Letter From Dan Preston
January 15, 2021
Good evening brethren and Happy Sabbath! Last week's memory scripture was James 1:17 (NKJV), "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." Read below so that therefore you find clues for this week's memory verse!
It's not getting any better
We're not very far into 2021, but it already seems that it's not looking a lot better than 2020. Problems exist in every country and in virtually every aspect of life. It's worth asking, where do these problems come from?
I suppose it would depend on who you asked as to the answer you received. In this country, if you asked a Democrat, they'd tell you it was the Republicans and vice-versa. If we asked the question on a more global basis, the answer might be "the Muslims" or "the Christians." Again, the answer would likely depend very much on who you asked.
The right answer
As Bible believers, I think we know the right answer to this question. The problems this world have can be traced right back through Satan the Devil, and ultimately to sin.
Of course, while not all pain and suffering is a direct punishment from God on a particular person or nation for a sin they might have committed, if we go back far enough, we can see how the pain and suffering for all mankind can be traced back to sin, in some fashion.
And while that answers the question as to the cause of the issues in the world, it brings about another question. What do we do about? Must we live under the reign of sin?
The right solution
Unlike Satan, sin is not a being, it's an action. It exists in our mortal bodies, only when we take - or in some cases, don't take - action. And while we don't have power to make Satan stop existing, we DO have power to make sin stop reigning in our bodies.
We choose to take action (or inaction) and sin for many reasons. We might not ever be able to get rid of the lust or desire for sin while in these mortal bodies, but we can make a stand and choose not to obey those lusts.
This is obviously much easier said than done. But the good news is that unlike the issues we see going on in the world around us, we can actually do something to stop sin in our own lives. Therefore, let's make it our aim every day, not to let sin rule and reign over our lives!