NEWSLETTER 043 MESSAGE

Message

“Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other...Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.” Psalm 85:10, 13

We like to talk of “spiritual” things like faith, love, peace. The Bible mentions faith and its related words 341 times, love 448 times, peace 451 times, righteous 514 times, and holy 719 times. God wants righteousness in His people and on the earth.

We tend to equate righteousness with external things - hair style, clothes, jewelry, language, etc. [It is amazing how women seem to take the brunt of legalistic “righteousness.”] Righteousness is total obedience to the Word of God. None of us measures up. Thanks to the perfect work of Christ on the Cross we stand before God in His righteousness not our own.

This; however, does not let us “off the hook.” If we truly understand what God has done for us we will want to live pure and righteous lives before Him. We are responsible to walk in obedience in everything. This means a] studying the Word of God to see what He really requires [the Biblical Law course helps in this] and b] set aside our own opinions and desires if they are in conflict with God’s ways. For example, our modern societies are built on theft and most people - including Christians - want it that way. If we truly want to live righteously there are many things we have to be willing to “unlearn” and many new thoughts and ideas we have to be willing to accept.

Everyone seems to desire peace - whether personally or nationally. However, righteousness and peace kiss each other. In other words, they go together. They are intimately linked. We will never have true or lasting peace until individually and/or nationally we are willing to live righteously before God.

Most western Christians, I fear, are not willing to do this in the everyday, practical ways God requires. Yes, they will go to church, read their Bible, and pray. They may pay their tithes [although many stumble at that]. They may fight evils such as abortion, but are they willing to control their anger, envy, bitterness, and unforgiveness? Are they willing to sacrifice to keep their children out of the humanist churches [i.e. schools]? Do they know or care what a truly Christian society would look like? What powers and limits would a Christian police force have? What would Christian criminal and civil law look like [actually God doesn’t make a distinction between the two]? Living righteously means throwing out all the humanist assumptions we take for granted. It means being willing to examine - in the light of Scripture - things we have simply accepted as “the way things are.”

Canada, as a nation, has just taken a major step backward in legally recognizing same-sex marriages. Many nations appear to be headed in the same direction. Unless God intervenes we are moving toward a new “dark ages.” Then when Christians get so sick of having their own way that they are willing to pay any price to walk in God’s ways, we will have a new Reformation. Do we want the moving of God? Righteousness goes before Him and puts us in His way. He won’t bypass us but He will reach out His hand and together we will walk into a new future.

Announcements

There is a new report on site: 604 - What Does The Bible Teach About UFO’s And Aliens?

If you are really interested in understanding the foundations on which world views are built, Rev. LeRoy Davis has a new book out: Presuppositions And World Views. This book looks at the different ideologies that societies are built on. It is an important work for understanding Christian and non-Christian World Views. The cost is around $15.00 and is sold directly by the author. For more information you may contact me.

“The presuppositions one holds determines how one looks at the facts. No one is totally unbiased when looking at history, theology, politics, economics, or any other subject...One’s view of the existence or non-existence of God will be basic to his philosophy of life...The horrors of poverty and famine in the nations of the world can be linked directly to their theology and presuppositions.” Rev. LeRoy Davis

Consider joining the Joshua Club. There are many advantages - including having complete Bible courses in PDF - and when we have enough interested members we will open a forum where the ways of God and what He requires on the earth can be discussed and new ideas brought out. None of us has a “corner on truth.” Only the Word of God is 100% true and we need to work together to understand AND apply it in our lives and in our world.

God bless you,
Glenn Davis
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