![]() November 1, 2019
by Terry Goodman Director of Clergy Services / Conference Secretary Holston Conference All Saints' Day Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18
I don’t tend to think of God and terror in the same sentence. I like to think of God and love. Maybe every now and then, God and justice. God and terror though seem like a non-sequitur to me.
In reality, I find all the terror I want in the world in which I live. I don’t need visions to remind me of some of the following: opioid addiction, human trafficking, wars, genocide, Ebola, hunger…the list could go on. The terror could multiply. I could quiver in fear and withdraw from the world and seek the safety of my home. So could many of you. Yet, we don’t. We don’t cower in fear and hide away thinking that by withdrawing from the world we can avoid the world.
Today is All Saint’s Day, in many ways, I like it better than Christmas as a day in the liturgical calendar. It is on this day that we celebrate the common men and women and children that have stood up to the terrors of their times and come through victorious.
I like the way that this passage ends:
For Daniel, those holy ones were the people the survived the ravages of the four kings. For us, it is those that have put their trust in Jesus…even in the midst of difficult times.
I like that it says we will “…possess the kingdom forever…” Forever, is a long time, yet that it not what it says. It says “…forever---forever and ever.” Just in case you didn’t catch on the first time, let's throw in forever and ever on top of forever. That seems like a VERY long time.
I look forward to that time. I look forward to that opportunity that I am going to have to one day gather with all the saints and celebrate that forever and ever together in the presence of the One that was here before forever was ever created and will be here when forever finally ends. Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up now to receive your own copy of the 2019 Daily Devotional. Do you want to view archived devotions? Visit our Devotional page on Holston.org Questions concerning communications should be directed to Tim Jones, Holston Conference Director of Communications.
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