Thought for February 23

 History:

  • 1455: Johnannes Gutenberg prints his first Bible
  • 1758: Jonathan Edwards receives a smallpox vaccination, contracts the disease and dies in March
  • 1778: Baron Von Steuben joins the Continental Army at Valley Forge--training is instrumental in the success of Washington's army
  • 1821: First US pharmacy college organized in Philadelphia
  • 1836: Siege of the Alamo begins--falls March 6
  • 1886: Times of London publishes the first classified ad
  • 1896: Tootsie Roll introduced
  • 1904: US buys control of the Panama Canal for $10 million
  • 1940: "Pinocchio" released
  • 1945: Flag raised by Marines on Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima
  • 1954: First mass inoculation with Salk polio vaccine
  • 1967: 25th Amendment adopted--Presidential succession
  • 1985: Bobby Knight throws a chair during a game
  • 2020: First Covid outbreak in Europe [152 cases in Italy]
  • Born: Samuel Pepys, George Frederic Handel, John Sutter [gold in California], W.E.B. Du Bois, Paul Tibbets [Enola Gay], Tom Osborne, Peter Fonda, Ed "Too Tall" Jones, Michael Dell, Dakota Fanning
  • Died: Polycarp, John Keats, John Quincy Adams, Carl Gauss [mathematician], Edward Elgar ["Pomp and Circumstance"], Stan Laurel, James Herriot ["All Creatures Great and Small"]
Thought:
Reading Malachi 2:17 this morning. What a challenging verse. "You have wearied the Lord with your words." WOW! I wonder if the Lord is saying that to me. When I was a child and continually and consistently messed up, I would always say "I'm sorry" to my parents. Finally, Mom would say, I'm tired of you saying you are sorry--just behave. Our spouses may have heard this as well, or our coach or our boss. We mess up and say, I'm really sorry. But after a while, that gets old. Notice what words are wearying the Lord in Malachi 2--
  • You call evil good and good evil.  Sounds like me. Things that I would have considered awful or abhorrent now are just off-color. Jokes that would have embarrassed me, now make me giggle. Athletes and politicians whose words and actions would have turned me off now seem o'k if they win the games or promote laws and policies that I like. It must wear God out to hear me claim to be His and yet call these things that He calls evil acceptable. 
  • You ask where is God's justice. Notice the irony. I call evil good and then wonder where God's justice is. Why doesn't God do something? Well, if God really came in justice, where would you be Larry. Maybe God is not acting out of mercy and grace to allow you to repent. Or the church to repent. A few Sundays ago, our pastor preached on 2 Chronicles 7:14, a verse often quoted on the Day of Prayer in May. Two things about this verse always stick with me--the call to repentance is for the people of God--if My people. The nation cannot turn to God until those that claim to be God's people repent and seek God. Same in Malachi's days. The second thing about that verse that strikes me is "if." What a word! "IF" What IF I humbled myself, turned from my wicked ways and sought His face. What IF I loved Him with all my heart all the time. What IF I loved my neighbors as myself--,loved them enough to tell them about the Savior and the coming judgment. What IF. 
Lord, may the words of my mouth and meditations of my heart be acceptable to You and may my life reflect my confession and not weary You. 

Blessings
Larry

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