EXTRA! EXTRA! Read All About It!

Daily Bread

Daily Bread Devotions by Chuck Myer Daily Bread Archive | Sign up for our resources

From the book of Deuteronomy, passages from chapter 8,

“Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe . . . Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him . . . Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes . . . lest when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them, and when your herds and you flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God . . .” (Deuteronomy 8 – NKJV)

You might recall, and then again, you might not, but if you have ever had the chance to watch an old movie from the 40’s it was not uncommon to see the newsboy on the street corner yelling out, “Extra! Extra! Read all about it!” He would then go on to tell of the day’s main headlines, attempting to draw the people’s attention so that they would stop and purchase one of his newspapers. His message was always one that centered around the front-page headline.

Yesterday [this was written in 2014], as I picked up the paper, I noted the front-page headline of the USA Today: “Gay Marriage: High Court Steps Aside.” The big news, as determined by the paper’s editors, was that the US Supreme Court had decided not to rule on the matter of same-sex marriage.

The high court of our nation, in their decision not to rule on this matter, have in turn let lower court rulings stand . . . and thus, as one paper put it, “Within hours, marriage licenses were issued from Richmond, Va,, to Salt Lake City, and within weeks same-sex marriage could extend to several more states.” It is noted within the context of these news articles that it won’t be long before same-sex marriage is law in every state . . . . it is, as they say, inevitable.

The Bible text I have noted is of course written to the nation of Israel. It is God’s stern warning that, to survive, to continue to exist as a nation, they must be “careful to observe . . . every commandment which I command you.” But in this text is a principle that transcends time. In it is laid out the blueprint for the survival of a nation, for . . . . . .

“. . . if you by any means forget the LORD your God . . . I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. As the nations which the LORD destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the LORD your God.” (Deuteronomy 8:19-20 – NKJV)

Sobering, sobering words brethren, but nonetheless, the principle stands! It is holy Scripture, written for our example, for our instruction (cf. I Corinthians 10:1-11)

As I read the headlines I thought, we have fulfilled what the apostle Paul wrote in Romans, chapter one,

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness . . . And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, . . . (“men”), knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” (Romans 1:18, 28-32 – NKJV)

You ever wonder why we, as a nation, are facing the problems we are facing today? “Extra! Extra! Read all about it!” The headlines tell us we have forgotten the Lord and His “commandments.”

My heart is heavy with grief for our nation . . . . . . but the truth is, you cannot continue in the “practice” of “ungodliness and unrighteousness” and not expect to experience God’s “wrath.”

Have a as good a day as you can in a world, in a nation, gone awry! Hold fast to God’s Word and its truth! Be a light, be salt, in a very dark and dying nation!

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