Devotion 2.33/86: Luke 1:46-47: Friend

Presented to River Street Cafe  29 December 2016

Read Luke 1:46-56:

Wayne Cormier told me a story. He used to work for the government. A few years ago he found himself driving around one of the cabinet ministers and his assistant was sitting in the back with his tape recorder taping everything the minister said as per protocol at that time in that situation. They were driving around sizing up the damage from all of the forest fires in the north when all of a sudden their vision became impaired. It became more and more impaired. Wayne was chauffeur and he could barely see anything in front of him and it wasn’t winter so it wasn’t snow – it was smoke from the fire. The fire was so close you could almost feel it. The politician asked Wayne, ‘what do we do now’?

Wayne said, ‘Pray’. Wayne is a solid Christian and he has been for a quite a long time. ‘Pray’, he says, ‘we can’t see anything but we can’t stop driving or its game over; we can’t do anything else but drive and pray - so pray!’

The assistant with the tape recorder in the back begins to pray quite a bit when Wayne hears the cabinet minister, the politician, start to pray. He prays, ‘God if you save us, I will go to church on Sunday.’ They wait patiently as Wayne drives slowly through the fire. They wait and they pray as they await their salvation from the fire.

When they get out of the fire and they start to relax a bit and get ready for their next tour, Wayne approaches the politician, the cabinet minister, and he asks him, ‘So you’re going to church on Sunday?”

“Oh, you heard that, did you?”

“Yes, and so will everyone; your assistant has it on tape”

“Oh, well maybe I should go to church then…”

Now Wayne doesn’t know whether or not the politician was true to his word. He doesn’t know whether he did go to church or not but while he was waiting for his salvation, in that moment he approached God, he encountered God and we can only hope that once that waiting was over he continued with God.

In everything in our lives, God is with us. He is with us in the easy times. He is with us in the difficult times but it seems often that it is only in the midst of the difficult times, that we call on God. A real friend is with you in the good times too; they don’t just come around when they are in a jam or when they need something from us. Question for us today: are we a friend of God?

www.sheepspeak.com 
    

Luke 2:1: With Us or Augustus?

Presented 25 December 2016 to The Salvation Army 614 Warehouse Christmas Dinner in Toronto and 25 December 2018 to Alberni Valley Ministries on Vancouver Island by Captain Michael Ramsay*
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The second chapter of Luke’s Gospel opens with, “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.” It is not by accident that Luke invokes the name of Caesar here. It is actually a crucial part of our Christmas story. Do we know why? Do we know who was Caesar Augustus? His given name was Gaius Octavius.

Octavius’ uncle was Julius Caesar. He saved Rome from the republic and became the first Roman Emperor. Julius Caesar was worshiped as a god. Julius Caesar was murdered in 44 BCE; when he died his will was read and in his will Julius Caesar adopted Octavius as his son – so Octavius/ Augustus inherited the throne of the whole Roman Empire – He was the adopted son of a Roman ‘god’ and he became king of all the Roman kings. Thus Caesar Augustus was known as a son of a god and the king of kings. Luke knew this and the first people reading Luke’s Gospel knew this. This is important because by mentioning Caesar in this opening passage Luke is not so subtlety telling people that Caesar is not the son of God and Caesar is not the ultimate king of Kings. Do these titles sound familiar? Who do we know is the real King of kings? Who do we know is the real Son of God? This is important.

There is another interesting thing about the Christmas story as it relates to Caesar and another famous king. After taking power, Caesar Augustus and his allies slaughtered thousands of political enemies. Antony and Cleopatra then waged war against them.  They were defeated by this other famous person in the Christmas story. King Herod Agrippa was the one whose navy defeated Antony and Cleopatra in 31 BCE and within a year they both famously committed suicide.

Following this, Rome officially named Octavian ‘Augustus’: the name ‘Augustus’ means ‘the exalted.’ The politicians then gave him the legal power to rule every aspect of the Roman Empire all to himself. Through wars, murder and intrigue, Caesar Augustus became Rome’s ultimate Emperor, bringing stability to the realm.

Caesar Augustus ruled with an iron fist. He was worshiped as a god and as a son of a god; by destroying his enemies in war he even ironically became known as the prince of the Roman peace.

Luke and all his readers know very much what we have just said about Augustus Caesar. They know his story. That is their life and times. This is important to Luke’s Gospel because Luke knows and is showing us that Jesus – not Caesar- truly is God, the Son of God, and the Prince of Peace. Notice how different the real King of Kings is from Caesar Augustus or any other king or any leader of any superpower either past or present. Luke, in invoking Caesar Augustus’ name and this taxation is drawing this parallel and making this contrast between all other political leaders and Jesus.

In our passage today Luke is showing us that Jesus, Jesus’ mother and adoptive father are very different from Augustus Caesar and his adoptive father. Rather than conquering an Empire by force, Joseph and Mary walked to faraway city to pay their taxes to this Caesar Augustus. 

When Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem, the city was full. There was no room in the inns so the real king, the real Son of God, the real God incarnate comes into the world – a little differently from Caesar Augustus or anyone else – even today – who is a powerful ruler. Jesus’ mother, Mary, gives birth in the only room available in a cave or a stable and makes her baby as comfortable as possible, wrapping him snugly in pieces of cloth and placing him in a feeding trough, in a manger packed with straw.

Whereas the king Augustus Caesar had his power acknowledged by the powerful politicians of his day through war, murder, and intrigue. Christ Jesus’ kingship is heralded through angels to working class shepherds who were working the night shift.

Luke 2: 8-14: And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

These working class shepherds, who are working that night, are invited by God’s messengers to come and see His new born Son, born to parents who are here to pay their taxes to the leader of the temporal superpower of their day: who is ironically enough an impostor pretending to be the son of a god.  These shepherds listen to God and go to Bethlehem and are blessed to see the birth of God’s truly only begotten son who will grow up to save the whole world.

Our thought for today thus concludes with the same questions as was before the readers of Luke’s gospel in the first century. Which of these two kings will we serve? Will we serve Caesar or Jesus? Are we with Christ or Augustus? Will we serve the rulers of our current time and place in history who stand where Caesar did – Presidents, Prime Ministers, Premiers – and their empires and systems – capitalism, democracy, consumerism, imperialism… - or will we serve the real Son of God who lived and died and rose again so that we can all live forever in His Kingdom to come if we so choose?

On this Christmas two centuries closer to the return of our King, the choice is ours. Who will we serve: the rulers of our time and place who wage war in the name of peace or the true Prince of Peace who was born in a manger 2000+ years ago and who is returning anytime soon?

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* Based on Luke 2:1-20: A Tale of Two Kings which was presented to Swift Current Corps and community on Christmas Day, Sunday, December 25, 2011&12 http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2011/12/luke-21-20-tale-of-two-kings.html

Devotion 2.32/85: Luke 2:1: God-King

Presented to River Street Cafe, 24 December 2016

Read Luke 2:1-7

The second chapter of Luke’s Gospel opens with, “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.” It is not by accident that Luke invokes the name of Caesar here. It is actually a crucial part of our Christmas pericope. Do we know why? Do we know who was Caesar Augustus? His given name was Octavian or Octavius.

Before he was king, his uncle Julius Caesar was king in Rome. Julius Caesar was worshiped as a god. He was murdered in 44 BCE and in his will Julius Caesar adopted Octavian as his son thus making him his heir to the helm of the Roman world. Octavian then became the adopted son of the ‘god’ Julius Caesar and he became the king of all the kings in the Roman Empire. When Octavian / Caesar Augustus became king the fastest growing religion was the worship of the king. Caesar Augustus was known as the son of a god and the king of kings.

After taking power, Augustus and his allies slaughtered thousands of political enemies. Antony and Cleopatra then waged war against them.  They were actually defeated by another famous person in the Christmas story. King Herod Agrippa was the one whose navy defeated Antony and Cleopatra in 31 BCE and within a year they both famously committed suicide.

Following this Rome officially changed Octavian’s name to ‘Augustus’, which means ‘the exalted.’ The politicians then gave him the legal power to rule every aspect of the Roman Empire all to himself. Through wars, murder and intrigue, Caesar Augustus became Rome’s ultimate Emperor, bringing stability to the realm.

Caesar Augustus ruled with an iron fist. He was worshiped as a god and as a son of a god; by destroying his enemies in war he even ironically became known as the prince of the Roman peace. When the Gospel of Luke was recorded, Augustus was known as a god, a son of god, prince of peace and the exalted one. This is extremely important to Luke’s Gospel because in this Gospel Luke goes out of his way so that the readers will understand that Caesar is not god, son of god, prince of peace or the exalted one, someone else is.

Our thought for today thus concludes with the same questions as was before the readers of Luke’s gospel in the first century. Which of these two do we believe is in authority? Which will we serve? Will we serve Caesar or Christ? Will we serve the apparent rulers of our current time and place in history who stand where Caesar did – Presidents, Prime Ministers, Premiers – and their empires and systems – capitalism, democracy, consumerism, imperialism… - or will we serve the real Son of God who lived and died and rose again so that we can all have the opportunity to live forever in His Kingdom to come?

On this eve of Christmas Eve two centuries closer to the return of our King, the choice is ours. Who will we serve: the apparent rulers of our age or the real ruler of the age to come? And what is the difference between serving one or the other.

www.sheepspeak.com 
  

Devotion 2.31/84: John 1:5: Solstice

Presented to River Street Cafe, 16 December 2016

Read John 1:5-9

This upcoming Wednesday is the Winter Solstice. The Winter Solstice is the darkest day of the year. There is less light and more darkness than any other day of the year. Sometimes I think that our world or our country is near its own Winter Solstice where it is only spiritual darkness all of the time.

Crime in Canada is as high as it ever was. In our own neighbourhood death and violent crimes seem to occur weekly if not more regularly. According to the CCVF, it is so bad in our country now that many people are losing any faith in the authorities’ ability to stop even violent crime and so in many cases charges aren’t even being filed anymore. Even economic crime is on the rise in Canada with Reuters reporting that 56 percent of companies surveyed (more than half of them) reported falling prey to white-collar crime. And – of course – near the darkest night there is pornography, which horribly is North America’s most lucrative pastime. In the US, pornography revenue –as we have said before- is more than all money made from professional football, baseball and basketball combined. The money made by US pornography exceeds the combined revenues of all their major TV networks (6.2 billion) Child pornography alone generates $3 billion annually. We are near to that societal Winter Solstice.

And then there is war: Did you know that in the ten years after the Soviet Union fell, there were people dead from more wars than from the whole century before? – And in that century, we had both WWI and WWII. The wars keep rolling and the blood keeps flowing as we invade country after country after country. The nights seem very long and dark indeed. The days seem near to a societal Winter Solstice.

During this Advent for these devotional thoughts as well as in the sermons I have preached, we have spoken a lot about social justice. That is a key element of Advent. Celebrating and waiting for deliverance from all the darkness around us.

This Wednesday is the darkest day of the year but do you know what that means for Thursday? Thursday we will see a little more light. And Friday, Friday we will see a little more light; and Saturday and Sunday, and after Christmas, more light and more light.

The Gospel of John speaks about Jesus as the light of the world. Jesus, when he came 2000+ years ago, he came as light into our dark world and though we may still be near a societal solstice, the darkness can not overcome the light and eventually the light of the goodness of Christ will fill the whole world. Just as we celebrate Jesus coming in a manger, we look forward to his return on a cloud very soon and the Bible promises that when he does return there will be no more darkness. Revelation 22:5: “There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” Jesus is the light of the world.

When that day comes there will be no more darkness but until then as Christians, we are called to reflect Jesus’ light while we await his ultimate return; how can you and I do that for our neighbours who may still be groping around in our society’s darkness?

Devotion 2.31/83: Isaiah 11:9: Waiting

Presented to River Street Cafe, 09 December 2016

Read Isaiah 11:9-10

We spoke about this on Sunday. We know what is God’s holy mountain? It’s Mount Zion. It is the mountain where Solomon’s, Zerubabbel’s, and Herod’s temple’s were built. It is the mountain where the Dome on the Rock currently stands. It is the mountain where God spared the life of Isaac, as he was about to be offered up to the Lord as a sacrifice. Zion, for many years, was where some people even thought that God himself lived. God says when the His kingdom is fully realized on earth here no one will hurt or destroy on His holy mountain. As God’s seat of power, when Jesus ultimately claims his throne, no one in authority will ever hurt anyone again. No more will politicians or their handlers exploit the rest. No more will governments wage war or the powerful take advantage of the poor.

We are in a season of Advent now. Advent is about waiting. We remember waiting for the birth of our saviour millennia ago as we eagerly await his return now. And when He returns what a day that of rejoicing that will be. When Jesus comes back, we will no longer be subservient to the brutal politico-socio-economic systems we are today. (The Lord has already provided more than enough resources for the whole world to be fed and clothed many times over.) These systems of oppression will end. The rulers of this world will be brought low. The presidents, money people, and other rulers of our age who oversee all of this will be brought down. This will come to an end. Isaiah promises that. Jesus fulfills that.

When Jesus comes back there will be no more elections, rigged or otherwise. There will be no more ignorance. There will be no more wars. There will be no more death. There will be no more tears. When Jesus comes back, everything will be okay. He promises it will be okay and this is what Isaiah is telling us today in the text.

   

Added to that truth is this: as you serve Jesus, as we follow him instead of the others who want us to follow them - politicians, money people and powerful people and their systems: this ‘ism’ and that ‘ism’ - as we serve Jesus instead here and now; even while there is so much death, dishonesty, pain and suffering all around us and even while there may be so much pain even within us, Jesus promises that he will comfort us in the midst of all the very real struggles of this world as indeed we look forward to that day when he will return and wipe all of the injustice off the face of this earth… and then God alone will rule over us with His righteousness and His faithfulness forever more.

Devotion 2.30/82: Mathew 24:42: Ready

Presented to the River Street Cafe 02 December 2016

Read Matthew 24:36-42

It is like with our daughter’s birth. She was two weeks or more late. When the due date came and went we could have taken everything out of the baby bag we had prepared for that day and put it away. If we did, it wouldn’t stop the baby from coming. We just wouldn’t be prepared for her arrival and even if I was looking for everything that we had unpacked and I couldn't find what I need in time, the baby would still come at the pre-appointed time, I just may have missed out on the blessings of that moment. Baby was coming soon whether we were ready or not.

Advent is about being prepared and waiting. Jesus is coming back. In our life; are we ready for him? Are our spiritual bags still packed? Or have we in the weeks, months and years since we gave our lives to Christ, have we been slowly unpacking our heavenly baby bags? Do we still have our Bibles that we read daily in there or did we put them back on the shelves because Jesus hasn’t come just yet? He’s still coming. How about our incessant, fervent prayers: do we still practice them daily or have we put them away until we feel we need them? How about our offering of food, clothing, and love to the least, the lost, and the last: is this still with us and in our spiritual baby bags or have we filed these away somewhere; leaving us unprepared for the immanent arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is coming soon?

  

If Jesus comes like an overdue baby tonight, are we ready? Will we be there to greet him or will we miss out? Today, are our bags packed with our prayers, Bible study, and love for our neighbour? Are we ready to meet our maker when he returns? As sure as Baby was coming soon and indeed did eventually arrive, Jesus is coming very soon. When he arrives, are we ready? Are we ready for when he shows up like a thief in the night or will we be left outside like the unprepared bridesmaids? Are we investing the talents God is entrusting us with? Or will He take back even the very life that He has loaned us because we wasted it? Jesus is coming soon. When he does, will he say to us ‘away from me’? Or will he say to us, because we are prepared to meet him, ‘take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world’ - and ‘well done my good and faithful servant’? In short, I ask us today, Jesus is coming soon, whether we are ready for it or not; so are we ready?

Isaiah 11:1-10: On that Day.

Presented to Corps 614 Regent Park on the second Sunday of Advent 04 Dec 2016 by Captain Michael Ramsay

In our world today we are subservient to politico-socio-economic systems where one person becomes rich as over 25 000 children die each day due to poverty. Some people become millionaires for appearing on a screen or playing sports while many others cannot afford to feed and clothe themselves. In our world today there is pornography, which horribly is America’s most lucrative pastime. In the United States, pornography revenue is more than all money made from professional football, baseball and basketball combined. The money spent on one professional team alone would feed and clothe the world. This is our world today. But…

  

ISAIAH 11:1 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

  

ON THAT DAY… From a stump – an albeit dead tree – that has been chopped down, burned down, rotted out or otherwise destroyed, from this stump a shoot, new life will Spring up.
  

Isaiah says this shoot will come from the stump of Jesse; who is Jesse? (King David’s father) Who was King David? David was one of only 2 or 3 kings of a unified Israel.

  

David was the first king of Judah. Every other king of Judah claimed to be descended from David. They walked away from God and as they did, they were carried into captivity. The nation and the people, it seemed, were finished. The Kingdom of Judah, like Israel, eventually rotted out and became like a burned out, chopped down stump. It is from this stump that new life will spring. It is a descendant of David who will rule not only Israel but also the whole world. Who is this descendant of David who will rule the whole world? Jesus.[1] ON THAT DAY…

  

11:2 The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
  

11:3 His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear;

What does it mean that he has knowledge of the fear of the LORD and that his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD? Why does he delight in fear? What does that mean?

The phrase ‘fear of the LORD’ can describe dread (Deut 1:29), being terrified (Jonah 1:10), standing in awe (1 Kings 3:28), or having reverence (Lev 19:3). With the Lord as the object, this phrase captures both aspects of shrinking back in fear and of drawing close in awe. It is not a trembling dread that paralyzes action, but neither is it a polite reverence (Plaut, p. 32).[2]

Strong’s dictionary and concordance define this ‘fear’ as ‘moral reverence’ acknowledging that the phrase encompasses more than that – it can refer to a sense of moral dread or even of an exceeding moral fearfulness.[3] What does this mean? What is the difference between this reverent, moral fearfulness that leads to knowledge or wisdom and the fearful, panic-stricken, timid phobia that leads to cowering? What is this fear of the Lord?

Are we familiar with the word ‘deference’? Deference means respect. People often have a certain amount of deference (respect) for our uniforms. I have had many people alter their language and try not to swear in my presence because of my uniform that represents my office as a representative of God. Even non-believers tend to offer this token of deference to The Salvation Army uniform. Even more than that I have seen people show a healthy respect in courtrooms when they are in front of the judge. This kind of thing is what Isaiah is talking about when he says Jesus will delight in the fear of the LORD. ON THAT DAY…

11:3 His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear;

What does it mean that he shall not judge by what he sees or hears? Isn’t that how we are supposed to make judgements - by what we see or hear? What is a better way to judge?

11:4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

Jesus is the great equalizer. The Bible tells us over and over again around the birth of Jesus and the reign of God, those that serve the world we be deposed when the systems of the world are overthrown. Capitalism will be overthrown. Presidents will be overturned and presidential elections will end. Corrupt politicians will cease to exist. No more will we live in a world where bankers, athletes, actors, investors, and others live high on the hog while over 25 000 children die every day due to poverty. Jesus makes decisions based on righteousness rather than by what he sees and hears: he kills the wicked and provides equity for the meek. ON THAT DAY…

11:5 Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

Faithfulness will be his underwear. Not only will Jesus rule the world with righteousness. Faithfulness will guard what is near and dear to him. Jesus, the leader who pulls down the powerful and raises up the powerless – unlike the reputation the world’s politicians seem to have earned – Jesus will not turn on those who endorsed and worked for him. How many times have people elected leaders in this country and even recently in the USA who they thought would be their champions, only to see those politicians seemingly betray the people who voted for them and act in bad faith. Jesus is not like that. Jesus will not betray the poor, the widow, the immigrant, the victimized, the marginalized. Jesus will not betray us. The high and mighty people of today  – as they serve our current socio-politico-economic systems - will be brought low. And those who have been brought low by our world’s leaders will be lifted up by Jesus. You can count on that – faithfulness is the belt around his loins. ON THAT DAY…

11:6 The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.

Lamb is a good meal even for a wolf. The wolf will live with the lamb instead of eating his food. Goat is great food even for a leopard but instead of eating his meal, the leopard will lie down with the kid. The same with veal; the same with the baby calf and the lion and the fatling; and a little child will lead them. Instead of killing – even to eat – the prey will have nothing to fear of the predator; let alone powerless people from Superpowers. In a country that serves God people will not kill each other. ON THAT DAY…

11:7 The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

Predators will no longer be a threat to traditional prey. ON THAT DAY…

11:8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den.

Babies will not be attacked by animals and animals will not be provoked by toddlers. You have seen a dog or a cat that is good with babies and toddlers: how they let a child carry them around and do all kinds of things to them. All animals, all creation, all of us will have that same patience when Jesus returns to claim his crown that he was crowned with upon his own death and resurrection. ON THAT DAY…

11:9 They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

We know what is God’s holy mountain? It’s Mount Zion. It is the mountain where Solomon’s, Zerubabbel’s, and Herod’s temple’s were built. It is in Jerusalem. It is the mountain where the Dome on the Rock currently stands. It is the mountain where God spared the life of Isaac, as he was about to be offered up to the Lord as a sacrifice. Zion, for many years, was where some people even thought that God himself lived. God says when the Messiah’s kingdom is fully realized no one will hurt or destroy on His holy mountain. This can mean two things: 1) there will be no hunting there – but this mountain, long before Isaiah lived even, is right in a large urban centre; it is not prime hunting grounds. 2) It can also mean that as God’s seat of power, when Jesus ultimately claims his throne no one in authority will ever hurt anyone again. No more will politicians or their handlers exploit the rest. No more will governments wage war or the powerful take advantage of the poor and the powerless.

11:10 On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

Advent is about waiting. We remember waiting for the birth of our saviour millennia ago as we eagerly await his return now. And when He returns what a day that of rejoicing that will be. When Jesus comes back, we will no longer be subservient to these brutal politico-socio-economic systems we are today. (The Lord has already provided more than enough resources for the whole world to be fed and clothed many times over.) These systems of oppression will end. The rulers of this world will be brought low. The presidents, money people, and other rulers of our age who oversee all of this will be brought down. This will come to an end. Isaiah promises that. Jesus fulfills that.

When Jesus comes back there will be no more elections, rigged or otherwise. There will be no more ignorance. There will be no more wars. There will be no more death. There will be no more tears. When Jesus comes back, everything will be okay. He promises it will be okay and that is what Isaiah is telling us today.

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And I will add to that the truth that as you serve Jesus, as we follow him instead of the others - politicians, money people and powerful people and their systems - as we serve Jesus instead, here and now; even while there is so much death, dishonesty, pain and suffering all around us and so much pain even within us, Jesus promises that he will comfort us in the midst of all the very real struggles of this world as indeed we look forward to the day when he will return and wipe all of the injustice aside… as God will rule over us forever more with His righteousness and His faithfulness.

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Let us pray

www.sheepspeak.com 

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[1] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, Acts 15:1-19 - The Chihuahua Barks Again. Presented to Nipawin and Tisdale Salvation Army, 09 September 2007 and Swift Current, 26 May 2013. On-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2007/09/acts-151-19-chihuahua-barks-again.html

[2] Cf. Allen P. Ross, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Proverbs/Exposition of Proverbs/I. Introduction to the Book of Proverbs (1:1-7)/C. Motto: The Fear of the Lord (1:7), Book Version: 4.0.2

[3] Yirah, in The New Strong’s Complete Dictionary of Bible Words. (Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1966), p. 395. Cf. also Cf. The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. ‘5374: yir’ah’ (Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1995), p.59.