Holiday Harmony

 

                                                        Holiday Harmony 

"Live in harmony with one another...as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." (Romans 12:16, 18)

Sometimes the stress and busyness of the holidays bring out conflict, instead of the peace the season promises. We can feel discouraged and disappointed, feeling hurt and maybe even exaggerating the ways people hurt us or let us down.

Even family conflicts sometimes seem to accelerate. I know a family who has to have an exact seating chart to separate those who have difficulty getting along!

But on Christmas Day we can remember that we have peace with God.

Family peace, as well as international peace, always begins with God. When we are confident that we have eternal peace with the all-powerful Creator and Ruler of the Universe, it's easier to bear the heartache, insults, and criticism that others might display toward us.

Our natural state is frightened self-preservation, fueled by self-centered concerns. But when we know we are in the right relationship with God Himself, it's easier to handle our disappointments and discouragement.

Jesus paid the ultimate cost to give us the most valuable Christmas gift ever! If we have peace with God through faith in Christ, even when at odds with people around us, we can demonstrate to them the peace of God. Let's live in harmony with those around us today! This probably is a really good day to start spreading peace!

How We Come to the Manger

 

                                              How We Come to the Manger

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And the angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the  Lord shone around them and they were terrified...'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'" (Luke 2)

Sometimes we forget that those words of good news of great joy that came for all mankind were delivered to individuals. The word "you" appears four times  in these few verses.

God loves all mankind because He loves each! Don't ever think you are unimportant individually in God's great rescue plan.

Don't let yourself get lost in the crowd.

Remember Jesus tells us that He call us individually by name.

We come to the manger as we come to the cross......one by one!

Let's Celebrate Both!

                                                   

                                                                Let's Celebrate Both!

One of those Christmas carols that celebrate both the first and the second comings of Jesus and still popular today is titled, "There is Room in My Heart for Thee."

The first verse summarizes beautifully the scene where Mary and Joseph were shown to a stable, because there was no room for them in the inn, or guest house. No room for Jesus (or His family!)

But we can all today make room in our hearts to receive Him as Savior and Lord.

That's one of the great lessons of the Christmas story.

Here's the last verse: "When the heavens shall ring and her angels sing at Thy coming to victory, let Thy voice call me home saying, 'Yes, there is room! There is room at My side for thee!'" That's His Second Coming we are all so anxious to see!

There was always room at His side for us - for each of us, just as there was always room at the cross for us!

Our spot was reserved before creation and someday we will arrive to take that special place at His side! When He comes back to reign in glory we will be with Him!

What a wonderful hymn to sing at Christmas: to celebrate His birthday in that stable in Bethlehem and also His coronation and reign as King of Kings when He comes next time -- not to a stable but to a great Throne!

(By the way, that hymn/carol was written about 1850 by Emily Elliott, whose aunt, Charlotte Elliott, wrote "Just as I Am," a few years earlier.)

 Christmas is the best time to remember that the Baby Messiah who had no room to receive Him, made certain that we have a pace with Him secured forever! "I go to prepare a place for you," He tells us. What a great God we have!

When will we sing 'Joy to the World'?

                                       

                                              When Will We Sing 'Joy to the World'?

Enjoying thinking about other generations' thoughts about Christmas.

I am finding out how their celebration of God's Incarnation at Bethlehem was joined with celebration and anticipation of His Second Coming. And how many carols reflect that -- the first verse or two is about Bethlehem and the last verses celebrate His victorious future return.

Think about "It Came upon A Midnight Clear."  The first verse describes the angles' visit proclaiming the birth of the baby Jesus. The the last verse moves us forward to the future: "For lo! The days are hastening on, by prophets bards foretold, when with the ever circling years comes round the age of gold. When peace shall over all the earth its ancient splendors fling, and the whole world give back the song which now the angels sing."

From Bethlehem to the Millenium! Other carols paint the same picture.

And then there is "Joy to the World" which is completely about His Second coming! I remember hearing someone say once that that carol shouldn't be sung at Christmas  because it isn't about Bethlehem and Mary and Joseph at all - it's all about the future.

But that's the point -- our ancestors in their Christmas services intentionally celebrated both comings. What better way to celebrate Christmas than by joyously singing about His victorious return!

The first time He came in disguise, secretly, with no fanfare. But the next time He will come with His angelic army, publicly, seen by all, and all will bow down before Him in worship, either joyfully and eagerly, or with terror and fear.

I love the idea that our ancestors  celebrated both events at Christmas, and I want to experience Christmas that way also! So let's sing "Silent Night" and then "Joy to the World" -- so we can see the whole picture!

The first time He came in disgise

When God Speaks

 

When God Speaks

"In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory, the exact representation of His being." (Hebrews 1:1-2)

Back in Genesis, before we even thought to speak to Him, He turned His Face toward us and spoke to us.

(Remember Adam and Eve, after they sinned, did it even occur to them to approach God and ask forgiveness? No, they hid and He sought them out!)

And then He continued to speak to us, through His prophets, and then through His Son, and now through His Word.

Yes, He spoke to us before we ever even thought to speak to Him.

If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father," Jesus told His disciples.

And from 1 John 4:19, "We love Him because He first loved us."

God's rescue plan to bring us back to Him always starts with God Himself.

And aren't you glad He didn't wait for us to begin the conversation?

The Christmas Present - Past and Future

                    The Christmas Present - Past and Future

       

       1 Peter 1:10-12 

This salvation was something the prophets wanted to know more about. They prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you, even though they had many questions as to what it could all mean.

They wondered what the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when He told them in advance about Christ's suffering and His great glory afterward. They wondered when and to whom all this would happen.

They were told that these things would not happen during their lifetime, but many years later, during yours. And now this good news has been announced by those who preached to you in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.

It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.

      Revelation 5

Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders....the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song:

You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals,

because you were slain and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God and they will reign on the earth.

Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!

Christmas Day - What Jesus Did For Us - C S Lewis

 

                          What Jesus Did For Us

Taken from Mere Christianity by C S Lewis

What God did about us was this. The Second Person in God, the Son, became human Himself:  was born into the world as as an  actual man -- a real man of a particular height, with hair of a particular color, speaking a particular language. The Eternal Being, who knows everything and who created the whole universe, became  not only a man but (before that) a baby, and before that a fetus inside a Woman's body. If you want to get the hang of it, think how you would like to become a slug or a crab.

 A poem by George Herbert, written about 1600:

 The God of power, as He did ride

In His majestic glory

Resolved to light, and so one day,

He did descend, undressing all the way.

Who Wants to be a Slug? - Thoughts from C S Lewis

 

Thoughts on the Incarnation from C S Lewis

"The Second Person in God, the Son, became human Himself: was born into the world as an actual man -- a real man of a particular height, with hair of a particular color, speaking a particular language.

The Eternal Being, who knows everything and who has created the whole universe, became not only a man, but (before that) a baby, and before that a fetus inside a woman's body.

If you want to get the hand  of it, think how you would like to become a slug or a crab."

How God Speaks To Us!

 

How God Speaks To Us!

"In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us  by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe.

The Son is the radiance of God's glory, the exact representation of His being." (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Back in Genesis, before we even thought to speak to Him, He turned His Face toward us and spoke to us.

And then He continued to speak to us through His prophets and then through His Son, and now through His Word.

Yes, He spoke to us before we even thought to speak to Him!

"If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father," Jesus said. He is "the exact representation" of God.

And in 1 John 4:19, "We love Him because He first loved us."

And that's what Christmas is all about!

Wise Men Still Seek Him!

After the shepherds and the wise men received their summons to meet the Christ Child, they obeyed.

They journeyed to Bethlehem. They found the Savior.


They discovered that the words of the angel and the message of the star were not misleading. It was not a hoax!

God's Son had been born. Immanuel had arrived!

He was there for all who would leave what they were doing and come to Him.

That is also true today.

In our day people talk as if it were hard to find Christ, or act as if it were hard to find their way through the superstitions of religion to the truth about God.

What a terrible misunderstanding!

To talk like that is to suggest that God is lost and that it is up to us to find Him.

He is not lost nor is the truth lost.

We are the ones who are lost, and the difficulties are in us and not in either God or His gospel.

Do not say the truth cannot be found.

Jesus said, "I am the....truth" (John 14:6).

Jesus is presented in Scripture.

If you want to find Him, you must search the Scriptures.

As you do, pray:"God, I am not certain what the truth is concerning religious things. But I believe that if You exist and if Jesus Christ is truly Your Son and the Savior You have sent into the world, then You should be able to show this to me as I study the Bible.

If Jesus is the Savior, I want to find Him. If I do find Him, I promise to be His disciple and serve Him all my days."

Christmas - What about that curse?

Joy to the world!

A favorite carol of almost everybody - written by Isaac Watts, in 1719, the same year Robinson Crusoe was published and 13 years before George Washington was born. The melody we use was arranged from a composition  by George Frederick Handel.


Words we usually miss are:

No more let sin and sorrow grow

Nor thorns infest the ground

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found!

    What curse? And His blessing are to flow...as far as that curse is found...how far is the curse found?

Back to Genesis. Chapter 3

Cursed is the ground for your sake...through suffering shall you eat of it all the days of your life...  thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you...in the sweat of your face you shall eat bread...

     So the ground was cursed and would bring forth weeds among the food (and remember, those were days of vegetarian diets) and so producing crops would be harder and apparently there would be some physical change in man--he would perspire when he worked because it would be much more laborious to harvest food now. Maybe he wouldn't be as strong, either.


    We don't know all the details. God has just left us the outline of what happened when sin entered our glorious garden world.

     Looks like wherever man goes on this earth,  the curse is there. As civilizations spread out to seek new land they encountered (and brought with them) the curse.

     Does the curse go with man into space? Man, who is fed with food from a cursed earth and machinery that is built with items from the cursed earth -- even man himself..."For dust you are and to dust you will return...."

      I can remember when the two Voyagers left on their missions in 1977.

     For over 30 years they have plummeted into space, still going, still sending out messages and reports back to us....still searching for other life.


The Golden Records

     Remember the "Golden Record" that was placed on each Voyager?

     These records contained information from our planet, in case the rockets were intercepted by another civilization or perhaps landed on an alien place where life forms might find them.

      On the Records were things like sounds from earth (a wave crashing on a beach, a sound of wind, a waterfall, birds, whales, etc.) and sounds of human beings (baby's cry, a kiss) and music from around the world.

      The one thing it did not include, and certainly should have, was a "Warning" sign, with the words from Genesis 3. After all, shouldn't life forms through out the  universe know who they were dealing with? We are containers and generators of a curse - we are violent, selfish people who seek control and set out to hurt each other. The whole universe should be warned! Stay away from planet earth.

   "Open these doors at your own risk" it should say.

   But in the future Kingdom to come, what happens to that curse?


      And there shall be no more curse  (Revelation 22:3)

His blessing will flow...as far as the curse is found! Throughout the earth - throughout the universe!

Voyager 1 is now the farthest from the earth made-made object!

Christ's rule will dwarf that distance!

When the curse is removed,

all things will be made new for Christ's new kingdom.

P.S. I have seen copies of the material on these Golden Records. Carl Sagan selected the earth's sights and sounds that he felt should be included -- it is a total distortion of what life is really like here! (We were strange people in the 70's....we had great difficulty seeing reality...)There were pictures of interracial and trans cultural  families eating bountiful meals around the world... plates heaped with food...everyone happy and joyous....lots of crops and content, satisfied people. No scenes of war...none of hunger...none of prisons...no crime, no abortions...just happy people eating and playing with each other without a care in the world! What idiotic propaganda!

     You can go online and see what was on the record. Chuck Berry, but no Silent Night... no Amazing Grace....nothing spiritual.

     Perhaps one day in the far future, some unsuspecting life form will arrive here in their space ships, with one of those "Golden Records" in their "hands" and find out what we are really like - then sue us for false advertising!

    (It would be like booking a vacation trip to a leper colony!)

    

P.P.S. Isaac Watts based this wonderful song on Psalm 98, which is primarily about the 2nd coming of Christ, and which is also the main topic of his famous carol. So it will be more appropriately sung at Christ's return as King, not to celebrate His first coming as a suffering servant. Read Psalm 98 and check it out.


Joy to the World is not about the Nativity -- it's about the 2nd coming of Christ as King!

Even so come quickly, Lord Jesus!

He Makes and Will Make Room for US!

 

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2)

A popular and poignant verse.  ...because there was no room for them in the inn....no room for them....not just no room for the baby, but we usually only  think of that tiny, fragile life being laid in a manger, of all places!..because there was nothing else available.

But there was also no room for them...Christ's family. I am aware of it more this year than ever before. There is no room for Christ in our society, but also, there is no room for His family...for us....we are being crowded out, ignored, counted inconsequential, branded as unsophisticated and unlearned....counted inconsequential is perhaps the worse...not important enough to be considered...

That would really hurt if I didn't understand humankind and human history!

Heaven's arches rang when the angels sang,

Proclaiming Thy royal decree

But of lowly birth didst Thou come to earth

And in great humility....

The foxes found rest, and the birds their nest

In the shade of the forest tree;

But Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of  God...

In the deserts of Galilee...

When the heav'ns shall ring, and her choirs shall sing

At  Thy coming to victory,

Let Thy voice call me home, saying "Yes, there is room,

There is room at My side for thee."

WOW! Unbelievable! Incredible! Isn't that the best news you've ever heard?

heaven's arches rang when the angels sang...on that first Christmas morning... I wonder...how did the voices in the arches of heaven sound? Joyful? Confused? Amazed? Surprised?  Curious? Awe-full?

When did  the angels begin to grasp  the Father's intent...at the beginning? of everything? or not yet -- not until the end......?

Let Thy voice call me home, saying, "Yes there is room, there is room at My side for thee!"

My heart shall rejoice Lord Jesus, when You come and You call for me!

DOXOLOGY.....

Herod the Horrid - (Part 2)

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi (Matthew 2:16).


If Joseph is the model of goodness and mercy in the Christmas story, Herod is certainly the model of evil and cruelty.

It was a brutal world into which the little baby Jesus was born.


Some challenging thoughts from Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth Bailey:


"Those who lived in the Middle East across the second half of the twentieth century (including this author) experienced frequent warfare.

"In Lebanon, particularly, there were seven wars in a thirty-five year period. One lasted for seventeen years. Others were quick yet brutal. People saw friends and family killed by bullets and explosives and all the other horrors of modern war.

"How do people retain their faith under such conditions? One answer is that they remember both the Christmas story and the cross.

"A mindless, bloody atrocity took place at the birth of Jesus. After reading that story, the reader is not caught unawares by the human potential for terror that shows its ugly face again, on the cross.

"At the beginning of the Gospel and at its conclusion, Matthew presents pictures of the depth of evil that Jesus came to redeem.

"This story heightened the reader's awareness of the willingness on the part of God to expose Himself to the total vulnerability which is at the heart of the Incarnation.

"If the Gospel can flourish in a world that produces the slaughter of the innocents and the cross, the Gospel can flourish anywhere.

"From this awareness the readers of the Gospel in any age can take heart."

Herod the Horrid - (Part 1)

One of the stories recorded in the Christmas narrative involves Herod's rage when he realizes he has been tricked by the wise men and so orders the murder of all boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity, two years and under.


When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious and gave orders to kill all boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi  (Matthew 2:16).


The story is only recorded in Matthew, and it is sometimes purposely overlooked in all the peace and good will messages of the season. It is not a story that fits into pageants and nativity scenes very well.
Its brutal tones disturb us when we ponder "Joy to the World."

In church history the event is known as the "Slaughter of the Innocents."

Why was the story even included in Matthew's account?

Maybe to tie the remarkable historical connection between the birth of Moses and the birth of Jesus.  Two leaders were arriving on the world stage to lead their people from slavery into freedom.

Not a welcome thought for Pharaoh or Herod.

Or maybe to remind us that Jesus was born and lived in a cold, cruel, harsh world, and yet, in spite of that, a world that could and did receive and spread the gospel message of peace and joy.

A world not unlike the world of the 20th century and our own world today.

So what kind of a man who make such an order to murder infants and small children?

More About Herod....

Our information on Herod is brief, but the picture that emerges through the centuries is of a cruel, self-serving, arrogant leader.

His background was complex. He was an Arab, whose father was from a tribe in the southern part of the Holy Land called Idumea (Edom - where descendants of Esau settled and whose people refused to allow the Israelites to pass through their land after the Exodus many centuries before).

His mother was from Petra, which was the capital of an Arab kingdom in northern Arabia.

But Herod's religion was Jewish. A century earlier a Jewish ruler had conquered the Edomites and on threat of death forced them to become Jews. His grandfather, Antipater the Elder, was a provincial governor.

Culturally Herod was a Greek and Greek was his first language. His name was Greek and he was known for various attempts to turn Jerusalem into a Greek city.

Politically, Herod was a Roman. He always sided with Rome in any conflict.



He was a well-known military figure. He personally led his armies in ten major wars. One of the most famous was the war between Cleopatra and Antony against Octavian.

Herod chose to side with Antony against Octavian for control of the Roman Empire.

When Octavian won decisively, Herod showed his clever ingenuity by traveling to meet Octavian and gaining his attention.

It was a brilliant move. Octavian (who called himself Caesar Augustus) granted Herod an audience.

Herod boldly appeared without a crown and freely admitted he had helped Caesar's enemies. He even admitted his high regard for Antony and his loyalty to him.

Then he climaxed his audience  by saying, "What I ask you to consider is not whose friend, but what a good friend, I was."

Caesar did consider the words and told Herod to put his crown back on and to return to Palestine to rule!

It was down hill for Herod from there. He had ten marriages. He considered his sons to be political rivals and had two of his 'favorites' strangled in Samaria. He began to suspect his favorite wife, Mariamne, of disloyalty, and had her killed. Later he wandered helplessly through the palace halls calling her name and sending servants to find her. When they failed, he had them beaten.

He attempted suicide and the crown prince, who Herod had imprisoned, was released to assume leadership. Herod survived and killed that son also, and then died a few days later.

His last order was to command his troops to arrest thousands of notables from across the country and place them in a stadium in Jericho. Upon Herod's death, the notables were to be executed so that there  would be mourning in the land when the king died.

Herod knew only too well that no one would weep for him.

That order was not carried out.

But it does show us that as an old man Herod certainly had the capability of ordering the killing of the babies in Bethlehem, the act we have called "The Slaughter of the Innocents" in the Christmas story.


It was truly a brutal world into which Jesus was born, and Herod was a man of his times.

A fact we should not ignore. Because it looks more and more like our world today.

- For No Other Purpose - C. S. Lewis

The Church exists to draw men into Christ....


This is the whole of Christianity. There is nothing else.

It is so easy to get muddled about that. It is easy to think that the Church has a lot of different object--education, missions, building, holding services. Just as it is easy to think the State has a lot of different objects--military, political, economic, and what not.

But in a way things are much simpler than that. The State exists simply to promote and protect the ordinary happiness of human beings in this life. A husband and a wife chatting over a fire, a couple of friends having a game of darts in a pub, a man reading a book in his own room or digging in his own garden--that is what the State is there for.

And unless they are helping to increase and prolong and protect such moments, all the laws, parliaments, armies, courts, police, economics, etc. are simply a waste of time.

In the same way the Church exists for nothing else than to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose.

It is even doubtful, you know, whether the whole universe was created for any other purpose.

--from Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis

Miscellaneous Thoughts About Prayer

~~~~~From the venerable Rabbis:



Here is one of the Jewish blessings recited in their services after the Torah scroll has been read, tied and covered.

Blessed are You, Hashem, our God, King of the Universe, Rock of all eternities, Righteous in all generations, the trustworthy God, Who says and does, Who speaks and fulfills, all of Whose words are true and righteous. Trustworthy are You, Hashem, our God and trustworthy are Your words, not one of Your words is turned back to its origin unfulfilled for You are God, trustworthy and compassionate King. Blessed are You, Hashem, the God Who is trustworthy in all His word.

~~~~~From the Westminster Catechism:



Westminster Catechism Question 107:

Q. What does the conclusion of the Lord's Prayer teach us?
A. The conclusion of the Lord's Prayer, which is, For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever, Amen. teaches us to take our encouragements in prayer from God only [a], and in our prayers to praise Him, ascribing kingdom, power, and glory to Him [b]; and, in testimony of our desire, and assurance to be heard we say, Amen [c].

[a] Dan 9:4, 7-9, 16-19; Luke 18:1,7-8
[b] 1 Chron 29:10-13; 1 Tim 1:17; Rev 5:11-13
[c] 1 Co 14:16; Rev 22:20





~~~~~What we learn from Job, chapter 42

From the LORD to Job's 3 friends:

Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to my servant Job and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.

So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD commanded them: for the LORD had accepted Job.


And the LORD restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.



It appears Job did not know God would restore his losses until after he prayed for his friends. He acted first in obedience to pray for his friends, and then God restored His blessings on Job.

Is there a lesson here for us?


~~~~From George McDonald

Intercessory Prayer

And why should the good of anyone depend on the prayer of another? I can only answer with the return question, "Why should my love be powerless to help another?"

Going It Alone

If you were meant to go it alone then God wouldn't have put so many good people in your life.

Some to walk ahead of you to light the way, and some to walk beside you to hold your hand.

And some to walk behind you, learning from your example.

Some to encourage you when you're feeling down, and some to help lighten the load.

Some to simply shine a smile in the middle of a gloomy day.

Some to celebrate with you and rejoice in your success when good things come. Some to comfort you when life's hardships and troubles come knocking at your door.

Some to enter your life for a season and some to be your friend and companion on much of the journey.

Some to help you up, and some who will be lifted up by you. Some to give to you and some who will receive from you.

Some to annoy you, to test you, to challenge you, to frustrate you. Some to show you your measure of patience, kindness and gentleness.


All to travel with you on this amazing, adventurous, joyous journey called life.

Who Spoke First?

Who Spoke First?

When all the work Solomon had done for the temple of the LORD was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated--the silver and the gold and all the furnishing--and he placed them in the treasuries of God's temple....and all the men of Israel came together to the king at the time of the festival of the seventh month...(2 Chronicles 5:1-3)

All the work was done. The new glorious temple of the LORD was finished! It was the crowning achievement of Solomon's reign.

The bronze altar, the Sea standing on the 12 carved bulls, the special basins, the gold lamp stands, the gold sprinkling bowls, the bronze doors, the four hundred carved pomegranates...all the polished bronze ornaments. According to 2 Chronicles 4,"All these things that Solomon made amounted to so much that the weight of the bronze was not determined..."

And this didn't count all of David's treasures of gold and silver and precious stones that he had assembled during his reign. Not to mention the elaborate embroidered curtains.

1 Kings 7 tells us more, "The capitals of both pillars in the portico were in the shape of lilies...gold floral work and lamps and tongs....pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and censers... "


Such priceless elegance to show glory to Israel's God!

But something was missing!  Something else to bring in - the most important piece of all -- the one thing that had been with God's people, through their journeys from the days of Moses.

They were awaiting the arrival of the carved-in-stone commandments. The tablets that recorded the key obligations of Israel's covenant, the covenant that made Israel God's own special chosen people, and its divinely designed container, called the Ark of the Covenant.

And so they waited. At the Feast of Tabernacles, when the new temple was being dedicated, and as Solomon stood ready to commemorate the occasion, the Ark made its stately journey on its carrying poles from the part of Jerusalem called the City of David to the new temple.

Levites pass it to priests at the temple entrance, and they solemnly place the Ark of the Covenant, containing God's written Word, under the wings of the cherubim in the Most Holy Place.

Crowds fill the courtyard. The people sing and rejoice.

All the Levites who were musicians...stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets...
trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD...they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang:

    He is good; His love endures forever.
                 (2 Chronicles 5:12-13)

And then what happened?

Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God
(2 Chronicles 5:12-14).

The glory of the LORD overwhelms them!

So that exact space, in the Most Holy Place, then contained God's Written Word.  The Creator God, symbolized by the cherubim, invaded the space.


Those historical words, carved in stone, have shaped mankind's story for thousands of years. Simple words that even a child can memorize, quote and understand.

Placing the ark in the temple, in its designated place, reminds us for all eternity, that God Himself has spoken to His people before they ever opened their mouths to speak to Him.

Before we even thought to speak to Him, He turned His Face toward us and spoke to us.

And then He continued to speak to us, through His prophets, and through His Son.

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory, the exact representation of His being  (Hebrews 1:1-2).


He spoke to us before we ever even thought to speak to Him.

We love Him because He first loved us.

Our Part Of Divine Happiness - C S Lewis

 

                                                   Our Part of Divine Happiness

Thoughts from C S  Lewis From The Promise of Glory

"In the end that Face which is the delight or the terror of the universe must be turned upon each of us, either with one expression or with the other, either conferring glory inexpressible or inflicting shame that can never be cured or disguised...

It is written that we shall 'stand before Him,' shall appear, shall be inspected.

The promise of glory is the promise, almost incredible and possible only by the work of Christ, that some of us, that any of us who really chooses, shall actually survive that examination, shall find approval, shall please God...

To please God -- to be an ingredient in DIvine Happiness...to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but be delighted in as an artist delights in his work, or a father in his son. It seems impossible, but so it is..."

Astonishing truth! We can please God...we can contribute to His Divine Happiness!

The Hooker With Hope - From Brennan Manning

Mary Magdalene stands as a witness par excellence to the ragamuffin gospel.

On Good Friday she watched as the man she loved got blown away in the most brutal and dehumanizing fashion. The focus of her attention, however, was not on suffering, but the suffering Christ "who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

Never allow these words to be interpreted as allegory in the life of Magdalene.




The love of Jesus was a burning and divine reality to her: she would have been buried in history as some unknown hooker save for the Christ encounter.

She had no understanding of God, church, religion prayer, or ministry, except in terms of the Sacred Man who loved her and delivered Himself up for her.

The unique place that Magdalene occupies in the history  of discipleship owes not to her mysterious love for Jesus but to the miraculous transformation that His love wrought in her life.

She simply let herself be loved. The central truth for which Mary's life has come to stand is that is possible to be delivered through love from the lowest depths to the shining heights where God dwells.

   -- From The Ragamuffin Gospel, 
             by Brennan Manning, Chapter 11.

The Thing with Feathers -Emily Dickinson and R C Sproul

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all.

And sweetest in the gale is heard,

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.

  -- By Emily Dickinson

One of my best remembered poems from high school literature class.

Hope perches in the soul - not flies over, migrating to search for another home - it can always sing (hum?) the tune, even when the words are forgotten - and never stops at all.....

From R C Sproul:

Though he slay me, I will hope in him (Job 13:15).

Scripture says the just shall live by faith, which doesn't mean believing something when you're not sure if it's true.

It means that the just shall live by trusting God.

Paul distills the essence of the Christian life when he says, "Rejoice in your hope" (Romans 5:2), since our joy is vested in the future that God promises for His people.

Our joy as strangers and sojourners in this valley of tears is that God has prepared a place for us -- a better world that will be consummated at Christ's return.

Paul's use of the word hope isn't the way we use the term today to refer to things that are uncertain.

He and the other biblical authors talk about hope that is certain, hope that cannot fail, and hope that will not disappoint or embarrass us.

The New Testament calls hope the anchor of the soul.

Why? What is it that makes it certain?

The answer is God's sure promises and the demonstration of His faithfulness in the history of Israel, in the lives of the Apostles, and most clearly, in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. Romans 5:5

Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath.

God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged.

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.

Hebrews 6:17-19



God's Shining Face

The LORD said to Moses, tell Aaron and his sons, 'This is how you are to bless the Israelites: say to them:

'"The LORD bless you and keep you;

 the LORD make His face to shine upon you

and be gracious to you.

The LORD turn His face toward you

and give you peace.'"

Numbers 6:22-26

Ancient words. 

Familiar words.

This morning's prayer: LORD, let me read these words as if for the first time.

A shining face is the opposite of an angry, glaring face.

Someone might look at me with disgust or hatred.

Or indifference.

A shining face shows favor, friendliness, and eagerness to speak and share intimate fellowship.

A shining face is a welcoming face.

A shining face displays joy in closeness.

God's shining face shows His love and grace toward us, His creatures.

I might say to someone, 'God bless you!'

I mean 'God bless you in your activity. Make your day successful.'

But this Aaronic blessing is so much more.

God wants His people to have a close, joyous, gracious personal relationship with Himself.

It's His shining face He wants us turn to us.

Is that the greatest miracle of all?

We can stand up straight and tall in His Presence,

feeling the warmth of His Love-Light shining upon us, as we bask in His closeness.

I love these ancient words. I'm afraid I had forgotten their centrality to our faith.

Remember the old hymn, Lead On, O King Eternal?

Lead on, O King Eternal, we follow,

 not with fears;

For gladness breaks like morning,

where'er Your Face appears....

God's shining Face is a golden theme in scripture, appearing dozens of times, reminding us we can enter His Presence with boldness, because He has turned His shining Face on us.

Is this the greatest miracle of all?

Maybe we shall greet each other with these words every day.....

The LORD bless you and keep you;

The LORD make His Face to shine upon you

and be gracious to you.

The LORD turn His Face toward you

and give you peace.

My peace I give you, said the Lord Jesus.

Jesus' Best Day - Philip Yancey

                                            

                                           Jesus' Best Day

     When Jesus returned after death to vaporize all doubts among the remnant of believers, he tarried a mere forty days before vanishing for good. The time between Resurrection and Ascension was an interlude, nothing more.

     If Easter Sunday was the most exciting day of the disciples' lives, for Jesus it was probably the day of Ascension.  He, the Creator, who had descended so far and given up so much, was now heading home.

    Like a soldier returning across the ocean from a long and bloody war. Like an astronaut shedding his spacesuit to gulp the familiar atmosphere of earth. Home at last.

     Jesus' prayer at the Last Supper with his disciples reveals something of this point of view. "I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do," Jesus prayed. "And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began."

     Before the world began! Like an old man reminiscing--no, like the ageless God reminiscing--Jesus, who sat in a stuffy room in Jerusalem, was letting his mind wonder back to a time before the Milky Way and Andromeda.

     On an earthly night dark with fear and menace, Jesus was making preparation to return home, to assume again the glory he had set aside.

     ---From The Jesus I Never Knew, by Philip Yancey