employee struggling under a mountain of work, or a Christian suffering persecution, the key to perseverance is a clear vision of the goal.

While the goal of an athlete is to win the race and goal of the employee is a job well done, the goal of the believer is nothing less than eternity in the presence of the Lord.

The writer of Revelation encourages Christians to keep their eyes on Jesus, who will reward the faithful, and to obey his Word to the end. When you feel like giving up, remember the glory that awaits you as a child of God.

From the TouchPoint Bible with commentary by Ron Beers and Gilbert Beers (Tyndale) p 1136

For more on this week's topic, check this Tyndale resource:

I Told the Mountain to Move by Patricia Raybon (2005)

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

WHAT LOVE IS

WHAT LOVE IS

READ:

Romans 5:1-8

God demonstrates His own love

toward us, in that while we were

still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

Years ago I asked a young man who was engaged to be married, “How do you know that you love her?”  It was a loaded question, intended to help him look at his heart’s motives for the upcoming marriage.  After several thoughtful moments, he responded, “I know I love her because I want to spend the rest of my life making her happy.”

We discussed what that meant-and the price tag attached to the selflessness of constantly seeking the best for the other person, rather than putting ourselves first.  Real love has a lot to do with sacrifice.

That idea is in line with the wisdom of the Bible.  In the Scriptures there are several Greek words for love but the highest form is agape love-love that is defined and driven by self-sacrifice.  Nowhere is this more true than in the love our heavenly Father has shown us in Christ.  We are deeply valued by Him.  Paul stated, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

If sacrifice is the true measure of love, there could be no more precious gift than Jesus:  “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son” (John 3:16 NLT). –Bill Crowder

Amazing love!

How can it be

That Thou, my God,

Shouldst die for me? –Wesley

*******************************

The measure of love is what you are

willing to give up for it.

INSIGHT

As a result of Christ’s sacrifice, Paul mentions two great benefits for the follower of Christ.  In verse 1, he says that we have “peace with God,” an idea that he unpacks in Philippians 4, where we read of the incomprehensible peace of God, but also the relationship we have with the God of peace Himself (Philippians 4:8-9).  In Romans 5:2, Paul also declares that we now have “access” to God.  This was a stunning idea that he explained more fully in Colossians 1:21, “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in our mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled.”  We receive the gifts of peace with God and access to God because of Christ’s loving sacrifice on our behalf.

Have a blessed evening and weekend.

God Our Creator’s Love Always.

Unity & Peace

PROOF OF GOD FROM THE FIRST CAUSE

Your Brother Daniel

For more great blogs as this one go to Daniel’s blog site at:  www.Mannsword.blogspot.com

Proof of God from the First Cause

Sometimes, less is best. This is a brief proof, among many, for the existence of God. It is sometimes called the Cosmological Argument:

1.     All things that have come into existence are caused to exist by other things.

2.     If there is no eternal uncaused Causer, then nothing can exist.

3.     Therefore, there must be an eternal uncaused Causer - God.

PREMISE #1: To deny this is absurd. To illustrate, if I tell you that my cup of coffee just appeared without any cause, you would think me crazy. This is because we never see uncaused things materialize out of nothing.

We reasonably assume that there are causes for any phenomena. That’s why we do science – to discover the causal relationships. Therefore, to deny that phenomena require causes is to reject science.

PREMISE #2: It follows that something or Someone must be uncaused and therefore eternal to explain the existence of everything else.

However, eternal can’t be a something – the universe or some part of it. Matter and space cannot exist apart from time, but time could not have been eternal. This would have required that an infinite number of years to have already passed for us to be here in the present – a logical impossibility. Big Bang cosmology also rules this out.

Besides, the law of entropy argues against an eternal universe, since by now, everything would have dissipated.

CONCLUSION: This leaves us face-to-face with a Being who transcends time, space, and materiality.

ABSURDITY, MORAL "FREEDOM," POSTMODERNISM, AND CHAOS

Your Brother Daniel

For more great blogs as this one go to Daniel’s blog site at:  www.Mannsword.blogspot.com

Absurdity, Moral “Freedom,” Postmodernism, and Chaos

Emergent guru, Tony Jones, claims that “Postmodern philosophy saved my faith.”

Postmodernism is the belief that all truth claims, including any claims of objective moral truth, are subjective and are therefore merely human inventions. Here’s how Jones puts it:

·       The slipperiness of meaning, the impossibility of objectivity, the incommensurability of truth claims — these themes of postmodernism appealed to me and gave my faith room to grow.

“Room to grow?” This “freedom” results from the belief that we are not confined by unchanging truth. Consequently, there are no truth claims that can constrain us; no one who can say, “You are wrong.” This frees us to become the captain-of-our-own-ship and to create our own “truth” – whatever feels right! But what does freedom from truth constraints look like? Here are some examples:

1.     Without a moral law that is independent of what we think and feel, problem solving and reconciliation become difficult. A wife discovers that her postmodern husband has been cheating on her. He responds, “Playing around is my personal ‘truth.’ This works for me, and you have no right to impose your ‘truth’ on me!”  

2.     Law and social stability are undermined. Imagine a postmodern moral relativist who files a burglary complaint with the police: “I feel your pain, but what are you complaining about? As you know, your complaint is no more valid than the burglar’s interests. Why then should I take your desires any more seriously than those of the burglar’s?”

3.     There is no way to correct others. Imagine telling Mr. Hitler that he did wrong in committing genocide. He might respond: “You are a hypocrite. You can only say, ‘Genocide feels wrong to me!’ Meanwhile, I feel that genocide is right for us. You have no right or basis to judge our culture or laws! What makes your feelings any more valid than mine? Nothing!”

4.     Any form of correction becomes absurd. Imagine the mother who confronts a teacher for failing her son: “You have undermined my son’s sense of worth and his future. How dare you impose your subjective, relative standards on him!”

Postmodernity and its affirmation of moral relativism render life absurd and dissolve the social glue. If there are no higher moral laws, we might momentarily feel free, but this kind of freedom will produce meaninglessness – like playing chess without any rules – and then bondage. Bondage? Yes! In order to rescue ourselves from the jail of chaos and meaninglessness into which we have condemned ourselves, we then have to recreate what we have torn down, but now using inferior products.

What products? “Laws” that are necessary to preserve society, even human life, independent of the existence of any immutable right and wrong! Based on what? What benefits the majority! Why? Well…… postmodernism cannot possibly answer this question! Remember – freedom from truth!

CHOOSING WHOM TO SERVE

Today's promise: God comforts those who are persecuted

Choosing whom to serve

"As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord."

Joshua 24:15 NLT

A momentous document

"The date was November 11, 1620, and the place was the Mayflower, anchored off the coast of Cape Cod. One hundred and two passengers, including 34 children had spent seven weeks crossing the ocean from England. Among them were 27 adults and 14 children who were Pilgrims, separatists who had fled England for Holland, yet wished to retain their English heritage. They made arrangements with the Virginia Company to settle just south of the Hudson River within the northernmost boundary of the Virginia Charter. However, fierce winds blew them off course to the north — to the shores of Cape Cod.

They realized they would be on their own since they had no agreement with the New England Company. On board the ship some of the non-Pilgrim bonded servants and those hired by contract greeted the decision to settle in Cape Cod as an opportunity for rebellion. The Pilgrim leadership saw that they must act quickly to prevent a mutiny.

The result came to be known as the Mayflower Compact, the first time in recorded history in which free men covenanted together to form a civil government with the authority to enact laws that the people promised to obey.

Before leaving the Netherlands, the Pilgrims had knelt on the dock to ask God's blessing on their voyage. After the first winter on Cape Cod, 47 people died, leaving only three families intact. These humble Christian men and women were to be the seeds of what would become the United States of America."

Adapted from The One Year® Book of Christian History by E. Michael and Sharon Rusten (Tyndale) pp 632-33

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

RESPONDING TO THOSE WHO ATTACK YOU

Today's promise: God comforts those who are persecuted

Responding to those who attack you

"Lord, have mercy on me. See how I suffer at the hands of those who hate me. Snatch me back from the jaws of death.

Save me, so I can praise you publicly at Jerusalem's gates, so I can rejoice that you have rescued me…

Arise, O Lord! Do not let mere mortals defy you! Let the nations be judged in your presence.
Make them tremble in fear, O Lord. Let them know they are merely human."

Psalm 9:13-14, 19-20 NLT

Asking God to relieve our suffering

Life is difficult enough without people seeking to attack us in one way or another. But as David quickly learned when he became king, the more responsibility and power we are given, the more enemies oppose us.

When we are being attacked by our enemies, we instinctively fight back. But as this prayer shows, our first response to opposition should be to bring the situation to God in prayer. Instead of plotting how he could destroy his enemies, David identified how his current predicament could bring glory and honor to God.

What difficult and troublesome situations have you gone through? Submit those situations to God, and ask him to save you so that you may rejoice in him.

A prayer for today…

Dear Lord, you know how I am suffering. Please save me so I can rejoice in you…

From The One Year® Book of Bible Prayers edited by Bruce Barton(Tyndale) entry for November 19 "

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

BEARING UP TO PERSECUTION

Today's promise: God comforts those who are persecuted

Bearing up to persecution

But I know the Lord will surely help those they persecute; he will maintain the rights of the poor.

Psalm 140:12 NLT

Praising God in suffering

Young Charles Simeon had reason to question Psalm 140:12. A recent graduate of Cambridge, he had been installed as rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity in that college town, much to the dismay of the liberal-thinking parishioners, who couldn't abide the evangelical preaching of this Bible-loving cleric. When the old-time members locked their pew doors to keep out other worshippers, Simeon put seats in the aisles. Then members came early and threw out the aisle seats.

Nicknamed Sims, Simeon was hooted at when he walked in the town. "I was the object of much contempt and derision," he admits. One day he took a walk, asking God to guide him to "some text which should sustain me." Opening his New Testament, he read about Simon of Cyrene, who bore the cross of Jesus. Simeon found this to be great encouragement indeed, partly because he thought they might have given Simon of Cyrene the nickname of Sims, too! "To have the cross laid upon me that I might bear it after Jesus. What a privilege! Now I would leap and sing joy, as one whom Jesus was honoring with a participation in his sufferings."

If you're facing times of persecution and feel that you're misunderstood, learn a lesson from Sims and start praising God.

From The One Year® Book of Psalms with devotionals by William J. Petersen and Randy Petersen (Tyndale) entry for November 21

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

WOULD YOU EVER RENOUNCE YOUR FAITH?

Today's promise: God comforts those who are persecuted

Would you ever renounce your faith?

Arise, O Lord! Do not let mere mortals defy you! Let the nations be judged in your presence.
Make them tremble in fear, O Lord. Let them know they are merely human.

Psalm 9:19-20 NLT

Forty martyrs

"History knows them as the 40 martyrs of Sebaste. They were soldiers in the famed Twelfth Legion of Rome's imperial army, around A.D. 320. One day the captain informed his troops that Emperor Licinius had sent down an edict commanding all soldiers to offer a sacrifice to his pagan god. Forty of the soldiers were followers of Christ, and they refused.

The emperor decided to make an example of the soldiers, so he marched them onto a frozen lake and stripped them of their clothes. "Renounce your God and you will be spared from death," he told them. Not one man came forward. Throughout the night the men stayed together, singing their song of victory: "Forty Martyrs for Christ."

When morning came, 39 of the men had frozen to death. The one survivor recanted his confession of faith. The officer in charge that night had been so moved by the scene that during his watch he'd come to Jesus, so he broke rank and walked out onto the ice. Stripping his clothes he openly confessed his faith in Christ. He refused to renounce his new faith. When the ordeal was over, the Roman soldiers carried 40 frozen men off of the ice.

In comparison, my life is like a long night on a soft mattress. I may one day be faced with serious consequences for my faith. You may, too. Will we have the strength of character and heart and faith to stand strong just the same?"

From Embracing Eternity by Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins and Frank M. Martin (Tyndale) p 58

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

HOW DO THINGS LOOK TO YOU TODAY?

Today's promise: God comforts those who are persecuted

How do things look to you today?

"The wicked will not rule the godly, for then the godly might be forced to do wrong."

Psalm 125:3 NLT

Seeking what is really there

"Life under Louis XIV was not easy for the French Huguenots. They loved to sing psalms, but the king made an edict that forbade the singing of the Psalms almost everywhere. So the Huguenots went out to the fields and forests and continued their singing. Psalm 125 was a favorite of theirs, maybe because it said that the wicked would not rule the godly. Or maybe it was because the Huguenots could see something that Louis XIV couldn't see.

Remember the story of Elisha and his servant (2 Kings 6:8-23)? The servant couldn't understand why Elisha wasn't bothered about the hordes of enemy soldiers surrounding them. It looked like disaster, but Elisha could see horses and chariots of fire surrounding the enemy soldiers.

The same has been true for many other saints, including Paul and Silas, who sang at midnight in the Philippian jail, and Shadrach, Meshech, and Adednego, who calmly entered the fiery furnace.

When John Woolman, a Quaker missionary to American Indians, was faced with danger, he wrote, "I found my soul filled with comfort as I meditated on the love of God."

John Paton, missionary to South Sea Island natives, was surrounded by men seeking to assassinate him, but he wrote, "I never left without hearing, 'Lo, I am with you always.'"

How does it look for you today? Hopeless? Then take another look.

Adapted from The One Year® Book of Psalms with devotionals by William J. Petersen and Randy Petersen (Tyndale) entry for October 24

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

MORE PERSECUTION LEADS TO MORE COMFORT

Today's promise: God comforts those who are persecuted

More persecution leads to more comfort

"You can be sure that the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ."

2 Corinthians 1:5 NLT

About this week's promise:

"The central message of Christianity, that all have sinned and are lost apart from Christ, is offensive to most people. After all, we humans are proud, and we don't like to consider that we are ever in the wrong.

Because Christianity is offensive, those who bear its message are perceived as offensive also. Stephen became the first Christian martyr because the Jewish leaders who sent Jesus to the cross were enraged by his ringing accusation of their sin (Acts 7:51-8:3).

As believers, we must ask God for the courage to speak the truth and the grace to endure any unjust treatment that may result. When we consider the impact of Stephen's death — the eventual conversion of the young man Saul (later called Paul) and the spread of the gospel (Acts 8:4) — we see that even terrible persecution, in God's hands, can lead to great glory."

From the TouchPoint Bible with commentary by Ron Beers and Gilbert Beers (Tyndale) p 952

For more on this week's topic, check these Tyndale resources:

The Life Recovery Bible NLT with commentary by Stephen Arterburn and David Stoop (1998)
Total Abandon by Gary Witherall and Elizabeth Cody (2005)
Shadowed by Jerry B. Jenkins - Fiction (2005)

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

HOW WILL YOU BE REMEMBERED?

Today's promise: God will conquer death

How will you be remembered?

"For Solomon has abandoned me…"

1 Kings 11:33 NLT

Final epitaphs

"How would you like to be remembered after your death? Have you considered what the epitaph on your gravestone might read?

One headstone in Ribbesford, England, marking the grave of a woman named Anna Wallace, reads: "The children of Israel wanted bread, and the Lord sent them manna. Old clerk Wallace wanted a wife, and the Devil sent him Anna."

Not the final words Anna expected, I'm sure. But as always, those she left behind got the last word.

You have to cringe and wonder when you see the gravestone of a man from Plymouth, Massachusetts, named John McMahon. It says: "He Was a Failure As a Husband and Father." How would you like that as your legacy?

But the saddest epitaph of all isn't found on a tombstone; it's found is the pages of Scripture. When faced with the task of memorializing the wise king Solomon, God had some sobering words. "Solomon has abandoned me and worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians…He has not followed my ways and done what is pleasing in my sight. He had not obeyed my laws and regulations as his father, David, did." Solomon was buried in the city of David, and in spite of all the good things he did, he will forever be remembered as the king who turned his back on God.

We would all do well do ask ourselves a simple question: If God were to write my obituary, what would he record?"

From Embracing Eternity by Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins and Frank M. Martin (Tyndale) p 309

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House