“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.  The Lord be with all of you.”
                    –2 Thessalonians 3:16 (NIV)
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“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?” (Psalm 2:1, KJV)  I know that this pertains to nations, but in those nations there are segments, sects, and individuals who are used by the devil.   I like the way that the TLB, paraphrases this, “What fools the nations are to rage against the Lord!  How strange that men should try to outwit God!”  
     Ponder the above verse.  I have several thoughts meandering in my mind this morning.  We have seen the video of Charlie Kirk being shot and murdered.  (There is no need to keep replaying it).  We have the remembrance of the terrorist attack of 9/11.  I don’t try to understand the stupidity and the wantonness of all this.  I don’t try to understand the reason for evil men to do what they do.  And with that thought, I get tired of hearing and reading, “Where was God when Charlie Kirk was shot?”  He was right there in the moment, gathering Charlie Kirk home to Him.  Do I understand it?  No.  Do I question the wisdom and working of God?  No.  
     I will admit that this senseless murder has bothered me.  But I understand that God is working His will through it all.  My wife said to me, Charlie Kirk is getting plenty of publicity on everyone’s facebook.  No one will be immune to his testimony–it sort of reminds me of Stephen.  Perhaps what took place in the House bothered me as much.  When the Speaker asked for a moment of prayer, there were shouts of “no!” from the liberal left.  My, my…Lord have mercy.  And you know what, He is showing mercy.
     The words of Paul to Timothy come to mind, “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2 Timothy 3:13, KJV)  The ESV translates it this way, “While evil people and imposters will go on from bad to worse…”  Friends, listen, we live in perilous times.  Times that are being made ready for the return of the Lord and for the man of lawlessness to appear.  “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.  And then the lawless one will be revealed, who the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.” (2 Thessalonians 2:7-8, NKJV)  Paul then tells of the works of evil that will be there, then he adds, “Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.” (2:15, NKJV)
     My granddaughter posted something, and I won’t quote it verbatim, but give the jest.  Don’t worry about today, don’t worry about your children and this world they have to walk through and live in.  The reason why is that if they have accepted Christ, they are ready to meet Him.  They need to be discipled in God’s Word, but God has placed them in this world, at his time in history, to fulfill their purpose in the here and now.  God isn’t worried, He isn’t scratching His head wondering what He should do now.  It is not an accident that they are living now.  They need to walk in faith, trusting in God.  It finishes with the thought–are you up to the challenge?
     I will mention that the Echoes will be sporadic for the next few weeks as my wife and I will be traveling.  I will try to send something, but it might not be every day.  Pray for traveling mercies for us.

There will always be outlaws, but our mission…your mission…is to tamp them down hard so that life is tolerable for decent people.”

                    –R.O. Lane  (Will Fain)

 

       “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD:  I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.  And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

                    –Jeremiah 31:33 (ESV)

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Maintain the rage (2001) —– tolerance at all costs! (2025)

     My what a difference twenty-four years makes.  A vicious attack on the United States concentrated on New York City and today?  Today, there is a Muslim running for mayor of the City.  Is it really that people do not remember?  Or is it that they do not care?  To be quite frank, it goes much deeper than that.  There is a movement from the Pit to undermine and destroy what this country was built upon.  See, we perceive things on the surface, what we can see, but there is a deeper, more sinister work at play.  It is the work of the devil preparing the way for the Antichrist.  

     Can you imagine George Washington listening to Tim Kaine when he said that America’s rights depend on laws (which are man-made) not divine decrees or religious creeds?  Yes, there is some truth there, but only to a degree.  The basis, the foundational laws are built upon those given by God.  There is a supreme Law-Giver who has written the basic code of laws on man’s hearts.  There is a deeper code based on God’s laws.  Paul writes in Romans that there is “the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness…” (Romans 2:15, NKJV)  In Hebrews we read, “…I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts…” (8:10, NKJV)  

     That is part of our problem.  Stephen Mansfield wrote, “To defeat this network [Islamic terrorists] the United States will have to answer at both a theological and a military level.”  Yes, it is a theological problem!  We tend to forget God’s laws and that is one of the top priorities and real dangers of the postmodern thought; it is to tear down the fundamentals, hammer away at the foundation.  We saw an example of this last week with the brazen, idiotic comment by Tim Kaine that strikes at the foundation of America.  Kaine stated, “The notion that rights don’t come from laws and don’t come from the government, but come from the Creator–that’s what the Iranian government believes.”  Two things here:  first, laws do not come from their Creator.  I recall reading the words of Thomas Jefferson, borrowing from John Locke, that, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…”  It is evident that man’s rights come from God.  Second, Kaine is equating the United States government with the government of Iran.  This is totally absurd and it shows the ignorance of Kaine with the God of the Bible versus the Allah of the Koran and Hadith.

     Break down the foundational truths; tear away at God’s moral code and there will be chaos and confusion.  Listen, we do not war against flesh and blood in the eternal sense.  Without God’s Word there is nothing solid upon which to stand.  Society will be split (as we are seeing), there will be chaos and uncertainty on the streets.  Now, more than even at that disastrous event of 2001, should we heed the words of President George W. Bush, “The commitment of our fathers is now the calling of our time.”  Moreover, in these chaotic times heed the words of Paul to Timothy, “Guard and keep [with the greatest care] the precious and excellently adapted [Truth] which has been entrusted [to you], by the [help of the] Holy Spirit Who makes His home in us.” (2 Timothy 1:14, Amplified)

                    –John Deacon  (Yonder)

       “For man also does not know his time; like fish taken in a cruel net, like birds caught in a snare, so the sons of men are snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly upon them.”
                    –Ecclesiastes 9:12(NKJV)
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AVOID!  DANGER!  FALLEN ROCK!  You’ve seen warning signs on the highway.  They are placed there for our protection, yet all too often these signs are ignored, then disaster strikes.  Why are the warnings ignored is a good question?  Perhaps they were not seen, perhaps simply ignored with the person thinking they don’t pertain to me, or maybe the thought is, “I can handle it.”  This morning‘s study in Proverbs 7 shows a young man ignoring his father’s instructions and the warning signs.

          6 — For at the window of my house I looked through my lattice,
          7 — And saw among the simple, I perceived among the youths, a young man devoid of understanding,
          8 — Passing along the street near her corner; and he took the path to her house
          9 — In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night.
        10 — And there a woman met him, with the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart.
        11 — She was loud and rebellious, her feet would not stay at home.
        12 — At times she was outside, at times in the open square, lurking at every corner.
        13 — So she caught him and kissed him; with an impudent face she said to him:
        14 — I have peace offerings with me; today I have paid my vows.
        15 — So I came out to meet you, diligently to seek your face, and I have found you.  
        16 — I have spread my bed with tapestry, colored coverings of Egyptian linen.
        17 — I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
        18 — Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; let us delight ourselves with love.
        19 — For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey.
        20 — He has taken a bag of money with him, and will come home on the appointed day.
        21 — With her enticing speech she caused him to yield, with her flattering lips she seduced him.
        22 — Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks,
        23 — Till an arrow struck his liver.  As a bird hastens to the snare, he did not know it would cost his life.  (NKJV)

     First of all, notice these verses direct our thought to the simple who is described as lacking judgment.  Bob Beasley summarizes it like this:  “The victim is a simpleton, walking naively down the street whispering a happy tune.  The huntress is dressed to kill, so to speak, and has a hard and unyielding heart.  She is loud and defiant.  The kill takes place as the simple-minded youth goes to her home, not knowing that he has made a fatal mistake.”
     This young man is either terribly dumb or very proud.  He is convinced he can play with sin and get away with it (Wiersbe).  He ignores the warning signs and the instructions of his parents.  He walks at night; he walks in an area of temptation and danger.  In other words, he wasn’t heeding the instructions he had been given.  Warren Wiersbe says, “We can’t help being tempted, but we can certainly help tempting ourselves.”
     There are all sorts or flatteringisms today.  From the woman that is pictured in these verses to cults and false teachings.  J. Vernon McGee writes, “This old gal is busy today.”  It is anyone, anything, that seduces you away from Christ.  She comes by the way of radio, television, music, and will even make a personal appearance trying to lure you. (McGee)  Watch out for any “evil that might seduce us away from the path of wisdom.” (Mike Leake)  Note:  the seducer offers something extra, something special, and will tell you that you are something special.  Then, the final few words–nobody will ever know.  These are the “lies that are the lure of the forbidden.” (Leake)
     The young man, simple and oblivious to his fate.  He ignored the teachings of his father and look how he ends up–“as an ox goes to slaughter.”  The signs, the warnings, the teachings are there for a purpose.  Guard the truth and listen to the voice of wisdom.

                    –A.K. Vyas  (Dodge City)

       “In these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the world.”
                    –Hebrews 1:2 (NASB)
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We have finished going through the Psalms.  I started the study back in 2016, and though it was not weekly until 2021, we have made it through.  But that doesn’t mean that we are through with psalms and songs.  There are some others in the Bible that I want us to glean from.  Plus, I changed the format from earlier psalms so I might go back and revisit them.  This morning, however, I would like to draw attention to a song by Paul.  We find it in Colossians 1:15-20.

          15 — He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
          16 — For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.  All things were created through Him and for Him.
          17 — And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
          18 — And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
          19 — For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,
          20 — And by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.  (NKJV)

WOW!  What a message.  Such a powerful statement of theology!  Handley C.G. Moule said this, “Can we read this passage and not feel that it glows and moves with a personal joy in believing?  Paul is not only discussing; he is worshiping.”  There is so much to be said of these verses, but I want to draw attention to a few things in this short time and space.
     Jesus is the “image of the invisible God.”  It is through Him that we have a clearer picture and understanding, though not complete, view of the character of God.  Barclay says that Jesus is a representation and a manifestation of God.  Jesus is God in His fullness who came to earth for the redemption of mankind.  William Petersen says that this song of Paul should be read alongside the Christmas story in Luke 2.  Yes, Jesus came as a baby, but He was still the fullness of God.  He is a portrait of the Father and in Him are all the characteristics of the Father.  
     There was, at this time, the rise of the Gnostics.  They had different views, but they claimed to present true knowledge.  Paul, often had to refute them, and they were a hardship to the church for centuries, and we still see forms of their false teachings rise from time to time.  Paul is answering them in these few verses.  He is saying that it was Jesus who created all things.  All things!  Get that–here we see John 1 along with Genesis 1.  Powerful, all is from the word of Christ for He is the Word.  All things were created by Him and for Him.  Grasp that, you are created for Him, to be part of His kingdom, to bring Him joy.  We exist because of Him.  Barclay tells us, “All the laws by which this world is order and not chaos are an expression of the mind of the Son.”  He further states that it means “the law by which the universe hangs together, are not only scientific laws but also divine laws…  The Son is the beginning of creation, and the end of creation, and the power who holds creation together, the Creator, the Sustainer, and the Final Goal of the world.”  Can we go back to the Psalms and get a better glimpse of Christ?  

          “The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; the world and all its fullness, You have founded them.”  (89:11, NKJV)

The NLT translates the last phrase this way, “You created it all.”  That’s it–end of discussion.  Here we have barely touched on these verses, but the day is calling for our attention.  Go out into the world knowing that Christ Jesus is Lord of all.  That everything is by Him and under His control, and that includes all aspects of our lives.  Perhaps, I will visit this song of Paul again because we have barely touched it.