Pastor's Column 9/15/2024

PASTOR’S COLUMN

“Listen to me, you who know right from wrong, you who cherish my law in your hearts. Do not be afraid of people’s scorn, nor fear their insults. For the moth will devour them as it devours clothing. The worm will eat at them as it eats wool.  But my righteous will last forever. My salvation will continue from generation to generation.”  Psalm 51:7-8, NLT

 “It’s A Matter of Time!”    

While it is true things don’t just merely disappear. There is a set time for all things to reach their end. This is especially true when some aspect of wrong, injustice, or evil stalks the land. Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. was inspired by the Scottish writer, Thomas Carlyle, who is believed to have said, “No lie can live too long.” This may have been King’s paraphrase of Carlye’s words, which is an essential truth. In late Isaiah’s prophecy we read a strong endorsement of the truth. He said despite the evils of that time, God’s righteousness would outlast the lies and ungrounded falsehoods of misguided people. What we’re experiencing in our time is no different than what Christians encountered in the first century, A. D. The apostles described the scornful mutterings of false and morally corrupt leaders as fables and corrupt doctrines. Such speech had the same effect on vulnerable people as it does today. People grabbed hold to vocal and empty fallacies, that created divisiveness and harm.  Isaiah’s message to the people was to avoid being intimidated by or enamored with such brutal language. The aim of the purveyors of such language and behavior was to attack God’s people of goodwill. Someone has said, “Words are potent weapons for all causes, good or bad. Words, like nature half reveal and half conceal the soul within.”  Our words and our actions are measured. They could tip the scale for good or evil at any moment. This is why Jesus warned, “But let your communication be Yea, yea; nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” (Matthew 5:37, KJV). God invites us to take seriously His law, which are the Scriptures. We are encouraged to internalize them and grasp an understanding of their meaning. It is then that the scorn and ridicule we encounter will come to its end. All that’s evil will have a sure demise!