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| Volume 25 Number 3 March 2023 |
Page 8 |
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| Volume 25 Number 3 March 2023 |
Page 8 |
Mark McWhorter
You do not want to grow up to be a hoddy-doddy. According to the American Dictionary of the English Language by Daniel Webster (1828), a hoddy-doddy is a foolish person. According to Scripture, there are several things that justify labeling someone as a hoddy-doddy.
The person who says there is no God is a fool (Psalm 14:1). Anyone who refuses to gain wisdom or listen to instruction is a fool (Proverbs 1:7). Those that laugh at sin and find entertainment in it are foolish (Proverbs 14:9). The person who ignores God’s law and makes up his own laws by which to live is a fool (Proverbs 12:15; Romans 1:22). The person who hordes material things and has no interest in helping others or giving back to God is a fool (Luke 12:20). Those that do not righteously consider how they are walking in this world are fools (Ephesians 5:15). Those who would allow someone to draw them away from obeying God are foolish (Galatians 3:1).
It is not good to be seen by God as a hoddy-doddy. The right thing to do is to study the Bible. Learn all you can from it. Obey God. Teach others to obey Him so that none of them will be known as a hoddy-doddy. If any of this is hard to understand, ask an adult to help you.
Thanksgiving
Cecil May, Jr.
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians NKJV). We cannot always control our circumstances, but we can control our reactions to them.
The Bible does not say be thankful for all circumstances but in all circumstances. When my first wife died, I could not be thankful for her death, but I could be thankful for the 62 years we had together as man and wife.
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). That does not say that everything that happens is good, but that whatever happens, God will work it with all other things for our good. We, therefore, can give thanks for the good God brings. [God’s vantage point exceeds that of humans, and like with an unimaginably giant jigsaw puzzle, through His providence, He puts all the pieces in the right places to accomplish His will. ~ Louis Rushmore, Editor]
When any faithful child of God dies, we can rejoice at the joy they experience. Christians have “the hope of the resurrection” (NRSV). Our corruptible will become incorruptible, our mortal will become immortal, and our dishonorable will become glorious, guaranteed by Christ’s resurrection!