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Consecration and Memorial
In the
Beginning The season of the memorial is a time for thinking deeply about the devoted life of our master, Jesus, as an example for us. Our Lord’s life was one of full and complete consecration to do the will of his heavenly Father. We begin this issue with an article entitled Consecration. It explains what it means to us, and where this word appears in the Bible. Consecrated Thinking expresses the profound importance of our thoughts in our Christian life. We must plant and nurture good thoughts, and weed out those that are impure and counterproductive to the fruits of the spirit. What’s In Your Garden? follows almost as part two of a symposium. The garden of our characters should be places where rich and lovely flowers of truth, grace, and character flourish, to the delight of our master. How can we see that these results are produced? The article contains some lovely recommendations. Consecrating the Priesthood looks at all the details associated with the seven-day process of inducting—consecrating—the priesthood of ancient Israel. It forms for us a type representing the consecration of the members of the Church, during the Gospel age, for their heavenly duties in the next age as “priests of God and of Christ” (Revelation 20:6). Our Rejoicing Example of Consecration looks at the writings of the apostle Paul—and particularly the book of Philippians—for admonitions to keep a rejoicing spirit during the days of our consecrated walk with God. We close with an article on The Last Day which examines the closing events of Jesus’ human life. By remembering his care for his disciples, his last exhortations, his steadfast purpose, and his sufferings for us, perhaps we can appreciate a little more the privilege of following his example. The memorial season is a time for remembering the consecrated life of our Lord Jesus, his sacrifice for us, and resolving to live our Christian life in a consecrated way, just as he did. If through the experiences of life we apply Christian principles, then we grow in the character exemplified by our Lord Jesus. If we put aside avoidable earthly pursuits to spend our time in study of the Scriptures and service for the Lord’s work and the brethren, then we follow the path set by Jesus during his ministry. We hope these articles will help prepare us for the memorial season this year. |