Scripture
To the arrogant I say, ‘Boast no more,’ and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns. Do not lift your horns against heaven; do not speak so defiantly.’”
~Psalm 75:4-5, NIV
Quote
Arrogant people feel competent to run their own lives.
~Kathy Keller
Those of us who were raised on farms and are familiar with livestock, especially goats and cows, know that the raised head or horns is a sign of defiance. The Psalmist warns us not to raise our horns to heaven. It is never wise to defy the living God. This is illustrated by the history of Israel. God was gracious and good to Israel; He saved them from bondage in Egypt with an out stretched hand. Through Moses His servant, God did one miracle after another until Pharaoh let them go. Then the LORD miraculously provided for them in the wilderness but only three days into their journey, they rebelled against Moses. Matter of fact, they spent much more time in the wilderness than God intended due to their rebellion and stubbornness. Once they conquered the land under Joshua, they rebelled again. For four hundred years, known as the period of the Judges, they rebelled time and time again, yet God would forgive and be gracious to them.
God in His infinite mercy sent prophet after prophet to warn the Israelites of their sinful ways but they ignored them, persecuted them and refused to repent. The Israelites were so stubborn that they became known as a nation of rebels; people who could not be governed. So God gave them over to their enemies, the Assyrians and the Babylonians. These enemies were vicious and cruel, they showed the Israelites no mercy. Then in the fullness of time, God sent His only Son as their rightful King and they rejected Him and had Him crucified. Do you need further proof that God is merciful and gracious. If He were not, there would be no Jews, He would have destroyed them all.
The question is: are we gentiles any better than the Jews? The answer is no, we have the same defiant nature. What is going on in America right now? We are defying God. We scoff at his commandments and ignore His laws, just like the Jews. In our arrogance, we think we can govern ourselves. We are fools.
Record number in VBS last night [27]. We were excited. LORD willing we will be attending a COLS at Brindlee Mountain today and one at Central tomorrow.
Don’t forget to pray for Lilly. Pray also for Bob Cook. He failed his swallowing test and is still unable to eat: he and Joyce were broken hearted.
We are facing a drug epidemic and no one is talking about it. I read an article on line last night about a student at LSU who OD’s on June 19th. I think it was the third this year and seven since 2015. June read where heroin is on the rise right here in Morgan County. It is not intelligent to use drugs. You may as well play Russian roulette.