From the Pastor's Desk to Your Heart

The days in which we are living seem to be characterized by individuals who are compelled to follow after anything that is new.   Much of what their labors purchase, soon loses its luster and they are drawn to the next bit of shine that catches the eye.   How restless and dissatisfied people have become, to so quickly desire the newest clothes, the newest automobile, the newest kind of entertainment, the newest philosophy, and on and on it goes.   In the beginning God declared that mankind, the crown of His creation, ought to walk in the paths which He has established.   Man made a choice to walk in ways away from God, and apart from His holiness.   The endless sands of sin had covered man's heart and he could not see the error of his ways.

In the vast sand dunes of southern Arabia there is a place called the Rub al Khali.   For hundreds of years rumors were heard of a spectacular city of trade that once flourished in that vast desert.   Great caravans of camels had once carried balsam, myrrh and frankincense over vast distances.   Even today, frankincense, the most precious cargo of the ancient caravans is still being harvested by hand in this desolate area of the world.   Located somewhere along one of the ancient trade routes was the city of Ubar.   Legend says that Ubar was a city of excessive splendor, filled with people of unquenchable pride.   Ubar prospered for many years until suddenly about 300 years before Christ, the city disappeared under the billowy sands of the Arabian desert.   Hundreds of years passed until it became difficult to distinguish fact from fiction.   Had Ubar ever really existed?   Studies of recent photographs taken hundreds of miles in space have revealed hidden features of the Rub al Khali which tell us that Ubar actually did exist.   The use special photographic techniques have revealed the web of ancient caravans routes covered by the sands of the hot desert.   Though they had been covered for hundreds of years by blowing and shifting sands, the compacted trade routes were still there.   They had been revealed by the lenses of a very special camera.

In the beginning God said, "Walk in My ways", and man said, "There are other ways to walk."   When Jeremiah spoke these words to the people of his generation, God said, "Walk in My ways", and the people of Israel said, "There are other ways to walk."   In our generation God still says, "Walk in My ways", and mankind still says, "There are other ways to walk."   Our text tells us that we should desire with utmost precision, the journey, the path, the course of life established by the very words of God Himself.   Are you walking in the way prescribed by the Creator of the Universe?   The right way, the only way is through God's Son, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself to die for you so that you might live with Him forever.

"Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.   But they said, We will not walk therein"  (Jeremiah 6:16).