Scripture
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
~Genesis 2:7, NKJV
Quote
“If God does not trust his own angels, how much less will He trust people made of dust?
~Eliphaz
I was reading in Job four and noticed somethings about Eliphaz first speech that I hadn’t really paid that much attention to before. Eliphaz tells Job, “If God found fault with His angels, how much more will He find fault in His creatures made of clay. Our very foundation is dust and we can be crushed instantly and easily.” These are not his exact words but this is what I heard when I read this scripture. I began to ponder…What is dust? Webster says–Dust is fine particles of matter (as of earth): the particles into which something disintegrates: something worthless. Another definition is a fine, dry powder consisting of tiny particles of earth or waste matter lying on the ground or on surfaces or carried in the air. Did you catch that: “Carried in the air?” Did you know that water molecules often begin to come together as tiny ice crystals that form around minuscule particles of dust. The dust particle becomes the nucleus of these ice crystals. The microscopic crystals are big players in creating rain and lightning. Is this not amazing! Think that is something: Scientists estimate that roughly 100 metric tons of this cosmic dust enters Earth’s atmosphere every single day. A metric ton is 2204 pounds. All of this is fascinating but it has nothing to do with what I want to say.
Dust has little to no substance. I think of it as exceedingly dry dirt that can be moved by the slightest wind. We all know what happens when you add water to dust, you get mud [clay], add heat and you get bricks but the basic ingredient is dust. Robert Grant, in speaking of man, put it this way, “Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,” and this is O so true but I like Grant’s conclusion to this verse, “Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail, in You do we trust, nor find You to fail. Your mercies, how tender, how firm to the end, our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend!” For we mortals, life is fragile and we are both feeble and fragile. We can be crushed in a moment as easily as a bug under foot. In less than a day’s time, Job loss practically everything. How long would it take to lose your wife, a child, a precious love one? One heart beat! In less than a days time, we can lose a fortune, our health or someone we love dearly or in Job’s case all three.
BUT and it is a huge but, our fragility is not our focus. Our Creator and Redeemer is everything that we are not: He is not fragile, nor feeble and He does not faint. He is the Eternal One, the immutable One who never changes. He has no problems, no fears, no weakness, no lack, no guilt, no shame, and no need of faith. He is unaffected by time; He does not age or decay and He cannot be touched by disease: He has perfect immunity and He absolutely cannot die. He is high and lifted up: nothing can touch Him let alone bring Him down. No army, no power know unto men can assault Him–He is unassailable! He is our light in darkness, our strength in weakness and our hope in the midst of despair.
Prayer: Father we are appalled and impressed with Your infinite greatest. You can do so much with dust that it blows our minds. Our trust is not in the dust that You created but in You the CREATOR. Help us not to lean on our own understanding but in all our ways, to acknowledge You. Amen!
Lettie Cowman says, “Give your day a chance.” Don’t ruin it with regrets about yesterday or fears about tomorrow. By God’s grace I’m going to take her advice today. First I want to offer up a sacrifice of THANKSGIVING. I want to thank the LORD and the Sardis Springs Baptist church for a good week. As usual, the weather did have it’s say before the week was over. Power lines were down last night in the area and our attendance was down. The storm hit Athens while Tim and I were making a hospital visit. It went through quickly but did quite a bit of damage in the Athens area.
Cool weather coming this way according to my weather woman and I have a septic tank to work on. Whoopee! I aint complaining, I am praising the LORD I’m able to work.
Joe David got a letter from Will Edmondson this past week: Will and family are being appointed as IMB Missionaries. Here is the letter…
Dear DBC:
I wish to write to you for a few reasons. It has been almost a decade since through God’s providence you graciously supported me in a short-term work in Mumbai, India. At the time, I had little understanding of mission or missiology. I simply knew, from the faithful teaching and preaching I sat under at DBC, that the Lord had not saved me to be a means unto myself but to be fully leveraged for his mission among the peoples of the earth. The Lord revealed to me through his perfect Word that the Christian’s life ought to be used to bring glory that is due to him and him alone. I trust this letter will be an encouragement to the work of the Lord through his people covenanted together at DBC. As of the middle of last year my wife, Martha, and I have been approved through the trustees of the IMB for career appointment. In March of this year we will move to the IMB’s training facility in Virginia to prepare for our overseas service. Following the seven-week training, we will move to live in a Muslim majority country in the Middle East, Lord
willing for the rest of our lives. The Lord in his grace has made clear and affirmed this call through the elders of our current church. The Lord has used the time since I left Alabama to mature me in the faith and form a sharpened theology which has propelled us toward this. Much has happened in my life and discipleship in the last eight years. The Lord has blessed me with a godly and compassionate wife. He has given us three beautiful children, Ally Kate age 7, Elijah Spurgeon age 5, and Brooklynn Ruth who will be 2 in May. We will move forward toward this endeavor with full faith that the Lord will sustain us in his mission. We have confidence that through our laboring the Lord, in his timing, will call people who currently have no knowledge
of him to move from slaves of sin to slaves of righteousness.
While many of you may not know me, I wish for both the new members as well as those of my time to know the role this church has played in my life. I truly struggle to put into words what this church has meant to me. Danville Baptist is the place where I first heard the Bible preached. It is where I first heard the truths of scripture. It is where I first saw my need for forgiveness of sin. It is where I first heard of God’s unrelenting pursuit of his people. It is where I first heard the Gospel proclaimed. It is where the Lord drew me to himself and gifted me with eyes to see the beauty of Christ. It is where the Lord gave me a new heart. It is where I first I
called upon his Name for salvation. It is where God saved me from my sin and rebellion. It is where I was baptized. It is where I first took the Lord’s Supper. It is where I was first covenanted together with fellow believers. It is where I first prayed. It is where I first worshiped the Lord in song. It is where I first came to see people worship God, and it is where I first came to learn of those who don’t. It is where I was taught to cherish and love my Bible. The members of this church were one of the means of grace the Lord used to bring about my salvation and begin me down the path he has ordained. As a family, we do have one request. My family and I would be privileged if DBC would choose to partner with our efforts through prayer. Thanks to the faithful giving of SBC churches to the Cooperative Program, we do not have to raise finances in order for us to move overseas. We do however need help and support through prayer. We would like to ask you to consider partnering through prayer for our family and the unreached people group we will be working with. Security does not allow us to release what country will be will in but we ask you consider
this request.
I cannot begin to quantify what this church has meant to me. Hold fast to the Gospel. Commit yourselves corporately and individually to the imperatives of scripture, namely that
God’s people are made up of those from every tribe and tongue and yet they will not be reached without his church choosing to forgo comfort in this age for the sake of the salvation of others in the coming. As I study my bible I see God’s love for all peoples and his plan of redemption of all nations. It is clear that plan will be accomplished through the work and obedience and suffering of those currently sitting in those same pews I once sat. I pray that in
the coming days many of you would find yourselves being spent and poured out in places where Christ’s gospel is not known.
Will Edmondson