Yes! There is Good News! 2.18.17

I was just reading over last week’s article and was struck by the words from Psalm 103, “His kingdom rules over all.” These words caught my eye because I had been thinking about the title of these articles, “Yes, There is Good News!” and considering how the message that Jesus proclaimed to the people began with “ The good news of the kingdom.” These two concepts crossed my mind at around the same time. Let us, then, dive into these two statements and see where they take us.

Does God’s kingdom rule over you? Please take this personally. We, in this country, are very blessed to have the type of government that is in place: a constitutional republic. But our familiarity with this type of government, one that is “of the people, by the people and for the people” actually might limit us when we consider just how the kingdom of God operates. God’s kingdom is not a republic. It is a monarchy! In a true monarchy, when the king makes a decree it becomes a law and well, yes, the subjects must obey.

How many rules and laws enacted through our secular government do you break? We do not seem to do very well with the speed limits! That’s very obvious. And do we really come to a stop at the many stops signs we encounter? No, I’m not trying to point out the “speck in your eye,” while I have a beam in mine. We have all broken a law or two in our time. But what about God’s law? Sometimes it doesn’t seem that we even care that God has given us His laws as a gift. Yes, a gift! Turn off the TV tonight and just sit and meditate quietly about  how life in this society would improve if just one of the Ten Commandments were fully kept: “Thou shalt not steal.” Not only would we not need locks of any kind, but we would be safe traveling anywhere in any town. Remember I said, “Fully kept.” No one would try to steal another person’s life - “Thou shall not murder,” comes into play. It is an interesting exercise in meditation, try it sometime.

So I repeat: God’s laws are a gift - all of them! And yet if asked, could you recite all of the Ten Commandments? Do you even know where to find them in the Bible?

Let’s see what Moses had to say concerning theses laws of God. In the book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 4, we read this: “Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I’m about to teach you ... Do not add to what I command you, and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God ... Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ ... What other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today? ... Be careful and watch closely ... do not forget ... or let them slip from your heart ... Teach them to your children and to their children after them.” Typing that last line almost breaks my heart when I think of our youth today and how many of them have never been taught the ways of God.

And so I end on a sour note - but fear not, we will continue this next week.
Until then - yes there is good news!