A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Monday,
June 28,
2021
Brooksyne was visiting with our farming
neighbors over the weekend and snapped this photo of
their labors for the day. For many of you this will
bring a memory of freshly cut hay, especially alfalfa.
(Click on photo to enlarge)
"Made
From One Blood"
Listen
to this message on your audio player.
"For
the life of a creature is in the blood" (Leviticus
17:11). "And He has made from one blood every nation
of men to dwell on all the face of the earth" (Acts
17:26).
On
Saturday morning the bloodmobile returned to JB
Hostetter & Sons Hardware Store, here in Mount
Joy, where we have donated blood every other month for
many years. Since the Corona virus began the
bloodmobile units were idled and buildings were used
to host the drives. After receiving the bloodmobile
announcement in the mail Brooksyne signed us up right
away and turns out we were the first donors on the bus
early that morning, though the lines were long that
followed us!
The
Bible states, "For the life of a creature is in
the blood" (Leviticus 17:11). That is a medical
truth as well. When someone is dying of a serious
injury a cause of death is described as "bleeding
out". You cannot live without an adequate supply of
blood. Those who donate can do so because only a
relatively small amount is taken, roughly 1 pint out
of the 10 we have and our body quickly recovers. After
a donation, the blood volume can be recovered within
24 hours! (See Psalm 139:14)
In Acts 17 Paul was in a discourse with the academic elites in Athens. He makes a very interesting point concerning God's creation: "And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth" (Acts 17:26). The Amplified Bible uses this wording, "And He made from one [common origin, one source, one blood] all nations of men to settle on the face of the earth".
A
phlebotomist who was of Indian descent collected my
donation on Saturday when a thought occurred to me
which he verified. Apart from the variety of blood
types we all have (O positive, etc) anyone can donate
and receive blood from any other person on earth
regardless of race, national origin, religion or any
other scores of distinctives that tend to divide us
socially, economically, etc. Regardless of these
differences we are all made from one blood as
descendants of Adam and Eve.
During our lifetime, in our observation, race relationships here in the US seemed to be improving dramatically until about ten years ago. Now sadly there has been an increase in stoking racial division and strife, which is surely the work of the enemy whose goal it is to steal, kill and destroy (see John 10:10). For some, creating division and identity groups are used as a political strategy to drive even deeper wedges in relationships including that of family members.
Albert
Barnes writes:
“The best way to produce peace between
alienated minds is to bring them to the same Savior.
That will do more to silence contentions, and to heal
alienations, than any or all other means. Bring people
around the same cross; fill them with love to the same
Redeemer, and give them the same hope of heaven, and
you put a period to alienation and strife. The love at
Christ is so absorbing, and the dependence in his
blood so entire, that they will lay aside these
alienations, and cease their contentions.
The work of the atonement is thus designed
not only to produce peace with God, but peace between
alienated and contending minds. The feeling that we
are redeemed by the same blood, and that we have the
same Saviour, will unite the rich and the poor, the
bond and the free, the high and the low, in the ties
of brotherhood, and make them feel that they are one.
This great work of the atonement is thus designed to
produce peace in alienated minds everywhere, and to
diffuse abroad the feeling of universal brotherhood."
Since
brothers Cain and Abel and later Jacob and Esau
struggled with conflict and division, the human race
has been marked with hostility by focusing on that
which divides us. May God help us to remember that "He
has made from one blood every nation of men to
dwell on all the face of the earth".
Be
encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen
& Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, we
thank You for Jesus who united Jews and Gentiles
into one people when, in His own body on the
cross, He broke down the wall of hostility that
separated us. Through Christ's supreme sacrifice
You made it possible to unite the prosperous and
the poor, the black and the white, the educated
and uneducated, those who differ from us in
nationality and a host of other ways but linked
together in the bond of peace by our brotherhood
in Christ our Savior as we worship
You, our Father, here on earth and throughout
eternity. Amen.
Daily
prayer: Father, we
thank You for Jesus who united Jews and Gentiles
into one people when, in His own body on the
cross, He broke down the wall of hostility that
separated us. Through Christ's supreme sacrifice
You made it possible to unite the prosperous and
the poor, the black and the white, the educated
and uneducated, those who differ from us in
nationality and a host of other ways but linked
together in the bond of peace by our brotherhood
in Christ our Savior as we worship
You, our Father, here on earth and throughout
eternity. Amen.See
Ephesians 2:14
Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental
Resources
"Jesus Loves The Little Children" Video Mike Curb Congregation (This includes verses to the familiar children's chorus that we had never heard before.)
"Jesus Loves The Little Children" Video Mike Curb Congregation (This includes verses to the familiar children's chorus that we had never heard before.)
"He
Is Our Peace" Video Maranatha!
Music
Additional
thoughts:
1)
Gerald McDermott in an article entitled "The
Bible On Race" contends "The Bible
pays no attention to race" (that is our skin
color) and makes a powerful argument that
skin color was essentially not a cause for
division in the Bible times. (The
Bible on Race)
2)
The key difference between black and white
skin relies on the type of melanin produced
in these two types of skin. Black skin is a
result of the production of eumelanin, which
is dark brown to black in color while white
skin is a result of the production of
pheomelanin, which is red to yellow in
color.
Human skin color varies from darkest to the lightest shades. Melanin is the main pigment responsible for skin color in humans. Therefore, genetics also play a major role in determining skin color. Black skin is mainly due to the production of eumelanin while white skin is due to pheomelanin. Difference Between Black and White Skin
Human skin color varies from darkest to the lightest shades. Melanin is the main pigment responsible for skin color in humans. Therefore, genetics also play a major role in determining skin color. Black skin is mainly due to the production of eumelanin while white skin is due to pheomelanin. Difference Between Black and White Skin
3)
On the way to our church service yesterday
we listened on our local Christian radio
station WDAC, as we often do, to a sermon
from Pastor Chris Walker from the
Westminster Presbyterian Church in
Lancaster, a Bible faithful congregation
where a number of our friends attend. His
outstanding message was titled "Brought
Near" and is similar to our message
today. The audio message is
posted online here.
4)
From God's perspective there are two groups
of people (see John 3:16-21):
1) Those who believe and follow
God and have accepted His plan for salvation
through His son Jesus.
2) Those who have not believed.
5)
Mitch Albom in his book "Finding Chika",
shares about his experience, along with his
wife, of caring for a little girl from Haiti
whom they eventually adopted. She was
displaced as a result of the massive
earthquake in 2010. Now Mitch has lighter
colored skin and of course Haitians are very
dark. (He writes the book to her, even
though she has died.) "I remember the time
we stood by a mirror, studying our
reflections, and you held your arm up next
to mine. I thought you were comparing our
skin color. Instead, you pointed to a mole
near my wrist and said, 'Mister Mitch, why
do you have that bump?' That's all you were
interested in." (Finding Chika) (Video)
Hay
harvest on Kraybill
Church Road. The older children are
working at this harvest but Brooksyne was
too far away for a good photo. The
youngest one who's 12 was driving the
team.
This
one room schoolhouse on Garfield Road
south of Mount Joy has been repurposed
into a house. We took this photo last Friday
when we returned from a chaplain visit.
The photo on Google maps is
very similar. It is not unusual
to see these well-built schoolhouses
repurposed in our area. We had actually
considered this when we were looking to
buy a home after we moved to Lancaster
County back in 2001 but were advised
against it in the school we were looking
at. However someone else bought it and
made the conversion. (It has a busy 4 lane
highway behind it which we were concerned
about as well.) But
it sure would have had character! Here's the location and photo on Google
maps.
(Click on photo to enlarge)
(Click on photo to enlarge)
Our
neighbor Marvin is restoring this bell for
use in a one room schoolhouse next to his
church they are renovating as a
multi-purpose building. The bell is so
heavy it takes two strong people to lift
it.
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Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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