Tuesday, August 3, 2021
No Matter How Evil Presses in on US
God Promises Light,
Christ’s Light
for God’s Saints.
Daniel 3:28
Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king’s command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.”
Acts 12:11
Then Peter came to himself and said, ‘Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.’
Words of Grace For Today
Sometimes God saves people from death by the hands of their enemies and even provides recognition in their enemies of the enemies sins against them, God’s judgment of those sins, and the righteousness of God’s people (by Grace alone … and innocent where the false charges are concerned!)
But that’s the exception.
Peter, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are among the fortunate ones who were not killed (or falsely convicted) by Herod, Nebuchadnezzar, and countless other unjust people of power, including corrupt judges today.
Evil runs rampant in the world, in history and still today … and countless people go missing, having been disappeared. Countless people die of neglect and the consequences of other’s sins: from war, from unnecessary famine, from evil’s need to hide it’s dark and cruel works.
We give God thanks for the few people who were saved from destruction and death. We give God thanks that even those of God’s people who are destroyed or killed unjustly are promised eternal life and justice. We give God thanks that as God is gracious and merciful to us, so God gives those who are horrendously unjust with the power they have that same mercy and grace, giving them every opportunity to repent, recognize God, and confess their sins. God gives so many evil people more than ample time for the amendment of their lives.
Today, we breathe yet another day, enjoying the bounty of God’s creation, it’s beauty and wonders. We bask not in the sun, but in the light of the son, who forgives us each day again and again and gives us renewed life. To Hell with evil (in God’s good time), this is life as God intended us to live it. So we breathe yet another day, grateful and gracious towards others, even those that would destroy us, for we remember the old, old story of Jesus and his love for us and all people.