Monday Scenes & GOD’S WORD: They Reveal So Much About GOD!
Scene 1
Yesterday was the final day—grades were due! The plan was simple: Finish reading the small assignments, add those grades, then read the students’ final exam essays, and calculate what the End Grade would be for each student.
“Don’t you already have an idea of what grade each student will receive,” my husband asked me earlier in the week. Yes, I have an idea, but the completion of these end tasks and the strength or weakness of the Final Exam Essay had the power to change the end grade by a letter grade (pushing it up or pulling it down).
So, yesterday was a day of grading.
Scene 2.
Yesterday was a day of eating lunch and talking about Truth! My lunch was comprised of a “hodgepodge” of foods: cottage cheese, rice cakes, and soup. We sat there, the two guys and me, while our campus chaplain sat with us but separated from us. We sat at the round table; he sat on the couch. The girls were busy doing other things and could not join us for lunch. As we sat eating, naturally we talked, and as the conversation turned from the excitement of one guy’s weekend graduation as he earned his doctorate degree, we found ourselves speaking about lies and secrets.
A great man (B. Franklin) once said (and I paraphrase): A secret is a secret between two people if one person is dead. That was part of the theme song of a popular TV series a few years ago, a show where “mean girls” backstabbed each other in their pursuit to be most popular.
Secrets. Lies. The opposite of Truthfulness & Confession.
The great man (Benjamin F.) also said (and I paraphrase): A small leak sinks a great ship. We can remember the Titanic and recall what the iceberg beneath the surface of the water did to that great ship as it took its maiden voyage.
So, yesterday was a day of talking.
Scene 3.
Yesterday was a day of sunshine and rain, a day beholding the end that is sure to come! As I drove toward school, the sunshine filled the sky and permeated the car. Since I had more leisure than a “teaching” day, I drove the “old” road. Not far from our home sits this large structure, one that captures my eye every time I drive by. It sits slightly off the road and is surrounded by tractors, vehicles, farming implements, and odds and ends. What’s most memorable about this structure is how it is slowly and assuredly falling to the ground. If we have driven across the countryside, then we have seen older, tobacco barns that have outlasted their usefulness and seem to be falling down, but this structure was different: It was (just a few years ago) a NEW BUILD. Now, it looks awful. “You’d think they wouldn’t let it fall to the ground,” my husband often said. If they had only repaired the outside metal when the storm first came through, but they left the metal scattered in the field. First, the windstorm blew off a few side pieces of metal. They seemed to lay where they fell to the ground. Then more side, metal sheets joined them on the ground. It was not long before another windstorm rolled back the metal sheeting on the roof. Still, no repair was made. For months, this once beautiful structure has slowly crumpled and fallen into disrepair. Yesterday, I noticed a new type of damage. The rafters looked weak, as if they too were sagging under the strain and headed toward the ground, just as the metal previously fell. ‘Oh my,’ I thought, as I sped by. ‘It won’t be long before the entire building falls to the ground. Such a waste. Such a travesty. Why don’t they do something?’
- You would think the owners would want to save the structure.
- You would think they would have wanted to fix the side-metal sheets when the first windstorm raged through and blew them to the ground.
- Yet here it stood (barely) & soon it would stand no longer.
Monday Scenes & GOD’S WORD: What Do They Reveal About God?
Scene 1— Yesterday was the final day—grades were due!
GOD deals justly with individuals—with us!
“As I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “you certainly are not going to use this proverb in Israel anymore.
(Ezekiel 18: 3-5 & 9 NASB)
“Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.
But if a man is righteous and practices justice and righteousness, . . .”
[then we read a list of righteous acts a man should be all about as he lives]
if he walks in My statutes and keeps My ordinances so as to deal faithfully—he is righteous and will certainly live,” declares the Lord GOD.”
Scene 2— Yesterday was a day of eating lunch and talking about Truth!
GOD explains the consequences of our sins!
“The person who sins will die. A son will not suffer the punishment for the father’s guilt, nor will a father suffer the punishment for the son’s guilt; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.
(Ezekiel 18: 20-23 NASB)
But if the wicked person turns from all his sins which he has committed and keeps My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall certainly live; he shall not die.
All his offences which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his righteousness which he has practiced, he will live.
“Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord God,
“rather than that he would turn from his ways and live?”
Scene 3— Yesterday was a day of sunshine and rain, a day beholding the end that is sure to come!
GOD reminds us how (on the Last Day—every single person) we will INDIVIDUALLY stand before HIM in judgment!
“Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, each according to his conduct,” declares the Lord GOD.
(Ezekiel 18: 30 & 32 NASB)
“Repent and turn away from all your offenses,
so that wrongdoing does not become a stumbling block to you. . . .”
“For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,”
declares the Lord God.
“Therefore, repent and live!”
What do we have a difficult time understanding?
- Is it that God has forgiven all our sins, that God has removed them from us as far as the east is to the west?
- Is it that God loves each of us, just as we are, while we are sinners?
- Is it that God has a plan and purpose for each of our lives, and just maybe we are continuing to walk in the “old” life when we should look to God and walk forward into His new direction for our lives?
The sign that Pilate (the emperor of Rome) placed above Jesus’ head spoke only TRUTH! What’s more, Pilate wanted ALL people to understand, so he commanded that the sign be written in three languages: Aramaic, Latin, & Greek.
The sign Pilate commanded his servants to make, one that was placed above Jesus’ head as JESUS WAS HANGED UPON THE CROSS OF CALVARY, AS THE ONLY SACRIFICE ACCEPTABLE TO GOD FOR OUR SINS!
“I am the king of the Jews.” (John 19: 21b NASB)
- GOD is gracious!
- GOD offers a FULL ACQUITTAL for all our sins!
- GOD sent His Only Son—JESUS—to provide the Way!
- GOD commands that each person must do just one action—REPENT & BELIEVE IN CHRIST JESUS!—to receive His Gift of Salvation!
Monday Scenes & GOD’S WORD: They Reveal So Much About GOD!
There are so many melodies that could be listed, but the one that reminds us of what we (who believe in Jesus, who have accepted God’s gift of salvation, who are the children of God), yes one action, one of most importance & one that can even accomplished as we walk through the many scenes found in a “typical” Monday. Pause to listen to artist Evan Craft as he sings “Fight On My Knees.”
GOD deals justly with individuals—with us!
“These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful. . . .
For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled.” (Revelation 17: 14 & 17 NASB)
GOD explains the consequences of our sins!
“And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (Revelation 20: 10 NASB)
GOD reminds us how (on the Last Day—every single person) we will INDIVIDUALLY stand before HIM in judgment.
“Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, each according to his conduct,” declares the Lord GOD. “Repent and turn away from all your offenses, so that wrongdoing does not become a stumbling block to you. . . .”
“For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord God.
“Therefore, repent and live!” (Ezekiel 18: 30 & 32 NASB)