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(Click refresh or reload for current message) Thursday,
July 20, 2023
We
are blessed
with not only
a quiet
country road
to walk on but
tractor trails
between the
fields.
However this
same trail is
actually
Meeting House
Road, a public
right of way
that leads
from our house
over to
Colebrook
Road. The
neighbors keep
the trail
mowed (those
who drive
their golf
carts on it).
The pets' ears
perk up when
they hear the
word, "Trail"
since they
know their
daily walk is
about to take
place.
"Gleanings From Habakkuk" (Part
3)
"Renew
Us Again!"
Message
summary:
Today,
join us as we
boldly
declare, Lord
renew, in
our day, in
our time. May
the Lord use
you and me and
each faithful
follower to
make His fame
and deeds
known among
the people and
bring renewal
to hearts
everywhere
beginning with
our own!
“LORD, I have heard of Your fame; I stand in awe of Your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known” (Habakkuk 3:2). Renewal - nations, families and individual lives need it. It is certainly needed after years of spiritual neglect but it's also an ongoing need even in the life of the devout believer. In today's text Habakkuk cried out for renewal in his time and provides a lesson for us over 2,600 years later. Habakkuk is one of the lesser known and read Biblical books. It is among a collection known as the “Minor Prophets”. (Not minor in the sense of being less important but a designation from Augustine, due to them being generally shorter in length from the Major Prophets.) The basic theme of his book is living by faith. Habakkuk wrote when the nation was coming under judgment and his focus was to encourage the godly remnant to understand God’s ways in regard to their sinful nation and impending judgment. He greatly desired that they were to live their remaining days exalting God and witnessing His awesome deeds. We believe that's a timely word for us as well in our current generation. What matters most is the decision to follow God. Habakkuk stood up for God in his day as have millions through the Bible and church age. Now it’s our turn. It's our day, our time. Our daily Scripture portion from Habakkuk has two elements:
1) “LORD,
I have heard
of your fame;
I stand in awe
of your deeds,
O LORD.”
As the people
of God, let us
rejoice in
hearing the
fame of God
that far
surpasses
human fame
that exists
for only a
season and
touches
relatively
few. May our
Lord’s
supernatural
deeds keep us
in a state of
awe and
wonderment of
His great
power and His
message that
supernaturally
spreads to the
uttermost
parts of the
world.
2) “Renew them in our day, in our time make them known.” My, how an awareness of and appreciation for God’s fame needs renewed in our day which would accompany the fear of God. Perhaps the availability of Scripture and access to learning more about God somehow diminishes people’s interest in our time. How desperately we need a renewal of awe for His deeds. Consider the deluge of moral confusion and idolatry. Consider how God’s name is all too often trampled, cursed, and used as a mindless exclamation instead of being reverenced and held in awe by those who speak it. My heart grieves at the apostasy and blindness sweeping our land. Good is called evil and evil is called good. But
also consider
the aspect of
unanswered
prayer in this
text. In the
sense of
having a
national
revival
Habakkuk's
prayer, was
not answered
but the nation
was judged and
was taken
captive by the
Babylonians. Chris,
a California
reader
responded to a
point we made
about God's
judgment, "The
response to
Habakkuk
(regarding
judgment) is
pretty scary,
given the
state of our
nation."
Indeed it is.
However,
"renew them
in our day"
in
the sense of
personal
renewal was
answered for
Habakkuk and
others who
called on the
name of the
Lord. The same
is true today!
As we put
our trust in
the Lord we
see the big
picture.
“You do not
know what will
happen
tomorrow. For
what is your
life? It is
even a vapor
that appears
for a little
time and then
vanishes away”
(James 4:14).
John
Piper
wrote, "Living
knowing that
your life is a
vapor is
different than
just living.
Things here
are passing
away. You’ve
got to hold
firmly to that
which will
stand. Savor
what matters."
Today, join Brooksyne and me along with those whose steadfast heart boldly declares, “In our day, in our time”. The nation did not experience the renewal he prayed for but rather judgment. That very well may be the same as we pray for America (or the country you live in). May the Lord use you and me and each faithful follower to make His fame and deeds known among the people. Bring renewal to our hearts and empower us to stand as part of God's righteous remnant! Be
encouraged
today, (Hebrews
3:13)
Daily
prayer:
Heavenly
Father, we
want to be a
shining light
to the
nations. We
want to bring
a word of hope
to the peoples
of this earth
so that the
whole world
will know
there’s
salvation in
Your name,
there’s awe in
Your
supernatural
deeds and
there is
eternity to be
gained in
exchange for a
temporal sin
sick world. We
don’t want to
take for
granted Your
awesome deeds
recorded in
Scripture or
things done
for us in the
past. Would
you do it
again, Lord!
Reveal Your
power anew and
make it known
in our time,
we pray in
Jesus' name.
Amen.
Note: When I get to heaven I'm going to have some questions (actually many) and one of the first questions I'll ask when I meet Habakkuk is, "How do you pronounce your name?" I've sure heard various pronunciations on this earth and right in my own household! If you listen to us read this message you will probably hear two different pronunciations. In our daily encouragement messages we often emphasize the aspect of daily choice and commitment. Each of us has an apportioned amount of time to live on this earth known only to God, our day and our time. We are physically designed to die. Each day approximately 178,000 people die worldwide. The Bible forthrightly states, “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). But we all have this moment. Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental
Resources
"Revive
Us Again"
Click
to watch on
YouTube
Gaither Vocal
Band The
hymn we often
sang in Bible
College in the
seventies.
"Revive
Us Again"
Click
to watch on
YouTube
Phil
Wickham
A new song
with the same
title.
Here's
another the
view of the
Meeting House
trail around
the corner
from our lead
photo. In this
one you can
see the sunset
over the corn.
The trail is here
on Google
maps. When the
trail is
narrow and the
corn is tall
it's like
walking
through a slot
canyon,
although just
a bit less
dramatic than
"Wall
Street" we
walked through
years ago at
Bryce Canyon
National Park!
Visiting
with Dave, a
carpenter at White
Oak Display.
Dave
represents one
of the
hundreds of
hard workers
we visit with
each week in
the course of
our chaplain
work. But Dave
has an
interesting
distinction.
He is nearing
retirement and
his first job
was way back
in the
seventies at
this very
location when
it was a shoe
factory. Later
in life after
working in
various places
he came back
to work at the
same factory,
though he no
longer makes
shoes but
he still
labors with
his hands. He
expects to
retire from
the same place
he started
some 50 years
earlier. How
many of our
readers have
that kind of
work
experience?
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Brooksyne
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