Memorial

Memorial
by Pete Berardi

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. This is by all means an honorable and very worth reason for a federal holiday. The Bible also speaks of a Memorial. The word memorial occurs thirty-two times in thirty-one verses in the KJV Bible.

Most of the references occur in the Old Testament. These references to memorial are specific events that occur in which God commands his prophets to build a memorial to represent these events. Although these specific events have great significance, there are two events that have supreme importance in which God calls his people to remember. These two important happenings are the deliverance of the Israelites from the Egyptians and the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross.

In the Old Testament, God’s people fall in and out of sin many times. Many times God reminds his people, through the prophets, to remember what he has done for them and to repent from their sins. The oppression of the Egyptians was very great upon the Israelites. When the Israelites were finally delivered, they were great appreciative and full of the joy of the Lord.

When Jesus had the last supper with the twelve apostles he broke bread and drank wine in remembrance of him. That night Jesus was betrayed and he was crucified the next day. This crucifixion is the atonement for our sins. Christians everywhere can remember when they were first saved. Their joy was great and their spirits were high. In many circles this is referred to as “being on fire for the Lord”. It is not uncommon to forget the feeling of appreciation that we have to Jesus for delivering us from our sin and the punishment for sin.

As Christians, we should try to remember the joy that we first had when we were saved. We should share this joy with others for this is our testimony of our faith. Consider this verse:

Psa 51:12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me [with thy] free spirit.

The service of our troops is a worthy cause of national remembrance. I claim that as a member of the nation of God, we should remember what God has done for us.

Tribulation

Tribulation
by Pete Berardi

The word tribulation occurs twenty-six times in The Bible if we include tribulations as a form of the word. By definition, the word means trouble or annoying or catastrophic events. Common sense might teach us that tribulation, along with being avoided, is a mighty bad thing. I for one have had somewhat of the same notion. The Bible discusses this word, what it is, and how we are to react to it and think about it. Consider these verses.

John 16:33 These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Trials and tribulations come from the world. Jesus is telling us here that because of our faith in him, we can have peace regardless of the tribulations that we have. If we keep our eyes on the big picture, we can then work through the times of tribulation. Jesus has overcome the world and in the end we will have victory over pain, sin and death.

Romans 5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

Paul goes on in verses four and five to describe how patience creates experience, experience creates hope and hope makes us unashamed. Tribulation is a means to an end. Through understanding that Jesus will deliver us from tribulations, we have patience. This patience gives us the experience and character that is the mind of Christ. This mind of Christ keeps our eyes on the “blessed hope” Titus 2:13. And if we are focused on this, we will not let anything, including tribulations, cause us to be ashamed of our faith or Christ or The Bible.

The first appearance of the word tribulation occurs in Deuteronomy 4:30-31 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the LORD thy God [is] a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

God was teaching the Israelites that for relief from these tribulations they should turn to him. He will not forsake them and not forget the covenant that he has with them and will deliver them. We should follow the same example. We, in a sense, should embrace our tribulations because it brings us closer to God.

Laying it to Heart

Laying it to Heart
by Pete Berardi

In this world image is a very important thing. At work we must put up a professional image in front of customers, our supervisors and fellow employees. This image that we put up is for the most part fake. We must learn to fake smile and even though we do not like the customers that walk into the store, we must make them think that we like them. In the prophecy of Malachi specifically, other prophecies and in the preachings of Jesus, this is referred to as hypocrisy. A person is a hypocrite when his heart is on one thing but his lips are on another. The people in the prophecy of Malachi were being hypocrites by thinking that they could just go through the motions of sacrificing to God. They were not offering God the best of the best. It is apparent from the following verse that God wants sincerity and a sacrifice of the heart and not just the lips.

Malachi 2:2 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay [it] to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay [it] to heart.

Our social lives can also put image first. It is important to appear happy or well off even though we are not. As humans, we have a desire to make people believe that we are better off than we actually are. We may be able to fool people, but we cannot fool God. What is more important though is that we do not need to fool God. God loves us for who we are. Putting up an impression for God is not only futile but unnecessary. Consider the verse in Psalms.

Psa 139:16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all [my members] were written, [which] in continuance were fashioned, when [as yet there was] none of them.

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees because they although they were the priests of the temple, their heart was not in the right place. Consider this saying from the mouth of Jesus in the book of Matthew:

Mat 15:7,8 [Ye] hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with [their] lips; but their heart is far from me.

Living a lie is no way to live. The Bible states that the truth shall set you free. By being honest with God, yourself, and other people, we can be truly free. This way we can lay everything to heart. Nothing has to be of the lips only, and we can live from our hearts.

God is My Shield

God is My Shield

by Pete Berardi

The word shield appears forty four times in the whole Bible however only once in the New Testament. The first appearance of “shield” occurs in Genesis 15:1 where it states: After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I [am] thy shield, [and] thy exceeding great reward.

Typically, the word shield only is used when discussing a war or a fight. It is not out of the question to refer to life as a fight or a struggle. God says to us: Fear not, for I am your shield. In other words, “I will protect you”, says the Lord.

How is God our shield? In order for God to be our shield, we have to use him as our shield. A shield is of no use to us when it is lying on the ground. The shield must be held up and held proudly. We must do the same thing with God. Christians must not be ashamed of their faith and must have the courage to share it. In order for God to be our shield we must be obedient to his commandments.

One way to be sure that we have God as our shield is our attitude toward our very lives. The Bible states in Matthew 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. As Christians, it is very important to put God first. When you think about a shield, doesn’t it come first? A shield is no good when it is behind you, unless of course you are traveling in reverse. The same holds true for God. If we seek to save our lives, we shall surely lose it. In other words, only God can save our life. He sacrificed his for ours, and he lived. We are to sacrifice our life for his, therefore we too shall live.

The perfect attitude in regards to our life in my opinion is this: Our life is not our own, it is God’s. Let his will be done in our life. We should feel confident that God has our best interests in mind no matter how bleak the situation. We should walk through this struggle with the “shield of faith” (Ephesians 6:16) held highly up that it might protect us. Let God worry about every little thing. By putting our FAITH in him and TRUSTING him, we empower him to do wondrous things in our lives.