Tuesday, May 04, 2010, 6:46 a.m. – Today is the 40th anniversary of the Kent State University shootings - http://www.may4.org/information/kent-state-1970-description-of-events-may-1-through-may-4.html. This is a day that my husband and I will never forget. We were students on the campus of the University of Akron the day this happened. KSU is just one town over from Akron. So, we had demonstrations, Demonstrators (against the Viet Nam War), and National Guard on our campus, as well. We had to pass by the National Guard and the Demonstrators on our way in between classes, so this day in history is very alive and real to us, because we lived it. What happened to those students on KSU’s campus could have happened to us, too.
I woke this morning with this song playing in my mind, which I sang back to the Lord:
My Jesus, I Love Thee / William R. Featherstone / Adoniram J. Gordon
My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine;
for thee all the follies of sin I resign.
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art thou;
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
I love thee because thou hast first loved me,
and purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree;
I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow;
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
In mansions of glory and endless delight;
I'll ever adore thee in heaven so bright;
I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow;
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
I prayed, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” Then, I read Psalm 110:
I read the next Psalm, as well, praying for the Lord to reveal to me what he wanted to teach me this morning and/or what he wanted me to write. I inquired of the Lord concerning what he had for me this morning and then I heard in my mind two phrases:
· Things hidden in darkness
· Have seen a great light
So, I looked them up in my concordance. I found these two passages of scripture:
I Co. 4:1-5:
Matthew 4:12-17:
According to this gospel of Matthew, chapter 4, Jesus was tempted by Satan, yet without sin –
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him…”
Following his temptation and the arrest and imprisonment of John the Baptist, Jesus began his public ministry and he began to preach. Following this, in this 4th chapter of Matthew, Jesus called his first disciples. So, basically Matthew is stating here that the “great light” is Jesus Christ. The light had just dawned because this was the onset of Jesus’ earthly and public ministry prior to his ultimate death on the cross, his resurrection, and his ascension into heaven – all so that we could be free from the penalty and the control of sin over our lives and be free to please Almighty God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit - with our lives. This was to prophecy that Jesus would be the “great light” to both Jews and Gentiles.
Jesus’ first message, according to Matthew was - "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." John the Baptist preached the same message. And, the Apostle Peter preached a similar message on the Day of Pentecost. Obviously repentance is required (necessary) for entry into God’s eternal kingdom. To repent is to turn from a life of sin to a life of following after and obeying our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a lifestyle change, a change of heart and a change of mind from a life dedicated to self to a life committed to Jesus Christ. And, only Jesus can work this repentance – this change - in us as we surrender our lives to Him. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” The “kingdom of heaven” was fulfilled in Jesus Christ and will be fully realized when Jesus returns to judge, to reign and to rule on the earth. This is what Psalm 110 is about, as well:
This Psalm begins by the Psalmist, King David, describing the LORD (Father God) as saying to his (David’s) Lord (Jesus/the Messiah), “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” The right hand of Almighty God is a place of authority and honor. Jesus is seated there right now. That is where he went after he died on the cross, rose again and ascended into heaven. He is seated there as our Savior, as our Priest, as our King, and as our intercessor between us and God the Father until the day he returns to judge and to rule the earth. It is then that God the Father will make his “enemies a footstool” for his feet. So, this Psalm is a prophecy about the Messiah and about his millennial reign on the earth.
The Messiah’s troops would be those who are his true followers, because the passage says that they will be “arrayed in holy majesty”. And, the passage says that his troops would be “willing.” Willing means “to be ready to do something without being forced; cooperative and enthusiastic; and/or offered or given by somebody readily and enthusiastically; eager; ready; and prepared” – Encarta.
The Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary stated that “willing” was literally “freewill offerings,” and it cross-referenced Romans 12:1-2:
His troops will be willing on the Messiah’s day of battle. This is a spiritual battle against the forces of evil that stand opposed to God and to his purposes, yet there will be a physical battle, as well, when Jesus returns to the earth to judge. He will crush kings on the day of his wrath. He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth. Then, he will establish his kingdom on the earth.
Infamy, the title of this writing, means “shameful or criminal conduct or character; a publicly known infamous act or event” – Encarta. And, “Infamous” means “having an extremely bad reputation that is punishable by imprisonment or loss of civil rights.”
At the beginning of this writing, I told of how this is the 40th anniversary of the day of the Kent State University shootings. That was a day in infamy both on the part of those students who broke the law and on the part of the National Guard who exercised authority over those students beyond reason. So, it serves as an example of people (citizens of nations) as law-breakers and it serves as an example of abuse of authority by the government and military of a nation. It also shows how innocents are often hurt in the process or are caught in the middle of something over which they have no control or influence. I believe the same applies to WW II and to subsequent wars of our nation.
God is going to judge the nations (the people) and he is going to crush rulers and kings of those nations on the day of his wrath when he comes to judge and to rule the earth.
The message to us in all of this is the same message that John the Baptist preached and that Jesus preached as his first sermon –
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
Know that this day of judgment is near and the day of Jesus’ return and earthly reign is also near, so repent (turn from your sin and turn to faith and obedience to Jesus Christ) while you still have today.
I woke this morning with this song playing in my mind, which I sang back to the Lord:
My Jesus, I Love Thee / William R. Featherstone / Adoniram J. Gordon
My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine;
for thee all the follies of sin I resign.
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art thou;
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
I love thee because thou hast first loved me,
and purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree;
I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow;
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
In mansions of glory and endless delight;
I'll ever adore thee in heaven so bright;
I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow;
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
I prayed, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” Then, I read Psalm 110:
I read the next Psalm, as well, praying for the Lord to reveal to me what he wanted to teach me this morning and/or what he wanted me to write. I inquired of the Lord concerning what he had for me this morning and then I heard in my mind two phrases:
· Things hidden in darkness
· Have seen a great light
So, I looked them up in my concordance. I found these two passages of scripture:
I Co. 4:1-5:
Matthew 4:12-17:
According to this gospel of Matthew, chapter 4, Jesus was tempted by Satan, yet without sin –
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him…”
Following his temptation and the arrest and imprisonment of John the Baptist, Jesus began his public ministry and he began to preach. Following this, in this 4th chapter of Matthew, Jesus called his first disciples. So, basically Matthew is stating here that the “great light” is Jesus Christ. The light had just dawned because this was the onset of Jesus’ earthly and public ministry prior to his ultimate death on the cross, his resurrection, and his ascension into heaven – all so that we could be free from the penalty and the control of sin over our lives and be free to please Almighty God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit - with our lives. This was to prophecy that Jesus would be the “great light” to both Jews and Gentiles.
Jesus’ first message, according to Matthew was - "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." John the Baptist preached the same message. And, the Apostle Peter preached a similar message on the Day of Pentecost. Obviously repentance is required (necessary) for entry into God’s eternal kingdom. To repent is to turn from a life of sin to a life of following after and obeying our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a lifestyle change, a change of heart and a change of mind from a life dedicated to self to a life committed to Jesus Christ. And, only Jesus can work this repentance – this change - in us as we surrender our lives to Him. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” The “kingdom of heaven” was fulfilled in Jesus Christ and will be fully realized when Jesus returns to judge, to reign and to rule on the earth. This is what Psalm 110 is about, as well:
This Psalm begins by the Psalmist, King David, describing the LORD (Father God) as saying to his (David’s) Lord (Jesus/the Messiah), “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” The right hand of Almighty God is a place of authority and honor. Jesus is seated there right now. That is where he went after he died on the cross, rose again and ascended into heaven. He is seated there as our Savior, as our Priest, as our King, and as our intercessor between us and God the Father until the day he returns to judge and to rule the earth. It is then that God the Father will make his “enemies a footstool” for his feet. So, this Psalm is a prophecy about the Messiah and about his millennial reign on the earth.
The Messiah’s troops would be those who are his true followers, because the passage says that they will be “arrayed in holy majesty”. And, the passage says that his troops would be “willing.” Willing means “to be ready to do something without being forced; cooperative and enthusiastic; and/or offered or given by somebody readily and enthusiastically; eager; ready; and prepared” – Encarta.
The Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary stated that “willing” was literally “freewill offerings,” and it cross-referenced Romans 12:1-2:
His troops will be willing on the Messiah’s day of battle. This is a spiritual battle against the forces of evil that stand opposed to God and to his purposes, yet there will be a physical battle, as well, when Jesus returns to the earth to judge. He will crush kings on the day of his wrath. He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth. Then, he will establish his kingdom on the earth.
Infamy, the title of this writing, means “shameful or criminal conduct or character; a publicly known infamous act or event” – Encarta. And, “Infamous” means “having an extremely bad reputation that is punishable by imprisonment or loss of civil rights.”
At the beginning of this writing, I told of how this is the 40th anniversary of the day of the Kent State University shootings. That was a day in infamy both on the part of those students who broke the law and on the part of the National Guard who exercised authority over those students beyond reason. So, it serves as an example of people (citizens of nations) as law-breakers and it serves as an example of abuse of authority by the government and military of a nation. It also shows how innocents are often hurt in the process or are caught in the middle of something over which they have no control or influence. I believe the same applies to WW II and to subsequent wars of our nation.
God is going to judge the nations (the people) and he is going to crush rulers and kings of those nations on the day of his wrath when he comes to judge and to rule the earth.
The message to us in all of this is the same message that John the Baptist preached and that Jesus preached as his first sermon –
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
Know that this day of judgment is near and the day of Jesus’ return and earthly reign is also near, so repent (turn from your sin and turn to faith and obedience to Jesus Christ) while you still have today.
