"YEA, THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH..."

I cannot tell you how many times I have read Psalm 23 at the graveside of a loved one who has passed from this life into eternity; neither can I count the times I have read this beautiful and meaningful psalm for a source of comfort and encouragement for my weary soul. However, the above statement in Psalm 23 was not speaking of death itself but the probability of death lingering near to the person who was walking through “the valley of the shadow of death.” The shepherd would lead his sheep in the valleys where more grass could be found for his flock. Often the valleys would become more narrow while going through a pass in the mountainous areas. This would have been where wild beasts were to be found and waiting for the opportunity to attack the sheep. Also thieves and robbers would be waiting to kill or to steal. This became truly a ‘valley of the shadow of death.’ On Monday, April 19, 2021, this portion of Psalm 23 became very real to me, for I too passed through a “valley of the shadow of death.” While I was waking up from my hip surgery, I felt tremendous pressure on my heart and it got worse by the seconds. It felt like an elephant was standing on my chest. The pain was so great that I did not feel like I could stand it - but I had no choice. The surgeon had called Virginia to inform her that the surgery had gone well. He did not know what I was experiencing at the time. I heard voices and I opened my eyes and I briefly saw men, including the anesthesiologist, standing around me. They were discussing what they could do for me, having realized that I was in deep trouble. One would suggest one thing and another something else. I do believe they gave me morphine and a few times, nitroglycerin plus something else. During my intense suffering, there was a moment of calm and from what I saw, I understood that I was dying and I felt submissive to the Lord. My thoughts were on my Beloved and that she needed me. Finally, the horrific pain in my heart subsided and by God’s grace and in His providence he used the men to save my life. I did pass through “the valley of the shadow of death”, for which I am eternally grateful! The following morning, two stents were inserted in an artery that was about 90 percent blocked! What I have written is very personal and from a grateful heart, but I have strong convictions that God works in the lives of His people. This principle is found throughout His Word. Because of my emotions I have not been able to write this story until now. It was in the month of April that I wrote an article and shared it with others. The title was “The Uncertainty of Life”. Little did I know this lesson would be impressed upon me so soon and so real! I am thankful that He was with me and that His “rod and staff” prevented death from taking my life. They truly comforted me because He was with me. We must realize that death can overtake us at any time. It is then we have no control over our life. We will then be in the hands of the living God. It is my heart’s desire that all who read this will be in subjection to the will of God, obey the gospel of Christ and live for our Savior. The Lord has promised He will give us a “crown of righteousness” when this life on earth is finished (2 Timothy 4:8). Oh, how “blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on” (Revelation 14:13)!

THE BEAUTIFUL ROSES ARE FADING FAST!

The beautiful pink roses on our white fence are now fading white. They ‘hit their peak’ by Mother’s Day. They are still beautiful but they are fading fast.You see, like other beautiful flowers the time does come when the beauty of the roses fades and eventually they will die. This is also true of mankind. We will also fade/pass away. The apostle Peter in 1 Peter 1:24,25 wrote, “all flesh is a grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass, The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the Lord endures forever” (See also Isaiah 40:6-8). Life at the longest is brief when compared to eternity. The writer James, in his letter, wrote that life “is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” In Psalm 90:9,10, we read, “For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; We finish our years like a sigh. The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.” Regardless of age, life is very fragile and death can occur at any time, regardless of one’s age. Some of us are in the winter of our lives and we are definitely closer to eternity than ever before. It is only in Jesus Christ that we can have an abundant life presently (John 10:10) and for eternity! Jesus said, as recorded in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” The apostle John in chapter 5:11,12: “And this is the testimony:that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” I strongly encourage you to study very carefully the following passages to know just how to be in Jesus Christ and to have life in the Son: John 20:30,31;8:24;Acts 19:30; Galatians 3:26,27. It is by the blood of Christ and the grace of God that we are redeemed and forgiven of our sins (Ephesians 1:7; 2:5). We should “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord” (2 Peter 3:18). If we live faithfully in this life for Jesus Christ, as Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:7,8, we will receive a “crown of righteousness.” It is my heart’s desire that everyone would give his or her life to Jesus and live for Him so we all can go to that heavenly home ‘where the roses never fade/die’. Of course, we know there will not be roses in heaven but it is the thought of where we will be in eternity that we will never ‘fade’ or die that is found in the title of this song. Where The Roses Never Fade. “I am going to a city, Where the streets with gold are laid, Where the tree of life is blooming, And the roses never fade. Here they bloom but for a season; Soon their beauty is decayed. I am going to a city, Where the roses never fade. In this world we have our troubles, Satan snares we must evade. We'll be free from all temptations, Where the roses never fade. Loved one's gone to be with Jesus, In their robes of white arrayed. They are waiting for my coming, Where the roses never fade. Here they bloom but for a season; Soon their beauty is decayed; I am going to a city, Where the roses never fade.” -Janie West Metzgar

OPITIONAL: ACAPELLA AND/OR INSTRUMENTAL

The God of Israel had this to say regarding the spiritual status of His people, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children” (Hosea 4:6). Is it possible for spiritual Israel (the church of the Lord) to be rejected because of the lack of the knowledge of the Word of God? The answer is a resounding yes! There is always the probability that the church of Jesus Christ can lose its identity because of ignorance of the Holy Scriptures. Where there is a void in the understanding of the Bible there is the potential of being led astray from the teaching of the Lord. When this happens, an apostasy usually occurs over a period of time. We must never assume that all Christians have a proper understanding of biblical matters. Therefore it is of necessity that elders require of their preachers and teachers to present lessons and sermons over a broad spectrum of subjects pertaining to the authority of the scriptures, how to rightly divide the Word of God, the identity of the church of our Lord, acceptable worship as well as the grace and love of God. There is always a great need for a balance in the preaching of the Word of God. The apostle Paul instructed Timothy in this manner, “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (II Timothy 2:2). The next generation untaught will be unlearned in the ways of the Lord and there will be the ever present danger of drifting away from New Testament Christianity. You only have to read the writings of University professors, preachers, youth ministers and others involved in the leadership of the church to know that there is a woeful lack of Bible based convictions regarding the identity of the church; what constitutes scriptural worship; the essentiality of baptism and other needed subjects. One of the areas in which attitudes have changed over the years is regarding acceptable music in our worship to God. Several years ago, I read that a large congregation was wanting a “Student Minister” to work with young adults. The advertisement stated that the candidate should be “comfortable with both acapella and instrumental form of worship.” I thought that was a bold statement to make, however, brethren now know this is more common than we ever imagined. An area congregation began in recent times to have what they call an “Alternative Instrumental Worship” on Sunday. Thus, the elders of that congregation are now trying to satisfy the different segments of the membership. The elders of this congregation previously were allowing members to use the instrument during the weeknights but not on Sundays. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah, the prophet of God, sent for the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah to meet with him on Mount Carmel and he would prove whose God should be served. Ahab also sent for all Israel to be present at Mount Carmel for this occasion. “And Elijah came near to all the people of Israel and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him” (KJV). But the people answered him not a word” (verse 21. The thought I want to glean from this passage is, there comes a time when the children of God must make very important decisions regarding that which is authorized in our corporate worship to God. If instrument music is acceptable in worship, why not use it in all the assemblies? On the other hand, if acapella music is the only authorized and acceptable music to be used in our assemblies then we are only to sing (Ephesias 5:19, Colossians 3:16). It is confusing and misleading for elders to offer an ‘alternative worship' where the instrument is used while in another assembly where only ‘acapella’ singing will be used! Why go ‘limping between the two’? Both assemblies cannot be acceptable to God if that which is being done in one is not scriptural. It is absolutely necessary for each child of God to study the holy scriptures and to rightly divide the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). We must no “longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14). We must understand that what is not authorized by the Word of God must be rejected. The apostle Paul wrote to the church of God with this admonition, “Now these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes; that in us ye might learn not to go beyond the things that are written…” (1 Corinthians 4:6)

THE HOUSE OF GOD OFTEN MEETS TO WORSHIP IN A BUILDING

The house of God also meets in rented halls, private homes, under a shed, in public buildings, and even in the open spaces. But, one asks, “is not the church building where we meet on Sunday, the Lord’s house? Yes, in the same sense that my house in which my wife and I live is the Lord’s house. It belongs to God who provided it for us. The psalmist declared that “The earth is the Lord’s , and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1,ESV). But, did not David say, ”I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD!” (Psalm 122:1)?. Yes, that is true. There was a time when God’s presence could be found above the mercy seat on the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle (sanctuary) that Moses erected. (See Exodus 25:8;21,22). The glory filled also the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34). Later, King Solomon built the temple (house) of the Lord in the city of Jerusalem. (1 Kings 6:14). When finished, “the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord (1 Kings 8:11). In the sermon of the apostle Paul as recorded in Acts 17, he declared, “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands (v.24). But, God does dwell in His people! You see, the house of God is the church of our Lord! In his letter to Timothy, Paul wrote in chapter 3:14,15, “I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.” In 1 Peter 2:5, we read, “you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Paul wrote to the church of God in Corinth, “For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:9). The house of God is a spiritual building and not one erected by the hands of men! It is in this sense that the house of God does often meet in a building! The house (church) of our Lord is never a place but a people redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ! The house of God is also referred to as being “a holy temple in the Lord'' as we read in Ephesians 2:19-22: “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” We also read in 1 Corinthians 3:16,17, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” The apostle wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:19, “that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” So, my brothers and sisters in Christ, the scriptures teach that we are the “house of God, which is the church of the living God”, that is “a spiritual house”; and not the place where we assemble to worship God!.