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For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for collecting daily manna), make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Sunday, September 30, 2018
Today's Passage : Today's Passage:Subjecta:The Prosperity of Christian Nations Bible Verse:Luke 10:1-4, 8-12, 16 "After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. . . . Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”" Message:
Today's Scripture comprises some of the instructions Jesus gave to his disciples towards the end of his ministry, when he sent them out on their own to preach the Gospel. He makes a dire prediction about any town that does not welcome the disciples, but instead rejects them and will not listen to them: such a town will fare worse than Sodom.
Sodom, of course, was a city in the Old Testament that worshipped idols; sin of all sorts, especially sins of the flesh, were endemic. God destroyed the entire city and all who lived in it.
What are we to think of this today? Christ was the bringer of peace and salvation, yet here, he pronounces a dire curse on towns that completely reject his teachings. By analogy, he warns that they will be destroyed entirely.
Mixed race people praying together
It is difficult to conclude how much this pertains to the modern world. One might conclude that the terrible fate will occur only at Christ’s second coming; the inhabitants will be cursed to Hell in the end times. For we are reading the New Testament here, where the great promise of eternal life will come to us only after our bodies dies.
Yet it is difficult not to see a difference between nations where there is widespread acceptance of Christ, and nations where his word is entirely or almost entirely rejected. The United States and Canada, which today have the most active Christian populations in the world, have enjoyed an enormous boom in prosperity and influence over the past 100 years. In Europe, Christianity previously thrived and still largely prevails; and Europe became the most prosperous and powerful area of the world.
At the opposite extreme, the most virulently anti-Christian areas of the world have suffered. Communist countries, with their enforced atheism, especially found themselves in distress compared to their neighbors; and those which have overthrown Communism (especially Russia and China) have seen a huge increase in standard of living. Especially strong comparisons might be drawn between neighbors such as North and South Korea, Nigeria and its neighbors, even Israel and the surrounding areas.
Of course, such comparisons are very far from perfect and cannot always be explained in terms of Judeo-Christian religious practice. Some Muslim countries sit on huge deposits of crude oil and are very rich (although I'm not sure that their quality of life, especially for women, fully reflects their monetary prosperity). Japan became a rich and powerful country, primarily during a period where Christianity was suppressed.
Nevertheless, when one looks at the statistics, trying to account for the huge number of other variables, there is without doubt a positive correlation between religious belief/worship and earthly prosperity and happiness. Even within populations, happiness has repeatedly been found to correlate with worship and/or deep religious belief. 2016 Pew Research Center study;Austin Institute, Dec. 2014.
Christ does not teach us to seek wealth, safety, or other rewards of earthly life; just the opposite. And yet, the statistical correlation between love of God and earthly happiness cannot be refuted. It is, indeed, a puzzle.
Meditation : . Prayer : Almighty God, who does freely pardon all who repent and turn to Him, now fulfill in my contrite heart the promise of redeeming grace; forgiving all my sins, and cleansing me from an evil conscience; through the perfect sacrifice of Christ Jesus our Lord. And turn my heart to your will at every moment, I pray.....Amen |
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