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2 Peter 2:9, "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished."
On This Day in 1946, the International War Crimes tribunal sentenced Nazi war criminals to death. the atrocities of the Nazi's during WWII are almost beyond human imagination and description. Over six million Jews died as a result of Hitler's Nazi regime. During the Nuremberg Trials, high-ranking officials of the Nazi's were tried for their war crimes against humanity. The result was twelve high-ranking Nazi officials were sentenced, to death, and seven others were given terms ranging from ten years to life. Three were acquitted. Two weeks after being sentenced, ten of the twelve were hanged. Of the remaining two, Hermann Goering, founder of the Gestapo and chief of the German air force committed suicide on the eve of his execution, and Chancellor Martin Bormann, who was judged in absentia, was suspected to be dead.
There will come a day when the court of heaven will be called into session and every person from the beginning of time who has not accepted the Lord Jesus as Saviour will go on trial. On that "Day Of Judgment" the "unjust" will stand before God and their sin will be reviewed and sentenced. In each case, the sentence will be life in hell without the possibility of parole. However, there is a way that this "Day of Judgment" can be avoided and a person's sins forgiven. The "Blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son cleanseth from all sin" and "delivered us from the wrath to come" (I John 1:7 & I Thess. 1:10). Today, if you are saved, rejoice that your case has already been judged and that you have been forgiven of all your sins.
Romans 1:6, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."
On This Day in 1836, Charles Darwin returned to Falmouth, England, ending a five year surveying expedition of the Southern Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He described the cannibals who lived in the South Sea Islands as primitive creatures and was convinced that nothing on earth could possibly lift them to a higher level. He thought he had indeed found lower stratum of humanity which would fit his theory of evolution. However, he returned thirty-four later to the same islands, and to his amazement he discovered churches, schools, and homes occupied by some of those former cannibals. In fact, many of them wore clothes and frequently gathered to sing hymns. The reason was soon learned: Missionary John G. Paton had been there preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ! Darwin was so moved by their transformation that he made a generous contribution to the London Missionary Society.
Paul speaks of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the power of God unto salvation. The power of the Gospel is such that no man or people are so low or so primitive that it cannot bring about a marvelous transformation. Some of us were among the lowest of the low, yet the Gospel brought a total change in how we lived. There is no one too hard, too sinful, or too depraved that the Gospel of Jesus Christ cannot produce a wonderful transformation. I'm sure some thought we were hopeless cases. Today, rejoice in the saving power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are al testimony of its power.
Psalm 133:1, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"
On This Day in 1990, East and West Germany were united as one nation. The rebirth of a united nation was ushered in at the stroke of midnight. As fireworks filled the sky the Freedom Bell at Berlin's Schoneberg City Hall rang with a triumphant peal. A roar went up from thousands of cheering, weeping people who hugged each other with joy and waved a sea of black, red, and gold flags. For forty-five years their Germany had been divided, but now they were united and free as one nation. Known as the Federal Republic of Germany with a population of 78.5 million, their constitution, currency, flag and national anthem are those of what was under West Germany.
The Psalmist speaks of the beauty and blessing of unity among the people of God. When the Psalmist speaks of unity he is describing more than union. Someone has said that you can tie the tails of two tomcats together and throw them over the clothesline, and you have union but you do not have unity. Unity is when people are united and working together as a unit. One of the problems Paul dealt with when he wrote to the Corinthian church was the divisions and schisms that existed among them. They were in union because of their relationship to Christ but they were not in unity. Christ, has brought us into union with one another, but we are also to be united and working as a unit. Today, pray for unity in your church and in the family of God. It is a blessed experience when there is unity and when you find a people united and working together as a unit to glorify God and reach others for Christ.
Luke 4:4, "And Jesus answered him, saying, it is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."
On This Day in 1535, the first complete English translation of the Bible was printed. John Wycliffe is credited for the first whole English translation of the Bible (1384). The English preacher and theologian desired to "put the Bible into the hands of the common people." John Gutenberg printed the first Bible. It was a copy of the Vulgate and was printed in Latin. William Tyndale's (an English reformer and martyr) English translation became the basis for the King James Bible. His translation created and appetite for the Bible in English. While he was imprisoned in Belgium, Miles Coverdale published the first complete Bible in English, a translation that relied mostly upon Tyndale's English version.
One of the most prized gifts the believer has received from God is His Word in printed form. Each time we pick up our Bible we ought to give thanks to God that we have His Word in printed form and in our own language. When we think of how, in ages past, the common people did not have the privilege of having a personal copy of God's Word, should make us even more grateful for our Bibles. During the reformation people would gather to hear someone read the Bible, for they did not have the privilege of having a personal copy of God's Word. The blessing of being able to read God's Word anytime by any person is a privilege that should never be taken for granted. Today, when you read your Bible, hold it lovingly in your hands and read it with a heart of gratitude.
I John 2: 6, "He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked."
On This s Day in 1974, American David Kunst completed his walk around the world. it took Kunst four years and twenty-one pairs of shoes to complete the 14,450-mile journey across four continents. George Shilling claimed to have accomplished the feat nearly 100 years earlier, but it was never verified. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Arthur Blessitt holds the record for the greatest distance walked and most countries visited. Beginning his walk on December 25, 1969, Blessitt has walked over 34,184 miles visited 367 countries on all seven continents. The interesting feature of Blessitt's record walk is that he has carried a cross twelve feet long, six feet wide weighing forty pounds. Wherever he goes he preaches the gospel. At age sixty, he continues to walk up to twenty miles per day. His wife Denise has been with him since 1990. Blessitt said that one night Jesus told him to take a cross that was hanging on the wall and walk.
God has much to say to the believer about walking. God speaks to us, not about a walk that takes us around the world carrying a cross but of a walk and life that is reflective of the life of the Lord Jesus while He was on this earth. John says, the believer is to walk as Jesus walked. Paul's instruction to the believers at Thessalonica is: "Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God...." (I Thess. 4:1). Today, ask God to let your walk be pleasing to Him. You may not carry a cross but your walk should reflect the Christ of the cross.
2nd. Corinthians 4:4, "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."
On This Day in 1014, the blinded army of the Bulgarians returned to battle. For thirteen years the Byzantine emperor, Basil had sought to vanquish Samuel's Bulgarian empire. He led a campaign of unprecedented terror in which massacre became the norm. On the banks of the river Strymon, after Basil's forces had surrounded and defeated the Bulgarians, 15,000 men were blinded on his orders. One man in every 100 was left one eye to guide his pathetic comrades on their long march home to Samuel. To celebrate his victory and horrible aftermath, Basil was given the title of Bulgaroctonus-slayer of the Bulgars. As the pathetic regiments made their way home, their ruler, Czar Samuel was so shocked that he died, apparently of apoplexy.
Paul tells us that Satan, the god of this world, blinded those who are unsaved. He blinds to prevent those who are lost from coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Satan does not want the unsaved to understand the gospel. He wants them to remain under his control and ultimately to die lost. He does not want them to see that Jesus Christ can give them a new and eternal life. As believers, we can rejoice that one day we met the Lord Jesus who gave sight to our spiritually blinded eyes. As John Newton states in his great hymn "Amazing Grace", "I once was blind but now I see." "Today, rejoice that Jesus Christ has opened your eyes to His wonderful saving grace and that you are no longer blinded by the god of this world.
John
13:35, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one
to another."
On This Day in 1952, Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver were issued a patent for the "bar code" Silver was a graduate student at Drexel Institute of Technology in Philadelphia. A local food chain store owner had made an inquiry to the institute about a method of automatically reading product information at checkout. Silver joined with Woodland and came up with a method of identifying patterns known as the bar code. the Bar Code was first used commercially in 1966, and in 1973 a Universal Product Code (U.P.C) was created. the first U.P.C. scanner was installed at a Marsh's supermarket in Troy, Ohio. The first product scanned with a bar code was a pack of Wrigley's gum.
The bar code in simple language is a method of identifying a product. God has several identifying methods by which His people are identified. Jesus spoke of loving one another and declared that disciples of Jesus Christ are identified by a type of "spiritual barcode". When people "scan" our lives are we identified as a disciple of the Lord Jesus? Paul's prayer for the Thessalonians is, "And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you" (I Thess. 3:12). the action of our love is not to be restricted to those we know but to all men. Furthermore to love another is a command. "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you" (John 15:12). Today pray that God will put His love in your heart for all men. Pray that your "bar code" reads, "This is a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ." It's a great way to be known.
I Samuel 16:7, "But the Lord said unto Samuel, look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth, for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."
On This day in 1906, the permanent wave was introduced. German born Karl Ludwig, a London hair stylist introduced his Nessler Permanent Waving at his salon on Oxford Street. At first there were few customers. They had to wear brass curlers weighing over a pound each, and the process took over six hours. At a cost of fifty-five dollars, only the rich could afford his new hair treatment. During WWI he came to the United States to avoid being turned in as an enemy alien. Shortly thereafter, exhibition dancer Irene Castle introduced "bobbed" hair, and permanent waving became the craze that swept America.
The Lord reminded Samuel that the proper way to judge a person is not by the outward appearance but by what is in the heart. Now there is nothing wrong with giving attention to our appearance. In all honestly, I have met a few whom I wished had given more attention to their appearance (Please forgive me for that comment). If people want to spend a few dollars to have their hair done, they get my okay. Yet that which deserves the most attention and care is the heart. When the Lord looks upon us it is not our appearance that interests Him but what He sees in the heart. Today, when you look in the mirror, also take a look at your heart. Nice hair is no substitute for a messy heart. Maybe the heart needs attending to as well as your hair. What the Lord sees is most important.
Acts 4:12; "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
On This Day in 1968, Ted Turner, declared in a speech that we can save ourselves. Turner, one of America's richest men, on several different occasions has made statements which vent his dislike of Christianity. In a 1990 speech to the American Humanist Association he stated "Christianity is a religion for losers." He ridicules the idea of hell and believes nature is God. Speaking at the meeting of the Society of Environmental Journalists in Chattanooga, Tennessee, he referred to different religions in which nature was God and then singled out Christianity as a religion that was not environmentally friendly. He said, "You will do a lot better as saving yourselves than praying to someone to save you...I think the savior is right here. With our current technology, we can save ourselves."
With our current technology we may be able to save trees, lakes and streams, the rain forest and natural habitats, but we can never save ourselves. Our Saviour is not found in a program or plan, but in a person. In reality, many of us tried everything we could think of to save ourselves. We turned over a new leaf only in time to end up worse thatn we had been. We tried to stop this and that but slipped deeper into the grip of sin. the greatest day in our lives was when we quit trying to save ourselves and prayed to the Lord Jesus to save our souls. Today, rejoice that one day when you turned to Him he saved you. Oh, by the way, Christianity is not for losers. It is for those who have realized they need a Saviour.
Titus 2:10, "Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things."
On This Day in 1971, the 140 year old London Bridge was opened in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. In order to make way for much needed larger bridge and to keep from raising taxes, the city of London decided to see the London Bridge which had been opened in 1831. Robert P. McCulloch, Sr. had purchased 16,630 acres of barren Arizona desert with plans to build a town and tourist destination. When he heard that the bridge was for sale, he thought, what better way to attract people than to celebrate London Bridge. he bought the bridge for $2.46 million. The bridge was carefully dismantled; each stone numbered (10,000 tons of granite blocks) and shipped to the U.S. It took over two years to reassemble the bridge and a total cost of $17.2 million, but land buyers flocked to obtain lots.
Paul spoke of adorning the doctrine of God our Saviour. The word "adorn" carries the idea of "decorating", Paul was speaking of living a life that gives the Gospel of Jesus Christ an attracting influence. As believers, we are to live in such a way that others are drawn to what we have in Christ. Unfortunately, some live lives that are a hindrance rather than a help in getting people to Christ. They profess to be Christians, but clothe the Gospel in the rags of this world, which weakens the influence of the Gospel. How is your life dressed? Is there something about your life that draws people to want to know what you have? Today, ask God to make your life an attractive influence for the Gospel. We want to attract as many people as we can.
Job 33:4, "The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life."
On This Day in 1972, the Supreme Court head arguments for the second time on the right of a woman to have an abortion. Roe, A Texas resident, had sought to terminate her pregnancy by abortion. Texas law prohibited abortions except to save the pregnant woman's life. The case was first argued before the Supreme Court in December of 1971. After the second argument, the Court ruled in January of 1973 that a woman's right to an abortion fell within the right to privacy protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision gave a woman total autonomy over the pregnancy during the first trimester and defined different levels of state interest for the second and third trimester. The laws of forty-six states were affected by the Court's ruling.
There is one important factor that the Court failed to recognize and realize. The right to life is not the decision of any man or woman. the right to life is God's decision. A person can make the decision to have or not have children. that is a personal matter and up to each individual. But the decision to terminate life is not in our hands. It matters not if it is in the first, second, or third trimester. God alone has total autonomy over life. Job declared that God is the source of life, He alone is to make the decision whether one lives or dies. The battle of abortion rights is really one against God. It is a battle for the freedom to do what we want verses what He wants. Today, pray for those who are dedicated to preserving human life. Since God gave you life, allow His control over your life.
Mark 11:26, "But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses."
On This Day in 1915, British nurse, Edith Cavell, was executed by a German firing squad. Cavell, the daughter of a Norfolk vicar, after the German occupation of Belgium, ran a nursing institute in the Belgian capital as a Red Cross hospital treating injured German and Allied soldiers as well. She became involved in an underground group to help Allied Soldiers escape. She was arrested and placed in solitary confinement, charged with helping 130 British, French, and Belgian soldiers escape (the number was probably closer to 300). She made full confession of her involvement and was sentenced to death. Her last words were. "I realize that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness toward anyone."
Forgiveness is a hard step for some people. They find that what people have done to them and said to them or about them is difficult to forgive. Yet, Jesus speaks of the need to forgive others. He describes personal forgiveness as depending on the one forgiving. In simple words, if we can't forgive someone for what they have done. God will not forgive us for what we have done. Why? Unforgiveness is a sin. God can only forgive sin that we confess and ask Him to purge from our heart. Yes, it is hard to forgive at times, but we must ask God to help us to forgive, but if we are willing to let God make us willing, we will find the ability to forgive. Today, if you struggle with forgiving someone, ask yourself if you want to be forgiven. God will forgive you, but it may depend on your forgiving as well.
John 14:2, "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you."
On This Day in 1972, the cornerstone was laid by George Washington for the President's House - later called the White House. President Washington and city planner Pierre L'Enfant, chose the site for the new residence at what is now 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Competition was held to find a builder for the President's House. Nine proposals were submitted, and Irish-born architect James Hoban's design was chosen. His design called for three stories with more than 100 rooms. Washington oversaw the construction but never lived in it. It was not until 1800, when the White House was nearly completed, that President John Adams became the first resident. During the presidency of Harry Truman, the interior of the White House, with the exception of the third floor was gutted and renovated. However, the exterior stonewalls are the original walls constructed two centuries ago.
As Jesus was preparing to return to heaven He spoke to His disciples about another house - the Father's House", He described it as a unique house, for it would be a house that would contain more than rooms. It would be made of many houses (mansions). Jesus identified Himself as the architect and designer of its unique design and declared that it would be the permanent home of every believer. His promise is that when it is completed He will return for us so that we can take up residence in the Father's House. Today, rejoice that one day you will become a resident in the Father's House. The good news is that you won't have to move our four or eight years later.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9, "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; (9) Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed."
On This Day in 1912, Theodore Roosevelt, while campaigning as a Bull Moose candidate for presidency, was shot, yet gave his speech before going to the hospital, James Schrank, standing just six feet from Roosevelt, pulled out a gun, raised his arm, aimed and fired. The bullet ripped through Roosevelt's heavy overcoat at breast pocket level. Inside the pocket was his fifty page speech folded in half in a wad of 100 pages thick and his metal eyeglass case in which were his glasses. The bullet passed through each and lodged in his chest just before reaching his lungs. The two items probably saved his life. Yet, instead of going for immediate treatment he insisted on giving his speech. He began his speech by saying, "I don't know whether you fully understand that I've just been shot, but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose."
Someone has said that the real test of a man's character is what it will take to stop him. Paul was a man who experienced much suffering and adversity in his life. Yet, he did not let all that he went through stop him. I can hear Paul saying. "It takes more than persecution to stop a Christian." How about you? Do you let problems stop you from serving God? Do you let the things that happen in your life defeat you? Do you let other people discourage you? Today, ask God to help you to be strong and faithful to His work. Why not say to all your problems, "It will take more than you to stop me from serving the Lord."
I Corinthians 15:10, "But by the grace of God I am what I am; and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."
On This Day in 1860, Abraham Lincoln received a letter from eleven year old Grace Bedell, recommending that he grow a bread. Lincoln was seeking the nomination for President and was trailing William H. Seward in popular support. Young Grace of Westfield, N.Y., having listened to the political talk by her elders and having seen a picture of Lincoln, thought he would have a better chance if his appearance was better. She wrote Lincoln telling him that he would be more popular with the ladies, and thus influence more voters, if he would grow whiskers. She wrote, "All the ladies like whiskers and would tease their husbands to vote for you then you would be President." Lincoln did grow a beard and during a campaign stop in Westfield he met Grace. As she was lifted up to meet the future president He said to her, "You see, my dear, I let these grow for you. Perhaps you made me President."
Lincoln's "whiskers" may have helped him to become President of the United States, but we as believers know that we are what we are because of God's grace. Like Paul, we know that the secret to the life we now live and enjoy is all because of God's amazing grace. We are saved by His grace and are His "workmanship" (Eph. 2:8-10). All that we do for God and anything that we become in His work, we have to say it is because of His grace. Today, give thanks for His grace. "Whiskers" or not, we are what we are by the grace of God.
