God has not destined us for wrath

“God has not destined us for wrath”

(The Christadelphian thought by the readings for May 19)

We follow on from our thoughts yesterday about our “our hearts being established blameless in holiness” with Paul’s conclusion to his first letter to the Thessalonians where he stresses very strongly to them that

“having put on the breastplate of faith … God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us …” (3:8-10).

20 feet debris spreads over small Japanese valley from the sea to the hillsides above, 2011 earthquake

The wonder of that salvation which those who truly serve God will experience is illustrated for us in today’s Isaiah 9 where there are words which have found a prominent place in the famous Oratorio ‘The Messiah’.

“For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder … of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and uphold it with justice and with righteousness …” (verses 6,7).

We took particular notice of the phrase, “the increase of his government” which implies the spread of his control – and noted Paul’s words today – that when

“people are saying, ‘There is peace and security’ then sudden destruction will come upon them” (verse 3).

People everywhere will feel a more urgent need than today for peace and security, and when they think they are achieving it, then – disaster!

But then, wonderfully, the child who was born, the “Son” of God, returns to rebuild life on earth on divine principles; a complete rebuilding will be necessary. “The increase of his government” indicates this as the general population recovers from the terrible experience of the “sudden destruction”. As we read on in Isaiah we will come across passages such as in chapter 34, of the time coming when

“the LORD is enraged against all the nations and furious against all their host (armies); he has devoted them to destruction …” (verse 2).

May we all live our lives so that we are among those of whom it will be true to say and experience that,

“God has not destined us for wrath”,

but to obtain salvation.

Preceding:

Establish your hearts blameless in holiness

Displeasure of יהוה , Jehovah the God of gods, and His wrath against all the gentiles their divisions

The Right One to follow and to worship

+++

Sometimes There Are No Words (charispsallo.wordpress.com)
Did any of you parents ever hear your child wake from sleep with some panic fear and shriek the mother’s name through the darkness?
High on Sentiment, Low on Sacrifice (fbcpolson.wordpress.com)
Many believers are high on sentiment and low on sacrifice. We don’t know what it is to fight for the Lord Jesus Christ. If you’re looking for an easy way to serve the Lord, you can forget it.
The Lord’s Prayer – three times daily (chrisjacksononline.net)
The Didache (pronounced did-akh-ay’) is a first century document that captured and preserved the central teachings of Jesus Christ’s twelve apostles in clear, succinct form.
The Contemplative Companion for Thursday, May 14, 2015 (contemplativechristians.com)
the wisdom of God is occurring through the presence of love
“Whoever Disbelieves, Strike Off His Head”: Muslim Persecution of Christians, February 2015 (canadafreepress.com)
Around mid-February, the Islamic State released a video depicting 21 Coptic Christians being decapitated. The executions took place in Libya, another nation along with Syria and Iraq where the Islamic State has carved a niche for itself. While holding their victims’ bodies down, Islamic State members shoved their fingers in the Christians’ eyes, craned their heads back, and sliced away at their throats with knives—all in the name of Allah and Islam, even as the slaughtered called out on the “Lord Jesus Christ.”
The Word: Jude 3-4 (steakandabible.com)
For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Have Faith and Be Encouraged! (fitlyspokenbook.wordpress.com)
Without having seen Him; though you do not [even] now see Him, you believe in Him and exult and thrill with in expressible and glorious (triumphant, heavenly) joy. [At the same time] you receive the result (outcome, consummation) of your faith, the salvation of your souls
Rick Wiles: Horse American Pharaoh Won Kentucky Derby, Therefore, Obama is the Antichrist’s Precursor (aattp.org)
Grebin announced on the program that President Obama “brought a curse on us” and condemned America with his anti-Israel policies. She doesn’t believe Obama is the Antichrist, rather he is “our Antichrist.”