Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem
1 Corinthians 15:55-56
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
(King James Version)
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First of all, I want to correct something I wrote yesterday. Here is what I wrote:
"While Acts One and Two of Handel's Messiah deal with the past, Act Three sings of the future.
I would like to correct that, as Act Two is about the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of the Messiah, but it is also about the spread of the Gospel. That's still going on. So let's see it this way:
Act One is about the Past..
Act Two is about the Present.
and
Act Three is about the Future.
That actually makes more sense. And now, on to the next portion, a Duet between an Alto and a Tenor.
There is a saying that the only things you can be sure of are "Death and Taxes". Certainly, the most feared Branch of our government is not the Military, the CIA, or Law Enforcement, but the IRS! There is an entire industry built around calculating tax returns, and defending citizens against audits. The recent scandals have made this Agency of our Government even more threatening.
However, there is something even MORE frightening, and UNIVERSALLY feared than Taxes. This FEAR is the Foundation and Origin of an entire Culture of myth, legend, horror stories and movies, over-the-top fitness obsessions, eating disorders and fads, health insurance fraud and lack thereof, fake cures and health food crazes, and snake-oil salesmen. That fear, of course, is the Fear of DEATH. It seems to be hard-wired into us, and has been part of humanity since Creation.
We who believe probably still have that fear lurking beneath the surface, yet the Scripture tells us that we no longer need to fear Death. Death is a result of the Fall, and we have been redeemed from that Curse. Death is merely a transition to a higher place. It is swallowed up by Victory. The sting has been removed. Praise Be to God.
Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.
The Greatest of These is Love (1 Corinthians 13)
God Bless America.
Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.
Hallelujah and Amen
ML/LTOS