Amazing...

A hymn I have come to love utilizes the words:

I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus, the Nazarene,
And wonder how He could love me, a sinner condemned unclean;
How marvelous, how wonderful, and my song shall always be,
How marvelous, how wonderful, is my Saviour’s love for me.
His love, and Himself, are new every day: though He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Praise His holy name!

That all brings me to my thought for today. This morning’s Bible reading and devotional time, came together so well, and really pointed up for me, what I have been thinking for quite some time. Well, at least since the controversy over having the Ten Commandments posted in public in gummint locations.

To begin, I start with the Bible, using the New American Standard: The gospel of John chapter 5 and verses 43 through 47 ~ “I {Jesus} have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe Me?”

Look how far we have advanced in this postmodern America. Our system of laws was predicated on the Law of Moses. And today we see a determined assault on our system of laws, and the basis of our laws. How ironic, to find that posting the basis for our system of laws in a public place, has now become unlawful; how awful!

This country has been the great success it has been, simply because we believed in what Moses had written down, and in what we understood to be God speaking to mankind. We believed God, and endeavored to build a community, a country, based on the written Word of God, as has been handed down to us throughout the centuries. Today, we choose to believe the word of our fellow man, and discount the Word of God; simply to our own peril.

Next, my devotional reading included Daily Celebration, William Barclay, Word Books, Waco, TX, 1972, pgs 127, 128.

RIGHTS AND DUTIES

If Christianity and all that Christianity stands for are removed from this world, then there will be very few privileges to enjoy.

The care of the sick, the aged and the poor began as a Christian undertaking.
There was no such thing as a hospital till Christianity came. Aristotle, in laying down the laws for his ideal state, says, “Let there be a law that no deformed child shall be reared.” Varro, in giving rules for farming, advises that any aged slave who is past his work should be thrown out and left to die, just as a broken farm implement is thrown on the rubbish heap.
If the Christian ethic is removed, all that is good in the welfare state will be removed too. It happened in Germany. Christianity was banished from the state; the gas chamber became the end of the aged; the poor and the sick were used for medical experiments; the Jews were tortured and died by the thousand.
Let those who wish to enjoy the privileges of a Christian country remember that they will not enjoy them long if the country ceases to be Christian.

Freedom of speech and conscience are specifically Christian possessions.
It was the Christian Church which won these things for this and for every other country which possesses them. Take Christianity away and they are lost.
It happened in Russia. Under a Communist regime an opposition party is unthinkable and criticism of the government is suicide. Let those who wish to enjoy Christian freedom remember that they will not enjoy it long if the country ceases to be Christian.
Life is full of people today who want all the privileges and none of the responsibilities, all the rights and none of the duties.
Those who wish to enjoy all the privileges of a Christian civilisation ought to ask themselves if they are doing anything to keep civilisation Christian; and, if they are not, they will have no one but themselves to blame if they wake up some day to find that their privileges are gone.

Quite succinct…I am not able to say it any plainer! Our ancestors left the Old World, to come to the New World in order to have a place to live where they could worship God Almighty, through the new birth brought about by the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ, fully Son of God, and Son of Man. Throughout the centuries, regardless of what men may say, this old world has seen the miraculous transformations brought about through belief in the salvation of God through Jesus. Historical documents claim that He and His disciples turned the world upside down.

If we will not believe the words of Moses, then we will not believe Jesus. If we are not interested in new life, and life abundantly full of joy; I guess we will be content to exist seeking to find happiness in a colorless, unfriendly world that really doesn’t give a damn about us. Sadly, we never miss something until it is gone, and can never be had again. May the God of mercy, lovingkindness, faithfulness, and longsuffering, have mercy on our souls.