Thought for the Month - May 2015
"In a right jam" by Barry Adair
(Preserved for all eternity)
It is something we don't think about much these days. But before the widespread use of refrigeration, to keep food fresh for more than a week or two required some kind of preserving of that food. Food preservation usually involves preventing the growth of bacteria and other nasties. One such preservation process involves turning fresh fruit into jam and indeed, jam remains a staple food all across the world today.
The reason I was thinking about jam and how it is made boils down (pun intended) to a couple of Bible verses I read just a few days ago…
O love the Lord all you His saints: for the Lord preserves the faithful…
Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart. (Psalm 31:23,24)
Just like the fruit being preserved into jam, the Bible is clear that the Lord preserves those who love and obey Him.
As I get older I can really feel that the joints aren't what they used to be, my eyes don't focus as well, there are wrinkles where they were none and cuts and scratches now take ages to heal up. My body is slowly dying. Maybe an extreme way of explaining it and anyway, "ageing" is a much gentler phrase!
The rich Egyptians of old, and especially the Pharaohs, tried to stop the decay of a dead body by embalming. They desperately hoped that in the next life their body would survive. And they were buried with all their treasures hoping to be reacquainted with them too. One strange thing I did read about was that in the embalming process, although most of the internal organs were removed, the heart was not taken out of the body because it was thought to be the centre of intelligence and feeling and would therefore be needed in the afterlife. It was the heart which was to be judged and if found to be pure, an eternity in the beautiful 'Field of Reeds' was secured. Incidentally, the brain didn't seem to matter and was removed using a long hook to pull it out through the nose!
As Christians we too believe in an afterlife but thankfully we don't need to worry about our body as we are promised a new one! This will be one which will never age or tear or rot. And as for our heart, we are promised that it will be 'strengthened' by God too. So what about the 'preserving' which is spoken about in our verse? I think another verse in the Psalms gives us the answer…
Who preserves the souls of His godly ones;
He delivers them from the hand of the wicked. (Psalm 97:10)
- It doesn't matter what "jams" we get ourselves into, God's will will prevail
- If we are born again then we are eternally secure in Him
- Truly, the Lord preserves the faithful
- Preserved for all eternity!
The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (2 Tim 4:18)
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:38,39)
And if you don't yet know the Lord who cares so much about His own?
Please heed the warning below and turn to Him for your eternal salvation.
"Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it." (Luke 17:33, emphasis mine)
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Until next month (dv)…
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