Would you believe that a small glowworm (a female firefly) can conquer a snail several times her size and eat it for dinner?
The snail has one vulnerable spot, the fleshy foot that peeps out underneath its shell and enables it to crawl and attach itself to objects. The glowworm waits until she finds a snail crawling, resting on the ground, or sunk into its shell with just a little of the fleshy part showing. Then, ever so quietly, she creeps up and taps the snail unprotected bit of flesh with her two tiny hooked fangs so gently that the snail is not aware of it. After a pause, the glowworm taps it again, then again. She is putting her victim to sleep with glowworm anesthetic. While the unsuspecting snail sleeps, the glowworm dissolves the snail with her saliva and drinks the now liquid snail for her supper.
There is a way the snail can escape from the clever tactics of its enemy, the glowworm; that is to rest on a smooth rock instead of the ground, so that the opening of its shell is completely shielded by rock and no fleshy part is showing. The snail whose opening is completely shielded by a rock has no vulnerable place for its enemy to attack--it is safe.
Jesus is your rock, your place of safety. If you stay under His protection by obeying His word, you will be able to say no to temptation and sin; you will be sheltered against Satan's attacks. Happy is the young person who goes to Jesus for refuge!
Read and Think Story
Abeka 4th Grade
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Our Heart's Longings...
I am a stranger in the earth; Do not hide Your commandments from me. My soul breaks with longing For Your judgments at all times.--Psalm 119:19-20
To My Sweet Daughters,
Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the bible. The content of it is all about the Word of God and the blessings and benefits derived from its study. Going to take a detour here to Psalm 19 because it gives us a preview of the benefits in just a few verses as opposed to Psalm 119's 176 verses. It tells us that the law of the Lord is perfect and that it converts the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure making the simple, wise. The statutes of the Lord are right and they rejoice the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure and enlightens the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean and endures forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether and are more to be desired than fine gold and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. By them we are warned and in keeping them is great reward!!! Wow! Wow! Wow!
Psalm 119 is broken up into 22 sections of eight verses each. If you read it in Hebrew you would find that each sections begins with a specific letter of the Hebrew alphabet beginning with the first and ending with the last letter. For example the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet is the letter Aleph. Each of the eight verses then in the first section begins with that letter. In the second section each verse would begin with Beth..the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet and so on through the entire alphabet. It is said that the Hebrew children learned their alphabet by learning this psalm. I really like that! Learn the alphabet and meditate on the excellencies of the word of God.
Getting back to verse 19 and 20...David says that his soul breaks with longing for the judgements of God always. That is quite a statement. His soul breaks for His judgments...The word judgment here is not speaking to the execution of a sentence but to the declared judgments of God. God's commandments and doctrine of the Word are God's judgments about moral and spiritual things. God's decisions, if you will, on what is right or what is wrong. The bible then is the book of His judgments. It is the supreme authority..not a word of it may be changed or questioned.
The writer of the Psalm says he is like a foreigner in a strange land. Believers may be in the world but they are not of the world. The desires of their hearts should be very different from those of the unbelievers in the world. Because of this they do not value (and should not) value worldly wisdom at all, but look only to God and His precepts for guidance throughout their journey here. Their deepest desire should be for their God's abiding presence in their lives directing their steps. They look to His word to guide them unerringly to their final destination
The Bible tells us that we are to keep our hearts with all diligence for out them spring the issues of life. It also says that as a man thinks in his heart he is. And finally out of the abundance of our hearts, our mouths speak. Spurgeon says that one of the best tests of a man's character will be found in his deepest and heartiest longings. Uh oh... Truly, girls, our deepest heart's desires are like forecasts for what we will become. Look carefully at your desires and see the picture it provides you of your future. As a man desires or longs in his heart so is he. Again, what are your deepest desires? They should be for your God and His word. Look ten years down the road...what do you see..have your desires drawn you closer to your Lord or further into the world. Have they led you off His path and out of His will? Or have they led you to His holy hill...to His tabernacle..to His sanctuary and finally into His presence?
Spurgeon says that our spiritual desires are the shadows of coming blessings. What God intends to give us, He first sets us longing for. Prayer is wonderfully effective because it is the embodiment of a longing that is inspired by God because He intends to bestow the blessing prayed for! It all comes from Him. Whatever your holy longings might be, He will fulfill them. View them as glimpses of good things to come.
David longed after God and His word. Girls, ask God for this kind of longing and let it be the cry that comes from the deepest part of your heart. He will then place those desires on your heart that are the "tokens" of good things to come and will come and fill you with all His fullness. Delight in His law...desire it and His presence in your life above everything else. May each one of our hearts break with our desire for Him!
The Lord is at work in each one of us. The results of His work are always precious. Psalm 145:19 says He fulfill the desires of those who fear Him. The desire for Him is precious and what comes from that desire is beyond what can be described with words.
If you do not know the Lord, hear these words from Psalm 10...they are for you. Ask Him to give you a desire to know Him and see what He will do!
Psalm 10:17 You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear."
Proverbs 10:24 says the desires of the righteous will be granted and Matthew 5:6 says, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.
Love
Mom
To My Sweet Daughters,
Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the bible. The content of it is all about the Word of God and the blessings and benefits derived from its study. Going to take a detour here to Psalm 19 because it gives us a preview of the benefits in just a few verses as opposed to Psalm 119's 176 verses. It tells us that the law of the Lord is perfect and that it converts the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure making the simple, wise. The statutes of the Lord are right and they rejoice the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure and enlightens the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean and endures forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether and are more to be desired than fine gold and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. By them we are warned and in keeping them is great reward!!! Wow! Wow! Wow!
Psalm 119 is broken up into 22 sections of eight verses each. If you read it in Hebrew you would find that each sections begins with a specific letter of the Hebrew alphabet beginning with the first and ending with the last letter. For example the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet is the letter Aleph. Each of the eight verses then in the first section begins with that letter. In the second section each verse would begin with Beth..the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet and so on through the entire alphabet. It is said that the Hebrew children learned their alphabet by learning this psalm. I really like that! Learn the alphabet and meditate on the excellencies of the word of God.
Getting back to verse 19 and 20...David says that his soul breaks with longing for the judgements of God always. That is quite a statement. His soul breaks for His judgments...The word judgment here is not speaking to the execution of a sentence but to the declared judgments of God. God's commandments and doctrine of the Word are God's judgments about moral and spiritual things. God's decisions, if you will, on what is right or what is wrong. The bible then is the book of His judgments. It is the supreme authority..not a word of it may be changed or questioned.
The writer of the Psalm says he is like a foreigner in a strange land. Believers may be in the world but they are not of the world. The desires of their hearts should be very different from those of the unbelievers in the world. Because of this they do not value (and should not) value worldly wisdom at all, but look only to God and His precepts for guidance throughout their journey here. Their deepest desire should be for their God's abiding presence in their lives directing their steps. They look to His word to guide them unerringly to their final destination
The Bible tells us that we are to keep our hearts with all diligence for out them spring the issues of life. It also says that as a man thinks in his heart he is. And finally out of the abundance of our hearts, our mouths speak. Spurgeon says that one of the best tests of a man's character will be found in his deepest and heartiest longings. Uh oh... Truly, girls, our deepest heart's desires are like forecasts for what we will become. Look carefully at your desires and see the picture it provides you of your future. As a man desires or longs in his heart so is he. Again, what are your deepest desires? They should be for your God and His word. Look ten years down the road...what do you see..have your desires drawn you closer to your Lord or further into the world. Have they led you off His path and out of His will? Or have they led you to His holy hill...to His tabernacle..to His sanctuary and finally into His presence?
Spurgeon says that our spiritual desires are the shadows of coming blessings. What God intends to give us, He first sets us longing for. Prayer is wonderfully effective because it is the embodiment of a longing that is inspired by God because He intends to bestow the blessing prayed for! It all comes from Him. Whatever your holy longings might be, He will fulfill them. View them as glimpses of good things to come.
David longed after God and His word. Girls, ask God for this kind of longing and let it be the cry that comes from the deepest part of your heart. He will then place those desires on your heart that are the "tokens" of good things to come and will come and fill you with all His fullness. Delight in His law...desire it and His presence in your life above everything else. May each one of our hearts break with our desire for Him!
The Lord is at work in each one of us. The results of His work are always precious. Psalm 145:19 says He fulfill the desires of those who fear Him. The desire for Him is precious and what comes from that desire is beyond what can be described with words.
If you do not know the Lord, hear these words from Psalm 10...they are for you. Ask Him to give you a desire to know Him and see what He will do!
Psalm 10:17 You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear."
Proverbs 10:24 says the desires of the righteous will be granted and Matthew 5:6 says, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.
Love
Mom
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Faith, What is It? from All of Grace by Charles Spurgeon
WHAT IS THIS FAITH concerning which it is said, "By grace are ye saved, through faith?" There are many descriptions of faith; but almost all the definitions I have met with have made me understand it less than I did before I saw them. The Negro said, when he read the chapter, that he would confound it; and it is very likely that he did so, though he meant to expound it. We may explain faith till nobody understands it. I hope I shall not be guilty of that fault. Faith is the simplest of all things, and perhaps because of its simplicity it is the more difficult to explain.
What is faith? It is made up of three things—knowledge, belief, and trust. Knowledge comes first. "How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?" I want to be informed of a fact before I can possibly believe it. "Faith cometh by hearing"; we must first hear, in order that we may know what is to be believed. "They that know thy name shall put their trust in thee." A measure of knowledge is essential to faith; hence the importance of getting knowledge. "Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live." Such was the word of the ancient prophet, and it is the word of the gospel still. Search the Scriptures and learn what the Holy Spirit teacheth concerning Christ and His salvation. Seek to know God: "For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." May the Holy Spirit give you the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord! Know the gospel: know what the good news is, how it talks of free forgiveness, and of change of heart, of adoption into the family of God, and of countless other blessings. Know especially Christ Jesus the Son of God, the Saviour of men, united to us by His human nature, and yet one with God; and thus able to act as Mediator between God and man, able to lay His hand upon both, and to be the connecting link between the sinner and the Judge of all the earth. Endeavour to know more and more of Christ Jesus. Endeavour especially to know the doctrine of the sacrifice of Christ; for the point upon which saving faith mainly fixes itself is this— "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." Know that Jesus was "made a curse for us, as it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." Drink deep of the doctrine of the substitutionary work of Christ; for therein lies the sweetest possible comfort to the guilty sons of men, since the Lord "made him to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Faith begins with knowledge.
The mind goes on to believe that these things are true. The soul believes that God is, and that He hears the cries of sincere hearts; that the gospel is from God; that justification by faith is the grand truth which God hath revealed in these last days by His Spirit more clearly than before. Then the heart believes that Jesus is verily and in truth our God and Saviour, the Redeemer of men, the Prophet, Priest, and King of His people. All this is accepted as sure truth, not to be called in question. I pray that you may at once come to this. Get firmly to believe that "the blood of Jesus Christ, God's dear Son, cleanseth us from all sin"; that His sacrifice is complete and fully accepted of God on man's behalf, so that he that believeth on Jesus is not condemned. Believe these truths as you believe any other statements; for the difference between common faith and saving faith lies mainly in the subjects upon which it is exercised. Believe the witness of God just as you believe the testimony of your own father or friend. "If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater."
So far you have made an advance toward faith; only one more ingredient is needed to complete it, which is trust. Commit yourself to the merciful God; rest your hope on the gracious gospel; trust your soul on the dying and living Saviour; wash away your sins in the atoning blood; accept His perfect righteousness, and all is well. Trust is the lifeblood of faith; there is no saving faith without it. The Puritans were accustomed to explain faith by the word "recumbency." It meant leaning upon a thing. Lean with all your weight upon Christ. It would be a better illustration still if I said, fall at full length, and lie on the Rock of Ages. Cast yourself upon Jesus; rest in Him; commit yourself to Him. That done, you have exercised saving faith. Faith is not a blind thing; for faith begins with knowledge. It is not a speculative thing; for faith believes facts of which it is sure. It is not an unpractical, dreamy thing; for faith trusts, and stakes its destiny upon the truth of revelation. That is one way of describing what faith is.
Let me try again. Faith is believing that Christ is what He is said to be, and that He will do what He has promised to do, and then to expect this of Him. The Scriptures speak of Jesus Christ as being God, God is human flesh; as being perfect in His character; as being made of a sin-offering on our behalf; as bearing our sins in His own body on the tree. The Scripture speaks of Him as having finished transgression, made an end of sin, and brought in everlasting righteousness. The sacred records further tell us that He "rose again from the dead," that He "ever liveth to make intercession for us," that He has gone up into the glory, and has taken possession of Heaven on the behalf of His people, and that He will shortly come again "to judge the world in righteousness, and his people with equity." We are most firmly to believe that it is even so; for this is the testimony of God the Father when He said, "This is my beloved Son; hear ye him." This also is testified by God the Holy Spirit; for the Spirit has borne witness to Christ, both in the inspired Word and by divers miracles, and by His working in the hearts of men. We are to believe this testimony to be true.
Faith also believes that Christ will do what He has promised; that since He has promised to cast out none that come to Him, it is certain that He will not cast us out if we come to Him. Faith believes that since Jesus said, "The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everasting life, it must be true; and if we get this living Water from Christ it will abide in us, and will well up within us in streams of holy life. Whatever Christ has promised to do He will do, and we must believe this, so as to look for pardon, justification, preservation, and eternal glory from His hands, according as He has promised them to believers in Him.
Then comes the next necessary step. Jesus is what He is said to be, Jesus will do what He says He will do; therefore we must each one trust Him, saying, "He will be to me what He says He is, and He will do to me what He has promised to do; I leave myself in the hands of Him who is appointed to save, that He may save me. I rest upon His promise that He will do even as He has said." This is a saving faith, and he that hath it hath everlasting life. Whatever his dangers and difficulties, whatever his darkness and depression, whatever his infirmities and sins, he that believeth thus on Christ Jesus is not condemned, and shall never come into condemnation.
May that explanation be of some service! I trust it may be used by the Spirit of God to direct my reader into immediate peace. "Be not afraid; only believe." Trust, and be at rest.
My fear is lest the reader should rest content with understanding what is to be done, and yet never do it. Better the poorest real faith actually at work, than the best ideal of it left in the region of speculation. The great matter is to believe on the Lord Jesus at once. Never mind distinctions and definitions. A hungry man eats though he does not understand the composition of his food, the anatomy of his mouth, or the process of digestion: he lives because he eats. Another far more clever person understands thoroughly the science of nutrition; but if he does not eat he will die, with all his knowledge. There are, no doubt, many at this hour in Hell who understood the doctrine of faith, but did not believe. On the other hand, not one who has trusted in the Lord Jesus has ever been cast out, though he may never have been able intelligently to define his faith. Oh dear reader, receive the Lord Jesus into your soul, and you shall live forever! "He that believeth in Him hath everlasting life."
What is faith? It is made up of three things—knowledge, belief, and trust. Knowledge comes first. "How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?" I want to be informed of a fact before I can possibly believe it. "Faith cometh by hearing"; we must first hear, in order that we may know what is to be believed. "They that know thy name shall put their trust in thee." A measure of knowledge is essential to faith; hence the importance of getting knowledge. "Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live." Such was the word of the ancient prophet, and it is the word of the gospel still. Search the Scriptures and learn what the Holy Spirit teacheth concerning Christ and His salvation. Seek to know God: "For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." May the Holy Spirit give you the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord! Know the gospel: know what the good news is, how it talks of free forgiveness, and of change of heart, of adoption into the family of God, and of countless other blessings. Know especially Christ Jesus the Son of God, the Saviour of men, united to us by His human nature, and yet one with God; and thus able to act as Mediator between God and man, able to lay His hand upon both, and to be the connecting link between the sinner and the Judge of all the earth. Endeavour to know more and more of Christ Jesus. Endeavour especially to know the doctrine of the sacrifice of Christ; for the point upon which saving faith mainly fixes itself is this— "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." Know that Jesus was "made a curse for us, as it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." Drink deep of the doctrine of the substitutionary work of Christ; for therein lies the sweetest possible comfort to the guilty sons of men, since the Lord "made him to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Faith begins with knowledge.The mind goes on to believe that these things are true. The soul believes that God is, and that He hears the cries of sincere hearts; that the gospel is from God; that justification by faith is the grand truth which God hath revealed in these last days by His Spirit more clearly than before. Then the heart believes that Jesus is verily and in truth our God and Saviour, the Redeemer of men, the Prophet, Priest, and King of His people. All this is accepted as sure truth, not to be called in question. I pray that you may at once come to this. Get firmly to believe that "the blood of Jesus Christ, God's dear Son, cleanseth us from all sin"; that His sacrifice is complete and fully accepted of God on man's behalf, so that he that believeth on Jesus is not condemned. Believe these truths as you believe any other statements; for the difference between common faith and saving faith lies mainly in the subjects upon which it is exercised. Believe the witness of God just as you believe the testimony of your own father or friend. "If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater."So far you have made an advance toward faith; only one more ingredient is needed to complete it, which is trust. Commit yourself to the merciful God; rest your hope on the gracious gospel; trust your soul on the dying and living Saviour; wash away your sins in the atoning blood; accept His perfect righteousness, and all is well. Trust is the lifeblood of faith; there is no saving faith without it. The Puritans were accustomed to explain faith by the word "recumbency." It meant leaning upon a thing. Lean with all your weight upon Christ. It would be a better illustration still if I said, fall at full length, and lie on the Rock of Ages. Cast yourself upon Jesus; rest in Him; commit yourself to Him. That done, you have exercised saving faith. Faith is not a blind thing; for faith begins with knowledge. It is not a speculative thing; for faith believes facts of which it is sure. It is not an unpractical, dreamy thing; for faith trusts, and stakes its destiny upon the truth of revelation. That is one way of describing what faith is.Let me try again. Faith is believing that Christ is what He is said to be, and that He will do what He has promised to do, and then to expect this of Him. The Scriptures speak of Jesus Christ as being God, God is human flesh; as being perfect in His character; as being made of a sin-offering on our behalf; as bearing our sins in His own body on the tree. The Scripture speaks of Him as having finished transgression, made an end of sin, and brought in everlasting righteousness. The sacred records further tell us that He "rose again from the dead," that He "ever liveth to make intercession for us," that He has gone up into the glory, and has taken possession of Heaven on the behalf of His people, and that He will shortly come again "to judge the world in righteousness, and his people with equity." We are most firmly to believe that it is even so; for this is the testimony of God the Father when He said, "This is my beloved Son; hear ye him." This also is testified by God the Holy Spirit; for the Spirit has borne witness to Christ, both in the inspired Word and by divers miracles, and by His working in the hearts of men. We are to believe this testimony to be true.Faith also believes that Christ will do what He has promised; that since He has promised to cast out none that come to Him, it is certain that He will not cast us out if we come to Him. Faith believes that since Jesus said, "The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everasting life, it must be true; and if we get this living Water from Christ it will abide in us, and will well up within us in streams of holy life. Whatever Christ has promised to do He will do, and we must believe this, so as to look for pardon, justification, preservation, and eternal glory from His hands, according as He has promised them to believers in Him.Then comes the next necessary step. Jesus is what He is said to be, Jesus will do what He says He will do; therefore we must each one trust Him, saying, "He will be to me what He says He is, and He will do to me what He has promised to do; I leave myself in the hands of Him who is appointed to save, that He may save me. I rest upon His promise that He will do even as He has said." This is a saving faith, and he that hath it hath everlasting life. Whatever his dangers and difficulties, whatever his darkness and depression, whatever his infirmities and sins, he that believeth thus on Christ Jesus is not condemned, and shall never come into condemnation.May that explanation be of some service! I trust it may be used by the Spirit of God to direct my reader into immediate peace. "Be not afraid; only believe." Trust, and be at rest.My fear is lest the reader should rest content with understanding what is to be done, and yet never do it. Better the poorest real faith actually at work, than the best ideal of it left in the region of speculation. The great matter is to believe on the Lord Jesus at once. Never mind distinctions and definitions. A hungry man eats though he does not understand the composition of his food, the anatomy of his mouth, or the process of digestion: he lives because he eats. Another far more clever person understands thoroughly the science of nutrition; but if he does not eat he will die, with all his knowledge. There are, no doubt, many at this hour in Hell who understood the doctrine of faith, but did not believe. On the other hand, not one who has trusted in the Lord Jesus has ever been cast out, though he may never have been able intelligently to define his faith. Oh dear reader, receive the Lord Jesus into your soul, and you shall live forever! "He that believeth in Him hath everlasting life."
Saturday, June 4, 2011
By Grace Through Faith - Ephesians 2:8
THINK IT WELL to turn a little to one side that I may ask my reader to observe adoringly the fountain-head of our salvation, which is the grace of God. "By grace are ye saved." Because God is gracious, therefore sinful men are forgiven, converted, purified, and saved. It is not because of anything in them, or that ever can be in them, that they are saved; but because of the boundless love, goodness, pity, compassion, mercy, and grace of God. Tarry a moment, then, at the well-head. Behold the pure river of water of life, as it proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb!What an abyss is the grace of God! Who can measure its breadth? Who can fathom its depth? Like all the rest of the divine attributes, it is infinite. God is full of love, for "God is love." God is full of goodness; the very name "God" is short for "good." Unbounded goodness and love enter into the very essence of the Godhead. It is because "his mercy endureth for ever" that men are not destroyed; because "his compassions fail not" that sinners are brought to Him and forgiven.Remember this; or you may fall into error by fixing your minds so much upon the faith which is the channel of salvation as to forget the grace which is the fountain and source even of faith itself. Faith is the work of God's grace in us. No man can say that Jesus is the Christ but by the Holy Ghost. "No man cometh unto me," saith Jesus, "except the Father which hath sent me draw him." So that faith, which is coming to Christ, is the result of divine drawing. Grace is the first and last moving cause of salvation; and faith, essential as it is, is only an important part of the machinery which grace employs. We are saved "through faith," but salvation is "by grace." Sound forth those words as with the archangel's trumpet: "By grace are ye saved." What glad tidings for the undeserving!Faith occupies the position of a channel or conduit pipe. Grace is the fountain and the stream; faith is the aqueduct along which the flood of mercy flows down to refresh the thirsty sons of men. It is a great pity when the aqueduct is broken. It is a sad sight to see around Rome the many noble aqueducts which no longer convey water into the city, because the arches are broken and the marvelous structures are in ruins. The aqueduct must be kept entire to convey the current; and, even so, faith must be true and sound, leading right up to God and coming right down to ourselves, that it may become a serviceable channel of mercy to our souls.Still, I again remind you that faith is only the channel or aqueduct, and not the fountainhead, and we must not look so much to it as to exalt it above the divine source of all blessing which lies in the grace of God. Never make a Christ out of your faith, nor think of as if it were the independent source of your salvation. Our life is found in "looking unto Jesus," not in looking to our own faith. By faith all things become possible to us; yet the power is not in the faith, but in the God upon whom faith relies. Grace is the powerful engine, and faith is the chain by which the carriage of the soul is attached to the great motive power. The righteousness of faith is not the moral excellence of faith, but the righteousness of Jesus Christ which faith grasps and appropriates. The peace within the soul is not derived from the contemplation of our own faith; but it comes to us from Him who is our peace, the hem of whose garment faith touches, and virtue comes out of Him into the soul.See then, dear friend, that the weakness of your faith will not destroy you. A trembling hand may receive a golden gift. The Lord's salvation can come to us though we have only faith as a grain of mustard seed. The power lies in the grace of God, and not in our faith. Great messages can be sent along slender wires, and the peace-giving witness of the Holy Spirit can reach the heart by means of a thread-like faith which seems almost unable to sustain its own weight. Think more of Him to whom you look than of the look itself. You must look away even from your own looking, and see nothing but Jesus, and the grace of God revealed in Him.
The Remedy for the Downcast and Disquieted Soul...Psalm 43
Vindicate me O God. And plead my cause against an ungodly nation. Deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man. For You are the God of my strength; Why do You cast me off? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?--Psalm 43:1-2
David is being accused unjustly, maligned and slandered and has been forced into exile. He asks God here to be his divine judge as well as his defense attorney. Literally it says, Judge me O God, and argue my case. What a difference it makes when we commit ourselves to Him who judges righteously. What a difference it makes when we know that the God of the Universe is on our side! What a difference it makes when we realize that He is our defender.
He is the God of our righteousness. When we are attacked or maligned by evil men, it is not our righteousness at stake..It is God's. His righteousness is imputed to us when we believe. He will defend it. The ungodly and unconverted cannot be expected to deal rightly with us. They hate God and therefore will hate His people.
God is our deliver always. We are no match for the ungodly, the deceitful and the unjust. When you are being slandered or misrepresented...when your good is spoken of as evil...when the people of the world persecute you because you name the name of Christ--Know this...He is on your side. The battle is His. The Lord will fight for you and wants you to hold your peace. He wants you to be still and know that He is God. (literally hands off) Don't get in His way. Wait on Him for strength and vindication. Don't fret...trust Him. The Bible says He delivers us because He delights in us! He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.
Now we may feel cast off for a time especially when we take our eyes off God and put them on people and circumstances. God, however, does not cast off His people. He who keeps you does not slumber, He will not allow your foot to be moved. We may feel oppressed and overwhelmed by what we are facing. It may seem that everyone and everything is against us. It may even at times cause us to doubt and lose hope. Often we will not understand why the unjust and deceitful seem to prevail, but God is the author of the trials we face. Go to Him...seek His wisdom...His explanation. Wait on Him and allow Him to be your strength. Know this also...God is working in your heart even in your darkest hour...especially in your darkest hour...for your good and His glory. Cling to His word and His promises. Psalm 42 verse 8 says this:
The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, And in the night His song shall be with me— A prayer to the God of my life.
He will command it. His lovingkindness will be with you daily and His song at night. Curl up and rest in Him...you may feel cast off but feelings are irrelevant. God will never leave you or forsake you. Psalm 94:14 says:
For the LORD will not cast off His people, Nor will He forsake His inheritance.
I love these next few verses.
"Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill. And to your tabernacle. Then I will go to the altar of God. To God my exceeding joy; And on the harp I will praise You, oh God, my God."
Where do I go when I feel this way...When the darkness begins to surround me...I go to the One in whom is no darkness at all. I cry out for Him to lead me by His light and His truth. I pray that His goodness and mercy also will follow me. Where do I want them to bring me? First, to His holy hill...and then to the tabernacle...and then to the altar of God and finally to Him...to God Himself. Nothing else will do...nothing will satisfy me but to be in His presence.
The last verse says it all...
Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.
Why do we feel cast down??? Why are our souls disquieted within us??? Here is why? We, like David, lose sight of God. Seeing Him and feeling the light of His countenance reminds us of what we have in Him. Whatever is happening now we can get through because He is with us. We see the end of the ungodly that are slandering us and persecuting us and our heart is grieved for them! They walk the narrow edge of a precipice. When their end comes, it is without remedy and beyond hope.
We forget that even in the face of the darkness we must shine our light for Him. We must not react like the world reacts when attacked. The people around us should see Jesus in our times of trial not us! Show them the One who was wounded for our transgressions and was bruised for our iniquity. Show them the One upon whom is the chastisement for our peace. Can we expect less than what He faced. Are we greater than our master??? Jesus washed the feet of His betrayer. He humbled Himself for those who were unworthy and unthankful...you and I...and died in our stead for our sins. Talking about these truths in your Christian life is great, but facing them and actually walking as Jesus walked is where the blessing lies. Truly, the sufferings we face in this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us...to the glory of an eternity in His presence. Downcast...no way! See all your suffering and sorrow and persecution as an opportunity from Him to shine His light and live for Him.
"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake."
Love
Mom
David is being accused unjustly, maligned and slandered and has been forced into exile. He asks God here to be his divine judge as well as his defense attorney. Literally it says, Judge me O God, and argue my case. What a difference it makes when we commit ourselves to Him who judges righteously. What a difference it makes when we know that the God of the Universe is on our side! What a difference it makes when we realize that He is our defender.
He is the God of our righteousness. When we are attacked or maligned by evil men, it is not our righteousness at stake..It is God's. His righteousness is imputed to us when we believe. He will defend it. The ungodly and unconverted cannot be expected to deal rightly with us. They hate God and therefore will hate His people.
God is our deliver always. We are no match for the ungodly, the deceitful and the unjust. When you are being slandered or misrepresented...when your good is spoken of as evil...when the people of the world persecute you because you name the name of Christ--Know this...He is on your side. The battle is His. The Lord will fight for you and wants you to hold your peace. He wants you to be still and know that He is God. (literally hands off) Don't get in His way. Wait on Him for strength and vindication. Don't fret...trust Him. The Bible says He delivers us because He delights in us! He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.
Now we may feel cast off for a time especially when we take our eyes off God and put them on people and circumstances. God, however, does not cast off His people. He who keeps you does not slumber, He will not allow your foot to be moved. We may feel oppressed and overwhelmed by what we are facing. It may seem that everyone and everything is against us. It may even at times cause us to doubt and lose hope. Often we will not understand why the unjust and deceitful seem to prevail, but God is the author of the trials we face. Go to Him...seek His wisdom...His explanation. Wait on Him and allow Him to be your strength. Know this also...God is working in your heart even in your darkest hour...especially in your darkest hour...for your good and His glory. Cling to His word and His promises. Psalm 42 verse 8 says this:
The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, And in the night His song shall be with me— A prayer to the God of my life.
He will command it. His lovingkindness will be with you daily and His song at night. Curl up and rest in Him...you may feel cast off but feelings are irrelevant. God will never leave you or forsake you. Psalm 94:14 says:
For the LORD will not cast off His people, Nor will He forsake His inheritance.
I love these next few verses.
"Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill. And to your tabernacle. Then I will go to the altar of God. To God my exceeding joy; And on the harp I will praise You, oh God, my God."
Where do I go when I feel this way...When the darkness begins to surround me...I go to the One in whom is no darkness at all. I cry out for Him to lead me by His light and His truth. I pray that His goodness and mercy also will follow me. Where do I want them to bring me? First, to His holy hill...and then to the tabernacle...and then to the altar of God and finally to Him...to God Himself. Nothing else will do...nothing will satisfy me but to be in His presence.
The last verse says it all...
Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.
Why do we feel cast down??? Why are our souls disquieted within us??? Here is why? We, like David, lose sight of God. Seeing Him and feeling the light of His countenance reminds us of what we have in Him. Whatever is happening now we can get through because He is with us. We see the end of the ungodly that are slandering us and persecuting us and our heart is grieved for them! They walk the narrow edge of a precipice. When their end comes, it is without remedy and beyond hope.
We forget that even in the face of the darkness we must shine our light for Him. We must not react like the world reacts when attacked. The people around us should see Jesus in our times of trial not us! Show them the One who was wounded for our transgressions and was bruised for our iniquity. Show them the One upon whom is the chastisement for our peace. Can we expect less than what He faced. Are we greater than our master??? Jesus washed the feet of His betrayer. He humbled Himself for those who were unworthy and unthankful...you and I...and died in our stead for our sins. Talking about these truths in your Christian life is great, but facing them and actually walking as Jesus walked is where the blessing lies. Truly, the sufferings we face in this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us...to the glory of an eternity in His presence. Downcast...no way! See all your suffering and sorrow and persecution as an opportunity from Him to shine His light and live for Him.
"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake."
Love
Mom
Thursday, June 2, 2011
For Thou Art With Me...
To My Sweet Daughters,
For You are with me...truly some of the most comforting words in Scripture. What sweetness is in this verse! What strength! What peace! He is with me...ALWAYS. In Him I live and move and have my being. When I am weak, He upholds me with His hand. He guides my path. He hears my cry and comforts me in my distress and supplies all of my needs. My God encompasses me with His love and shelters me under His wing.
One of my favorite memories as a child is when my mom would come in and lay with me until I went to sleep. When she was there, my mind was totally at peace...I can still remember how it felt. Totally protected and safe and secure. I can also remember feeling this same way when walking with my dad in the evening. His hand always held mine, and I knew I was safe. I crossed the street when he crossed...it would not have occurred to me to look first. It was safe and pleasant to walk with him...Just like it is safe and pleasant walking when we allow God to lead the way. I did not worry as a child where my dad was going or whether he knew the way home...I just enjoyed the moment and allowed him to lead. Allow the Lord to direct your steps, girls, as a loving parent guides a child.
Are you beginning to see why this verse is a favorite of mine. Thou art with me...causes me to rejoice and shout for joy. It reminds me I am His child. I have no worries or concerns. He will see me through and afterward receive me in glory! I have everything I need in Him...Perfect comfort and perfect peace. Absolute security!!!
Someday I will die and go to be with Him forever. There is no fear...He will be with me. He loves me with an everlasting love...there is nothing in death that can harm me. When I awake, I will see His face in righteousness; and will be satisfied when I awake in His likeness. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of one of His saints...He will be my guide even unto death. Even now as I go to bed, I will lay down and sleep in peace...He is with me...His eyes never shut.
May each one of you have this assurance always...listen now and hear His loving whisper...I am with you.
Love
Mom
For You are with me...truly some of the most comforting words in Scripture. What sweetness is in this verse! What strength! What peace! He is with me...ALWAYS. In Him I live and move and have my being. When I am weak, He upholds me with His hand. He guides my path. He hears my cry and comforts me in my distress and supplies all of my needs. My God encompasses me with His love and shelters me under His wing.
One of my favorite memories as a child is when my mom would come in and lay with me until I went to sleep. When she was there, my mind was totally at peace...I can still remember how it felt. Totally protected and safe and secure. I can also remember feeling this same way when walking with my dad in the evening. His hand always held mine, and I knew I was safe. I crossed the street when he crossed...it would not have occurred to me to look first. It was safe and pleasant to walk with him...Just like it is safe and pleasant walking when we allow God to lead the way. I did not worry as a child where my dad was going or whether he knew the way home...I just enjoyed the moment and allowed him to lead. Allow the Lord to direct your steps, girls, as a loving parent guides a child.
Are you beginning to see why this verse is a favorite of mine. Thou art with me...causes me to rejoice and shout for joy. It reminds me I am His child. I have no worries or concerns. He will see me through and afterward receive me in glory! I have everything I need in Him...Perfect comfort and perfect peace. Absolute security!!!
Someday I will die and go to be with Him forever. There is no fear...He will be with me. He loves me with an everlasting love...there is nothing in death that can harm me. When I awake, I will see His face in righteousness; and will be satisfied when I awake in His likeness. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of one of His saints...He will be my guide even unto death. Even now as I go to bed, I will lay down and sleep in peace...He is with me...His eyes never shut.
May each one of you have this assurance always...listen now and hear His loving whisper...I am with you.
Love
Mom
Triumphal Entry....
Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; and He said to them, "Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. And if anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it,' and immediately he will send it here." So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. But some of those who stood there said to them, "What are you doing, loosing the colt?" And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: "Hosanna! 'BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!' Blessed is the kingdom of our father David That comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve. --Mark 11:1-11
To My Sweet Daughters,
The day had arrived. Up until this time Jesus had resisted any attempts to pronounce Him as King. He had done His best to maintain a low profile. Often even in healing people, He told them to tell no one about it....His hour had not yet come. His "hour" was now upon Him. Jesus instructed His disciples on where to find a donkey so He could ride in to the city of Jerusalem according to the prophecy of Zechariah 9. Psalm 118 speaks also of this day. The day Daniel had prophesied about had arrived. It had been exactly 173,880 days since the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. The time had come!
Zechariah 9:9 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.
Psalm 118:24 This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Daniel 9:24-27 "Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy. "Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times. "And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate."
The following is an excerpt from a previous study I did that explains these verses in Daniel...
Daniel outlined seventy weeks of years. What is that you ask? Literally seventy sevens or 490 years that were coming prophetically. These begin with Artaxerxes declaration to restore and rebuild Jerusalem which was occurred on March 14, 445 B.C. After this he said there would be 69 weeks of years, which translates into 173,880 days to the coming of Messiah, the Prince. There are six messianic tasks that need to be accomplished according to Daniel 9:24:
1. to finish the transgression
2. to make an end of sins
3. to make reconciliation for iniquity
4. to bring in everlasting righteousness
5. to seal up vision and prophecy
6. to anoint the most Holy
These were fulfilled in Jesus. This prophecy is perhaps the greatest proof for Jesus as the Messiah.
Let's look at the math in those verses, also. There are many who have done the calculations. Sir Robert Anderson was one of them. He took into account the different calendars and discovered that 173,880 brings you to April 6, 32 A.D...which you know is the first Palm Sunday! This is the day that it is believed that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey offering Himself as the long awaited Jewish Messiah. Wow! Wow! Wow! After this, Daniel said the Messiah would be cut-off but not for Himself. This was the crucifixion where He was cut-off for our sins.
Daniel goes on from the middle of verse 26 to the end of the chapter and details the time of what is called Jacob's trouble. The Great Tribulation. He treated this as a separate time when God would judge the earth. Right now we are in the church age...the age of grace. The end is coming...the stage is already being set for the week that Daniel spoke of that would come upon the whole earth. Are you ready?
Love
Mom
To My Sweet Daughters,
The day had arrived. Up until this time Jesus had resisted any attempts to pronounce Him as King. He had done His best to maintain a low profile. Often even in healing people, He told them to tell no one about it....His hour had not yet come. His "hour" was now upon Him. Jesus instructed His disciples on where to find a donkey so He could ride in to the city of Jerusalem according to the prophecy of Zechariah 9. Psalm 118 speaks also of this day. The day Daniel had prophesied about had arrived. It had been exactly 173,880 days since the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. The time had come!
Zechariah 9:9 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.
Psalm 118:24 This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Daniel 9:24-27 "Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy. "Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times. "And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate."
The following is an excerpt from a previous study I did that explains these verses in Daniel...
Daniel outlined seventy weeks of years. What is that you ask? Literally seventy sevens or 490 years that were coming prophetically. These begin with Artaxerxes declaration to restore and rebuild Jerusalem which was occurred on March 14, 445 B.C. After this he said there would be 69 weeks of years, which translates into 173,880 days to the coming of Messiah, the Prince. There are six messianic tasks that need to be accomplished according to Daniel 9:24:
1. to finish the transgression
2. to make an end of sins
3. to make reconciliation for iniquity
4. to bring in everlasting righteousness
5. to seal up vision and prophecy
6. to anoint the most Holy
These were fulfilled in Jesus. This prophecy is perhaps the greatest proof for Jesus as the Messiah.
Let's look at the math in those verses, also. There are many who have done the calculations. Sir Robert Anderson was one of them. He took into account the different calendars and discovered that 173,880 brings you to April 6, 32 A.D...which you know is the first Palm Sunday! This is the day that it is believed that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey offering Himself as the long awaited Jewish Messiah. Wow! Wow! Wow! After this, Daniel said the Messiah would be cut-off but not for Himself. This was the crucifixion where He was cut-off for our sins.
Daniel goes on from the middle of verse 26 to the end of the chapter and details the time of what is called Jacob's trouble. The Great Tribulation. He treated this as a separate time when God would judge the earth. Right now we are in the church age...the age of grace. The end is coming...the stage is already being set for the week that Daniel spoke of that would come upon the whole earth. Are you ready?
Love
Mom
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Leaving All...And What Do I Get Out of It...
Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You." So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first."-- Mark 10:28-31
These verses are the last part of a section of Scripture where Jesus is speaking to the difficulty of salvation for someone who has much in this world. (see study on rich young ruler) When you have much here, you may not really be able to appreciate God's gift of grace in His Son. You are already fat and happy with what you have and tragically would rather give up God than your money or your possessions.
Peter sounds so much like us here when he says...Look, Lord..."see" we have left all and followed You. In effect Peter is saying, Lord, what is in it for me? What do I get out of it? Pretty sure this is not the heart attitude we are suppose to have in serving our Lord. It probably needs to be more like Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up." --Daniel 3:16-17
Our Lord wants us willing to give Him our all and when we are willing, He repays us one hundred fold both now and in the age to come. It may not be in the same way and it will be with persecution but repay us He will! (and remember we are to rejoice when we suffer for His sake...He works it all together for our good and His glory) He assures us in these verses that no one who follows him will ever lose or be without what is really important.
Truly, whatever He removes from our hearts and/or our lives, He replaces with more of Him. And here is the thing...at the beginning of a trial you may scream and yell...rant and rave about what the Lord is doing, but by the time the trial has run its course you find yourself thanking God for it because now you see your Lord more clearly and love Him more dearly! The thing that you once considered dear and valuable has become nothing in the light of Him. Girls, the riches we have in Christ are unfathomable. Patrick Henry said the following:
"I have now disposed of all my property to my family. There is one thing more I wish I could give them and that is faith in Jesus Christ. If they had that and I had not given them a single shilling, they would have been rich; and if they had not that, and I had given them all the world, they would be poor indeed."
If it were just rewards we received for following Jesus all of us would hop on the bandwagon. Look at the people that crowded around our Lord to be healed but shouted crucify Him a short time later. Jesus tests our hearts by allowing trials and persecutions to come our way. The church of Smyrna described in the Book of Revelation was called the persecuted church...Jesus had nothing bad to say about it. Why? I believe it was because there were only true believers in that church. Persecution had driven the false teachers, the hypocrites and the lukewarm out! The church was purified by persecution as are our own hearts when faced with suffering for Christ's sake. It is then that we are called to decide whom we will serve! Our choices speak volumes to the level of our faith.
You cannot outgive God. The more we give of ourselves, the more we receive...the more we have joy in this life and treasure stored up in the next.
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."--Jim Elliot
Love
Mom
These verses are the last part of a section of Scripture where Jesus is speaking to the difficulty of salvation for someone who has much in this world. (see study on rich young ruler) When you have much here, you may not really be able to appreciate God's gift of grace in His Son. You are already fat and happy with what you have and tragically would rather give up God than your money or your possessions.
Peter sounds so much like us here when he says...Look, Lord..."see" we have left all and followed You. In effect Peter is saying, Lord, what is in it for me? What do I get out of it? Pretty sure this is not the heart attitude we are suppose to have in serving our Lord. It probably needs to be more like Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up." --Daniel 3:16-17
Our Lord wants us willing to give Him our all and when we are willing, He repays us one hundred fold both now and in the age to come. It may not be in the same way and it will be with persecution but repay us He will! (and remember we are to rejoice when we suffer for His sake...He works it all together for our good and His glory) He assures us in these verses that no one who follows him will ever lose or be without what is really important.
Truly, whatever He removes from our hearts and/or our lives, He replaces with more of Him. And here is the thing...at the beginning of a trial you may scream and yell...rant and rave about what the Lord is doing, but by the time the trial has run its course you find yourself thanking God for it because now you see your Lord more clearly and love Him more dearly! The thing that you once considered dear and valuable has become nothing in the light of Him. Girls, the riches we have in Christ are unfathomable. Patrick Henry said the following:
"I have now disposed of all my property to my family. There is one thing more I wish I could give them and that is faith in Jesus Christ. If they had that and I had not given them a single shilling, they would have been rich; and if they had not that, and I had given them all the world, they would be poor indeed."
If it were just rewards we received for following Jesus all of us would hop on the bandwagon. Look at the people that crowded around our Lord to be healed but shouted crucify Him a short time later. Jesus tests our hearts by allowing trials and persecutions to come our way. The church of Smyrna described in the Book of Revelation was called the persecuted church...Jesus had nothing bad to say about it. Why? I believe it was because there were only true believers in that church. Persecution had driven the false teachers, the hypocrites and the lukewarm out! The church was purified by persecution as are our own hearts when faced with suffering for Christ's sake. It is then that we are called to decide whom we will serve! Our choices speak volumes to the level of our faith.
You cannot outgive God. The more we give of ourselves, the more we receive...the more we have joy in this life and treasure stored up in the next.
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."--Jim Elliot
Love
Mom
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
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...
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
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."
Monday, May 30, 2011
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
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
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
Sunday, May 29, 2011
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.
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
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
Saturday, May 28, 2011
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!'"
Friday, May 27, 2011
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
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
Thursday, May 26, 2011
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 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
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
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."
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."
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
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
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
Monday, May 23, 2011
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
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
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