July 15th, 2012
I Chronicles 22:2-19
“Building a Legacy”
Bible Memory Verse for the Week: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” — Revelation 4:11
Background Information:
- David did not want the leaders of his people to be caught up in palace intrigue following his death. He wanted them to be perfectly aware that the Lord had chosen Solomon to be his successor. He also wanted them to know what the Lord intended to accomplish through Solomon. There was to be no unclarity either as to the person of his successor or as to the goal of his rule. (Paul O. Wendland, The People’s Bible, 1 Chr, 244-45)
- One might have expected David to show a certain lack of enthusiasm for a project he would never live to see completed. But that’s not how things work in the kingdom of God. In the kingdom, a believer’s chief concern is making God’s name great, not in enhancing his own reputation. In the following chapters we learn how David did everything within his power to prepare the ground for Solomon to build the temple. (Paul O. Wendland, The People’s Bible, 1 Chr, 236)
The questions to be answered are . . . What is the Chronicler’s point here in chapter 22? What does it say to us today as 21st century American Christians?
Answer: David has done all that God would allow him to do to bring honor, majesty and glory to God in attempting to build a temple worthy of God’s name. David knows that his efforts are a far cry from what God deserves. But David’s legacy is his devotion to God as manifest in his desire to build a great temple for God.
Jesus is the NT temple. When we ask Jesus to come into our heart and be our Lord and Savior, we become the temple of God. Are we doing all we can do to allow our temple to be representative of God’s honor, glory and majesty? Do we strive for the same regard, respect, and commitment that David demonstrated when attempting to honor God’s name?
The Word for the Day is . . . Majesty
“That we put values, principles and ideals above our very being is what places us above animals.” — Dr. Laura Schlessinger
What is David attempting to accomplish in 1 Chronicles 22?:
I. David seeks to build a legacy by doing all he can to insure that the temple to be built in God’s name at least begins to represent Who God is and His worth. (See: Dt 12:5-11; 1 Chr 29:1-2; 22:5, 16)
The enjoyment of God and the glorification of God are one. His eternal purpose and our eternal pleasure unite. To magnify his name and multiply your joy is the reason I have written this book, for The chief end of man is to glorify God BY enjoying him forever. (John Piper; Desiring God, 254)
There is no subtler perversion of the Christian Faith than to treat it as a mere means to a worldly end, however admirable that end in itself may be. The Christian Faith is important because it is true. What it happens to achieve, in ourselves or in others, is another and, strictly speaking, secondary matter. For the Christian Faith will remain true whether we who profess it turn into heroic saints or into even more miserable sinners. We must insist that we worship God because he is God, not because we want something out of him. What a mean blasphemy it would be, to go through magnificent acts of public worship always with the dominant intention at the back of the mind—“This is really going to make a better chap of me!” What arrogance and presumption, to treat eternal God, throned in glory, as a visual aid to moral self-improvement. (Harry Blamires; The Christian Mind: How Should a Christian Think?, 110)
If David was not the man to build, Solomon was not the man to plan. David’s description of him as “young and inexperienced” is quite a strong repudiation of his ability in this respect. Indeed RSV’s “inexperienced’ does not adequately convey the weakness, or even timidity, which is meant. How much this deficiency was merely a factor of his youth is hard to discern. But it is something more than youthfulness itself. The point is stressed, therefore, that the task of building the Temple required the combined gifts and abilities of both David and Solomon, even if the latter would inevitably come to have the glory of the Temple reflect particularly upon him and his reign. All service of God is in this sense co-operative. This is one of the implications of God having called out for himself a Church, rather than a sum of individuals. There is no “freelance” Christianity. (cf. The NT’s description of the Church as a “body”, 1 Cor 12:12ff.). (J. G. McConville, The Daily Study Bible Series, 1 & 2 Chr, 78)
The self-restraint of David reveals the intense reality which God was to him, as well as the impression which he had of the character of God. How pure and lofty would be his conception of the almighty Ruler when it struck him as altogether inappropriate and inconsistent that a shrine should be built for Him by one who had been engaged, however patriotically and for the interests of his country, in shedding much human blood. (Joseph S. Exell, The Biblical Illustrator, 1 Chronicles, 81)
Brass and iron, timber and stone, were also prepared in abundance. Yet the king does not regard his gifts with complacency–there is no trace of pride or boasting; on the contrary, he feels that his offerings are poor and inadequate. It is ever thus with noble souls; however great in the sight of the multitude is their work or sacrifice, they mourn over it as over a mean and incommensurable thing. If any man thinks that his sacrifice for the cause of God is notable and adequate, there is something wrong with the size of that man’s soul. (Joseph S. Exell, The Biblical Illustrator, 1 Chronicles, 83)
Solomon’s inexperience stands out in sharp contrast to the magnitude of the task; for the temple is to be OF FAME AND GLORY THROUGHOUT ALL LANDS. Such an idea of the centrality of the Jerusalem shrine may be found in prophetic oracles (Isa 2:2ff.= Mic 4:1ff.; Zech 14:16ff.) And in psalmody (e.g. Ps 48). (Peter R. Ackroyd, 1 & 2 Chr, Ezra, Neh, 78)
Embodied in David’s zealous activity in these chapters is an important lesson: the preoccupation of God’s people with the hope of God’s promise. David showed by his actions that his uppermost desire was to see God’s promise fulfilled. The focus on the promise was the building of the house of God. David did not rest until all the provisions for building the house had been made. The picture of David given in these chapters aptly depicts David’s own expression of his desire to care for the Temple in Ps 69:9: “Zeal for Thy house has consumed me.” In the chronicler’s day, the post-exilic period, God’s people were in need of stirring up. Judging from the words of the prophets of that period (e.g., Hg 1:2), the people and their leaders had little of the zeal for the promises of God shown by David in these chapters. Their hope had waned, and the prophets were called to stir up their hearts to act in trust that God would prove faithful to His promise (cf. Hg 2:20-23). God’s people in the past have always acted in faith on the promises of God, for the hope of the believer is the faithfulness of God. (John Sailhamer, Everyman’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Chr, 54-55)
The point is clear. God’s temple demands and deserves the best and the most that human beings can supply: to recall Oswald Chambers, our utmost for God’s highest. Contemporary readers may well be offended by this extravagance. Shouldn’t our resources rather be used to combat injustice, to feed the hungry and clothe the naked? Perhaps we should recall Jesus’ words when his followers were offended by an alabaster jar broken, its precious contents wasted (Mt 26:6-13; Mk 14:3-9). While we are always and everywhere called to use our resources to aid the needy, our highest calling, in the words of the Westminster Catechism, is “to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” Extravagance in the service of God’s glory is no waste! (Steven S. Tuell, Interpretation: 1 & 2 Chr, 93)
The wordplay on the name of Solomon in v. 9 is unmistakable. The Hebrew reads ky šlmh (“Solomon”) yhyh šmw w-šlwm (“peace”) w-šqt ‘tn ‘l-ysr’l bymym (the underscored words are from the root). The contrast is striking–David a man of war, Solomon a man of peace. Note that concern for the house of God comes before the exhortation to observe the law of Yahweh. (Jacob M. Myers, 1 Chronicles, a New Translation, 154)
Whether or not the Chronicler’s figures are a literary device or reflect reality, most biblical commentators miss the main focus, which is not on the opulence of the temple but on David’s understanding of the inestimable worth of God (cf. Ps 68). (Andrew E. Hill, The NIV Application Commentary: 1 & 2 Chr, 300)
CONCLUSION/APPLICATION: What does this message have to do with Christ and me?:
A- Christ is God incarnate. He is the Temple of God (see: Mt 12:6; Jn 2:19-22)
Solomon, of course, could only bring provisionally what Jesus brought perfectly. The tranquility every human heart longs for is found only in Jesus. He is the Prince of Peace and the great rest giver. He pledges to give peace and rest to all who look for it in him (Mt 11:28). This promised rest has nothing to do with doing nothing. It has everything to do with sweet freedom from all the present plagues upon the children of Adam. It starts with the forgiveness of sins and the restoration of our relationship with God. It ends in the perfect city whose gates are never closed, where death and sorrow and pain are not even memories (Rv 21). (Paul O. Wendland, The People’s Bible, 1 Chr, 241)
B- When Christ lives in us, we become the Temple of the Living God. (see: 1 Cor 3:16-17; 6:16-20; Eph 2:19-22; Heb 3:1-6)
The living Church is God’s sanctuary. He dwells in the hearts of His people (Jn 14:23; 2 Cor 6:16; 1 Cor 3:16). The work of Christ’s followers is to build the sanctuary. (Joseph S. Exell, The Biblical Illustrator, 1 Chronicles, 88)
Seven Questions we need to ask ourselves in regard to this message and our own legacy?:
1- Do you see God as magnificent and worthy of everything we can possibly give Him? (see: Eccl 2:15-26; Mt 10:37-38; 13:44-45; 26:6-13; Jn 1:27)
I know of no other way to triumph over sin long-term, than to gain a distaste for it, because of a superior satisfaction in God. (John Piper, Desiring God, 11)
If people are not governed by internal values, they must be governed by external force. Take away the Bibles that direct a nation’s soul, and the government will bring out the bayonets. (Charles Colson, A Dangerous Grace, 194)
The editor of a small-town newspaper wrote, “Family values are important,…but people want to hear about the economy right now.”
It was a nice way of saying what other commentators say a lot less nicely. The major media sneers at the values issue, calling it a smoke screen to take people’s mind off the “real” problem: namely the economy.
Okay, let’s talk about the economy. What are the factors that make for a thriving economy? Well, for starters people have to be willing to work hard; that’s motivation and self-sacrifice. They have to be willing to honor contracts; that’s honesty and fidelity. They have to invest time and effort in projects that pay off only in the future; that’s self-discipline and delayed gratification. People have to cooperate with coworkers; that’s kindness and respect. Lawmakers have to pass bills for industry that are fair and consistent; that’s integrity.
The conclusion is obvious. The marketplace depends on people holding high ethical standards. Values aren’t peripheral to the economy. They are its very basis. (Charles Colson, A Dangerous Grace, 309)
As our soul grows in the love of God and journeys forth toward him, our heart’s capacities also grow and expand: “Thou shalt enlarge my heart” (Ps 119:32 KJV). A friend of mine is a missionary to Muslims in Senegal. He tells me that after conversion, Muslims will often notice flowers for the first time. Prior to salvation, Muslims in that arid country live a very utilitarian existence. Things are valued only for what they can do. Their houses are dull and drab; trees are only appreciated it they are fruit trees; if they have a function. It is as if the Muslims have lived without beauty for their whole lives and now, having their souls released from bondage, they are freed into the pleasures of God’s creative heart. I’m struck by the parallels to modern fundamentalism. Their hatred of pleasure is not a sign of their godliness; quite the opposite. The redeemed heart hungers for beauty. (Curtis and Eldredge; The Sacred Romance, 200)
A culture obsessed with technology will come to value personal convenience above almost all else, and ours does . . . religion tends to be strongest when life is hard . . . a person whose main difficulty is not crop failure but video breakdown has less need of the consolations and promises of religion. (Robert Bork; Slouching Towards Gomorrah)
Christians, like everyone else in today’s economy, are consumers, but they dare not apply consumer values to God. Notice the implications of the phrase “church shopping.” Surely, shopping for a church in the same way we shop for a major appliance is dangerous. Instead of looking for a church that teaches the Word of God, we sometimes look for a church that “fills our needs.” The church does not exist to provide members “services”; rather, it should challenge its members to engage in “service” to God and to their fellow human beings. When we think like consumers, we put ourselves first, picking and choosing what best corresponds to our desires. Christianity is a matter of truth, of submission to a Holy, righteous God whose authority over us is absolute and who in no way is subject to our consumer preferences. Christianity must not be tainted with consumerism. (Gene Edward Veith; Postmodern Times, 119)
The worth and value of our soul is measured by what we love. If we love corrupt and wicked things we become corrupt and wicked. But the person who loves God spiritually grows and matures until he becomes like the One he loves. What a person loves is constantly on his mind. And what we think about has a power to transform our soul. We become like what we behold. (Henry Scougal and Robert Leighton; God’s Abundant Life, 39)
All human things are trivial if they exist for nothing beyond themselves.” The real value of anything depends on its aim. If we eat simply for the sake of eating, we become gluttons, and it is likely to do us far more harm than good; if we eat to sustain life, to do our work better, to maintain the fitness of our body at its highest peak, food has a real significance. If a man spend a great deal of time on sport simply for the sake of sport, he is at least to some extent wasting his time. But if he spends that time in order to keep his body fit and thereby to do his work for God and men better, sport ceases to be trivial and becomes important. The things of the flesh all gain their value from the spirit in which they are done.” (William Barkly; Commentary on John Vol. 1; 227)
2- If you are a Christian, do you understand that you are now the temple of God and that the world’s evaluation of God and His Christ will be largely influenced by your dedication to God? (see: 1 Cor 3:16-17; 6:16-20; 2 Cor 6:16-17; Eph 2:19-22)
Too often, in our day, the will of God is sought in the context of special revelations, and obedience conceived as response to these. But in the Bible, NT as well as OT, guidance and obedience are presented much more in terms of conformity to the standards of God. (It is impossible to discuss at length, here the NT’s attitude to OT law; but see Rom 3:31; Gal 5:13-26.) The primary concern of Christians must be to have their character formed by the character of God (Rom 12:2). (J. G. McConville, The Daily Study Bible Series, 1 & 2 Chr, 81-82)
3- What communicates to a secular and indifferent world the value we should see in God? (see: Mt 10:42; Lk 14:26-27, 33; 21:12-13; Jn 8:31; 13:35; 15:8; 17:23)
The world rings with praise–lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favorite game–praise of weather, wines, dishes, actors, motors, horses, colleges, countries, historical personages, children, flowers, mountains, rare stamps, rare beetles, even sometimes politicians and scholars…just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: “Isn’t she lovely? Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that magnificent?” …I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. (C. S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms, pgs. 94, 95)
The trouble is, real American values are expressed not by what we say we wish for, but by what we really do…Perhaps the best indicator of what we really are is what we spend our money on or what we watch on television. Look at what we read. Look at what we choose to do with our spare time. That’s what we value. (Stuart Briscoe; Choices for a Lifetime, 6)
The reason physical sacrifice often results in spiritual renewal goes back to a principle Jesus taught in the gospel of Matthew. As your treasure goes, so goes your heart. Jesus said it this way: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mt 6:21).
Your heart and your treasure are linked. If you want to know what you are really committed to, look at your checkbook and credit card statements. There is your heart, plain and simple. There is no clearer reflection of your priorities and values. The way you handle your money is an indicator of where your heart is. (Andy Stanley; Visioneering, 138)
4- What legacy are we leaving with the kinds of attitudes, activities and conduct we possess? (see: Mt 5:13-16; Jn 13:35; 17:20-23)
While this was happening, Newsweek ran a cover story written by Joe Klein, a senior editor, in which he stated, “Flawed vehicle though he may be, Dan Quayle seems to have nudged presidential politics perilously close to something that really matters: a debate on values and the American family” (8 June 1992, 19).
And so the debate began, and I listened very carefully. But there was something odd about it. As the different sides lined up to state their points of view on values and American society, it was intriguing to me that all the models referred to were fictional! So while one side talked earnestly about Murphy Brown, the best their opponents could do was to cite Ozzie and Harriet Nelson. Somewhere along the line, Bart Simpson got into it, and occasionally the values of the African-American middle class family, the Huxtables, were invoked. If memory serves, we were mercifully spared the Archie Bunkers.
Now, we may find this mildly amusing, but isn’t it sad that in a debate on something as significant and profound as values, the proponents found it necessary to utilize fictional models, created by the media, to make their points? Maybe we are not only suffering from a poverty of values but also a poverty of models. Can’t we do better than that? (Stuart Briscoe; Choices for a Lifetime, 8)
Men equate money with value. If a man has to lay his money down, he’ll perceive a value. But if a man pays nothing, he’ll think it is worth nothing. (David Murrow; Why Men Hate Church, 209).
Tolerance cardinal virtue: Under the postmodernist way of thinking, the principle of cultural diversity means that every like-minded group constitutes a culture that must be considered as good as any other culture. The postmodernist sins are “being judgmental,” “being narrow-minded,” “thinking that you have the only truth,” and “trying to enforce your values on anyone else.” Those who question the postmodernist dogma that “there are no absolutes” are excluded from the canons of tolerance. The only wrong idea is to believe in truth; the only sin is to believe in sin. (Gene Edward Veith; Postmodern Times, 195-96)
Hunter Lewis, in A Question of Values, defines values as “personal beliefs that propel us to action, to a particular kind of behavior and life.” (Stuart Briscoe; Choices for a Lifetime, 12)
Values are not taught to our children; they are caught by them.
Parents should remember that children will probably follow their example rather than their advice.
Until you can confidently state your values, every philosophy, every behavior and every desire known to humankind is a potential substitute. Your values become the filter through which you determine right from wrong, value from worthlessness and importance from insignificance. If you do not specifically identify your values, they will be defined for you by the whims and influences of the world. (George Barna; Turning Vision into Action, 91)
David prayed that Solomon would have wisdom and that he would keep the law of Moses. The language of v. 13 sounds much like that of the book of Deuteronomy (see Dt 6:2; 17:18-20). (Joe O. Lewis, Layman’s Bible Book Commentary, Vol. 5, 146)
David’s charge to Solomon (22:13) will not be the last challenge Solomon receives to be obedient. God Himself reminds Solomon of the importance of obedience on different occasions (1 Kg 3:14; 9:4-9; 2 Chr 7:17-22). But ultimately, Solomon will reject this wise advice, resulting in the deterioration of the kingdom that David worked so hard to establish and unite. (Dr. Tremper Longman, Quicknotes, 1 Chr Thru Job, 40)
So David encourages Solomon to arise and build the temple. The king had done his best to facilitate the building, and now he urges the young prince to come forth and do his part. It may be appropriate to reflect a little upon the fellowship of service, to remember our mutual limitations and responsibilities, and to encourage one another in service. (Joseph S. Exell, The Biblical Illustrator, 1 Chronicles, 85)
5- How can we become more like David in that we value God; actually, more like the Son of David, even Jesus? (Rom 10:17; 12:1-2; Eph 4:7-16; Col 1:3-14; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pt 2:1-25; 2 Pt 3:18)
If people could understand their core values, they would save years of doubt, confusion, and misplaced energy as they try to find direction for their lives. Jesus essentially said “If you want to be happy, do these things.” (Lauire Beth Jones; Jesus CEO, Using Ancient Wisdom for Visionary Leadership, 114)
The modern workplace not only diminishes accountability but also undercuts the cogency of religious belief and morality. Cities create their own psychological environments by bringing together in close proximity a wide range of worldviews, cultural and ethnic differences, and personal values. The kind of pluralism that is necessary to eliminate antagonisms among the competing views has the effect of reducing the values of each inhabitant to the lowest common denominator. City life requires the kind of friendliness that allows us to cohabit with the mass ethnic. It is typically assumed that this sort of friendliness must be divested of moral and religious judgments, since it is difficult for our society to see how judgments about truth and (and) morals can escape the charge of social bigotry. And so we settle for the kind of friendliness within which all absolutes perish either for lack of interest or because of the demands of the social etiquette. (David Wells; No Place for Truth, 75)
What is the best legacy we can leave the next generations? We usually think of material possessions we bequeath to our family, but is that the best legacy we leave? Does this kind of gift betray our preoccupation with material things?
The accepted view today is that one is what one does or has, that the basis of one’s value is what one produces or contributes, always measured by some material standard. The writer of Proverbs thought that “a good name” was to be chosen over material things. Character cannot be bought or easily required. It results from a life well lived.
Jesus surely left the disciples nothing of this world’s good. He died a pauper and was buried in a borrowed tomb. Yet, he left us his peace and the gift of his life.
It really matters what “name” we leave our children and grandchildren. As they remember us, what matters is how we lived, not what we acquired or what we did. (Richard L. Morgan; No Wrinkles On the Soul)
6- What legacy does an honest, humble, grateful and repentant heart leave?
Decision making is easy if there are no contradictions in your value system. (Robert H. Schuller; Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do, 148)
7- What can we do when we recognize that we fall far short of giving God the honor, glory and significance that He is due?
Things only have the value that we give them. -Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Moliere
Worship point: If we see God as He really is . . . there is nothing you will be able to do but to worship God.
Spiritual Challenge: Pray that God will open your eyes, your mind, and your heart so that you might see God as He really is and that your life would be so changed as a result that the legacy you leave for your loved ones and the world would be that they might say of you, “_____________ really knew God.”
(your name)
Many today say that they cannot have faith in Christ because it is not “reasonable”. But what do they mean by reasonable? Do they mean that is does not make logical sense? Or do they mean that in their value system, faith in Christ doesn’t make sense?
You see it is impossible to have reason without a value system by which to judge your reasons for thinking. Hitler thought and acted completely within reasons when he killed 6 million in the gas chambers during WWII. He earnestly believed that Jews and resisters were less than human and so in his mind killing them was the only reasonable thing to do. Reason is based on a value system. It is the value system that determines the reasonableness of one’s actions. But if we do not share the same value system as another, then it is impossible for us to determine the actions of another who possess a different value system. For every decision or action they make outside of our value system will be determined by us to be unreasonable.
So again, I come back to those who say faith in Christ is unreasonable. Of course it is. They are working with a different value system. They are going to think that a person of faith is unreasonable, just as a person from Florida thinks it is unreasonable for anyone to root for Michigan and a person from Michigan thinks it is unreasonable for anyone to root for Florida. It is the value system that sets the standard for reasonableness. No wonder Jesus said, I am the way , the truth and the life. No one can come to the father except through Christ. Why? Because HE (Christ) IS the value system. If we don’t accept that, then we will be totally unreasonable in our behaviors and judgments. We have adopted the wrong value system. (Pastor Keith)
It sometimes becomes difficult to say who really did build the temple, so little was left for Solomon to do. Is it not so with all the temples of civilization? Who built the temple of literature? Who erected the temple of science? Who is the architect, and who the builder of the temple of discovery? The last man is so immediately behind us, that we dare not take credit to ourselves for aught we do; so much has been done in preparation that when we speak of the temple we say it was built by the age, or the generation, or the spirit of the times. (Joseph S. Exell, The Biblical Illustrator, 1 Chronicles, 5)
If we set out by saying that it is impossible to attain to anything great or noble, most certainly we never shall attain to it. We must make up our minds that the house of the Lord, whether it be material or spiritual, must be exceeding magnifical. No honest student of David’s Psalms can maintain that he was ignorant of the true meaning of spiritual worship; or that he thought more of the things of sense than of the action of the soul in its approach to the Holy One; but his spirituality was not of that unwise kind which imperils the very existence of religion among men by doing away with all the outward symbols of its presence. Worship will not be the less spiritual when man has done his very uttermost in his poor way to express in outward and material structure his sense of the unapproachable magnificence of God. (Joseph S. Exell, The Biblical Illustrator, 1 Chronicles, 80)
You will never gain a good appetite for God’s Word, or a flush of joy on your countenance, until you lay hold of some earnest, self-denying work and keep at it. Nothing will impart such a holy vehemence to your prayers as to spend an hour by a sick-bed, or in close labor with an impenitent heart. Nothing will stiffen your muscle more than tough up-hill work in behalf of some unpopular cause or moral reform. The only cure for indolence is honest work; the only cure for selfishness is self-sacrifice; the only cure for timidity is to plunge into duty before the shiver benumbs you; the only cure for unbelief is to put Christ to the test every day. Prayer must kill unbelief, or else unbelief will kill prayer. The Christian warfare is not a single pitched battle; it is a campaign for life. You may often imagine that you have attended the funeral of some besetting sin–and lo! It is on its feet again next morning! You won’t fire the last shot until the gates of glory welcome you in among the crowned conquerors. (T.C. Cuyler) (Joseph S. Exell, The Biblical Illustrator, 1 Chronicles, 88)
Because David lived in the presence of God and saw God as clearly a superior being, David was able to live with the humility, openness and candor that marked his life.
Quotes to Note:
We are subject to personal, constitutional circumscriptions from which we cannot escape. We have a certain gift and susceptibility, and within the lines prescribed by our special endowment we can work happily and effectively, but we make sorry work when we attempt anything beyond those lines. (Joseph S. Exell, The Biblical Illustrator, 1 Chronicles, 85)
Better a thousand times the eager and passionate fleeing to God from a past of faults and weaknesses, with an irresistible longing for rest in the everlasting verities, than the most respectable career which misses this profound impulse. The past remains with us to remind us of our perils and our constant need of help, but it ought not to haunt and oppress us. The real life of an aspiring soul is always ahead. We are not fleeing from the devil, but seeking God. (Lyman Abbott) (Joseph S. Exell, The Biblical Illustrator, 1 Chronicles, 89)
Values are what make us who we are. — Retired General Norman Schwarzkopf
Christ:
The Ultimate Legacy
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