Friday January 13, 2017
“Friday the 13th right
here”
But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And
your sins
have hidden
His face from you, So that He will not hear. – Isaiah 59:2
God’s Broken Image
Are you superstitious? Do you have a friend or family member who is? I
still remember an incident that happened while I was a kid in the islands. I may
have been around 6 or 7 years old at the time. I was in a vehicle with a group
of family members driving back to town late at night. Everything was pitch
black except the light coming from the head lights of the vehicle. All of the
sudden, from out of the bush, a black cat darted across the road in front of
us. The driver hit the brakes and halted the van. Those from the back asked
what happened. After, a moment, the driver said, that a black cat crossed the
road and that it was a bad sign. We needed to go back and take another road as
to not cross where the cat had been.
Friday the 13th falls under the same category as black cats,
umbrellas inside the house, broken mirrors, walking under ladders etc. The fear
of the unknown or unexplained have plagued humans for centuries. But as we
start on our “expedition” into basic “doctrines” of the Christian faith, we
begin on a Friday. The darkest Friday in all of history was the day Christ bore
the sins of the world! No human was able to or would ever be able to drink the
cup of God’s wrath, save, the “God-Man”! That “bad” Friday has become a “Good”
Friday. And so on this Friday the 13th, it is rather ironic but apropos
to launch our study with the darkest subject in human history, SIN.
The plain truth is that a right
knowledge of sin lies at the root of all saving Christianity. Without
it, such doctrines as justification, conversion, sanctification, are ‘words and
names’ which convey no meaning to the mind. The first thing, therefore, that
God does when he makes anyone a new creature in Christ, is to send
light into his heart, and show him that he is a guilty sinner – J.C.
Ryle, Holiness 1952, p.1
The great burden of the gospel is
that our situation is infinitely more serious and critical. We will never
properly understand the work of God which takes place in the Christian life
unless we first of all have some kind of grasp why we need the grace of God. –
S. Ferguson, The Christian Life,
p.9-10
Challenge: Lost and
found. That place where people retrieve items previously lost to them and are
found again. Do you remember when you were made aware of your sin? Did someone
pray with you to receive Christ? Maybe you are still seeking and not sure if
you’re a Christian or not… if you are reading this and you are concerned about
your eternal destiny, then there’s hope. You may already be a part of God’s
family. I pray God’s Spirit reveal to you, through His Word, His light and love
so that you may come out of the darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9)
This Day in Christian History:
Jan 13, 1892 – The day Amy Carmichael
dedicated her life to missions. Spent time in China and eventually India where
she spent many years ministering to children. She helped thousands through her
many homes for outcast children. She also had a thriving book writing career
about her experience in India.
Memory Verse: (Sun Jan 8)
Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in
faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. – 2 Timothy 1:13
Ko e anga ē ‘o e ngaahi lea mo‘ui
na‘a ke fanongo ai meiate au, ‘i he tui mo e ‘ofa ‘oku ‘ia Kalaisi Sīsū. – 2 Timote 1:13
Puke ke ma‘u ‘a e sino ‘o e ngaahi lea haohaoa, ‘a ia na‘a ke fanongo ai
‘iate au, ‘io he tui mo e ‘ofa ‘a ia ‘oku ‘ia Kalaisi Sisu (Paaki ‘a Uesi)
Bible Reading Plan: (52 weeks; 5 days a week)
Week 2 – Genesis 16-27;
Psalm 1, 107, 4; Mark 6-10
No comments:
Post a Comment