We're
called to be "salt for the earth" and "light for the world" (Matthew
5:13-14). How can we be "salt" and "light" in a world that has turned
its back on the things that matter most in life? Can we do this by
"setting aside Moses' teaching or the Prophets" (Matthew 5:17)? No!
Jesus says, "No." He says, 'This is what we must never do. We cannot
preserve true Christian living, if we set aside the Word of the Lord. A
stripped-down ethic, which changeable from one generation to another, is
no substitute for a Christian that is grounded in the Word of God,
which is unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable. Who are we come to the
Word of God with the attitude that we can decide that there are some
things that are "unimportant" (Matthew 5:19)? When God calls something
important, we must also say, 'This is important.' It's not to be changed
because it doesn't fit in with our modern outlook. Sometimes, people
disregard what God's Word says because they think that they have the
right, to say, 'This is important. That is unimportant.' When we say
this kind of thing, what are we really saying? We're saying, 'I am more
important than God. I know better than God." Such an attitude can have
no place in the hearts of those who want, through their lives, to
"praise their Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).
“At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem”, the keynote of the service was joyful thanksgiving. They gathered together “to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving” (Nehemiah 12:27). “On that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy” (Nehemiah 12:43). They sang “songs of praise and thanksgiving to God” (Nehemiah 12:46). This joyful thanksgiving is only a foretaste of the greater joy and thanksgiving of heaven: “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4). In the city of God, “the glory of God” will be shining with everlasting brightness (Revelation 21:23). The Church of God will be “prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Revelation 21:2). The beautiful picture of the godly wife in Proverbs 31 gives us an outline of what God is seeking to do in His people. It is summarized in Proverbs 31:30: “A woman who fears the Lord is to be
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