With the news this past week again centering on the violent, the dangerous, the evil – well, it brought a smile to my face to find this in my grandfather’s writings (L.A. Meade, who wrote the notes on which we based the books Classic Christianity, A Year of Timeless Devotions). Perhaps our generation is not so different from those that came before? He wrote this during World War II, but I believe you will find the words just as appropriate for today as they were for his day!
“…that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.” Hebrews 12:27
Again political machinery is sputtering and whirring ever faster in this day, making the old world shake from center to circumference until wise men wonder whether the old planet will stay in its orbit any longer. On what can we lean that will not shake us from our footing? For what can we stand with bravery and certainty? There are some things that cannot be shaken. I will only mention those which are fortified and made absolutely sure by revelation of Scripture.
The Throne of God cannot be shaken, no matter what may take place in the world material and the world ethereal. We have seen earthly thrones topple and fall in the dust. Autocratic or democratic, they are sure to fall to the brush heap. But while the thrones of the earth totter and fall, the throne of God endures forever. The Scriptures say so.
The world does not need another treaty or economic program to straighten it out. The only salvation for the souls of men is to satisfy their spiritual needs through Christ Jesus. God lives and still holds His scepter and always will.
Another thing remains in the midst of the shaking process, and that is the Word of God. Literature and history may be lost but the Word of God endures. So say the scriptures. It comes from God and is the Divine authority and His revelation to man. No great piece of oratory ever came from any other fountainhead. Patrick Henry had it at Virginia. Abe Lincoln on the battlefield of Gettysburg had it, Daniel Webster and Wendell Phillips all had it. They had the authority of God’s Word and referred to it as unchanging truth.
Beware the ministers today who have lost that authority. They preach on politics or popular themes. They preach anything but the burning message of this old Book, burning with a Holy passion and ready to sweat blood, backed up by the message of divine authority, the Book of God from cover to cover. Not that the word of God is in it, but that it is the Word of God.
Something else remains; it is the Church of God. God’s own Son is recorded in the Holy Scriptures as saying that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. He built His church not on any philosophy, He built His church on the fact that God in the person of Christ came into this world and died on Calvary to save men. There is no true church in the world that does not rest on this foundation. If there is no word about Christ or humility, no word about repentance or the Holy Spirit or looking to God, if there is only the selling of someone’s idea, then that is not the Church of Jesus Christ.
With a deathless conviction that breaks my heart and wets my face with tears I shall continue to remember the throne of God, stand in the shadow of the cross, hold the Book to my heart and preach the glorious gospel of the Son of God, and believe in its everlasting triumph through the coming King. And so, my friend, what of you?
Dearest Almighty God, how comforting to know that even in this age, some things remain unchanging and unshakable. Lord, if testing is in my future, please help me to stand firm in You, stand strong on Your Word, stand faithful in Your church. In Jesus’ precious name, amen.
That last question is worth thinking about! Dear friend - what of you? Are you clinging to the only unshakable foundation for life - Jesus? Today is a very good day to make sure!
Blessings,
Cara and Patti
Classic Christianity
“…that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.” Hebrews 12:27
Again political machinery is sputtering and whirring ever faster in this day, making the old world shake from center to circumference until wise men wonder whether the old planet will stay in its orbit any longer. On what can we lean that will not shake us from our footing? For what can we stand with bravery and certainty? There are some things that cannot be shaken. I will only mention those which are fortified and made absolutely sure by revelation of Scripture.
The Throne of God cannot be shaken, no matter what may take place in the world material and the world ethereal. We have seen earthly thrones topple and fall in the dust. Autocratic or democratic, they are sure to fall to the brush heap. But while the thrones of the earth totter and fall, the throne of God endures forever. The Scriptures say so.
The world does not need another treaty or economic program to straighten it out. The only salvation for the souls of men is to satisfy their spiritual needs through Christ Jesus. God lives and still holds His scepter and always will.
Another thing remains in the midst of the shaking process, and that is the Word of God. Literature and history may be lost but the Word of God endures. So say the scriptures. It comes from God and is the Divine authority and His revelation to man. No great piece of oratory ever came from any other fountainhead. Patrick Henry had it at Virginia. Abe Lincoln on the battlefield of Gettysburg had it, Daniel Webster and Wendell Phillips all had it. They had the authority of God’s Word and referred to it as unchanging truth.
Beware the ministers today who have lost that authority. They preach on politics or popular themes. They preach anything but the burning message of this old Book, burning with a Holy passion and ready to sweat blood, backed up by the message of divine authority, the Book of God from cover to cover. Not that the word of God is in it, but that it is the Word of God.
Something else remains; it is the Church of God. God’s own Son is recorded in the Holy Scriptures as saying that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. He built His church not on any philosophy, He built His church on the fact that God in the person of Christ came into this world and died on Calvary to save men. There is no true church in the world that does not rest on this foundation. If there is no word about Christ or humility, no word about repentance or the Holy Spirit or looking to God, if there is only the selling of someone’s idea, then that is not the Church of Jesus Christ.
With a deathless conviction that breaks my heart and wets my face with tears I shall continue to remember the throne of God, stand in the shadow of the cross, hold the Book to my heart and preach the glorious gospel of the Son of God, and believe in its everlasting triumph through the coming King. And so, my friend, what of you?
Dearest Almighty God, how comforting to know that even in this age, some things remain unchanging and unshakable. Lord, if testing is in my future, please help me to stand firm in You, stand strong on Your Word, stand faithful in Your church. In Jesus’ precious name, amen.
That last question is worth thinking about! Dear friend - what of you? Are you clinging to the only unshakable foundation for life - Jesus? Today is a very good day to make sure!
Blessings,
Cara and Patti
Classic Christianity
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