Steve Zook

What was the wise man Solomon thinking as he penned these words many years ago? “Ponder the path of thy feet.” To ponder means to stop and view with deliberation. What are we to deliberate? The path of our feet! Why?
Every person’s life is a path. We can stop and look back one day, one year, one decade, or even one century. Solomon is saying, stop - ponder your footsteps. Past footsteps show a direction of travel. What is that direction, more God-ward or more world-ward? The footsteps of the past can predict the direction of our next footstep.

It is Sunday morning again in November 2020. We awake with a totally different feeling than we have in the last six days. We are going to church. We will dress in our Sunday best. We will limit the work we do to only what is absolutely necessary. We will practice a Day of Rest.
Why do we, as Christians, believe in honoring the Lord’s day? Go with me as we explore the Bible on this subject.
We will look first at the Old Testament Sabbath.
God says, Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. (Ex 20:8).

And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs (Luke 8:26, 27).
And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee (Matthew 21:10,11).

What is Covid-19? It is said to be a particularly dangerous strain of Coronavirus, which first appeared in China in November of 2019. It is believed to be a novel virus, never before seen on earth, which means no one is immune to it, and nearly everyone who comes in contact with it will get sick. When a person is infected, they typically have no symptoms for one or two weeks, during which they unknowingly affect others. We are told the infection rate doubles about every six days, which, if true, every person on earth will have had it eight weeks from now.

We have just taken a step over the threshold of a new year, from 2019 to 2020. What will it be like to step over the threshold from time to eternity?
We serve an eternal God. This simply means that God always was: He was before Adam; He was before the mountains; He was God a billion years before creation. He always was God.

The drinking of wine has been a problem for thousands of years. We read that Noah was drunk with wine in Genesis 9, and Lot was drunk in Genesis 19.
The Proverb writer declares in his final chapter that wine is not for kings or princes. Again, in Proverbs 23, he says, The drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty.
In First Samuel 1, Eli thought Hannah was drunk and rebuked her for it.
Queen Vashti lost her position as Queen because of a drunken husband in Esther 1.
Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine (Isa 5:22a).

But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out. These words of Moses from Numbers 32:23 were spoken to the children of Gad and Reuben and the half tribe of Manasseh. What did Moses really mean? Be sure your sin will find you out.
In order to understand, we must read and understand the rest of the chapter.

We live in a day when “honor” is a very unpopular word in the world around us. Ungodly people do not want to obey any authority over them, therefore; they choose to tear down the reputation of those in authority and do not give leaders the respect God would have them show.
Romans 13:1 says, Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

The practices of Halloween as we know them originated with the Celts who lived in what is now Great Britain, Ireland, and Northern France. Their new year began on November 1. The Celtic Festival of “Samhain” began the previous evening, October 31. This festival honored “Samhain,” the Celtic lord of death. This celebration marked the beginning of the season of cold, darkness, and decay. The Celts believed that “Samhain” allowed the souls of the dead to return to their earthly homes for the evening. During the festival, people wore costumes made of animal heads and skins.

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? (Mark 8:36). We in America are constantly rubbing shoulders with men and women who are passionately seeing what they can gain at the cost of their own souls! What about you and I? Is the love of money capturing us too?
As Jesus was walking in the way one came running. He knelt down before Jesus and asked, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?