ONE WHO EMBRACES
Suggested Reading: Habakkuk 1-2
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).
Seleucia was the seaport from which Paul and Barnabas left with John Mark for their first missionary journey (approx. AD 49, see Acts 13:4). Part of the ancient (man-made) harbour can still be seen. In AD 70 it became the base for the imperial Roman fleet. In the light of our key verse, imagine the military and merchant navies sailing over the vast seas. The breadth and depth of the seas are symbols of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord which is predicted for a future time by Habakkuk (Habakkuk 2:14).
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verse: Habakkuk 2:4, 14
Behold the proud,
His soul is not upright in him;
But the just shall live by his faith.
…For the earth will be filled
With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
As the waters cover the sea.
“Habakkuk” means “One who embraces.” This prophet, motivated by love, embraced his people by warnings of imminent attack by the Chaldeans (Babylonians/modern Iraq) and by God’s mercy and restoration at a later time. He reminds Jerusalem that God is “from everlasting,” and that He is “The Holy One,” Who is “of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness.” When Jesus bore the sins of the world in His embrace He cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Could Habakkuk 1:13a be the reason that Jesus was forsaken? Think about it!
The Lord gives His answer in chapter 2. We are thrust forward to future times when God’s message will be common knowledge, written on “billboards,” as one translation of Habakkuk 2:2 puts it. Would you believe television or even a blog? The 16th century priest, monk, teacher, and pastor, Martin Luther, staked his life on the words of Habakkuk 2:4b, words which are quoted in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38, “The just shall live by his faith.” For more of Luther’s story click here. A special person in my life, George Upton, said to me, “Jesus reached out His arms to embrace the whole world, and we nailed His hands to the cross.” Indeed that embrace does encompass the whole world today because of His cross.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, in earth time we’re on Saturday, the day of silence between the death of Jesus and His resurrection. Your disciples, Lord Jesus, were puzzled and no doubt filled with fear as they tried to piece together what they knew about the Messiah from their Hebrew Bibles (read Isaiah 53). I pray for the discipline to spend time today thinking about these things. I have such an advantage over Peter and the others, because I know the third day’s events. I’m filled with wonder, love and worship for Your amazing grace revealed in the Gospels, which the Apostles were yet to write. Amen! Amen! Amen!!!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
My Son David Reynold, our photographer, and his wife Kathy call their ministry, “World Embrace” (WE). Please pray for them as they embrace the people of Uganda (click here for a prayer focus).
I’m overcome with emotion just now, and I must pull myself back to loving God with my mind, and not just my heart, in order to complete the blog. It occurs to me that discoveries of natural laws, which God built into the cosmos, would revolutionize our ability to communicate God’s truth (all truth is God’s truth). Here I am typing on a laptop computer and posting what is written at the speed of light around the world. Luther wrote out his thesis on paper and nailed it on the outside of the door of the church where he was Pastor, so that people, who would not come to hear him preach, could read it. I’m nailing this to a satellite 22,500 miles above earth, and “the earth” is “filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). Of course, just as Luther’s words were not read by all, so not all will read my words here. Nevertheless, the potential is there for wide, in-depth coverage (like the sea). During the second world war years, 1939-1945, I travelled to church each Sunday in the same way that Habakkuk might have travelled, by horse and carriage (buggy). No, we were not Amish. Millions of country people did this.
Yours for putting God’s message to humanity on billboards, on television, on the internet, and also communicating one-to-one God’s love and salvation,
David
P.S. Behind the Crossroads Centre in Burlington are the satellite dishes which, like billboards, make the message plain so that “He may run who reads it” (Habakkuk 2:2). Also Crossroads has used billboards such as the one below on Bloor Street, Toronto.
The view from the top of the Crossroads Centre in Burlington, Ontario. You can see several satellite dishes in the background. This was during the summer of 2012, when we featured a full-sized replica of the Old Testament Tabernacle as part of Crossroads' 50th Anniversary celebrations. My grandson Adam Mainse (Ron & Ann's son) was one of our tour guides.
Another view of a satellite uplink dish from the roof of the Crossroads Centre. The faithful sacrificial prayers and financial support of partners in ministry (you and me) make it possible to send God's Word around the world.
A billboard in downtown Toronto in the late 1970's advertising a new program called "100 Huntley Street."
We live our lives so often “in between”, not knowing the outcome but living by faith alone. The apostle Paul informs us not to be anxious and to use this time in prayer presenting out requests to God. How dreadful it must have felt for Jesus’ followers on the day after He died. Thank you David for your challenge for us all to be thinking about this today. Would some have also wondered if they had been forsaken? Would some have remembered to heart Jesus’ promise of His return? Where are some at with this matter today, having not experienced Jesus in the flesh? The Lord is good, never leaving or forsaking us. His strength and blessings to all, this Easter season.
Praise God! Amen!
Such love from our Heavenly Father God, to give His Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins, so that we may be forgiven, be healed, and claim salvation.
Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed. Isa 53:4-5
Thank You, Jesus! How we love You!! God bless you, David Mainse–thank you for the links, today. Blessings dear fellow saints!
Amen!
Huge ‘billboards’ in the fields along some roads faithfully proclaim God’s Word. God bless those who make these possible. Scripture on our walls has been declining in favour of more excellent decor! Oh for more of His Word in every place!
The Jewish people carried such a burden of tolerance for the Babylonian’s evil ways. It must have been so discouraging and disheartening to live in those times. “Be still and know that I am God” are the most comforting words to me when life’s turmoil hits.
Thank you again DM et al for your dedication to this blog. So greatly appreciated. May God bless us all on this special weekend celebration.
Such love, such wondrous love and grace that our precious Savoiur and Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ shoud take on all the sins of humanity and carry the cross to his death on Calvary. Perhaps we would like to go to You Tube and type in “Via Dolorosa” and “His Grace Still Amazes Me.” God bless you fellow saints!
Thank God for sending Jesus to save us from our sins
Praise God Halajuah without Him I can do nothing
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me
Its no longer I that lives but Christ that lives in me
Praise God for your healing David and bringing us this blog
🙂
Amen Brenda God bless us all…R…..
Dear Rev. David M
So very wise of you to remind us of how blessed we are to hnow and have that one on one relationship with Jesus and pray without ceasing for all the lost sheep…
God Bless Kathy and David Reynold world embrace ministry. will be adding them to our prayer list at fairview alliance church.
Blessing everyone on this Easter celebration
Xxx Carole
I try to comprehend how Jesus’ followers and disciples would have felt after Jesus was crucified but before He rose again… It would have been total shock and awe and if they didn’t see it happen with their own eyes impossible to accept.
They saw him raise the dead, feed thousands of people with a few fish and a couple loaves of bread, heal the sick, restore sight to the blind, make the disabled able again, cast out demons, calm the sea, walk on water, hear God from Heaven say “THIS IS MY BELOVED SON WITH WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED”…
How could their beloved Saviour (God in the flesh) simply be taken away from them through crucifixion? Why, Why, Why?
Then He rose from the dead, defied death itself… The one final pure sacrifice for all mankind, past, present, and future. For whoever calls on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, asks forgiveness of sins and repents, and invites Him into their hearts is also saved from an eternity in Hell with Satan.
This is the secret that Paul mentions in Romans. If Satan knew that Jesus’ crucifixion and ascension would allow so many people to escape eternity in Hell through Christ Jesus surely he would have never let it happen…
Blessings to all bloggers on this Easter weekend. Praise You Father God and Thank You Father for showing us the way back to acceptance in your eyes… In Jesus Name – Amen!