Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by Him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15.
Jesus took…them up on a high mountain apart by themselves. Mark 9:2.
And continuing our 351 Old Testament prophecies, promises of God, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, we come to number 159: The supremacy of David’s Seed amazes kings. Psalm 138:1-6: I will give You thanks with all my heart; I will sing praises to You before the gods. I will bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word according to all Your name. On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul. All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O LORD, when they have heard the words of Your mouth. And they will sing of the ways of the LORD, for great is the glory of the LORD. For though the LORD is exalted, yet He regards the lowly, but the haughty He knows from afar. And, Matthew 2:2-6: “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; for out of you shall come forth a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.’”
I loved this in Lift Up Your Eyes by Clyde E. Nichols, where Winston Churchill wrote about the plans for his funeral service: “It was held in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. He selected the great hymns of the church and used the eloquent Anglican liturgy. After the benediction had been pronounced, as Churchill had given direction, a bugler positioned high in the dome of the cathedral played Taps: “Day is done; gone the sun, from the lake, from the hills, from the sky. All is well, safely rest. God is nigh.” When the last note died away, there came a dramatic turn. As Churchill had instructed, another bugler, placed on the other side of the great dome sounded Reveille: “It’s time to get up, it’s time to get up, it’s time to get up in the morning.” It was Sir Winston Churchill’s testimony to the entire world, a statement of his Christian faith. The end of life, the end of history, will not be Taps, but Reveille.”
I have never known the words of Taps before reading this, nor the words of Reveille, but I know the melodies, and oh, how fitting the words are! For all of us – because of the lovingkindness and the truth of Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit. And because of all the confusions of the times we are living in today, I long for Jesus, the Son, to return so He can teach us His truth. When He brings His truth all falsehoods will fall away to be burned like so much refuse. And then the healing of the nations can begin. “The end of life, the end of history, will not be Taps, but Reveille,” when Creator God returns!
***Zeal for Your house consumes me. Psalm 69:9.***
