How Can There Be Peace?
King Joram demanded, “Do you come in peace, Jehu?”
Jehu replied, “How can there be peace as long as the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother, Jezebel, are all around us?”~2 Kings 9:22, NLT
“God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.”
~C.S. Lewis
Robert Bolton the Puritan said, “The wicked ride royally mounted here on earth, and gallop swiftly over the fair and green plains of plenty and pleasure, but at the end of their race they are overturned horse and man, and tumble headlong into a pit of destruction.” Followers of Christ, on the other hand, are called to suffer, some to sickness, others to poverty but all to the terror of the conscience due to our sin. The one thing I admire about the Puritans is their honesty about their depravity. They all confess their struggle with indwelling sin. Our life here on earth is not a smooth gallop. We face new trials and temptations daily. The more we despise our sin, the worse it seems to get. Samuel Doolittle said, “Just as sin brought death into the world, so death shall forever abolish sin.” Our struggle with indwelling sin will not last forever; it has an expiration date. The death of these mortal bodies of clay will put an end to sin’s reign of terror.
It made me think of the story of Jezebel, one of Israel’s most wicked queens. She was Israel’s most wicked and her daughter was Judah’s most wicked. Both were pagans and promoted idolatry. Both were evil, pure evil who thought nothing of human life so long as it advanced their agenda. God choose a military man, General Jehu, to deal with the wicked queen Jezebel. Jehu was a mighty warrior who drove a tank. Actually it was a chariot, the closes thing to a tank in those days. Commisoned by the prophet Elijah, he is headed to Jezreel to avenge the death of Naboth and purge Israel from Baal worship. Jezebel’s son Joram is acting king {his wicked mama is running things} and he rides out to meet Jehu and asks him if his mission is peace. I love Jehu’s answer, “Are you kidding, how can there be any peace when your wicked mama is in control.” Sin is a disturber of the peace. To have perfect peace, we need to be free of sin just like Israel needed to be free of Jezebel.
- Steve and I had a good visit with Bill and Carol yesterday morning and Carol and June talked around 8:00 last night. Bill is feeling some better about Rehab and PT did get him up and walk him some yesterday. He is eating more and asks Carol to bring him a Hardee biscuit and gravy this morning. LORD willing, I will be cooking stew today for DBC and at the POINT tonight for Bible study. Saturday night we run our clocks back and next Wednesday, we begin the day services at 10:30 am.
- Sunday night November 1 at 5:00 pm…The Bill Smith Jambalaya Supper with hushpuppies.
- Wednesday November 4, Mid-week day service at 10:30. Terri’s team is serving lunch and it is KFC and the trimmings.
- November 8 is our CHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE. The girls putting out our decorations. It will be from 2:00-4:00. Eat a light lunch that day because we are going to have a ton of Christmas goodies. No gifts: we just want you to see our humble abode and to share a little Christmas with you. It is also an acknowledgment and appreciation of the unbelievable help you gave us in getting into our new home.
- Wednesday November 11, Veterans Day service at 10:30 followed by lunch {Stew}.
- Menu for November Wednesday day services: Nov. 4 KFC, Nov. 11 Stew, Nov. 18 Pizza, Nov. 25 BBQ THERE IS NO PM SERVICE November 25 {Thanksgiving Eve}
- December 4…49er Christmas Party at 11:30. Christmas finger foods. Bring your favorite Christmas candy or cookie. We will play BINGO and old Santa has done it again. You will be playing for Gift Cards.
Dropped my mouse and broke it so that is all folks. I will have to pick up a new one today. I can’t even go back and correct errors.