MORE ON COMFORT

For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. ⁶ Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. ⁷ And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.--2nd Corinthians 1:5-7

To My Daughters,

There is so much "comfort" in these three verses!  Here is what they tell us. 

For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.

The comforts of Christ will be equal to any suffering you endure for Him.   Paul is not talking here about the suffering of Christ on the cross for our sins...the atoning sufferings of Christ.  He is talking about the kind of suffering a believer faces because he names the name of Christ.  If you are truly His, you will suffer for His namesake.  You will perhaps face rejection, hatred, betrayal, persecution and more.  Read Isaiah 53...read the Gospels...Christ endured them all! He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. He has gone before us and can comfort and console us like no other!  God, as your Father, suffers when His children endure affliction.  He assures us, however, that His love will comfort, console and strengthen us during these times and it will be enough.  His grace will be sufficient and we will be able to do all things through Him who strengthens us.  THAT is a beautiful picture. One of my favorite verses in all of Scripture comes to mind here.  

In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.--Psalm 94:19  

How beautiful is that.

Verse 6:

Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. 

I love this too...so both my sufferings and my comfort are for the strengthening and consolation of my brothers and sisters in Christ. Those who have gone through hard times, trials and tribulations are best equipped to speak comfort and encouragement to those that are facing similar circumstances. Paul uses the word salvation here.  I don't think he is talking about the salvation of their souls. I think he is saying that they would have the strength to endure through whatever they were facing. They would see the comfort and grace Paul received and know that God would do similarly for them in their own trials and tribulations.  The same is true for me when I read the word of God and see those that went before me....the cloud of witnesses so to speak.  I see the consolation they received and am encouraged to endure and stay the course, knowing that His grace is truly sufficient and knowing that heaven (the salvation of my soul) is just around the bend.   

And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.

Here is the verse that comforted me the most today as I meditated on it. There are so many of my brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering much for His namesake and are a beautiful testimony to those God has placed in their lives of His grace and mercy.  My hope for them can be steadfast.  As they partake of the sufferings of Christ, they will also partake of the consolation.  His comfort will be equal to their need.  His grace will be sufficient.  Sometimes my heart gets overwhelmed when I see a sister or brother in Christ in deep grief or pain.  What a comfort for me to remember this verse.  God is there in the midst.  Sufferings do not come alone...the consolations of God follows and accompanies them!  

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Psalm 23:6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me  All the days of my life; 

 And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.

Love

Mom

The God of all Comfort!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,⁴ who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ⁵ For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. ⁶ Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. ⁷ And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.--2nd Corinthians 1:3-7


To My Daughters,


Aside from knowing that my salvation is assured and that heaven awaits this is my most favorite part of knowing God.  I do not need my thumb...I do not need my blanket...I HAVE GOD WHO IS ALWAYS WITH ME!!!  I have God who has gone through and understands all my trials and my woes.  He is my first thought when i wake up and my last thought before I sleep.  He commands His lovingkindness toward me in the day and His song is with me at night. Nothing can separate me from Him and His love...and He changes not!!  


God uses our trials and troubles and through them gives us a heart of compassion for others as they go through the trials of this life. Be you a believer or a non believer, you will suffer in this life.  We live in a fallen world amongst fallen people. Believers have the assurance that God works all that they go through for their good and His glory! 


People who have not gone through betrayal, the loss of a loved one, financial difficulties or physical pain and suffering, find it difficult to comfort someone who is suffering. As believers, if we desire to be used by God to comfort others and identify with Jesus, we will suffer. This suffering will work the image of Jesus on our hearts and enable us to minister His mercies and love to those He places in our path. We can say to them as I am saying to you...Put your faith in God.  He will do for you as He has done for me in my times of trial.  He will be your shelter and your hiding place...the One who changes not and never leaves you nor forsakes you.  He will be the One who perfects all that concerns you and performs all things for you.  


We do not have to live our lives fearful of what is coming at us around the bend.  Our God is for us, who can be against us.  By His grace and His power we can have joy through the adversities we face and be a testimony to His comfort, care and grace for all around.   


Beloved, taste and see that the Lord is good.  Accept Him now as your Lord and your Savior.  Watch as you find His comfort waiting for you in every cranny of your life...in every trial, in every storm and in every challenge.  The God of mercy awaits you.  Experience His faithfulness and mercy firsthand and then by His grace comfort others with the comfort you have received.  Assure them of His faithfulness...assure them of His love. 


Love
Mom

But for the Grace of My God...

For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.--1 Corinthians 15:9-10


To My Daughters,


1 Corinthians 15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.


Paul declares himself here to be the least of the apostles who is not worthy to be called an apostle because he persecuted the church of God....God's people.  Paul had made similar declarations...


For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.--1 Corinthians 15:9


To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,--Ephesians 3:8


This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. 1 Timothy 1:15


The least of the apostles...the least of the saints and the chief of sinners....that is how Paul identified himself.  Now if that is how Paul identifies himself how can I possibly think of myself any differently!  The more Paul knew and saw of the beauty, grace and majesty of God the more he saw himself for who he really was...a sinner saved by the grace of His God. 


1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, 


In the Book of Exodus God identifies Himself this way:  "I AM WHO I AM."  Our God is the Becoming One, He becomes whatever our need.  


Then in Exodus 34 He describes Himself:


Now the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. ⁶ And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, ⁷ keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” 


Girls, the God we serve is a God of perfect justice but at the same time He is a God of mercy!  He is known for His mercy. Justice is getting what we deserve.  According to God's law, we all deserve death and eternal punishment.  I DO NOT want justice, I want mercy.  I want to be spared judgment.  When I believed on Him who died in my stead, I was justified.  I put on not my own righteousness, but Christ's. I am, according to the Bible, a joint heir with Christ.  That is grace..not just being spared the judgment I deserve but getting blessings that I do not deserve.  


Do you understand now why Paul said it is only by the grace of God that I am who I am? He knew what and who he was without God.  The more he knew of what he truly deserved the more he understood the glorious gifts God was bestowing upon Him. Paul had experienced His Lord's forgiveness, long suffering and grace.   How then could Paul cry out for justice for anyone else if he himself had received such mercy.  


If you are praying for God to bring judgment upon someone who is doing you some evil, then you are not praying according to the will of God and you do not understand grace. Whatever you are it is by the grace of your God! God suffers long and bears with our sin.  God's will is that no one should perish but all should come to life in His Son. Pray that His goodness will lead not just those you love to repentance but also those that are your enemies.  Pray for His richest blessing, which is salvation, upon them and their families. Pray that He would give you the grace to love them with His love.  


1 Corinthians 15:10 and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.


This attitude of Paul's is 180 degrees different then the attitude he had prior to his conversion. There was a time when he thought he was something. Here is what he says in the 3rd chapter of the Book of Philippians.


though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: ⁵ circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.--Philippians 3:4-6


All of Paul's credentials he says meant nothing.  He may have looked righteous on the outside but on the inside his heart was black and full of sin. All his attempts to earn God's grace and approval that might have elevated him in the eyes of men, were a waste of time.  He saw them as rubbish when compared to the excellencies of the true knowledge of God. 


The life Paul lived after his conversion was in response to the goodness and grace God had bestowed upon him. He could live it no other way. Paul understands that he was a billboard for HIS God's grace and mercy for others to see, marvel and perhaps turn from their own futile ways to God.   The works we do should be the inevitable outcome and outflow of the love that He has poured out in our hearts.  If you understand grace you will understand that there is no other acceptable response to God but wholehearted commitment and service.  


Serving God, girls should not be a have to...if it is there is something wrong with your view and understanding of God and the grace you have been shown.  Serving God should be a complete and utter "get to" from start to finish.  This is why all of us who believe are still here...to show the glory and light of God to others through our words and our life.  


Love 
Mom

Being Carried On...By Anna

Isaiah 43:18-19 “Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

It is in our nature to move on. We may not do it consciously—we may not even want to—but, eventually, we do. The wound does not just stop hurting altogether—Time cannot ‘heal’ it, but it does act as an anesthetic. Instead of the soul-hurt continually throbbing in agony, the pain decreases gradually, almost infinitesimally, till one day you wake up and realize you’re still alive; you’re not dead, the hurt didn’t kill you…you’re not as broken as you thought. God didn’t design us to wallow in pain for the rest of our lives. We’re just not constructed that way. No matter how bad the knock-out blow was, eventually we get to our feet again.      Occasionally, you ‘pick at the scab’ a little too much, or you strain your stitches, so to speak, and the pain returns. But only for a little while—twinges, every now and then, when something reminds you a little too much of what (or who) you’ve lost.

But I think that, in one way, having those you have lost still be alive hurts worse. I strongly doubt there will be any recriminations in heaven, and besides, unless you murder yourself, it is not physically possible to rejoin your loved one(s). To put it simply, it would not be your fault you cannot be with them. And it’s not mine either. But at times it feels that way. It feels as though I am betraying those I would die for by this unconscious ‘moving on’, that I have callously left those who I swore I never would, that every time I love someone else I am forgetting those who I loved first, or, worse, I am merely using these new loves as replacements (and I’m fairly certain that’s rather sick). I feel as though any gift I am making should be for my lost loved ones, not the ones that God has given me now. I feel that I should have their picture up in every corner of my room, that I should never let them go, that I should never let myself heal.

Of course, knowing we’re supposed to move on doesn’t mean (a), that well-intentioned people telling us that we’re supposed to move on, or we’re taking this too hard, or we’re being too protective of the loved one(s) we have left, is any less hurtful, and (b), it doesn’t mean that moving on doesn’t hurt like hell (if you’ll pardon the expression, but even, say, having an anvil dropped on your head doesn’t quite seem to cover the agony involved, so that was the closest simile I could come up with).  I am moving on—not quite consciously, and I rather suspect that I stupidly drag my feet and kick and scream whenever God tries to lead me away from my place of pain—and every time I do, it feels as though I am betraying the ones I’ve lost. Mum told me that spouses, when they lose the other to death, if they eventually remarry, struggle with the same sense of guilt.

Just yesterday, in fact, we were driving home from church and I suddenly burst into tears in the backseat. (A thirty-or-forty minute drive, about 2/3 of it spent in violent sobbing all over my sister’s pink sweater—which she was gracious enough to forget about—without the saving grace of tissues anywhere in the car. Imagine.)

The funny thing is, I’d had a brilliant time. But I’d strained my stitches. I’d picked the scab. And I’d discovered I’m still very new to this business of moving on.

Lucky for me, my younger sister—the pink-sweater one—saw my distress and instantly switched seats, scooting closer to me and burying her face in my—well, her—pink sweater in an attempt to comfort me. (Of course, her motives were not entirely  altruistic…there was an extremely volatile stinkbug-hitchhiker at her end of the car. J All in all, it was a pretty nerve-racking ride.)

I will always love them, and I won’t ever forget them—I never could, not if I lived a hundred thousand years on this fallen earth (which I really hope I don’t). But, as my other sister kindly explained—nearly dislocating her wrist in the process…she was sitting in the front seat and reached her hand around to crying me in the seat behind her—it would be truly wrong NOT to move on, not to love others, not to have joy and life again. It would be wrong to focus entirely on what I’ve lost and not spare a thought for what my Savior has so graciously given me in return. “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21)

See, I woke up one day and I realized that I wasn’t sucked dry, that I wasn’t empty, that I wasn’t broken—anymore. I’d been all these things, but He’d restored me. He’d filled me up over and over again. He’d picked up all my pieces and put me back together again.  (And He did it so gently I didn’t even need Novocaine.) He did a new thing; better than what I had before. It sprang forth so swiftly, so easily, just when I needed it the most—and I didknow it. He made a road—He WAS the road—for me in the wilderness of my grief. He gave rivers of His comfort to drink from in the desert of hopelessness that I get stuck in all too often.

You know what the best bit is? I don’t have to ‘move on’ on my own.

Because He carries me forward.

Revelation 8 and 9 Notes...

¹ When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. ² And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. ³ Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. ⁴ And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. 


There is a pause in heaven at the opening of the seventh seal before the first trumpet sounds.  This seal comes with an earthquake, the seven trumpet judgments and the seven bowl judgments which roll out from the seventh trumpet judgment.  (Still with me) The silence "heard" in heaven is the calm before the storm. All voices are stopped as the awesomeness of the judgment that is about to occur is contemplated.  The prayers of all the saints are offered upon the golden altar of God which is before His throne and the judgments to come are God's answer. (see Revelation 5:8)  His Kingdom is coming! 

⁵ Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.

There is the earthquake...

⁶ So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

The trumpet judgments are more severe than the seal judgments but not as destructive as the bowl judgments that are coming.  They occur in the final 3.5 years of the tribulation.  The first four affect the earth itself...the last three affect its inhabitants and are demonic in nature. 

The First Trumpet: Vegetation Struck

⁷ The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth.^[a] And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.


The Second Trumpet: The Seas Struck


Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. ⁹ And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.


The Third Trumpet: The Waters Struck


¹⁰ Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. ¹¹ The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.


The Fourth Trumpet: The Heavens Struck


¹² Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night. 


And as if it was necessary, read the last verse of chapter 8:


¹³ And I looked, and I heard an angel^[b] flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”


Three woes...three more trumpet soundings...worst than the first four.


Chapter 9


Fifth Trumpet: The Locusts from the Bottomless Pit


¹ Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. ² And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. ³Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. ⁴ They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵ And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. ⁶ In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.
⁷ The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. ⁸ They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. ⁹ And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wingswas like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. ¹⁰ They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. ¹¹ And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon. 


This star is an angelic being...maybe Satan himself who releases "demonic locusts" who were given the power to torture the inhabitants of the earth (but not kill) for five months. They were only to harm men who do not have the seal of God upon their forehead.  Those tormented by these creatures will find no relief...they will seek relief in death but dying will not be an option. 


One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things.

The Sixth Trumpet: The Angels from the Euphrates


¹³ Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, ¹⁴ saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” ¹⁵ So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. ¹⁶ Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. ¹⁷ And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. ¹⁸ By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed—by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. ¹⁹ For their power^[a] is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm. 


These are fallen angels that were bound and are released to kill a third of mankind.  I am seeing God's sovereignty here....how about you? 


"So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind."


Final Words of Chapter 9:


²⁰ But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. ²¹ And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries^[b] or their sexual immorality or their thefts.


Unbelievably those that remain who were not killed by these plagues will not repent.  

Connecting the Dots...

Romans 5:3-5 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; ⁴ and perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Dear Girls,


I have heard and read these verse many times and have  tried to the connect the dots...so to speak...between these qualities but have never been too successful. I think I have it this time. Sometimes seeing the big picture clearly really helps us to understand the details. Here is the big picture.(okay I really don't know whether it is the big picture or the little picture)
 
The first thing this verse tells us is that we are to glory in tribulations...why because we know that the Lord is using the trials in our lives to produce patience or a steadfastness of character.  At first a trial really throw us...we try all kinds of things to get out of it or fix it.  As time goes on in our walk with the Lord we begin to say...I have tried to do get through and fix it on my own Lord and I have learned that I can't. So now I am just going to wait on You...I am going to surrender...God then shows us what He can do.   We begin to trust Him in and through the trial. rejoice, not in the trouble itself, but in knowing that God is using it to strengthen us and grow us more and more into His image.  As we continue to walk with the Lord, trust Him in times of trouble and immerse ourselves in His word we become spiritually stable and are less easily thrown off balance when pressed. Our faith is tested, we learn that God's grace is always there and we gain experience or character.  Interestingly enough that word character or experience means something akin to approved.  We have endured and been tested and approved. So now we know with heart knowledge that He is working in our lives and that He will be faithful to complete the work in us that He started. We can look ahead now with hope and know that the Lord is faithful to care for our every need. The love of God is literally poured out in our heart.


Romans 8:16-17 tells us that "the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,  and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together."

We know He will carry us through to the end and bring us home. Our hope is secure.  Biblical hope is sure and certain...not the kind of hope we talk about here on earth...biblical hope is so sure that it is as if it already occurred.  We know He will not disappoint...He will sustain us through our troubles...we know He has our best in mind.  We wait on Him and we hope in Him. Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane truly showed us the way committing Himself completely into His Father's care..."Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done." 

1 Peter 5:6-11 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like  a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

The Parable of the Sower. Part 1

And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: ⁵ “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. ⁶ Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. ⁷ And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. ⁸ But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”  ⁹ Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?” ¹⁰ And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that 

      ‘ Seeing they may not see,
      And hearing they may not understand.
   
To My Daughters,


I have read this so many times, but could never understand why Jesus would teach in a way so that others would not see nor in hearing would they understand. God wants no one to perish but all to come to life in His Son.  So why would Jesus teach in a parable?  Why not speak plainly?   Here is what I think for what it is worth.  I believe it was mercy.  There were obviously those in the crowd who did not really want to hear what Jesus had to say.  From these then, Jesus hid the truth.


After Jesus had finished speaking, His disciples asked Him what the parable meant.  I think this is the key.  Our God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.  Those that did not want to hear would have just dismissed Jesus' words as obtuse.  The disciples, however, were earnest seekers.  They were interested enough to ask for more.  So why do I say it is mercy.  It is mercy because the more you hear the truth of God's word, the more accountable you are.  In mercy, then, He was concealing the truth from those who did not want to hear.   


If Jesus had spoken plainly and they had disregarded His words, they would have been, perhaps more accountable for their decision.  They would have had to reject His word and Him outright  By speaking in parables then, Jesus was giving them the opportunity to hear at another time...perhaps at a time when they had tired of going their own way and truly wanted to see and hear the heart of Jesus for them and believe.  We can cut ourselves off from hearing what God has to say when we continually reject His word and harden our hearts toward it.  Jesus hears your heart and will not convert you by force. Speaking in parables allowed for the truth to go out to those who wanted to hear and concealed it from those who did not.  


Love
Mom

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN.....

To My Daughters,


I was reading Micah 7 today and thought it expressed how I sometimes feel when I read the news and go through the many trials that life brings me.  It is a beautiful chapter filled with comfort that depicts not only God's justice but His mercy as well.  

Micah 7

Sorrow for Israel’s Sins

 ¹ Woe is me!
      For I am like those who gather summer fruits,
      Like those who glean vintage grapes;
      There is no cluster to eat
      Of the first-ripe fruit which my soul desires.
       ² The faithful man has perished from the earth,
      And there is no one upright among men.
      They all lie in wait for blood;
      Every man hunts his brother with a net.
       ³ That they may successfully do evil with both hands—
      The prince asks for gifts,
      The judge seeks a bribe,
      And the great man utters his evil desire;
      So they scheme together.
       ⁴ The best of them is like a brier;
      The most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge;
      The day of your watchman and your punishment comes;
      Now shall be their perplexity.
       ⁵ Do not trust in a friend;
      Do not put your confidence in a companion;
      Guard the doors of your mouth
      From her who lies in your bosom.
       ⁶ For son dishonors father,
      Daughter rises against her mother,
      Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
      A man’s enemies are the men of his own household.
       ⁷ Therefore I will look to the LORD;
      I will wait for the God of my salvation;
      My God will hear me. 


What do you do when all around you is falling apart.  When the government is full of corruption and has gone awry.  When the faithful man has perished from the earth and there is no one upright among men...when you can't trust your own family?  What do you do?? I love what Micah does.  It is why I love God.  He never changes.  He is always with me and He always desires my best. Our God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  Here is what Micah does:


Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me. 


Perfect.


Read on...


Israel’s Confession and Comfort


    ⁸ Do not rejoice over me, my enemy;
      When I fall, I will arise;
      When I sit in darkness,
      The LORD will be a light to me.
       ⁹ I will bear the indignation of the LORD,
      Because I have sinned against Him,
      Until He pleads my case
      And executes justice for me.
      He will bring me forth to the light;
      I will see His righteousness.
       ¹⁰ Then she who is my enemy will see,
      And shame will cover her who said to me,

      “ Where is the LORD your God?”
      My eyes will see her;
      Now she will be trampled down
      Like mud in the streets.
       ¹¹ In the day when your walls are to be built,
      In that day the decree shall go far and wide.^{[a]
       12} In that day they^[b] shall come to you
      From Assyria and the fortified cities,^[c]
      From the fortress^[d] to the River,^[e]
      From sea to sea,
      And mountain to mountain.
       ¹³ Yet the land shall be desolate
      Because of those who dwell in it,
      And for the fruit of their deeds. 

Even in time of trial and judgment...when the prophet sits in darkness, His God will be a light to him. When I am in darkness, my God is a light to me.  I love this verse from Psalm 139 that speaks to the same thing.

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me;
 

Micah's hope is in God who will bring him forth to the light.  Micah will see God's righteousness and His perfect justice on his enemies.  Read on...pay special attention to verses 18-20. 

God Will Forgive Israel

    ¹⁴ Shepherd Your people with Your staff,
      The flock of Your heritage,
      Who dwell solitarily in a woodland,
      In the midst of Carmel;
      Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,
      As in days of old.
       ¹⁵ “ As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
      I will show them^[f] wonders.”
       ¹⁶ The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might;
      They shall put their hand over their mouth;
      Their ears shall be deaf.
       ¹⁷ They shall lick the dust like a serpent;
      They shall crawl from their holes like snakes of the earth.
      They shall be afraid of the LORD our God,
      And shall fear because of You.
       ¹⁸ Who is a God like You,
      Pardoning iniquity
      And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?

      He does not retain His anger forever,
      Because He delights in mercy.
       ¹⁹ He will again have compassion on us,
      And will subdue our iniquities.

      You will cast all our^[g] sins
      Into the depths of the sea.
       ²⁰ You will give truth to Jacob
      And mercy to Abraham,
      Which You have sworn to our fathers
      From days of old.

WHO IS LIKE GOD!!!!  The pagan gods in the nations around were not nice. They were full of vengeance, cared only for themselves and were impossible to approach.  God on the other hand is perfect and without sin.  He pardons our sin and passes over our transgressions.  He does not stay angry forever.  Our God has compassion and remembers mercy...in fact He delights in mercy!  He will remove our sin and  cast them into the depths of the sea.  My God died so that I could live.  Truly who is like our God!

Love

Mom

LIGHTS, LAMPS AND TRUTH.

To My Daughters:

"No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.

Those of us who believe are God's lights to a dying world. Our light is not to be hidden, but it is to be set on a lampstand where all who enter may see it. Truth is meant to be revealed. God's promise here is that it will be. 

As believers then, we are responsible to expose the truth of the word of God. Our lamp has been lit and we are to go into all the world with it. Our lives are to be lights to others. We are to bring the truth to others in any way that God gives us occasion and are to "publish" it by our word, by our deed and by our life. Bring others to where they can hear the truth or tell them yourself. Pray to God for the opportunity to share. Pray that He will make those opportunities plain. There are people who are sick and dying all around us...they have no hope. We, however, have the cure. Our job is to share it with them.

"Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him."

Take heed how you hear. Whether an unbeliever or believer you are accountable when you hear the truth of God's word. If you hear rightly and do rightly with what you hear more light and truth will be given. If you do not, even what you seem to have will be taken. For an unbeliever this means the more you hear the good news of the gospel and reject it the harder your heart will become. towards it. As time goes on your willingness to hear and turn and be saved will be diminished greatly. Behold, today is the day of salvation. Today if you hear his word, harden not your heart.

As a believer this is also true. James tells us to receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls. Allow the word to penetrate your heart and change it from the inside out. Feed your Spirit and your spirit will strengthen. Feed your flesh and your flesh will strengthen and your heart will begin to develop a crust. Whatever godly habits you have cultivated will be difficult to get back. Your flesh will be bigger and harder to battle. If this is you today, do not lose heart but by faith go to the word and spend time daily in it. Allow your whole self to be washed in the water of the word. Don't be discouraged...the word takes time to grow in your heart and bear fruit. All you need do for this to be accomplished is to abide...sit at His feet. Take heed how you hear. Obey what you hear. Allow the word to work and the fruit will come once again.

Love

Mom