Chewing the Cud!

 

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:1-2 I recall a cow our family owned when I was a boy. Her name was Blossom and she was a gentle creature. I was too young to milk her, but I enjoyed spending time with her. One of the things that I found fascinating about Blossom was the way she chewed the cud. She would chew and chew her hay then swallow it. After a short time there would be a rumble and she would burp up some of the partially digested hay and chew it again. This is how cows  process their food in order to digest it. It is interesting that the word (meditate) in the original Hebrew is the word, hagah. It means to rumble or growl but also to muse or think deeply. In my mind as we read these two verses that begin the Book of Psalms, we are called to bring the words up over and over again until they become part of our being. Here is the vital question—are we allowing His word to dwell in us completely? Let us chew the cud of God’s Word for it to be fully digested! May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions! Pastor Cecil Thompson

 

The 7th Trumpet

 

Just before Thanksgiving, we got up to the point of the 7th Trumpet in the book of Revelation. And, that’s when the final events of the Tribulation will happen. It will be a total showdown: a last minute effort to bring people to repentence. It’s also when God finally pours out His wrath on the earth! The 7th Trumpet will be “one for the books” because it will never be forgotten. It will be remembered forever as a warning. There will be terrible unprecedented disasters during the Tribulation, but no one has ever seen the full extent of God’s wrath before. Now they will. The 7th Trumpet includes vengeance against fallen angels as well as mankind who continue to resist God. These final days will wrap up all unfinished business; as angels, monsters, demons and Satan himself come together in battle. REVELATION 11.15 The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ. He will reign forever and ever!” 11.16 The twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God’s throne, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 11.17 saying: “We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who was; because you have taken your great power, and reigned. 11.18 The nations were angry, and your wrath came, as did the time for the dead to be judged, and to give your bondservants the prophets, their reward, as well as to the saints, and those who fear your name, to the small and the great; and to destroy those who destroy the earth.” 11.19 God’s temple that is in heaven was opened, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant was seen in his temple. Lightnings, sounds, thunders, an earthquake, and great hail followed. -WEB Bible In this passage, angels announce that the seventh trumpet is the signal we've been waiting for: Jesus Christ will establish his righteous kingdom on earth, and Jesus will destroy the destroyers. It happens very quickly in terms of time, but it will take 16 more Thursday lessons to explain it all!  (To be continued…)