The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever. (Isaiah 40:6, NIV)
I live in a valley roughly the size of the country of Israel. As valleys go, it’s a big one, with rich soils that feed the world. Gladly, there is also room here for some fine golf courses. Many can stake a claim to excellence, but when it came to best in the region, the conversation nearly always turned to one: Stevinson Ranch.
Until last summer.
Run to God’s word today, and find in it the life you need to lead you right past death.That was when the managing owner announced the course would close. His was a family of farmers, and the combination of the thin golf economy, a remote location, a failing water supply, and the discussion of putting the land back into dollar-yielding production spelled the doom of this golfers’ haven.
Grass, we know by observation and the words of the prophet, does not last. It is green for a season, then goes brown and sleeps. Here at Stevinson Ranch was the story of turf writ large. On the day it closed with one final shotgun round, that owner, George Kelley, swallowed hard yet told the players, “It’s sad, but let’s make this a celebration, a good old-fashioned Irish wake.”
We cannot escape the question of death. It stares us in the center of our eyes and says, “What are you going to do about me?”
The revelation of Scripture makes it clear that three things are eternal: God, God’s Word, and the souls of men and women. But these things do not live on independent of one another. If our souls are to be united with God in eternity, we must reckon with our mortality and the possibility of eternal life that God’s Word says can be ours.
Maybe it has been some time since you have dove deep into that Word. Maybe you have been living off dormant bermuda, so to speak, only weakly sustained. You can still recite John 3:16, but it doesn’t make you marvel any longer. Or you know the promise of 1 John 1:9, that your confessed sins will be forgiven in the faithful love of God, but you’ve been keeping long accounts with him, letting your debts linger.
The word of God is still living and active, as it has been from the day he breathed it forth. Run to it today, and find in it the life you need to lead you right past death.
—
Jeff Hopper
November 4, 2016
Copyright 2016 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
OTHER DEVOTIONS IN THIS SERIES
Real World God 1: Introduction
Real World God 3: Trees & the Kingdom
Real World God 4: Grains of Sand
Real World God 5: Rocks in the Way
Real World God 6: Mixed Messages
Real World God 7: Time with the Lord