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| Volume 23 Number 11 November 2021 |
Page 14 |
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| Volume 23 Number 11 November 2021 |
Page 14 |
Editor's Note Marilyn LaStrape
We have once again entered that time of the year when our attention turns particularly to thanksgiving. For Christians, every day is to be a day expressed in thanksgiving. God’s blessings are effectively innumerable for all of us! Psalm 103:1-2 declares, “Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits” (NKJV).
How do we bless the LORD? We bless the LORD by affectionately and gratefully praising Him. How is this done with all that is within us? We worship and praise the LORD with all the energy and forthrightness that our spiritual maturity can possibly express. Through prayer, we enter God’s gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. How do we bless His holy name? We give God what He is rightfully entitled as our Creator. God is entitled to honor, reverence, glory, adoration and thanksgiving. How do we avoid forgetting God’s benefits? Every day, we must realize the trappings of this world are all Satan’s lures to harden us through the deceitfulness of sin. Sadly, too many expect God’s benefits without any thought whatsoever of Him, not to mention expressing thankfulness to Him. Every breath we take and every step we make is because God continues to say so. When this stops, we pass from a point in time into eternity!
Psalm 103:3-5 brings into the sharpest focus just Who is behind all our benefits. These blessings, benefits or advantages are all for our good, and we need to be thankful daily. “Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
Psalm 107 accents repeatedly our need to be thankful to God for all that He does for us. The first verse declares, “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” Verse eight declares, “Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!”
This declaration repeats in verses 15, 21 and 31. We especially need to take notice when God’s Word repeats itself that many times in one passage! Verses 21-22 nail the point that God wants us to be in a perpetual mindset of thanksgiving. “Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing.”
Psalm 107:43 concludes with this solemn challenge. “Whoever is wise will observe these things, and they will understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.” How wise and understanding are we in giving thanks to the Creator and sustainer of it all?
Jesus Was Prophesied to
Be the King of the Kingdom
Beth Johnson
“I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14 NKJV). What does Matthew 28:18 say? “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.’” After Jehovah gave Jesus (the Son) all authority, He sent the Holy Spirit by Jesus. According to the prophecy in Daniel 7:14, who would serve Him? All people, nations and languages should serve Him, which would be the church throughout the world. Now consider the words of Gabriel when it was time for Christ to come into the world (Luke 1:30-33).
Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
Comparing the Old Testament
and the New Testament
Moses was the mediator of the Old Testament (Galatians 3:19-20). Jesus is the Mediator of the New Testament (Galatians 3:19-20; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 8:6; 9:15; 12:24).
What Are the Obvious Differences
between the Two Covenants?
The Israelites became a nation, chosen by God, the day they left Egypt to cross the Red Sea (Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 5:2-3). When did Jesus become the King of His kingdom and establish His authority over Christians (Matthew 28:18; Acts 2:36, 47)? Under the New Covenant, at what point do New Testament Christians receive redemption by Christ’s blood (Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; Acts 2:38; 20:28; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14, 20; Hebrews 9:11-28; 1 Peter 1:18-19; 1 John 1:7; Revelation 1:5; 7:14)?
[Editor’s Note: I never cease to be amazed about things the same and things different between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Chiefly, two circumstances bring about wonderment in my mind. First, the complexity of God-authored religion and the thousands of years it was practiced through Patriarchy and Judaism, which comprise the Old Testament period, contrasts secondly, with the relative simplicity of New Testament Christianity and, so far, the fewer years it has been ongoing when compared to the Old Testament. The Old Testament contains prophecies and prefigures of prophetic fulfillment and the spiritual realities about which one reads in the New Testament. Both testaments are interrelated and mutually dependent upon each other. The Old Testament has no purpose without the New Testament, and the New Testament would be indiscernible without the Old Testament foundation. The theme of both testaments is the King of the eternal kingdom. ~ Louis Rushmore, Editor]