(1 Peter 2:2)
Like newborn babes,
long for the pure milk of the Word, that by it you may grow in respect to
salvation,
(Romans 1:16)
For I am not ashamed of
the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,
to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
We need not be perplexed over the
reasons for our decline as a nation, a culture, a society, a people, and a
Church! So many of us have neglected our
Bibles to the point that we could write “damnation” across the covers of them
in the dust!
These individuals accepted and
carried out the challenge of diligently treasuring God’s Word in their hearts.
(Psalm 119:11)
Thy Word I have
treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee.
After memorizing three chapters of a
New Testament book word perfectly, an individual receives a “free” letterman
jacket. This jacket is embroidered with
the “Holy Nation” coat-of-arms on
the left lapel. The participant’s name
and favorite verse is embroidered on the right lapel, the number 777 is stitched on the right
leather sleeve, after completing an
entire book and quoting it word perfectly, and the name of the book is embroidered
on the back of the jacket, and every book
memorized thereafter is also embroidered on the back. It is vital that we memorize God's Word perfectly
because when we start changing words, we start changing meanings!
Holy Nation members compete on their
knowledge of God’s Word in a fun and exciting way. Our end goal is not to have God’s Word
embroidered on the back of our jackets, but to have God’s Word embroidered and written
on the tablets of our hearts.
Why Holy Nation?
We find ourselves in a society where
the nightly news is being played out on a daily basis like that of a horror film. This should not be surprising to the
Christian who has the answers to life’s problems and solutions at his or her
fingertips. At the same time, the societal trends that
were unthinkable yesterday have become common place today in and out of our
churches. Scripture tells us that God’s
Word is a lamp and a light!
(Proverbs 4:18-19)
(Proverbs 4:18-19)
But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. The way of wicked is like darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.
(Psalm 119:105)
(Psalm 119:105)
Thy Word is a lamp to
my feet, and a light to my path.
We must realize that without God’s
Word as a lamp and a light to guide us through this dark world, we are quite
simply stumbling around in the darkness.
When we observe the sin that has crept into our churches like that of
leaven silently creeping through a loaf of bread we should be horrified! Who would have ever guessed that John’s
writings would have ever become true of us!
(1 John 2:11)
But the one who hates
his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know
where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Have we learned the lessons of biblical history? Have we become blinded because we’re in the darkness, we
walk in the darkness, and we don’t know where we are going because the
darkness has blinded our eyes? Lot was
oppressed by the conduct of unprincipled men in his society. The conduct Lot observed around him tormented
his righteous soul day after day!
(2 Peter 2:6-8)
And if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by
reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live
ungodly thereafter; and if He rescued
righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous
man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day
with their lawless deeds),
Does God’s warning to those of us who
live ungodly after the example of Sodom and Gomorrah concern us? Are we not only concerned but oppressed by
the sensual conduct all around us? Are
we tormented day after day with the deeds we observe around us that are so
contrary to God’s Word?
The biblical illiteracy of our
society is very much characteristic of America’s churches today. We have chosen darkness over light (Psalm
119: 105), we have chosen the trash over the treasure (Psalm 119: 11), and we
have chosen death over life. Do we think
that statement is too strong? Consider these verses with me!
(James 1:21)
Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.
(Romans 1:16)
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.
(Romans 1:16)
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
(1 Peter 2:7-9)
This precious value,
then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve,
“The stone which the builders rejected,
This became the very corner stone,”
and,
“A stone
of stumbling and a rock of offense”;
for they stumble
because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they
were also appointed.
But you are a chosen
race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim
the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous
light;
We each need to choose this very day
whether we will contribute to a Nation that will be thrown onto the “Trash Heap”
of human history, or, contribute to a “Holy Nation.” The choice is very clear; reject His Word and
live instinctually like unreasoning animals, or, long for the pure milk of the
Word, walking according to His Spirit, and in the divine nature.
(Jude 1:10)
But these men revile
the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by
instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.
(2 Peter 2:12)
But these, like
unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed,
reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those
creatures also be destroyed,
(Galatians 5:22-25)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self
control; against such things there is no law.
Now those who belong
to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
(2 Peter 1:4-9)
For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises,
in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having
escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very
reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and
in your moral excellence, knowledge;
and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control,
perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness; and in your godliness, brotherly
kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities
are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in
the true knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these
qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his
former sins.
(1 John 2:6)
The one who says he
abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
Men do not reject the Bible because
it contradicts itself, but because it contradicts them.
-Author Unknown-
The Word of God should fill the
memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet.
-Author Unknown-
The Bible is not meant merely to
inform, but to transform.
-Author Unknown-
Back to the Bible, or back to the jungle.
-Luis Palau-
The Bible is the only volume known to
man, that when you read it, it reads you. It is a mirror into our very hearts
and souls!
My prayer is that we will walk in a
manner worthy of the Lord, please Him in all respects, bear fruit in
every good work, and always, always, always increase in the knowledge of God and His will for our lives!
(Colossians 1:9-10)
For this reason also,
since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask
that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom
and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to
please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in
the knowledge of God;
If you would like more information about Holy Nation, please send an email to J. Derek Murrow.
