“I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” – Genesis 17:6-8.

And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. – 1 John 3:3.

Too Late To Change

For all the good Otto von Bismarck accomplished in uniting Germany, his rule was marked by a conspicuous failure. He brought absolutism, not democracy, to the German people. His twenty-seven year autocratic rule led to Kaiser Wilhelm; then, after World War I, to an ineffectual Weimer republic that had no basis in German history. After that it led to Hitler. Before he died, Bismarck said that even good kings can be bad if they hold uncontested power. Unfortunately, it was too late to remake Germany.

God has established an unfailingly complete sufficiency for us in Christianity. It has a benevolent, all sovereign Lord. It provides the perfect sacrifice for sin and an infallible guide for principles of good behavior in each generation. It consists of a forgiven constituency of saints who complete God’s mission in each generation. It promises a righteous, eternal kingdom ruled by almighty God and inhabited by forgiven, perfected saints.

Courtesy of Speaker’s Sourcebook of New Illustrations by Virgil Hurley copyright © 1995 by Word, Incorporated. Used by permission.

*Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Applicable Quotations

The future that we study and plan for begins today. – Fischer

Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree. – Luther

When all else is lost, the future still remains. – Bovee

Our cares we can cast on Thee, for Thou carest for us.  How can we be troubled about the future road, since it belongs to Thee?  How can we be troubled where it leads, since it finally but leads us to Thee. – John Henry Neuman