Guardian Angel Store - Christian gifts and books to share your values

Site Search:

Store Search:

Home > Forums > Reflections > The God of the Living Home | Forums | My Account |  My Wishlist  |  Cart Contents  |  Checkout  |  www.GuardianAngelStore.com is RSS enabled.  Add this link to your feed reader to get our news updates.  In the forums add the link next to the forums you want to receive updates for.
 Navigation

Main
 Home
General
 News
 News Submission
 News Topics
 Search
 Sitemap
Community
 Forums
 Web Links
Members
 Account
Information
 About Us
 Contact
 FAQ
 Legal Documents
 Link To Us

 
 Shopping

Aids--Classroom, Bible, Office
Angels
Automotive
Bereavement & Memorial
Bible Center
Books
Books, Used
Candles & Necessities
Church Supplies
Clothing
Collectibles/Figurines
Crosses/Crucifixes
Devotions
Encouragement/Inspirational Gift
Garden Decor
Gifts for Family & Friends
Home Treasures
Jewelry
Knights of Columbus Gifts
Love, Weddings & Marriage
Media - CDs/DVDs/Software
Message Cards
Names to Remember
Patriotism
Pocket Coins & Tokens
Sacramentals
Sacraments
Saints
Special Seasons
Sports
Toys/Games


New Products

Shop by Price
Under $10
From $10 - $30
From $30 - $50
From $50 - $100
Above $100
All Price Ranges
 
Guardian Angel Store: Forums

The Guardian Angel Store Forums :: View topic - The God of the Living
 Forum FAQForum FAQ   SearchSearch   UsergroupsUsergroups   ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

The God of the Living

 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    The Guardian Angel Store Forums Forum Index -> Reflections Printable Version
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Prayer-Soldier
Newbie
Newbie


Joined: Apr 18, 2009
Posts: 1001


Status: Offline

PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2016 5:47 pm    Post subject: The God of the Living Reply with quote

The God of the Living

Scripture:


It came to pass also, that seven brethren, together with their mother, were apprehended, and compelled by the king to eat the flesh of swine, against the law, for which end they were tormented with whips and scourges. But one of them, who was the eldest, said thus: What would you ask, or learn of us? We are ready to die rather than to transgress the laws of God, received from our fathers.

And when he was at the last gasp, he said thus: You indeed, O most wicked man, destroy us out of this present life: but the King of the world will raise us up, who die for his laws, in the resurrection of eternal life. After him the third was made a mocking stock, and when he was required, he quickly put forth his tongue, and courageously stretched out his hands and said with confidence: These I have from heaven, but for the laws of God I now despise them: because I hope to receive them again from him. So that the king, and they that were with him, wondered at the courage of the young man, because he esteemed the torments as nothing. And after he was thus dead, they tormented the fourth in the like manner and when he was now ready to die, he spoke thus: It is better, being put to death by men, to look for hope from God, to be raised up again by him: for, as to you, you shall have no resurrection unto life.
(2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14)

Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God and our Father, who has loved us and has given us everlasting consolation and good hope in grace. Exhort your hearts and confirm yourself in every good work and word.

For the rest, brethren, pray for us that the word of God may run and may be glorified, even as among you: And that we may be delivered from importunate and evil men: for all men have not faith. But God is faithful, who will strengthen and keep you from evil. And we have confidence concerning you in the Lord that the things which we command, you both do and will do. And the Lord direct your hearts, in the charity of God and the patience of Christ.
(2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5)

And there came to him some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is any resurrection: and they asked him, saying: Master, Moses wrote unto us: If the brother of any man die, having a wife, and he leave no children, that his brother should take her to wife and raise up seed unto his brother. There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife and died without children. And the next took her to wife: and he also died childless. And the third took her. And in like manner, all the seven: and they left no children and died. Last of all the woman died also. In the resurrection therefore, whose wife of them shall she be? For all the seven had her to wife. And Jesus said to them: The children of this world marry and are given in marriage: But they that shall be accounted worthy of that world and of the resurrection from the dead shall neither be married nor take wives. Neither can they die any more for they are equal to the angels and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. Now that the dead rise again, Moses also showed at the bush, when he called the Lord: The God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. For he is not the God of the dead, but of the living: for all live to him. ( Luke 20:27-38 )

Reflection:

If we are fortunate enough to live in a country with religious freedom, we are sometimes tempted to take such freedoms for granted. We must not forget the history and places of religious persecution. Even in our day, indeed, there are many places within the world where the believers in Christ are persecuted for their faith. We must recognize who is behind such persecutions and what is required of our faith in the face of such evil oppression.

We need not look far in the headlines of our own day to see where those of faith face social intolerance, political oppression or even torture and death. We may be tempted to remain silent or to hide so the eyes of persecutors will not fall upon us, but we must ask ourselves, what do we enable when we do? If we do not speak up in defense of our faith when we have the opportunity of freedom, our freedoms to worship God and live by our faith will be vulnerable to the one who seeks to take from us the blessings of His Word. Let us, then, ask God how we may defend our faith while fulfilling His call for us to live together in peace.

In the face of religious oppression, we cannot simply withdraw from a world which seeks the misery and strife of selfishness and a culture of death, rather, we must seek to live as an example of the blessings of our faith. We must seek peaceful engagement so that those who wander in the darkness may see within us an example of hope. We must be prepared to give reason for our hope to all who may inquire as to why we believe as we do. (1 Peter 3:14-16)

We know the One who sacrificed for us; let us then, consider what we are willing to sacrifice for Him. He is the One who offers to us forgiveness for our sins so that our robes may be washed white in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14) so we may be purified for the moment when He takes our hand to lead us unto His eternal kingdom where love is shared by all and evil is not allowed to follow. It is an amazing blessing He offers, but to many do not see for the evil one prowls the world setting lures and snares for the ruin of souls. Each temptation the evil one presents may appear desirable, but what they hide are darkness and death. We must pray God will protect us from the evil which may not only threaten our lives within this time, but the life of our very soul.

God made life precious for us both within this world and the next. He asks us to choose life, for He is the God of the living and desires that all the children of His creation shall join Him within His kingdom. Though we all will eventually pass from this world, our death need not be eternal, for through His mercy and grace, He invites us to eternal life with Him.

Jesus teaches us that we must not only be concerned with how we lead our life in this time, rather, we must seek to use it to prepare for the day we may enter into a new life within His kingdom. We must not allow the concerns of the present to blind us to our future beyond this world. We must take care we do not trade away the blessings of eternity for that which will pass away or for that which shall turn to dust.

May the peace and blessings of the Lord be with you always,
Prayer Soldier

Back to top
View user's profile
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    The Guardian Angel Store Forums Forum Index -> Reflections Printable Version All times are GMT - 6 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum

Related topics
 Topics   Replies   Author   Views   Last Post 
No new posts The Second Death 0 newnature 6896 Sat Jul 14, 2012 10:29 am
newnature View latest post
No new posts What Man, But the Son of God, Could Conquer Death? 0 Prayer-Soldier 11879 Sun Apr 08, 2012 9:10 am
Prayer-Soldier View latest post
No new posts One Conquered Death So All May Live in God 0 Prayer-Soldier 13362 Sun Mar 25, 2012 8:13 am
Prayer-Soldier View latest post
No new posts For the tragic death of a small child 1 Sharon 17278 Sat Jun 18, 2011 1:03 am
mssq View latest post
No new posts Power Over Death 0 Prayer-Soldier 9209 Sat Apr 09, 2011 11:04 am
Prayer-Soldier View latest post
 
 8.25" Sleeping Baby Figure
8.25" Sleeping Baby Figure
 Praise Jumbo Poster
Praise Jumbo Poster
 Chapel Veil White Light Weight XL
Chapel Veil White Light Weight XL
 Where Do Babies Come From?
Where Do Babies Come From?
 30" Easter Parade Boy Bunny
30" Easter Parade Boy Bunny


Powered by phpBB 2.0.11 © 2001 phpBB Group
phpBB port v2.1 based on Tom Nitzschner's phpbb2.0.6 upgraded to phpBB 2.0.4 standalone was developed and tested by:
ArtificialIntel, ChatServ, mikem,
sixonetonoffun and Paul Laudanski (aka Zhen-Xjell).

Version 2.1 by Nuke Cops © 2003 http://www.nukecops.com

Contact | FAQ | Privacy | Disclaimer | Terms of Service

 

Thank you for visiting the Guardian Angel Store Online.
Call us at (970)-856-7333.

Christian Books, Christian Gifts, Christian Jewelry, Christian Home Decor, Christian Music, Christian Movies and more.
Our mission is the spread of Religious and Home Education in Christ.
For God commanded his angels to guard you in all your ways. Psalms 91:11

Search Engine Site Map


Online Payment Processing


Powered by Guardian Media Services

Page Generation: 0.34 Seconds