The DNA of Scripture

Did you know that Scripture has DNA? Another light came on tonight while I was studying my Sunday School lesson. (Hope no one from my class reads this till after Sunday.)

We all now know about DNA. That marvelous thread that makes us who we are and yet unites us as the human race. Scientists have already admitted there is a common ancestor for man, (although some of them still insist that we crawled out of the murky swamps & evolved into the intelligent beings we are today). But there is that common thread of life that runs through us all. That common thread is found in Scripture, as well.
There is the physical thread of life and the Scriptural thread of life. Confused? I hope I can explain what I mean.

The physical thread of life, running from Adam & Eve, winding its way through generation after generation and into all generations to come. Oh, but the Scriptural thread of life is even more astounding! After the fall of man & God pronounces His most severe curse/judgment on the serpent, He states in Genesis 3:15 KJV "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." This is not just speaking of the serpent that was used by Satan. This is a promise that the seed of a woman will conquer Satan once & for all. So the Scriptural DNA begins to wind it's way through prophecy after prophecy to the birth of Christ. For Christ was the seed of a woman, not that of a man. Christ's death & resurrection continues the Scriptural DNA as it runs forward to Revelation chapter 12. As Christ has ascended into heaven, Satan turns his wrath on the woman who gave birth to Him - not Mary, but Israel. Still that thread of Scriptural DNA is moving until we see the final destruction of Satan in Revelation 20:10, fulfilling the promise made in Genesis 3:15. But just as the physical DNA continues in the lives of generations to come, so the Scriptural DNA continues in the promise of life everlasting for those who claim the name of Jesus.  Hallelujah! Amen!!  Do you see it?

Willing To Give It All

Tonight was the first meeting of our Willing Workers Weekend at church. We have this each year. It gives those who attend, especially the newer members, a list of all the areas of service we have & it encourages them to see what area they feel God would have them serve in. We had a pretty good attendance. Some were not able to attend tonight, but will be there tomorrow. That will be the time when we learn more details about the different ministries.

Tonight we watched a short film about the day Jim Elliott & his team died in the Amazon, killed by the tribe to whom they had come to witness. Five men. They had guns, but chose not to use them. They had previously decided they would not use their guns on the people they were there to help, even if it meant their lives. The reason they gave - "We are ready to die and they are not." And die they did, but certainly not in vain. The wives of some of these men went to the very people who had killed their husbands & began a ministry there. Many were saved and the tribe is no longer fierce and pagan.  If you've never read the story of Jim Elliott, Nate Saint, and the three other brave missionaries, be sure to read the book, End Of The Spear. It will surely touch your heart. There is also a movie, but being a reader, I went for the book. I'm sure you can also find the story on the Internet. This month was the 55th anniversary of the end of their lives here on earth and the beginning of their lives with Christ.

We have much admiration for men like those, who would give their all for someone who hated them. That's exactly what Christ did. He gave everything for a world that hated Him. Now, some 2000 + years later, we see that He is still hated. But not by all, my friends. Every day there are more & more who are realizing He is the only way & choosing to give their all to Him and for Him. What about you? Where do you stand? You know you will have to make a choice. You don't know when your time will come to an end. Waiting may not be an option. So what will you do with Jesus?

Excerpt From My Journal (7/13/2004)

"Strange how we are affected by our dreams. Some are gone with our waking. Others never leave. How will those that linger change our lives? My dream, sometime between sleep on 7/10 and waking on 7/11, has remained with me. I am faced with the fear each time I remember. Not just the fear of pain, but the fear of shame. My dream took me back to a younger age, back to the little church in my neighborhood. This scene was not one from my past. There beside the church was a mobile guillotine, although I never saw the blade itself. There were about six young girls my age standing side by side - waiting - waiting to die for the name of Christ. And I was hiding. My fear of dying was overshadowed by my fear of being a disappointment to Jesus. I kept asking myself how I was going to react when I was captured. Would I cry and beg for my life? A part of me feared that I would. I turned and looked at the girls, patiently waiting to die. No tears. No shame. I wondered if I would have that peace when it was my turn. I asked God to please let me have that peace when it was my turn.

Now I think about how many times I have walked past that church when I was the age in my dream.I guess it is only natural that in a dream about being that age, I would go back to where I was at that time. I was approximately the age when I was saved, 15. I have really thought about what it would be like to know that your stand for Christ would mean your death. Our freedom to worship has always been so secure, but that is changing. For forty years it's been slowly turning. Now the turn is much more rapid, and I'm not sure it can be stopped. I think we face an evil we never believed would come to us. An evil that is destroying the foundation of our nation. An evil that will make us choose life and shame or death and Christ. But to die for Christ is to live with Christ."

It's been about six and a half years since I had that dream & recorded it in my journal. I have seen even more changes taking our nation and world further & further away from God. I believe time is very short. As these past years have strengthened me spiritually, I look forward to seeing my Lord. My fear is for those I love who are not prepared to meet Him.  So what do we who are ready do when we have those we love who are not?  We must not cease praying, while accepting that the ultimate choice is not ours, but is that of those for whom we pray.   "....The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 6:16b KJV  "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Revelation 22:20b KJV