God's Scrapbook...

Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, And the LORD listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the LORD And who meditate on His name.  "They shall be Mine," says the LORD of hosts, "On the day that I make them My jewels.  And I will spare them As a man spares his own son who serves him."--Malachi 3:16-17



Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna, and Mikayla,


These two verses are so beautiful.  God is making Himself a scrapbook...a book of remembrance for those who fear Him and are loyal to Him...for believers like you and me!  He will spare us, bless us..we shall be His and He will make us His jewels. We, who believe, are very dear to our Father in heaven. 

What does it say God will remember...our meditations on His name.  He will remember our conversations and meditations that were centered on Him.

The King James says this: "Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the Lord hearkened and heard it."

Hearkened means He perked up His ears and listened....like a parent does when his child says something he wants to remember.  I am sure God did not write it down like we do because He was afraid He would forget.  I believe He wrote it down so that when we arrive in heaven, He could sit down with us and we could share all those memories He recorded together.  Similar to what a parent might do with an adult child who stops by for a visit while he is cleaning out his attic.  In looking through the memories that the parent saved, the child will be reminded of just how special he was and is to his parent.  I am sure that there would be much shared by the parent that the adult child would no longer even remember.  I believe it will be the same way when we get to heaven.  We will be amazed at the memories and conversations that Jesus saved and cherished in our regard and will revel in His love!

What will not be recorded in those scrapbooks is our sin...they are remembered no more.

As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us--Psalm 103:12


Love
Mom who loves each of you and has much in the way of remembrances and memorabilia...

I Will Help You...

Isaiah 41:14
I will help thee, saith the Lord.
by Charles Spurgeon

This morning let us hear the Lord Jesus speak to each one of us: "I will help thee." "It is but a small thing for Me, thy God, to help thee. Consider what I have done already. What! not help thee? Why, I bought thee with My blood. What! not help thee? I have died for thee; and if I have done the greater, will I not do the less? Help thee! It is the least thing I will ever do for thee; I have done more, and will do more." "Before the world began I chose thee. I made the covenant for thee. I laid aside My glory and became a man for thee; I gave up My life for thee; and if I did all this, I will surely help thee now. In helping thee, I am giving thee what I have bought for thee already. If thou hadst need of a thousand times as much help, I would give it thee; thou requirest little compared with what I am ready to give. 'Tis much for thee to need, but it is nothing for me to bestow. 'Help thee?' Fear not! If there were an ant at the door of thy granary asking for help, it would not ruin thee to give him a handful of thy wheat; and thou art nothing but a tiny insect at the door of My all-sufficiency. 'I will help thee.'" O my soul, is not this enough? Dost thou need more strength than the omnipotence of the United Trinity? Dost thou want more wisdom than exists in the Father, more love than displays itself in the Son, or more power than is manifest in the influences of the Spirit? Bring hither thine empty pitcher! Surely this well will fill it. Haste, gather up thy wants, and bring them here-thine emptiness, thy woes, thy needs. Behold, this river of God is full for thy supply; what canst thou desire beside? Go forth, my soul, in this thy might. The Eternal God is thine helper!

"Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismay'd!
I, I am thy God, and will still give thee aid."

Having Everything but Feeling Empty...

Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: 'DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,' 'DO NOT MURDER,' 'DO NOT STEAL,' 'DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS,' 'Do not defraud,' 'HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER.'" And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth." Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."  But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.---Mark 10:17-22

Dear Girls,

What do we know about this man?  We learn from the accounts in Matthew and Luke that he was young, very rich, and a ruler.  We know that he came running to Jesus and knelt before Him and asked what he could do to inherit eternal life.  I think this young man knew something was wrong...he was successful in the eyes of the world and was doing all the right things on the outside, but I believe he knew something was missing on the inside and came to Jesus for help.  Many of us live our lives this way....looking good in the eyes of the world...saying and doing all the right things but feeling empty inside.

Jesus questions him as to why he calls Him good telling him that there is only One that is good.  I think the young man understood that Jesus was telling him that if he was calling Him good than he must believe that He is God.  So here is this rich young ruler coming to God and asking what he must do to inherit eternal life.  Jesus reminds him of the commandments and the young man says that he has kept all of them from his youth.

Scripture says that Jesus looking at him, loved him and told him that He lacked one thing.  Here is what he told him:  "Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."

Jesus saw through the outward and looked  into this man's heart and told him the reason for his emptiness.  Jesus was not giving him a way of salvation here...He was trying to point out to the young man that he had broken the law of God and needed a Savior. He was worshiping the wrong thing.  His god was his possessions and his money.  Exodus 20:3 says that we are not to put anything before God. This  young ruler's riches owned his heart.  His self effort and his pride was the wall between him and Jesus.  Jesus wanted him to turn both his heart and life over to Him.   He was unwilling to do as Jesus asked. The man tragically went away sad.

It is a miracle when any one of us comes to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  What keeps men from coming to God and receiving His free gift of salvation?   The bottom line for everyone who does not is that they love their sin more than they love their God.  This man's riches robbed him of eternal life.  His outward position might have been bowed before the Lord, but his heart was not.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting. --Psalm 139:23-24

Love
Mom

God Will See Us Through...

Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.  But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”  And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.--Mark 10:13-16

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,


When was Jesus greatly displeased....when the disciples rebuked  those who brought the little children to Him.  The Scripture says that when Jesus saw this He was greatly displeased and told His disciples that unless one received the kingdom of God as a little child he would by no means enter it. Jesus..the God of the Universe...then took these little children up in His arms and blessed them. 

Jesus said volumes here.  Meditate on what it is like to be a child and you will see His point.  A child is marked by trust. They humbly depend on others to provide for them, care for them, and see them through.  A child does not worry about what he is going to wear or where his next meal is coming from.  A child when hurt or in need cries out and runs immediately to his father or mother....trusting that they can fix the problem.  There is also a lot that a little one must accept by faith...he does not understand much and knows he does not understand much.  He does not concern himself with tomorrow or try to explain or rationalize things that are too great for him.  We tell our kids to grow up and behave like an adult.  Jesus actually tells us responsible adults to do the opposite...to behave like a child.

I love this.  There is such comfort here.  Life is hard....full of difficulties and curve balls.  It is too much for any of us.  Jesus tells us He does not want us to handle it on our own.  In fact...He does not want US to handle it at all.  He says to come to Him...cry out to Him...run to Him.  He is the God that performs all things for us.  He is the God that perfects all things that concern us.  We can trust Him.  This is the attitude we need when we first enter God's kingdom....one of total dependence on the mercy of God.  One that understands with heart knowledge, as a child does, that he is helpless and unable to save himself. This also needs to be the heart of a child of God throughout his journey here on earth.  He walks with His God by faith, without fear, knowing that He is loved by his Father and that He will care for his every need. 

Jesus modeled this by living His life here on earth in total and utter dependence on His Father in Heaven.  He said nothing and did nothing outside of His Father's will.  Jesus puts a little child in front of us as an example....reminding us of how He lived and how we are to live.  What a wonderful gift He gives us in this picture.  A child because he does not worry about tomorrow can enjoy the moment....He is secure.  He knows his parents love him and will care for all his needs.  He can revel in the moment.  Walk by faith...cast your burdens upon the Lord...He cares for you.  Know your God will see you through. 

"For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 

"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;  and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.--Matthew 6:25-34

Love
Mom

The Cross and The Line: Crucified with Christ

By Bill Lilley

The Lord Christ stopped at nothing to make us forgivable. He went to the most extravagant lengths possible, even to the point of death, the death of the Cross. He, the Son of God, learned obedience through the things which He suffered and by so doing became the perfect sacrifice for the once-for-all propitiation for our sins.

We are never more like Christ than when we erase all lines that separates us from loving and forgiving. The popular phrases, "I draw the line at…", or "She crossed the line…" are the opposite of this for the most part. There were no barriers between Jesus and the work that the Father sent Him to complete.

It is rightfully said that there is only one thing you can do to earn your way into Hell, and that thing is not really a doing, it is an undoing - it is the purposeful refusal to exercise the gift of faith all have been given. You have to work hard for a long time to traverse the distance between everlasting life and eternal death. And you have to trample the Son of God underfoot to get there.

To be crucified with Christ means, at least in part, to have no lines that others can cross. By this I don't mean being a squish, or not standing up for what is right. What I do mean is that if someone reaches the point of true repentance and remorse in regard to some offense he or she has done to you, there will be no refusal of forgiveness based on the pitiful notion of that person having "gone too far." Gone too far for whom? You?

Christ went to the Cross for you, and you can't swallow some hurt and pride to forgive someone else of far less an offense? Please!

Salvation is a miracle of the grace of God, but part and parcel of that miracle is true repentance. To have a broken and contrite spirit that leads you to The Cross is a gift of God. He will by no means cast you out. Can you yourself justifiably do anything less when someone who has hurt you or broken your heart, however often or for however long, seeks your forgiveness?

Suffering for your own idiocy is not commendable. It is only just.

Suffering unjustly on behalf of someone else makes you like Christ.

He set His face like flint toward Jerusalem and excruciation. In like manner, can we cement our resolve to put away pride and be a standing offer of forgiveness to those who truly desire it?

Hurt and betrayal are human emotions precisely because we are made in the image of God. We feel because He does.

It would be a horrible thing indeed if the Sovereign of Existence was an unfeeling force. It would be a life without meaning, a journey without destination, and all suffering would be the cruelest travesty imaginable. Better not to be alive at all if such is true.

But it is not true. Even the most militant atheist knows deep down inside that there is more to life than can be experienced through sense and mind. Else why would he care so much to fight for his point of view? What possible difference could it make in the long run if he converted the entire planet to godlessness? Would it change one iota of the ultimate futility of life?

There is only one thing that gives hope and makes free: the truth of God. Anything else is at best a mere guess, or wishful thinking, or at worse, a murderous lie.

Becoming like Christ is why we are alive. When we have gone as far as we may in that direction in this life, the Lord will bring us Home.

Until then, swallow pride and surrender to Him.

Freedom from personal offense is freedom indeed, as is freedom from the misery of self.

Don't think that what we try to hide won't be uncovered. Don't think that the lies we tell ourselves to justify the hardness of our own heart afford any refuge from the truth.

These things will all be shouted from the rooftops one day, and the unquenchable regret of wasted opportunity and irrevocable time will weigh us down like anchor chains.

Erase the lines and be like Him. Open your heart to the Lord God. He does not want what you can do, He wants you. The doing of anything for Him comes after your becoming a living sacrifice.

Rest and Comfort in Christ

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,


Then the LORD said to Noah, "Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.

The gracious invitation of our Lord...come—the gracious gospel invitation: "Come into the ark of safety." The ark is a picture of Christ. The flood  depicts  judgment. The ark was the only way of salvation. When the flood came, only those who were inside were saved.  Those on the outside perished. Christ is our ark.  He is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Him.  In Him is eternal life...outside of Him is eternal punishment and death.

Noah believed God.  He had manifested this belief before God and man by being obedient in the building of the ark and in the preaching of the message of the judgment to come. Noah had done all that God had commanded.  God invited him and his family to come in....the idea being that He would be in the ark with them and would keep them safe.


So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in.

You know what...I love the mercy God showed Noah here and the mercy He shows us.  Our job is to be obedient and leave the results to Him. Scripture tells us that God shut the door.  He kept it open as long as possible but in the end it was God who shut the door. Noah was not given the responsibility of anyone's salvation.  While the door was open, Noah preached.  When it closed, Noah had the comfort of knowing he had been obedient.  The saving of souls is not in our hands.  The ark for Noah was the place of safety...of salvation.  For those that remained on the outside, however, it represented condemnation.  Once the door was shut, their doom was sealed.  There were no second chances.

Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided....


 In judgment God always remembers mercy.  David Guzik says this is an anthropomorphism (a non-literal picture of God in human terms we can understand).  God never forgot Noah, but at this point God again turned His active attention towards Noah.  

I liked what Matthew Henry says here:


"The whole race of mankind, except Noah and his family, were now dead, so that God's remembering Noah, was the return of his mercy to mankind, of whom he would not make a full end. The demands of Divine justice had been answered by the ruin of sinners. God sent his wind to dry the earth, and seal up his waters. The same hand that brings the desolation, must bring the deliverance; to that hand, therefore, we must ever look. When afflictions have done the work for which they are sent, whether killing work or curing work, they will be taken away. As the earth was not drowned in a day, so it was not dried in a day. God usually works deliverance for his people gradually, that the day of small things may not be despised, nor the day of great things despaired of."

Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat. 

The passover took place on the fourteenth day of the seventh month on the Jewish calendar....Jesus was in the tomb three days and three nights.  He rose from the dead on the seventeenth day of the seventh month on the Jewish calendar.  ...the same day the ark rested on Mount Ararat...only 4500 years earlier.   Jesus is our rest...He is our peace...He is our new beginning.  Such a beautiful picture of God's mercy, grace, love  and the sure and certain hope we have in Him.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”--Matthew 11:28-30

Love
Mom

We Need His Constant Care and Upholding...Spurgeon

"Forsake me not, O Lord."—Psalm 38:21.

FREQUENTLY we pray that God would not forsake us in the hour of trial and temptation, but we too much forget that we have need to use this prayer at all times. There is no moment of our life, however holy, in which we can do without His constant upholding. Whether in light or in darkness, in communion or in temptation, we alike need the prayer, "Forsake me not, O Lord." "Hold Thou me up, and I shall be safe." A little child, while learning to walk, always needs the nurse's aid. The ship left by the pilot drifts at once from her course. We cannot do without continued aid from above; let it then be your prayer to-day, "Forsake me not. Father, forsake not Thy child, lest he fall by the hand of the enemy. Shepherd, forsake not Thy lamb, lest he wander from the safety of the fold. Great Husbandman, forsake not Thy plant, lest it wither and die. 'Forsake me not, O Lord,' now; and forsake me not at any moment of my life. Forsake me not in my joys, lest they absorb my heart. Forsake me not in my sorrows, lest I murmur against Thee. Forsake me not in the day of my repentance, lest I lose the hope of pardon, and fall into despair; and forsake me not in the day of my strongest faith, lest faith degenerate into presumption. Forsake me not, for without Thee I am weak, but with Thee I am strong. Forsake me not, for my path is dangerous, and full of snares, and I cannot do without Thy guidance. The hen forsakes not her brood, do Thou then evermore cover me with Thy feathers, and permit me under Thy wings to find my refuge. 'Be not far from me, O Lord, for trouble is near, for there is none to help.' 'Leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation!'"

Jesus on Divorce and the "Heart" of the Issue...

The Pharisees came and asked Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” testing Him. And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her.”  And Jesus answered and said to them, “Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,   and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”   In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter.  So He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”--Mark 10:2-12


Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,

The Pharisees in asking this question of Jesus were attempting to trap him.  There were two schools of thought on this issue...one allowed divorce for any reason and the other only for adultery.  The Pharisees expected Jesus to come down on one side or the other and thereby lose the support of the "other" side.  Jesus answered masterfully by asking them what Moses had commanded.  The issue was not up for interpretation...they needed to look at what the Scripture said. 


The Pharisees answered by saying that Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her. 

The passage being discussed is Deuteronomy 24:1-4...which does not ordain divorce but permits it under certain circumstances.

“When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house,  when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man’s wife,  if the latter husband detests her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife,  then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the LORD, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

Nowhere does the Mosaic law command divorce.   It did, however, recognize the reality of it and protected both the wife's rights and reputation, by requiring the husband to write a certificate of divorce stating the reason for the divorce. As long as the woman was not guilty of wrong doing, this certificate protected  her from being subject to the whim of her husband and becoming an outcast and being labeled a harlot.  It also affirmed her right to remarry.  Without this certificate the woman could become defenseless and destitute. 

Jesus answered the Pharisees by speaking to why Moses wrote the law in the first place. He permitted it only because of the hardness of their heart. The bottom line is God hates divorce. Malachi 2:16 says this:

"For the LORD God of Israel says That He hates divorce for it covers one's garment with violence," Says the LORD of hosts. Therefore take heed to your spirit, That you do not deal treacherously."

The Pharisees had presumed on the grace of God in permitting divorce under certain circumstances as a last resort when dealing with hard heartedness, for his ordaining of it. 

Jesus then goes back to the beginning and discusses His original design for marriage.  The passage Jesus is discussing is Genesis 2:24.

Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.


 Marriage was created for two...not for groups that could switch partners as they pleased.  The word joined means literally to glue...strength and cohesiveness implied.  One flesh means they form a union that is indivisible and manifests that oneness in a child.  He goes on and says that what God has joined together let no man separate. 

Away from the ears of the Pharisees in verse 10,  Jesus  goes further to say that remarriage after divorce engenders adultery.  According to 1 Cor 7 the innocent party may remarry without being guilty of adultery, as may a believer whose unbelieving spouse chooses to leave the marraige. 

This study is not meant to be a manifesto on grounds for divorce in the bible...it is really sufficient to say that God hates divorce (Malachi) and as a believer we are to avoid it whenever possible.  A divorce may be legal in the eyes of the law but may not be in the eyes of God. And what God thinks is what really matters.

Here  is my point and application.  God allowed divorce because of the hardness of our heart...our sin.  Selfishness and sin lead to divorce.  There are no other causes.  We refuse to give way...we are prideful...we want what we want.  This is the "heart" reason for all divorce.  It is the reason for all disputing.  It is thinking more highly of ourself than we think of God and those around us.  When hardness of heart sets in, the marriage is doomed...the couple's fate is sealed as is their children's.  Marriage can really only work God's way. He has the directions and the blueprints for it because, you know...He established it way back in Genesis.  If a man and a woman are truly submitted to the Lord, and are as much as depends on them living peaceably, their marriage will be a beautiful thing to behold.  When they are not, the result is always ugly and tragic.

Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it springs the issues of life.

Love
Mom


For more on divorce see Matthew 19:1-9, Deuteronomy 24:1-4, Genesis 2:24, 1 Corinthians 7

Unbelief...

Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.”  Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.

Dear Girls,

This is very sad...Jesus went home...to the place and the people among whom he grew up and worked.  They responded to Him in not only offense but also active antagonism.  In the Hebrew culture a son was always identified by his father's name whether that father was living or dead.  By calling Jesus the "Son of Mary" they were not saying here that they believed in His virgin birth, but instead were insulting Jesus by saying that they did not know who His father was and implying He was illegitimate. Their proximity to Him blinded them to who He really was.  As a result of their hardness of heart and unbelief, Scripture tells us that He could do no mighty work there, except to heal a few sick people.

Here is what I know.  If there were people there that came to Jesus for a touch...just by coming and asking they would be demonstrating faith and Jesus would heal them.  Our God is a God of the individual.  He did not need the crowd to believe...just the person being healed.  What is sad then is that only a few people came to Him...The Son of God was in their midst and had already performed great miracles in other places, but because of unbelief they refused to come to receive the help they needed.  How much loss in Nazareth that day because of pride!   How many people today could be saved from eternal damnation if only they would put aside their pride and believe?   SIGH...

Love
Mom

But Noah found Grace....

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. --Genesis 6:8

Dear Girls,

God showed grace to all on the earth in the years prior to the flood....not just Noah.  Everyone had been warned that judgment was coming.  Noah preached the message for 120 years and built the ark in their sight.  They had the same opportunity as Noah and his family to get in the ark.  The invitation was there.  Unfortunately, only Noah, his family and the animals listened.

For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,--Matthew 24:38

The Bible tells us that God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually...and yet in mercy, gave them 120 years to repent.  It wasn't that God looked at Noah with eyes of grace and everyone else with eyes of condemnation.  NO!  He looked at all with those same eyes.  He did not wish any of them to perish.  But it was Noah that FOUND the grace.   Noah didn’t earn grace; he found it. No one earns grace, but we can all find it.  How?  The same way we find it today...by faith.  Noah believed God.  The fruit of that belief was obedience.

Look at Peter and his many many failures.  Look at the Apostle Paul who calls himself the chief of sinners.  Each of them looked into the eyes of the Lord by faith and found not condemnation but grace.  Me, a woman who has been forgiven much...looked up into His eyes and unbelievably found grace.

Girls, each of us can come boldly to His throne to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  We can experience the mercy and blessing of God in the midst of instability, insecurity, grief, sadness, chaos and trial.  We find it by looking up...taking our eyes off ourselves and/or our circumstances...and gazing into the eyes of Him who died for us when we were still his enemy. We find it by looking into the eyes of the One who even now lives to make intercession for us.   And like all who have by faith looked before..find grace.  Peter looked into the eyes of Christ after denying Him three times and what He saw made him weep.  He did not see disappointment or condemnation...Peter found grace.


In the midst of the chaos of this world, remember to behold Him...to look up and gaze into His eyes and find  grace to see you through each and every moment.  Everything you need, you will find in Him. 

Love
Mom

"Lord you're beautiful...Your grace is all I seek.  For when Your eyes are on this child, Your grace abounds to me."

Who is the Greatest...

"Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it. For He taught His disciples and said to them, "The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day." But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.


Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?" But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them,  "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."--Mark 9:30-37

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna, and Mikayla,

This is so typical of us...of me!  Here Jesus is telling them that He is about to be betrayed into the hands of men who would kill Him and His disciples are arguing about which one of them was the greatest.  We so often make everything about us.  We relate everything to us and our situation. Matthew 17:23 even says they were extremely sorrowful after Jesus told them these things but apparently not sorry enough not to put their own aspirations and personal disputes aside and concentrate on Him. Our minds are so often on ourselves.  What hurts, how we look, what we are going to eat, what people think of us...what we think of them...the list is endless and oh, ever so boring.   I cry out with Paul here...who will deliver me from this body of death!

The disciples are too ashamed to tell Jesus what they were arguing about, but, of course, Jesus already knew.  The first lesson He teaches them is that the way up is down and the way down is up.   He who exalts himself will be humbled, he who humbles himself will be exalted.  He who loses his life here will gain it in the next...he who gains his life here will lose it in the next.  He who desires to be first shall be last of all and servant of all. If you really want to be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. take the lowest spot and serve all....Live for others instead of yourself.  What an example we have in  Jesus who came as a Servant and gave His life as a ransom for many. 

He then  places a little child in their midst and takes him in His arms as an example of the least among them.  This is such a beautiful picture...please don't miss it.   Jesus is saying that treating the least among us with kindness is truly an act of greatness.  These are the ones that cannot do anything for us...that cannot return our kindness....the ones that can only take and not give. Our God does not show partiality. We are to see people with His eyes and receive them in His name.  When we do, it is as if we were showing this kindness to God Himself!  Jesus spent much, much time with the common people and the least among men.  He took time with the weary, the sick, the afflicted, the aged and the young and yes even the rich.  We are to do the same.

Jesus makes the way of the cross so clear and His teachings really expose our wicked hearts revealing to us our wrong motives and self life in all its ugliness.  We are all guilty of favoritism, of selfish ambition, of conceit and a striving to be the greatest while stepping on or over the least. Praying that by the power of His Spirit working and living in us we can put off our own selfish desires and ambition and allow Him to live through us.

Love
Mom

Lord, Help My Unbelief!

And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them.  Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him.  

And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?” Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit.  And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”

He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.” Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.

So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood.  And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”  

Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” 

When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!”  Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.”  But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”--Mark 9:14-29

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,

Perhaps this dad saw the inability of the disciples to cast this demon out and it weakened his faith. and he began to wonder if it was possible that his son could ever be healed.  Nevertheless, he did the right thing and admitted his unbelief before His Lord.  Here are the dad's words in speaking to Jesus.


"But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." 

Do you hear his doubt?  Jesus gently points out to him what power can be wrought by a believing heart by saying this:


"If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." 

then



Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" 


Looking to Jesus this humble man admitted his unbelief and asked Jesus to help him!  What a lesson for us.  Look to Him...His grace is sufficient for your every need...your every prayer...your every desire.  

The disciples failed in their ability to cast out this demon because they had been lax in regard to their own spiritual walks and had neglected prayer and fasting.  We need to be careful in this, however.  A close walk with Christ is not a checklist.  God doesn't give you victory because you fulfilled all his "requirements."  God sees the heart.  All your desires are before Him.  Manna is given daily...if we neglect God our faith will weaken...as will the power of our witness and our walk.  You see our lack of devotion to our daily walks comes from our heart that is filled with other desires that are not from Him.  If He were first in our hearts we would run to meet with Him and spend time with Him. It would be a get to, not a have to...a privilege not a duty.  Our faith is tended and cultivated by spending time with our Father in Heaven.  For our lives to be effective for Him we must be dependent on Him.  Time spent in prayer and the word demonstrates our reliance on Him...our want and need of His grace.  Our lives and our very countenance begin to reflect His glory.

Girls, you never know when you are going to need His power to work mightily in your life because you never know ahead of time what you will be facing tomorrow.  Assume the worst.  Spend time now in prayer...in fasting...in the word...so that those times of trial do not come upon you as a tsunami...prepare now while there is still time.  There is no substitute for the strength and stability that comes from spending time in His word daily.


"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.  "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."--Matthew 7:24-27


May each of us be wise builders and build now for the storms that come to try us...

Love
Mom

My Times are in Your Hands

As for me, here I am, in your hand; do with me as seems good and proper to you.--Jeremiah 26:14


Dear Girls,

I love this...Jeremiah speaking to his enemies says...here am I in your hand; do with me as seems good and proper to you.  Jeremiah truly knew that despite how it looked from the outside, he was always in the palm of God's hand.  He knew that whatever happened to him, God was controlling it all and protecting him.  God is near...we live in His presence.  He goes with you wherever you go.  He is not a God afar off....He is near at hand. 

What freedom and peace is ours when we come to that place of trust....where we can  say as Jesus did, "nevertheless, not My will but Yours, be done."  What a blessing to have such an awareness of His presence and an assurance of His care and of His perfect love that we can say as Jeremiah did..."do with me as seems good to you"...or as David did in Psalm 31:

 But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." My times are in Your hand; 
 
Praying that each of us can meet each moment with this kind heart attitude of explicit trust and acceptance of His will...That, by faith, we would walk with Him in agreement...and dwell in the shelter of His perfect love knowing  that He really does perfect all that concerns us and performs all things for us.

Love
Mom

Spurgeon On Psalm 1...

¹ Blessed is the man
         Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
         Nor stands in the path of sinners,
         Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
 ² But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
         And in His law he meditates day and night.
 ³ He shall be like a tree
         Planted by the rivers of water,
         That brings forth its fruit in its season,
         Whose leaf also shall not wither;
         And whatever he does shall prosper.
        
 ⁴ The ungodly are not so,
         But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
 ⁵ Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
         Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
        
 ⁶ For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
         But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

  Verse 1. "BLESSED"—see how this Book of Psalms opens with a benediction, even as did the famous Sermon of our Lord upon the Mount! The word translated "blessed" is a very expressive one. The original word is plural, and it is a controverted matter whether it is an adjective or a substantive. Hence we may learn the multiplicity of the blessings which shall rest upon the man whom God hath justified, and the perfection and greatness of the blessedness he shall enjoy. We might read it, "Oh, the blessednesses!" and we may well regard it (as Ainsworth does) as a joyful acclamation of the gracious man's felicity. May the like benediction rest on us!

Here the gracious man is described both negatively (verse 1) and positively (verse 2). He is a man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. He takes wiser counsel, and walks in the commandments of the Lord his God. To him the ways of piety are paths of peace and pleasantness. His footsteps are ordered by the Word of God, and not by the cunning and wicked devices of carnal men. It is a rich sign of inward grace when the outward walk is changed, and when ungodliness is put far from our actions. Note next, he standeth not in the way of sinners. His company is of a choicer sort than it was. Although a sinner himself, he is now a blood-washed sinner, quickened by the Holy Spirit, and renewed in heart. Standing by the rich grace of God in the congregation of the righteous, he dares not herd with the multitude that do evil. Again it is said, "nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful." He finds no rest in the atheist's scoffings. Let others make a mock of sin, of eternity, of hell and heaven, and of the Eternal God; this man has learned better philosophy than that of the infidel, and has too much sense of God's presence to endure to hear His name blasphemed. The seat of the scorner may be very lofty, but it is very near to the gate of hell; let us flee from it, for it shall soon be empty, and destruction shall swallow up the man who sits therein. Mark the gradation in the first verse:

  He walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
  Nor standeth   in the way     of     sinners,
  Nor SITTETH    in the SEAT    of     SCORNFUL.

When men are living in sin they go from bad to worse. At first they merely walk in the counsel of the careless and ungodly, who forget God—the evil is rather practical than habitual—but after that, they become habituated to evil, and they stand in the way of open sinners who wilfully violate God's commandments; and if let alone, they go one step further, and become themselves pestilent teachers and tempters of others, and thus they sit in the seat of the scornful. They have taken their degree in vice, and as true Doctors of Damnation they are installed, and are looked up to by others as Masters in Belial. But the blessed man, the man to whom all the blessings of God belong, can hold no communion with such characters as these. He keeps himself pure from these lepers; he puts away evil things from him as garments spotted by the flesh; he comes out from among the wicked, and goes without the camp, bearing the reproach of Christ. O for grace to be thus separate from sinners.

And now mark his positive character. "His delight is in the law of the Lord." He is not under the law as a curse and condemnation, but he is in it, and he delights to be in it as his rule of life; he delights, moreover, to meditate in it, to read it by day, and think upon it by night. He takes a text and carries it with him all day long; and in the night-watches, when sleep forsakes his eyelids, he museth upon the Word of God. In the day of his prosperity he sings psalms out of the Word of God, and in the night of his affliction he comforts himself with promises out of the same book. "The law of the Lord" is the daily bread of the true believer. And yet, in David's day, how small was the volume of inspiration, for they had scarcely anything save the first five books of Moses! How much more, then, should we prize the whole written Word which it is our privilege to have in all our houses! But, alas, what ill-treatment is given to this angel from heaven! We are not all Berean searchers of the Scriptures. How few among us can lay claim to the benediction of the text! Perhaps some of you can claim a sort of negative purity, because you do not walk in the way of the ungodly; but let me ask you—Is your delight in the law of God? Do you study God's Word? Do you make it the man of your right hand—your best companion and hourly guide? If not, this blessing belongeth not to you.

Verse 3. "And he shall be like a tree planted"—not a wild tree, but "a tree planted," chosen, considered as property, cultivated and secured from the last terrible uprooting, for "every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up:" Matthew 15:13. "By the rivers of water;" so that even if one river should fail, he hath another. The rivers of pardon and the rivers of grace, the rivers of the promise and the rivers of communion with Christ, are never-failing sources of supply. He is "like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;" not unseasonable graces, like untimely figs, which are never full-flavored. But the man who delights in God's Word, being taught by it, bringeth forth patience in the time of suffering, faith in the day of trial, and holy joy in the hour of prosperity. Fruitfulness is an essential quality of a gracious man, and that fruitfulness should be seasonable. "His leaf also shall not wither;" his faintest word shall be everlasting; his little deeds of love shall be had in remembrance. Not simply shall his fruit be preserved, but his leaf also. He shall neither lose his beauty nor his fruitfulness. "And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Blessed is the man who hath such a promise as this. But we must not always estimate the fulfillment of a promise by our own eye-sight. How often, my brethren, if we judge by feeble sense, may we come to the mournful conclusion of Jacob, "All these things are against me!" For though we know our interest in the promise, yet we are so tried and troubled, that sight sees the very reverse of what that promise foretells. But to the eye of faith this word is sure, and by it we perceive that our works are prospered, even when everything seems to go against us. It is not outward prosperity which the Christian most desires and values; it is soul prosperity which he longs for. We often, like Jehoshaphat, make ships to go to Tarshish for gold, but they are broken at Ezion-geber; but even here there is a true prospering, for it is often for the soul's health that we would be poor, bereaved, and persecuted. Our worst things are often our best things. As there is a curse wrapped up in the wicked man's mercies, so there is a blessing concealed in the righteous man's crosses, losses, and sorrows. The trials of the saint are a divine husbandry, by which he grows and brings forth abundant fruit.

Verse 4. We have now come to the second head of the Psalm. In this verse the contrast of the ill estate of the wicked is employed to heighten the coloring of that fair and pleasant picture which precedes it. The more forcible translation of the Vulgate and of the Septuagint version is— "Not so the ungodly, not so." And we are hereby to understand that whatever good thing is said of the righteous is not true in the case of the ungodly. Oh! how terrible is it to have a double negative put upon the promises! and yet this is just the condition of the ungodly. Mark the use of the term "ungodly," for, as we have seen in the opening of the Psalm, these are the beginners in evil, and are the least offensive of sinners. Oh! if such is the sad state of those who quietly continue in their morality, and neglect their God, what must be the condition of open sinners and shameless infidels? The first sentence is a negative description of the ungodly, and the second is the positive picture. Here is their character — "they are like chaff," intrinsically worthless, dead, unserviceable, without substance, and easily carried away. Here, also, mark their doom, — "the wind driveth away;" death shall hurry them with its terrible blast into the fire in which they shall be utterly consumed.

Verse 5. They shall stand there to be judged, but not to be acquitted. Fear shall lay hold upon them there; they shall not stand their ground; they shall flee away; they shall not stand in their own defence; for they shall blush and be covered with eternal contempt.

Well may the saints long for heaven, for no evil men shall dwell there, "nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous." All our congregations upon earth are mixed. Every Church hath one devil in it. The tares grow in the same furrows as the wheat. There is no floor which is as yet thoroughly purged from chaff. Sinners mix with saints, as dross mingles with gold. God's precious diamonds still lie in the same field with pebbles. Righteous Lots are this side heaven continually vexed by the men of Sodom. Let us rejoice then, that in "the general assembly and church of the firstborn" above, there shall by no means be admitted a single unrenewed soul. Sinners cannot live in heaven. They would be out of their element. Sooner could a fish live upon a tree than the wicked in Paradise. Heaven would be an intolerable hell to an impenitent man, even if he could be allowed to enter; but such a privilege shall never be granted to the man who perseveres in his iniquities. May God grant that we may have a name and a place in his courts above!

Verse 6. Or, as the Hebrew hath it yet more fully, "The Lord is knowing the way of the righteous." He is constantly looking on their way, and though it may be often in mist and darkness, yet the Lord knoweth it. If it be in the clouds and tempest of affliction, he understandeth it. He numbereth the hairs of our head; he will not suffer any evil to befall us. "He knoweth the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." (Job 23:10.) "But the way of the ungodly shall perish." Not only shall they perish themselves, but their way shall perish too. The righteous carves his name upon the rock, but the wicked writes his remembrance in the sand. The righteous man ploughs the furrows of earth, and sows a harvest here, which shall never be fully reaped till he enters the enjoyments of eternity; but as for the wicked, he ploughs the sea, and though there may seem to be a shining trail behind his keel, yet the waves shall pass over it, and the place that knew him shall know him no more for ever. The very "way" of the ungodly shall perish. If it exist in remembrance, it shall be in the remembrance of the bad; for the Lord will cause the name of the wicked to rot, to become a stench in the nostrils of the good, and to be only known to the wicked themselves by its putridity.

May the Lord cleanse our hearts and our ways, that we may escape the doom of the ungodly, and enjoy the blessedness of the righteous!

The First Hint of the Rapture in Genesis 5...

And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.--Genesis 5:24 

Enoch was raptured...He was raptured before the flood came...before the judgment of God occurred.  The bible says this of Enoch in Hebrews 11.


By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.--Hebrews 11:5-6

The word walk used here implies a steadfast progression...a deepening and a furthering of the relationship as time passes.  This was Enoch's testimony.   He continually, by faith, walked with His Lord in a relationship that reached and affected every aspect of his life.  He was in perfect agreement with His Lord.  God desires were his desires...Enoch was in one accord with His Creator.  His testimony pleased God. I love what Matthew Henry says in regard to Enoch and this passage from Genesis:

"Enoch was the seventh from Adam. Godliness is walking with God: which shows reconciliation to God, for two cannot walk together except they be agreed, Amos 3:3. It includes all the parts of a godly, righteous, and sober life. To walk with God, is to set God always before us, to act as always under his eye. It is constantly to care, in all things to please God, and in nothing to offend him. It is to be followers of him as dear children. The Holy Spirit, instead of saying, Enoch lived, says, Enoch walked with God. This was his constant care and work; while others lived to themselves and the world, he lived to God. It was the joy of his life. Enoch was removed to a better world. As he did not live like the rest of mankind, so he did not leave the world by death as they did."

I so want to live this way and have this kind of testimony before God!

Enoch was transported to heaven just as the church will be transported to heaven prior to the beginning of the tribulation. What comfort God's people here on the earth can take in not only these words in Genesis 5 but also in these below....

 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.  For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. --1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. --Revelation 3:10
 
"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."--John 14:1-2
 
Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY." "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING? O HADES, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY?"   The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. --1 Corinthians 15:51-58


 

Spurgeon on Sorrow and Grief...

You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book? --Psalm 56:8

Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy.--Psalm 126:5

for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." --Revelation 7:17

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."--Revelation 21:4 



A smothered grief is hard to endure. 

Brethren, we sin when we either laugh or weep behind God’s back. Absence from God is the element of sin. When you cannot smile nor weep except by forgetting God and his law, then are you offending; but if you can get up to your great Father’s bosom, and bury your head there, you may sob away without stint; for that which he permits is evidently no offence. “Jesus wept,” but he never murmured. “Jesus wept,” but he never found fault with God’s dispensations. “Jesus wept,” sweetly in submission, not bitterly in rebellion. 2091.345

O dear friend, when thy grief presses thee to the very dust, worship there! 2457.134 

Tears are the diamonds of heaven; sighs are a part of the music of Jehovah’s court,
and are numbered with “the sublimest strains that reach the majesty on high.” ME616

Is it not sweet to believe that our tears are understood even when words fail! Let us
learn to think of tears as liquid prayers, and of weeping as a constant dropping of
importunate intercession which will wear its way right surely into the very heart of
mercy, despite the stony difficulties which obstruct the way. TD6:8

A tear is enough water to float a desire to God. 879.382

Why are we troubled? Is there anything worth shedding a tear for now that all is well
for eternity? 1343.154

When you are so weak that you cannot do much more than cry, you coin diamonds
with both your eyes. The sweetest prayers God ever hears are the groans and sighs
of those who have no hope in anything but his love. 1706.107

People die of bursting hearts when no tears relieve them. 2034.407

Turn the vessel upside down; it is a good thing to empty it, for this grief may ferment
into something more sour. Turn the vessel upside down, and let every drop run out;
but let it be before the Lord. 2457.134

When they begin to live to Christ they begin to mourn. Every child of God is born
again with a tear in his eye. Dry-eyed faith is not the faith of God’s elect. He who
rejoices in Christ at the same time mourns for sin. Repentance is joined to faith by
loving bands, as the Siamese twins were united in one. 3325.509 

A Gentile Woman's Faith

Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.--Matthew 15:21-28


Dear Girls,

Every time I read this story it fills me with emotion.   I cry out to Him for each of you daily...sometimes in tears...pleading for so many things   But mostly I pray that you would know God's Son, Jesus in a very special way.  That He would be your Rock, your Redeemer and your Refuge and that in times of trial and trouble you would run to Him and be hidden under the Shadow of His Wing.  That you would seek His face in everything and go boldly to His throne always to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. I pray that He would be your Becoming One and become for you whatever you need. This mom's faith is such an encouragement to me!

This Gentile woman was crying out to the Lord on behalf of her demon possessed daughter.  I cannot imagine her anguish and pain watching her daughter live in this condition.

The gospel of Mark tells us that when Jesus went into this region He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden.  She came to Him despite His wish to be alone, fell at His feet and cried out to Him saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed."

The text in Matthew tells us that Jesus answered her not a word.  Uh oh.  Not an encouraging response.  The disciples then asks Jesus to “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” Jesus answers them by implying that because she is a Gentile she really does not have a right to come to Him.  Now, you would think this woman would give up....but no...the Scripture tells us that she came and worshiped Him saying, "Lord, help me!" 

Jesus gives another reply almost sounding like He is being mean...calling her a dog. But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”  For the Jews one of the worst thing you could call them was a Gentile dog.  Jesus, however, is actually using the diminutive form of the word which is translated  as "puppy."   “The children” referred to the people of Israel and the bread to Jesus...the Bread of Life. This woman's faith just keeps building...amazingly she replies, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”   What faith! What humility! What fervent desire!  What importunity! Jesus acknowledges her faith immediately and says to her let it be as you desire and her daughter was healed at that very hour.  I am so glad for this woman's example!  Jesus knew this woman's heart right from the beginning but he wanted to draw out her faith into full flower so she could serve as an example for us.

When I am tempted to give up in prayer I think on this woman and this story.  I think of how everything was so stacked against her and yet she persisted.  I think of her example of pure and simple worship.  In the end she spoke no proper "prayer" words just this....Lord, help me!  In testing...when it looks like God is not going to come to our aid...is when our faith is really tried and exercised.  We are able then to see the level of our own faith. Sadly, I am pretty sure I would have given up and kind of slunk away... If there is a burden on your heart from the Lord, keep praying don't give up...keep knocking.  He will answer.

Great faith is faith that takes God at His Word and will not let go until God meets the need. Great faith can lay hold of even the slightest encouragement and turn it into a fulfilled promise. “Lord, increase our faith.” --Matthew Henry.



Love
Mom

The Way of Cain...

" And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it." --Genesis 4:3-7

 Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,

There is so much richness in Chapter 4 of Genesis and much application for us.  For now we are looking at verses 3-7.

Verses 3 and 4 tell us that Cain brought an offering to God of the fruit of the ground and Abel of the firstborn of the flock and of their fat.  Scripture goes on to tell us that God respected Abel and his offering but not Cain and his.  We come to God by faith and we obey in accordance with His revealed word to us.  The bible tells us to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.  Hebrews 11:4 says this of Abel...

By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.

Abel's offer was accepted because it was obediently given according to what God had prescribed. (though not recorded in Genesis)  Cain was not rejected but his offering was.  Why?  Because it was not by faith...it was not obediently given.  He tried to come to God on his own terms.  Abel came in humility on God's terms, Cain came in pride.   Our God sees the heart.   Cain's offering was not accepted because it was offered from a heart of pride and unbelief.  His offering revealed his wrong heart.  Our actions will reveal what our heart believes. 

Application for us...Our God is a God who sees.  He is not mocked.  He knows your motives behind all that you do.  God sees through our forms of godliness to our hearts.  Many of us come near Him with our lips but our hearts are far from Him.  This was Cain...a man having the form of godliness but with a heart that was filled with self-will.

When God did not accept Cain's offering, he became very angry.  The same things happens with people today.  They get angry with God because He will not accept them on their own terms.  They may want a relationship with Him, but they want one on their terms.  You cannot walk with God unless you are in agreement with Him. Your will, submitted to His will.  You cannot go your own way...you must go His. Jesus said in John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me."

God speaks to Cain personally and tries to bring him back to the right path.  Cain, like many of us, resists and refuses God's gracious offer.  It is our way or the highway.  (which, as it turned out, is exactly what Cain got...instead of being a pilgrim, he became a fugitive and a stranger...wandering from place to place) 

I love what God says next and have used it often as a meditation verse and a verse to teach you, my children. 

So the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."

God reminds Cain that if he had obeyed, his offer would have been accepted.  Cain did not go through the door that God had opened but attempted to be accepted by God another way...his way.  Next, He tells him that in choosing not to obey, he is giving way to sin...whose desire is for him...and unless he rules over it, it will devour him!  Wow! That is quite a picture and quite a warning. If we do not rule over sin, it will overpower us.  If we feed our fleshly desires often enough....they will rule.  If we, by faith, however, feed our Spirit our countenance will be lifted up and we will see as God sees and be accepted by Him.


Girls, I can't even begin to write what is in my heart at the moment.  Suffice to say this:  Sin is a fierce beast crouching at your door...its name is unforgiveness, bitterness, wrath, evil speaking.  To harbor and nurse these feelings in your heart is to give place to sin...to give Satan a foothold in your life.  Give in often enough and you will bring about your own ruin.
 
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.--Romans 13:14

Love
Mom

Walking Together...

Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?--Amos 3:3

To walk with the Lord you must be in agreement with Him.  Your will submitted to His will.  His desires become your desires. You cannot have His presence if you are walking contrary to Him. You cannot go your own way...you must go His.  Most of us will not go His way until things stop going our way and we reach the end of ourselves. This is what happened to me and I am forever grateful for those burdens that brought me to Him.  I am grateful for the trials that even today draw me closer to Him.  Each one causing me to release my grip a little bit more on the things of the world and look up and set my mind on Him and the things above.

Sin makes you tired...it makes you weary and heavy laden.  Life does this also.  Illness, job loss, family problems, death of loved ones, betrayal, selfishness, and the day to day grind of daily living especially as we move on in years add up.  All of us have so many many burdens that could cause us to eventually lose heart. We give up and cope in whatever way we can with what life throws at us.  Unfortunately, most of our coping mechanisms in the end only cause more problems and increase our struggle.

Finally, some of us reach the point of  absolute helplessness and hopelessness and, in desperation, go to Him and by faith do as He asks.  We give up trusting in ourselves and trying to go it alone.  We take His yoke upon us...We allow Jesus to be lead ox and we follow Him.  He tells us not to steer or try to control but learn from Him because he is meek and gentle and in Him we find rest for our souls.  Jesus has placed inside of each one of us a burden to know Him and to fellowship with Him.  Go to Him by faith...confess your sin, express your need for Him and submit yourself to His Lordship and believe.  When you seek Him and His righteousness all the other burdens you face, will diminish in the light of His glory and grace. 



But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach):  that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.  For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”--Romans 10:8-13

You Just Don't Get It....

"Also I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities. And lack of bread in all your places; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD.  "I also withheld rain from you, When there were still three months to the harvest. I made it rain on one city, I withheld rain from another city. One part was rained upon, And where it did not rain the part withered. So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water, But they were not satisfied; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD. "I blasted you with blight and mildew. When your gardens increased, Your vineyards, Your fig trees, And your olive trees, The locust devoured them; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD.  "I sent among you a plague after the manner of Egypt; Your young men I killed with a sword, Along with your captive horses; I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD.   "I overthrew some of you, As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD.  "Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel; Because I will do this to you, Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!" For behold, He who forms mountains, And creates the wind, Who declares to man what his thought is, And makes the morning darkness, Who treads the high places of the earth— The LORD God of hosts is His name. --Amos 4:6-13

Dear Girls,

I took a brief respite to read a few chapters in Amos. These few verses hit me hard. Israel just did not get it.  God had tried everything to get there attention...famine, drought, agricultural diseases, plague and war but after each He says the same heartbreaking words to them.  I hear a Mom or a Dad's voice here...speaking to a wayward child.

Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD.  


If you are going through difficult times, please consider that the Lord may be using them in an attempt to get your attention and turn you from your own way into His perfect one. He wants you prepared to meet your God...the Israelites were anything but prepared.  Are you?  They were ignoring His kindnesses and also His many attempts to get their attention and going their own way.  God, however, is not mocked. The time of pleading ends and judgment does come.   He always wins whether you acknowledge Him as God or not.  Later on in chapter 5, God tells them to seek Him and live.  Seek the Lord while He can be found.  A deep and intimate relationship with Him will bring about the greatest and most glorious dividends you can imagine. 

This kind of relationship with Jesus Christ is built over time.  It is built as you abide in Him.  It takes courage to take that first step and ask Him into your heart as your Lord and Savior. As you walk with Him day by day, it takes courage to yield your desires to Him.  But His grace is always there. You never have to worry about disappointing Him...your success is assured...He performs all things in accordance with His plan not yours.  And His plan is from a heart of love. (Psalm 33:11) 

Again, as I have said before in other posts, stay close to Jesus, abide in Him by staying in His Word. Gaze into it...allow it to show you His good and perfect will, to convict your heart of sin, to renew your mind and to transform you into His image. As you do this you will love Him more and more with each passing day and consequently trust and obey Him more and more. Increasingly, you will feel His presence staying your heart and your mind with His wisdom and His love.  Stay the course...immerse yourself in His Word...and His peace which is an outflow of the fruit of His Spirit...love...will flood your heart.

Love
Mom

The Secret Place of the Most High God...

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”--Psalm 91:1-2


Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,


Our example for these verses has got to be Jesus Himself.  He lived His life here on earth in absolute unbroken communion with His Father in Heaven depending on Him completely to do the work that He was called to do. He did nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but only did and spoke those things that His Father in Heaven directed Him to do or say. He committed Himself utterly and completely to His Father.  Truly He dwelt in the secret place of the Most High!!  By faith, choose God as your refuge.  In Him, in Christ we will find all that we need not only for this life but we also find the promise of the next. 

As I read these two verses I wondered where the secret place of the Most High God was...I had an idea but there is nothing like looking through Scripture and allowing the interpretation to come through the word.  Here is what I found. The secret place of the Most High God is in His presence.  Read Psalm 31:20.

You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man;

The secret place is in the very presence of God...the Holy of Holies...the Mercy Seat...the throne room of our Father in Heaven.  This is where our God hides us.  Hebrews says our access  is by faith and that we can come boldly to His throne that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. That is where we will find our help!  That is where we will find our rest, our strength and our peace...where Hebrews also says we find our strong consolation and lay hold of the hope set before us...in Him.  David speaks to this also saying this in Psalm 27.


One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD  All the days of my life,  To behold the beauty of the LORD,  And to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble  In the secret place of His tabernacle  He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. He shall hide me in His pavilion;--Psalm 27:4-5

The Psalmist deepest desire was to dwell in the house of the Lord and to live for His purposes...to spend time with God in communion, inquiring of Him and gazing upon His beauty and wondrous attributes. Do as David did and  hide yourselves in the tabernacle of God.

AND if you are dwelling in the secret place of the Most High then you are under the shadow of His wings.  The wings of the cherubim covered the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies and the Shekinah glory cloud hovered over the mercy seat.  It is there that you are sheltered...in the very presence of God. 

For the cherubim spread their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles.

You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you.  And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, ..." --Exodus 25:22

The Lord told Moses in Exodus 33:14 that His presence would go with Him and that He would give Him rest.  God went before the Israelites on their journey through the wilderness in a pillar of cloud by day and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light.  When the cloud moved, they moved...when the cloud stopped...they stopped.  He was always with them...


In Him, the Bible tells us, we live and move and have our being. He is our covering...He is the Becoming One...He becomes whatever we need!  We (ME!) have Him  living inside. This treasure lives in our earthen vessel.  Whether we live or die, we are with Him.


Girls, meditate on this.  If you believe, this is your reality.  He, the God of the Universe, dwells inside each one of you.  You can commune with Him always...praying unceasingly.   Feeling desolate and alone..His presence is with you.  Feeling confused and unsure or in need of guidance...He is your truth and speaks to you through His word.   Feeling unworthy...He died for you...He is your life.  Feeling frightened...He is your peace and your rock.  Feeling grief and sadness...He is your comfort. Feeling weak...He becomes your strength.  Feeling attacked and persecuted...He is your strong tower and goes before you.  Pray and ask Him to increase your faith to live out your life in His presence. Your God, girls, does go with you...wait on Him and walk with Him in perfect communion.  Commit yourself to Him...Lift up your soul to Him.  Make God your habitation and take refuge under the shelter of His wings and abide in His perfect love. 

Love
Mom
 
The promises to those who take shelter in Him are powerful and many! Read them and be encouraged!

For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. --Psalm 27:5

You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah --Psalm 32-7

For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah--Psalm 61:3-4
 
Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,--Psalm 17:8

How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.  For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.--Psalm 36:7-9

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, Until these calamities have passed by. I will cry out to God Most High, To God who performs all things for me.--Psalm 57:1-2

then the LORD will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering. And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.--Isaiah 4:5-6
 
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.--Psalm 18:2

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.--Psalm 46:1

 Be my strong refuge, To which I may resort continually; You have given the commandment to save me, For You are my rock and my fortress.--Psalm 71:3

 I cried out to You, O LORD: I said, "You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living. --Psalm 142:5

The eternal God is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, And will say, 'Destroy!' --Deuteronomy 33:27

My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah --Psalm 62:5-8

Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; 'For YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.' " --Isaiah 12:2

You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.Trust in the LORD forever, For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength. --Isaiah 26:3

BUT God...Genesis 3:7-24

 and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.--Genesis 3:7c

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna, and Mikayla,

Do good to your enemies...God speaks from experience here.  When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, they became enemies of God.  God's response satisfied justice but it spoke so much more to mercy.

"You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?  Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."--Matthew 5:43-48

No better way to describe our Father's response and reaction to Adam and Eve's catastrophic fall than perfect. 

Look at the last part of Genesis 3:7...and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.  The fig tree is the national symbol of Israel and the only identifiable tree from the Garden of Eden. This verse speaks to man's attempt to cover his sin and guilt with his own works.  We cannot reach up to God...But God who is rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loves reaches down.  No other religion is like Christianity in this way...none.  We have access to the God, the Creator of heaven and earth by faith in His Son.  This is how we draw near to Him who draws near to us in mercy and compassion.

And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?" Genesis 3:8-11


Here they are in the beautiful Garden hiding from the One who created them, walked with them, counseled them, and loved them.  Now they were experiencing feelings that they had not known before...shame, fear, confusion and guilt. God comes to them in goodness and kindness.  He did not come in anger but as He had come to them before.  "Where are you?"  God asks.  I am pretty sure God's voice here is that of a heartbroken parent whose child had just walked outside of His will and had literally placed the sentence of death on his own head.  God's reaction and response here was abounding with mercy and kindness.   Now God knew where they were and what they had done.  There is no where we can go from His Spirit.  What He wanted here from them was a confession.  Please don't miss the mercy here.

Their sin had caused them to hide from the Lord, which is what rebellion always does...it separates us from God. Adam and Eve would not have sought God after they had sinned...the bible says clearly in Romans 3:11 that none seek God.  God in mercy and love came to them.  When we confess our sin, it frees us from the guilt and the shame involved and releases its grip...it prevents us from going further down the road of sin and doing worse things.   God wanted this for Adam and Eve.  He wanted to bring about confession and repentance.  They instead responded by making excuses for their sin and exacerbating it. Adam blamed his wife for the sin and indirectly God for giving him such a woman and Eve blamed the serpent for beguiling her. 
Confession does not bring about forgiveness...that was granted at the cross...it does however bring about a change of heart and a change in direction.

I have seen this occur in my own children especially when they were young and had gone their own way.  I knew what they had done, but still questioned them and gave them the opportunity to bring their sin to the light and be released from it.  My desire was not to embarrass them but to relieve them of the burden and have them turn and go the right way.  In the beginning they would more than likely respond in the way that Adam and Eve did to God by playing the blame game.  BUT as they saw confession and turning exampled in the house and experienced the peaceable fruit of righteousness, they began to stop, sometimes even in the middle of their sin, and turn.  If you are a parent and are in the middle of a selfish tirade...turn things around by stopping mid scream and apologizing to your family for your behavior.  You pride might be hurt but the results of those kind of confessions and the fruit born in your children's lives will be so worth it.

Verse 15 abounds with mercy... And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."  So after cursing the physical serpent, God curses Satan himself.

Here in the third chapter of Genesis the Gospel is first mentioned and a Messiah promised.   Satan and unbelievers are "your seed" and her Seed (Eve's) is Christ who will descend from her and all that are in Him.  It is important to note that the woman does not possess a seed; rather, she possesses the ovum, which is fertilized by the male's seed.  This verse then is the first indication that Messiah would be born of a virgin.  In the midst of sin and sorrow, we have hope!   Satan can only cause Jesus to suffer (bruise His heel) but Christ would one day destroy Satan with a fatal blow to his head.  Jesus came to earth to die.  By dying He conquered death and rendered Satan powerless against all who are saved...in Him.


Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! --1 John 3:1


More mercy in Genesis 3:21: Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.  Now in order to get tunics of skin, something had to die.  Blood had to be shed.  By all rights the first physical deaths that should have occurred were those of Adam and Eve. Instead, it was an animal...probably a lamb.  A sacrifice had to be made to provide a covering...this was a picture of the future sacrifice of the Innocent One, the Lamb of God, who is Jesus Christ and that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.

More mercy in 3:22-24..."Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"—therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.  So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life."

God told man that he would surely die if he ate of the forbidden tree.  If he ate now of the fruit of tree of life they would live forever in their cursed condition. Out of compassion then, God drove them from the Garden of Eden and blocked the entrances and ruled out this possibility.

None of what I read in Genesis 3 makes sense in "my" world.  If I had created Adam and Eve, I would have destroyed them.  I would not have covered them and provided my only begotten Son as a remedy for their rebellion...I would have left them in their fig leaves with the sentence of death on their heads...that is if I didn't annihilate them first . BUT GOD, WHO IS RICH IN MERCY DID SOMETHING THAT IN OUR HUMANNESS IS IMPOSSIBLE TO UNDERSTAND. He responded in perfect truth, perfect justice, perfect righteousness, perfect mercy and perfect love.

"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!   "FOR WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD? OR WHO HAS BECOME HIS COUNSELOR?" "OR WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM AND IT SHALL BE REPAID TO HIM?" For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever."--Romans 11:33-36

God's reaction to Adam and Eve's rebellion and sin shows us that we can never love too much.  That goodness really does overcome evil.  That when God speaks to us about loving our enemies, He means just that and speaks from a level of experience that we cannot even fathom.  God provided for them a covering that spoke of His promise that would cover them completely and eternally so that they could once again live forever with Him.  He would bring them back to life by His love.  As believers His grace and love is present in our hearts by His Spirit that dwells within us.  We are to shed it abroad and share it with those He places in our lives, despite how we are treated.  As Christians we are to walk as He walked and to love as He loved by the power of His Spirit. 

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.--Romans 5:8

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.  But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,  not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. --Ephesians 2:1-10

Love
Mom

Once again: Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! --1 John 3:1