November/December 2002

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<div> To God's scattered Brethren, </div> <div> Greetings! We have just returned home from a serene, tranquil setting overlooking Table Rock Lake with its colorful tree lined shores. This year the rainbow of autumn colored leaves were just beginning to magnify their beauty, with yellows, oranges, golds, light and dark greens, mixed with reds and browns. Together, they illuminated the rolling hills and valleys! </div> <div> Our meeting room, which overlooked this beautiful view of Table Rock Lake, exemplified the relaxed, millennial setting we were picturing. With this peaceful, uplifting and joyful atmosphere in view daily during God's Feast of Tabernacles and Last Great Day, our thoughts were interwoven with God's Holy Spirit of "Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Gentleness, and Self Control," which as the Apostle Paul tells us, "against such there is no law" (Gal. 5:22-23). </div> <div> In the book of Deuteronomy, whose theme is "God's Law Restated," we are instructed, as was Israel, to come to God's Feast of Tabernacles and REJOICE! This third season which God's speaks of, was a commanded appointed time in which to have happy and rejoice-ful sermons, thoughts and actions. </div> <div> Moses wrote that the Feast of Tabernacles was observed at the close of the harvest, when the grain of the fields and the grapes of the vineyard had been gathered in and processed. "You shalt observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, after that you have gathered in your corn and your wine: And you shalt REJOICE in your feast, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates. Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the LORD your God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD your God shall bless you in all thine increase, and in all the works of your hands, therefore you shalt surely REJOICE"(Deu. 16:13-15). </div> <div> The Apostle Paul reminds us in his letter to the brethren in Rome, "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another" (Rom. 14:17-19). </div> <div> In two of Kings David's humble Psalms, he expressed: "All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep His covenant and His testimonies" (Psa. 25:10). "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" (Psa. 133:1). These Psalm are short, but they are a spiritual gem that makes up in quality what it lacks in quantity!! There is seasonal unity among brethren who know and can identify with God's seven step plan. They are encouraged when reading Psalm 1:3, "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper." </div> <div> Reviewing this verse establishes God's fruitful chosen as trees that are evergreen. First it speaks of being planted by rivers of living waters, showing he has a never failing supply of nourishment and seasonal refreshment. Second, he brings forth fruits in their season by displaying the loving patience of God's Holy Spirit. I Corinthians 13 speaks of these fruits of love as being words and actions that are always timely and appropriate, or in other words, in due season. Last, its leaf also shall not wither. It's seasonal cycle of colors never fail to match the plan of salvation God has mapped out for His called and chosen. This kind of man shall prosper in everything he undertakes, because he is guided through God's Holy Spirit of love. </div> <div> Self-directed thinking which leads away from God's planned seasonal steps, is an enormous back sliding step. This should be avoided at any cost!! </div> <div> Solomon, the son of King David who wrote the book of "Ecclesiastes," observed that there is a predetermined season for everything and a fixed time for every happening. "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" (Ecc. 3:1). </div> <div> History is filled with cyclical patterns, and these recur with unchangeable regularity. God's called are locked into a pattern of behavior steps which is determined by certain inflexible laws and principles that are written within His word. Each Holy Day "step" is a step closer to the fulfilling of God's over all plan of salvation for mankind. </div> <div> Step 6 and 7 of God's plan picture a millennium controlled by our Creator, which can bring nothing but love, joy and peace, with a positive response, because God's kingdom has come to reign for all eternity! </div> <div> The sermon on the Mount sets forth the ideal citizens of God's kingdom. "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:3). The poor in spirit are those who acknowledge their own helplessness and rely on God's omnipotence. "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted" (v:4). This mourning is an active, sharing of this world's hurts, sorrows and sins with Christ. "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth" (v:5). Meekness implies acceptance of one's lowly position, though he may be a "lion" in God's cause or in defending others. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled" (v:6). These people have a passion for righteousness in their own lives; they long to see honesty, integrity and justice. "They have a thirst no earthly stream can satisfy" wrote Gamaliel Bradford. "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy" (v:7). To be merciful means to be actively compassionate. In one sense, it means to withhold punishment from offenders who deserve it. In a wider sense it means to help others in need who cannot help themselves. We imitate God when we have compassion and patience. "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God" (v:8). A pure hearted person is one whose motives are unmixed, whose thoughts are holy and whose conscience is clean. "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God" (v:9). The Lord is not only speaking about people with a peaceful disposition or those who love peace; He is referring also to those who actively intervene to make peace. </div> <div> We read next that the Kingdom of God is promised to those believers who suffer for doing right. </div> <div> "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you" (Matt. 5:10-12). The Lord knows that His disciples would be maltreated because of their association with and loyalty to Him. </div> <div> The emphases in these verses are on verses 6, "righteousness," verse 9, "peace" and verse 12, "joy." Paul probably had these passages in mind when he wrote, "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 14:17). </div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> Church of God, In Truth </div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>