Message from Carly Bate, Elementary Teacher

I recently spent some time reading 1^st and 2^nd Kings, along with Deuteronomy. At first it was depressing to read about how all these kings ruled Israel and failed in so many ways. They broke so many of the stipulations God had laid out for his nation in the book of Deuteronomy. Manasseh burnt his son as an offering (2 Kings 21:16); Solomon loved many women, set up an Asherah pole, worshiped an Ammonite god named Milcom, and built a high place for Chemosh, a Moabite god (1 Kings 11); Saul disobeyed God and let Agag live (1 Samuel 15:8). And the list goes on and on. All the kings of Israel failed. Not one of them was perfect.

This led me to reread Revelation where I read about a perfect king (chapter 19) who is called Faithful and True.  He will judge the ungodly and rule with an iron scepter, but he will also make all things new  (chapter 20) and will give his bride, whom he made pure and flawless, a beautiful new city where sin is no longer reigning. He will wipe away every tear, get rid of death, and remove mourning, sadness, and pain.

This brought comfort to me. Even though all the kings failed, God is our eternal king who will some day come back and rule with truth and grace. While we celebrate the Christmas season, we celebrate Jesus’ first coming, but his second coming should also be on our minds. I love the song “Joy to the World” because it captures Jesus’ second coming.

Joy to the world! The Lord is come

Let earth receive her King!

Let every heart prepare Him room

And heaven and nature sing

And heaven and nature sing

And heaven, and heaven and nature sing

He rules the world with truth and grace

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness

And wonders of His love

And wonders of His love

And wonders and wonders of His love

             In the midst of the commercialized craziness, remember Jesus and why he came, but also remember to live a life that is full of daily repentance and obedience to Christ, and that is ready for Jesus’ second coming where he reigns as our perfect, just, loving king.