-------------------------<BrethrenVoice>------------------------- [which seeks to be guided solely by the NT Biblical pattern, facilitates free flow of Christian info. To God be the glory!] [eMail Moderator: brethrenvoice-owner@...] [<GLEANINGS-FOR-THE-DAY> archives/read online: http://associate.com/groups/brethrenvoice/ezmlm.cgi] <GLEANINGS-FOR-THE-DAY> <24 December 2002> Contents: ------------ 1) <Devotional> "Wording the truth" - Ravi Zacharias 2) <Bible-Study> "Will we see our loved ones?" (Pt-2/4)-Charles Wigg 3) <Prophecy> "The Redeemer's Return" (Pt-110)- A.W.Pink 1) <DEVOTIONAL> <SLICE-OF-INFINITY> "WORDING THE TRUTH!" Ravi Zacharias There is an immense moral advantage in the use of ugly words to denounce ugly things. There is a reason behind our instinctive use of the word "evil" regarding the events of September 11th. You see, language has more to do with ideals than we often care to admit. When we don't like the sound of the word "lie" and so choose to say, "fib," we have made a decision to weaken the definition of falsehood! Our world is full of these word games, isn't it? An act of impurity we call "indiscretion," the act of adultery, an "affair." And tolerance, the catchphrase of the modern world, sounds better than anti-truth. Tolerance has been deemed the absolute picture of virtue, while absolute truth has been carefully ushered out of the picture. G.K. Chesterton said it well when he said toleration is the virtue of people who do not believe in anything. When we play with our words, we play with morality. The Old Testament prophets called the people of Israel back to God by using harsh and sometimes graphic words-the bankruptcy of a sinful life, equated with prostitution; the wrath of God, a destructive fire. Today those words protrude like uncomfortable shards within the comfortably tolerant bubble in which we live. Whether you approach God's word as a skeptic or Christian, there is a good chance you find certain terminology in Scripture uncomfortable. You know, the book by Nahum, the Old Testament prophet, is one such place. Our comfort level is taken on a tense ride through its three short chapters. Nahum holds up a vivid picture of a God who judges, whose judgment leaves in its path death and destruction. His words are strong, yes-maybe ugly-and his descriptions even shocking. It is not difficult to see how some find such a description discomforting. We don't know quite what to do with this God. In what seems like an ironic twist within this message though, the messenger's very name means "Comfort." That itself is a significant hint. You see, God does not play word games. His words, in fact, contradict our own word games. And it is that contradiction that is painful and ugly. God's call to judgment and His offer of mercy are not contradictory. Our moral outrage at God, while winking at immorality in our living, is contradictory. Does His judgment make you uncomfortable? Do not ignore your discomfort and run from God's message for you. In it you will find a message of ultimate comfort and hope-and those are beautiful words. --- Copyright (p)(c) 2001 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. A Slice of Infinity is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. _______________________________________________________________________ 2) <DOCTRINAL> "WILL WE SEE OUR LOVED ONES?" (PART-2 OF 4) Charles E. Wigg ... The story that the Lord Jesus told in Lukas Gospel chapter 16, clearly reveals the state of consciousness of those that depart this life, whether they die in Christ, or die in their sins, (verse 19-31). Some will dismiss this story as fact by claiming that it is like the parables, it is only just a story used by the Lord to illustrate what was on His mind. This is proven wrong by the fact that one person is named in the story. Lazarus the beggar was a real person that experienced these miseries. The rich man too was a real person, though his name is not given. The reason for this lies in the fact, that though there could only be one Lazarus, yet there have been many that have followed the example of the rich man. Especially in our day when material affluence is everywhere; predominantly in the West, but also even in third world countries, such as India. This story clearly shows that death is not then end, and that after departing this life, there is another life, and an even greater, more vivid state of consciousness. The lot of Lazarus in this life was indeed miserable. It seems that his only friends were those that carried him daily, and laid him at the gate of the rich man. Other than this his only friends were the street dogs that licked his sores, thereby keeping them clean. His only diet was the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table. But that miserable life had an end. But through the things that he suffered, he was taught to trust in God. He received a faith that the rich man never had. It was not his earthly misery that gained him a place in the bosom of Abraham, a place of comfort and rest. It was his faith and trust in God, our Heavenly Father. Poverty has no virtue, and it alone will never cause anyone to gain a place in Heaven. We read in Hebrews chapter 11 of those that "died in faith", and Lazarus was one of those. But though his miserable life on earth could be measured by years, the life that he entered after death had no measure, it was eternal. The moment he breathed his last, he immediately gained another and another state of even greater consciousness. Though his limp and lifeless body lay on the dirt outside the gate of the rich man, yet his spirit and his soul were transported by the angels into a place of rest and comfort, 'the bosom of Abraham'. It is supposed that his poor old body was buried, but we are not told that it was. Where he was buried, and how he was buried, or who buried him did not matter. God knows where his body lies, and He will raise it up in the last day. But it will not be raised in the same state as it was buried, but it will be changed, and will shine as the firmament, Daniel, 12:2-3. There are some that claim that unless your body is buried in some sacred, consecrated place, then you cannot enter heaven. I recall leading a 90-year-old blind lady to the Lord near Trivandrum, Kerala, India. She had been a Roman Catholic all her life. The nuns and priests did not rest until they had taken her from her daughter's house; (the daughter was a believer). They then began to work on her fears and superstitions, telling her that she must come back to the church. If she did not do so, then she could not be buried in their cemetery, and if she was not buried there, then she could never go to heaven? But this passage proves, that it does not matter what happened to the old body, it is the decision that a person makes to repent of their sin, and to put their faith and trust in Christ as Savior, that gains for that person the gift of eternal life. [To be concluded] --- [Reproduced by permission] _______________________________________________________________________ 3) <PROPHECY> "THE REDEEMER'S RETURN" (PART-110) THE MILLENNIUM IN RELATION TO ISRAEL Arthur W. Pink .... "And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. In that same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land" (Gen. 15:17, 18). Here the two great periods of Israel's history was made known to Abram in figure. The vision of the smoking furnace and the burning lamp intimated that the history of Abraham's descendants was to be a checkered one. It was a prophecy in symbolic action; and like all prophecy was to have a double fulfillment. The order was first the sorrow and suffering, and then the glory and joy. There was first the smoking furnace of Egyptian bondage, and then the burning lamp which typified the brilliant reign of Solomon. After which there was the furnace, again, the furnace of the Babylonian captivity, and since Israel crucified her Messiah the furnace has been seven times hotter than ever before. Yet is it written, "For Zion's sake I will not hold My peace, for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth" (Is. 62:1). A remarkable statement is found in Deut. 32:8 which antedates the actual history of the Jews. "When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel." Israel is here seen to be present before the mind of God six hundred years before they had any national standing in the earth, and two hundred years before the birth of their father Abraham. Yet, even at that remote period, God assigned to the descendants of the then scattered sons of Adam, their position in the earth according to the number of that people which was not then born. Here, then, we learn God's purpose concerning the chosen nation--Israel is God's earthly center. [To be concluded] ---------------------------<BrethrenVoice>--------------------------- Subscribe, eMail:<brethrenvoice-subscribe@...> Unsubscribe, eMail:<brethrenvoice-unsubscribe@...> FAQs/Faith Statement, eMail: <brethrenvoice-faq@...> <BrethrenVoice> Home: www.brethrenvoice.com <eFellowship> Home: http://groups.msn.com/BrethrenChristiansForum/ "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith." 2 Cor 13:5