The Lord Reigns
We are living at a crucial time in our nation’s history. We see confusion all around us and sometimes we forget that it is God Who rules in this world. Not any human, nation, party or group. No amount of money or power is able to thwart the will of God.
I have been reading in 1 Kings about Ahab – an evil king – and Elijah - a prophet of God. Look at 1 Kings 16:29 – 18. When the leader was evil, God punished the entire nation. I am so happy that Jesus took that away from us by taking ALL our sin on the cross and conquering evil. I am also grateful to Jesus that we don’t have to butcher lambs, goats, bulls, etc. twice every day and more on holidays for our worship. Jesus took that away, too. Now, we live under the New Covenant of Grace, not the Old Covenant of Law. It is important that we read the old covenant so we can truly appreciate what Jesus did for us. Hebrews 10 tells us that God found the old covenant didn’t work, so gave us a new one. Thank Him daily for that. But we all know that the new covenant doesn’t work as efficiently as God wanted it to because God also gave us free will. We can choose. Often, we choose amiss and foul things up.
I was amused today when I heard about the Iowa Caucus being a fiasco. And I thought of Proverbs 8:12-18 where God tells us that all leaders, governments and powers are there only by His Grace. He puts them there, He takes them down. He talks about “Wisdom”, but we know from reading 1 Corinthians 1:30 (which the people of the Old Covenant didn’t have!) that Wisdom is JESUS (Who hadn’t come yet)! So when you read that passage, just say ‘Jesus’ wherever it says ‘Wisdom’. God confounds peoples and even armies in the Old Covenant so that they don’t do the evil they intend. God confounded the Iowa Caucus group. God is in charge. Oh, you can blame Bernie, or Elizabeth, or Joe – but it is GOD Who reigns. Several stories in the Old Covenant tell of God confounding and confusing even large armies so that their plans are not carried out. It is important to read the Old Covenant.
This quote from Isaiah 14:24 is very important to remember because it is God, Himself, speaking through the pen of the prophet and a strong comfort to us today. “The Lord of Hosts has sworn, saying, ‘Surely as I have thought and planned, so shall it come to pass: and as I have purposed, so shall it stand”. (Amplified Version)
Do not despair of the chaos in our world today. As the song says, “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.” He watches over His own children today as always. Are you one of them? If you have accepted Jesus into your heart, you are. If not……well, you have a choice, free will. If you don’t know for sure, find someone to ask – a pastor of a church, another Christian, the editor of this paper, me – we can all tell you how to be one of God’s own children, protected and cared for by Him as it says in Psalm 91 – especially verses 9 and 10. Read it and be comforted, Child of God.
Rev. Joyce Kaplan, M. Div., Retired United Church of Christ Pastor.
Reader Comments(0)