Days of Challenge and Celebration – Week 13 / March 25th

Days of Challenge and Celebration – Week 13 / March 25th

 


 

                                                “The Jews established and imposed it upon themselves

                                                and their descendants and all who would join them, that

                                                without fail they should celebrate these two days every

                                                year, according to the written instructions and according

                                                to the prescribed time, that these days should be remem-

                                                bered and kept throughout every generation, every family

                                                every province, and every city, that these days of Purim

                                                should not fail to be observed among the Jews, and that

                                                the memory of them should not perish among their

                                                descendants.”

                                                                                Esther 9:27-28

                                                “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared

                                                to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and

                                                worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and

                                                godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope

                                                and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus

                                                Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us

                                                from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own

                                                special people, zealous for good works.”

                                                                                Titus 2:11-14

 

The celebration of Purim reminds us that the God of the Bible will defend His people Israel against those who seek to destroy them. The Persian menace has arisen again and, like Haman of old, is once again calling for Israel’s destruction. This the Mullahs of Iran do openly, routinely and unashamedly and yet the world community not only tolerates this but also has in fact facilitated Iran’s pathway to nuclear armament. Indeed to make matters worse, Iran’s bad behavior has been rewarded with a cash payout of over a billion dollars that will definitely fuel her campaign of terror worldwide. Purim reminds us that God is watching and that He is calling forth brave people, like Esther, to stand up and defend the nation state of Israel. In the end all who would destroy Israel will perish on their “own gallows” and if you don’t believe it ask yourself where are the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Romans and Nazis today? They have all perished and so too will the dark hordes of Iran’s Islamic republic. The God of the Bible, whose values civilized and made great the western world and the USA, is sovereign and in control of all things and history will always end up as the commentary of His will and purpose on the earth. We are called to stand on His side and work with Him at this point in history and we, like David of old, must serve our generation with the will of God.

 

Also, we must defend the persecuted Church that is also being assaulted by the dark hordes of Islam in the Middle East and Africa. Hundreds of thousands of Christians are being murdered at the hands of these barbarians and we cannot and must not be silent. Thankfully, and finally, the USA declared this slaughter of Christians a genocide but sadly not before the ancient Christian communities of the region had been decimated. It is also time for action and so we must do everything in our power to help the suffering Church. Getting involved with the Shai Fund and Samaritan’s Purse is crucial in this regard. Do not be silent and inactive as this is our time to stand up and be counted!

We will shortly celebrate Passover, which reminds us of the great acts of God in choosing and redeeming Israel from bondage. The lessons of this celebration are numerous and indeed wonderful. It is important to note however that the God of the universe has forever linked His name to the Jewish people. He is the God of Israel. This means that her journey through history involves His reputation and faithfulness. That is, He will guard, preserve and watch over her because of His name sake. It was this fact that He reminded Israel of from the very beginning. He did not choose her because she was great and famous but because she was small and stubborn! Her history would then be a testimony to His grace, power and faithfulness. This is indeed true.

 

Today Israel faces challenges that are great and overwhelming. She will not overcome these by her own strength and ability but by His power and intervention. The more difficult the challenges become so the more she needs His grace and love. He is the God of Passover. That is, the God of deliverance. We can rejoice in this and trust in His faithfulness recognizing all the time that in the end all nations will be humbled including Israel as He “steps in” to deliver Zion. Paul said in Romans eleven that the deliverer will come out of Zion. God will do this for His name sake.

 

Now in these coming days we will celebrate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. The cross is the shining light of God’s love for a sinful world and what happened upon it was given power and meaning by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Jesus removed God’s anger and wrath from over our lives and thus brought us forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God our Father. By the cross and the resurrection God our Father has imputed Christ’s righteousness to our lives meaning that being in Christ He sees us as perfect and thus we are the recipients of eternal life. Death has been conquered and its dark foreboding sting has been removed from us. Death is now a mere doorway to the glorious and real presence of God! We are truly saved from our sins and rejoice in the hope and glory of living out an eternal purpose with God our Savior. What a message and what a Savior! Indeed, it is no coincidence that history itself is divided by the coming of Jesus and His saving work on the cross. The cross towers over history and calls us home to God our Father. Truly we are all living before Christ or after Christ; meaning that we are living without Him in our lives or after He has come into our lives. Which is it? I sincerely trust that it is the latter. Christ in you is the only way to the eternal glory of God.

 

May the great God of the Bible “who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.

 

Malcolm Hedding.

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