Emphasis Preaching Journal

The scripture speaks of God returning a remnant of his people to the land of Israel. They are a different sort, not the proud and the powerful but instead the survivors that include the blind and the lame, mothers of children and those who are pregnant. These are not the strong, silent type but instead they are those who weep in shadows. These are the people with which God is going to rebuild a nation. God is going to redeem his people from the powerful that kept them captive and bring them back to a garden of well-being.

Twenty years ago we sat in our living room and discussed the families of our father and mother. A total of ten offspring had produced a large family tree. After recalling what we could of people that we had not seen in almost fifty years we decided to bring all of them together for a family reunion that would last a weekend. The amazing thing is that over the next couple years and several weekend reunions we were able to account for almost everyone of the living including the families of our aunts and uncles. It was a great occasion as we learned how we had dispersed over the country from east to west and north to south. The only thing we had in common were great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents. The last names had changed in many instances but the bonds of love soon eliminated the differences and exposed the faith and family we had in common.