ECCE

      There is a misconception in the Church regarding "The Day of the LORD." We view this Day as being associated mainly with the Rapture of the Church and the Millennial Reign of Christ on the earth. However, the prophets of scripture and the revelations of the New Testament give us a different view of what this Day entails.      The prophet Joel wrote that the Day of the LORD would be marked by earthquakes, gloominess and deep darkness as the light of the sun, moon and stars are withdrawn. He wrote: "...for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?" (Joel 2:10-11). Malachi also asked the question: "But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' sope..." (Mal. 3:2). Jesus said: "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man...

      While traveling this past week, I saw a sign for a place called "Prayer Town." The caption on the sign asked, "What do you see?" The sign sat in the middle of a desolate desert wilderness. "Prayer Town" is associated with a group called The Disciples of Christ, a praying group. This led me to consider what role of prayer should play in our lives.      The first mention of the word "prayer" in scripture is found in 2 Samuel 7. The prophet Nathan received the word of the LORD concerning King David after David told Nathan of his desire to build a house for the LORD and His ark. This word from the LORD dealt with David's reign as king, Israel's appointed place of dwelling forever, and David's descendant that would rule after him who will build the house of the LORD: "He shall build a house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever...and thine house and thy kingdom shall be stablished for ever before t...

      This week, we marked "Juneteenth" as a national observance. Two years after Lincoln freed the slaves, a union general came to Texas to post fliers in order to inform those still kept in slavery by that they were free. Those who owned the slaves in Texas never told them of their freedom in order to benefit from their slaves continued free labor. Juneteenth marks and memorializes that delayed freedom. Our nation continues to be deeply divided over many issues: racial, cultural, political, economic, and more. God is both just and jealous and we have offended the Most High God with this wickedness.      The prophet Micah wrote of the LORD's voice that cries to the city. The wise hear and discern the source of that cry, yet the wicked continue in their wickedness in order to accumulate treasure through deception and theft. The prophet wrote of the LORD: "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly , an...