Seize the Moment – Day 1199
Dispel the Darkness!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, June 29.
My grandfather, Captain John Glenn, flew fighters over Germany in World War II. He served on the side of good during a horrid war animated by evil and fueled by hatred. It was a time in our world’s history when today’s psalm was being acted out – the Jewish people were being systematically exterminated by the forces of evil. Asaph wrote about such evil in Psalm 83, starting in verses 1-4:
O God, do not remain quiet; do not be silent and, O God, do not be still. For behold, Your enemies make an uproar, and those who hate You have exalted themselves. They make shrewd plans against Your people, and conspire together against Your treasured ones. They have said, “Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more.”
Nearly sixty years after the conclusion of World War II, I had the moving experience of visiting one of the Holocaust camps in Germany. Such horror must never be forgotten, and that is why Asaph wrote Psalm 83. We must never underestimate the importance of resisting evil, just as Edmund Burke famously said, “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”[1] This is true in every generation!
Evil is intolerant of good, striving to destroy anything which reflects the light of God. In John 12:46, Jesus calls forth the image bearers of God to defeat evil, “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.” You can dispel the darkness by shining Jesus’ Light into the world (Matthew 5:14-16). It’s amazing what a little bit of light can do to fight back the darkness!
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 83, meditating upon the good works you can do in your community today to bring light to dark places (John 1:5; Philippians 2:15).
God bless you!
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YOUTUBE:
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