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!

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?

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."

The eyes have it

It was an old hymn on my mind when I awakened this morning -- Open My Eyes That I May See. I remember singing it as a child in church. Curious about the author, it turns out to be a woman named Clara Scott, who wrote a number of hymns but this is the one that has had lasting popularity. She is also known as the first woman, and maybe only woman, to publish an anthology of hymns, around 1895, about the same time this hymn was written.

Remember Madame Guyon and her second way of approaching prayer -- Beholding the Lord or Waiting in His Presence ? -- I said that I hadn't been able to proceed with that pattern because I had so much trouble sitting quietly? Well, maybe the Lord gave me this hymn this morning to help, encourage, and challenge me.

Open my eyes that I may see
Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free.
Silently now I wait for Thee
Ready my God Thy will to see
Open my eyes, illumine me
Spirit Divine!

What first comes to mind, for me, is, of course, an historical event: when the archaeologist (Egyptologist), Howard Carter, discovered King Tut's ancient tomb, with its incredibly wealthy collection of gold artifacts. When he at least found the narrow stairway leading down to the burial chamber, he called over to the man who was sponsoring the expedition, Lord Carnarvon, to come down so he could be present when the chamber door was actually opened. The workmen began to push back the final debris to reveal the opening. Lord Carnarvon asked urgently, "Do you see anything" and Carter answered triumphantly, "Yes, wonderful things!"


I remember that sometimes when I read the Scripture -- YES, wonderful things are here!

Clara was probably thinking, not about King Tut, since that discovery was not until 1922 and she died in 1897, but Psalm 119:18. "Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law."

This verse is in the 3rd stanza of Psalm 119, the longest psalm in the Bible, and the longest chapter, with 176 verses. All are about God's Word and how it enables us to live victorious lives and bring honor and joy to God.

The ancient poet who wrote this Psalm uses various words in this stanza to describe God's Word: "law," "commands," "laws," "statutes," "decrees,"
"word," and finally "counselors." What a comforting thought: "Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors."

A counselor, when they us well, can direct us and advise us.
Our Counselor knows us thoroughly, inside and out. He knows what we need and is eager to give us good gifts, far more than Howard Carter was able to bring out of King Tut's tomb.

Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem, with the verses of each stanza begining with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet (22 letters). Each verse of this 3rd stanza begins with Gimel, the 3rd letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

King Tut's tomb contained the most lavish and beautiful artifacts ever found. They are, at various times, paraded to musuems all over the world for public admiration and astonishment.

But none of them compares to what we find in God's Word.

The word "open" used here is the same word that appears in the account of Balaam when the Lord opened his eyes to see the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn (Numbers 22:31).

It is not talking about physically opening the eyes. It refers to removing a veil, or covering. A miraculous revealing of something God wants us to see. Like when Jesus walked with the disciples on the road to Emmaus. "Their eyes were opened and they recognized Him" (Luke 24).

It doesn't mean the Word itself is veiled or unclear. It means our eyes of understanding are clouded with our earthly experiences and preconceived notions.
Our eyes are not focused on the revelation before us. We are distracted and we are truly suffering from 'attention deficiency.'

It takes the Holy Spirit's power to settle us down, focus our eyes and minds, and lead us to dig, really dig deep, like Howard Carter did at that ancient burial site, to uncover the wealth of joyful truths God has for us in His Word.

Open my ears that I may hear
Voices of truth Thou sendest clear
And while the wavenotes fall on my ear
Everything false will disappear.
Silently now I wait for Thee
Ready, my God, Thou will to see
Open my eyes, illumine me,
Spirit Divine!

And, finally,

Open my mouth and let me bear
Gladly the warm truth everywhere
Open my heart, and let me prepare
Love for Thy children everywhere.....

Jewels

Yes, He'll Come Back for Us!

The last few mornings the song that has awakened me is an old one -- one I haven't heard in years -- When He Cometh.

I looked for it in our church hymnal, but it was not included in that collection. But I did find it in another hymnal, and so re-read all the words:

When He cometh, when He cometh
To make up His jewels, all His jewels,
Precious jewels, His loved and His own.

CHORUS: Like the stars of the morning
His bright crown adorning
They shall shine in their beauty
Bright gems for His crown.

He will gather, He will gather
The gems for His kingdom
All the pure ones, all the bright ones
His loved and His own.

Little children, little children
Who love their Redeemer
Are the jewels, precious jewels,
His loved and His own.

God was so good to remind me of those words from my childhood. We ARE His jewels - His precious jewels. His loved and His own....Probably the writer of these words was thinking about Malachi 3:16-17:

Then they that feared the LORD spoke often to one another; and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the LORD and thought upon His name.

And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serverth him

Here is how the Amplified Bible states it:

And they shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, in that day when I publicly
recognize and openly declare them to be My jewels (My special possession, My
peculiar treasure). And I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him.

Remember the parable of the man who found the treasure in the field? How he hid it and then returned to buy the whole field? Usually we think of the field as being the world and we are looking in the field and come across the treasure. We give up all we have to buy the field and possess that treasure!

But wonder if the field is the world, but the One looking in the field is God Himself, searching for His treasure. And when He finds it He gives up all His has to possess that treasure -- which is us! And the everything He had to give up was His beloved Son --

It works that way, too!

I looked at the early morning sky today. We don't have as many early morning stars here as we do in the evenings. But in the beginning glow of the pre-dawn sunrise, that one star that was shining was very bright!


Venus is our "morning star" here on earth. In the heavenly kingdom, Jesus Himself is the Bright and Morning Star!

I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright and Morning Star. Revelation 22:16

I wonder about that book of remembrance mentioned in Malachi. Is that the "scroll written on both sides" mentioned in Revelation 5? The scroll no one could open and poor John wept, overcome with grief that no one could be found worthy to open the scroll.....and...

Then one of the elders said to me, 'Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals. Revelation 5:5

What we lose when we lose words

Here's a practical word we don't use anymore: fetch.

It means "to go and get and bring back" - that's what we mean when we ask our dog if she wants to play "Fetch."

We want her to chase the stick (or ball) and bring it back so she can chase it again!

It took us a while to get our dog to understand.

We would throw the ball and she would chase it, grab it, and then run the other direction. So we would have to chase her and retrieve the ball so we could throw it for her again.

We kept explaining the "rules" of fetch.

She seemed reluctant to play our way. And then we realized she probably just didn't want to play "fetch." She wanted to play "chase" -- as in "please chase me."

I remember mother asking me to "fetch" her an item from her sewing box or her Bible from the dining room table.

"Fetch" is a good word. There is no one-word synonym for it in the English language. We have to use a whole sentence to express the same thought - like go and get and bring to me.

What a waste! All those words to express what one word would express!

I don't know when fetch began disappearing from our language, but it is a great loss.

Another loss is the word "succour." It literally means "to run to the cry of a child," and was used to refer to "bringing help when it is needed."

The word is not used much any more, but I can remember reading it in the King James Bible -

     For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He
       is able to succour them that are tempted.  (Hebrews 2:18)
   
What a comforting thought! What relief it brings!

Because He suffered with temptation, we can count on Him to come to our aid - we, His children, cry
to Him and He helps us!

A child cannot help himself and so cries for assistance - for help in time of trouble.

That's what God wants us to do - cry out to Him!
Like David did throughout the Psalms!

My NIV translation of Hebrews 2:18 says this:

       Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted,
       He is able to help those who are being tempted.

And The Message paraphrases it this way:

        He would have already experienced it all Himself --
        all the pain, all the testing -- and would be able to
        help where help was needed.

You know, somehow, in all these new ways of expressing God's Word, and trying to help us 21st century Christians understand the ancient thoughts,
I miss the idea of "succour" - God's children - us -
crying out for His help and He comes running.

I love that thought - He is our Father and stands
ready to help us as we cry to Him -



Another thing I miss - do we often remember that Christ also "suffered" in resisting temptation? that
He experienced, not just the temptation, but also
the "suffering" and "pain" in dealing with it.



Don't we sometimes  foolishly reckon (another old word) that it was easy for Him? At least, a lot easier than it is for us?

I think it was harder, because He yearned to please His Father more ..... and the stakes were so much higher.....

Building Character

Watch your thoughts -- they become your words.

Watch your words--they become your actions.

Watch your actions--they become your habits.

Watch your habits--they become your character.

Watch your character--it becomes who you really are.

Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray.
He who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous.

1 John 3:7

...we obey His commands and do what pleases Him. And this is His command: to believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded. 1 John 3:22-23

The Kind of Prayer God Answers

On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their
voices together in prayer to God.

"Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the  earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against His anointed One.

"Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. Acts 4:23-30

It seems to us that sometimes God answers prayer and sometimes He doesn't. In this prayer it is clearly demonstrated that He did answer.


What is the kind of prayer God answers?

1. A prayer that is actually prayed

Verse 24: "When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God."
Pay attention to what is happening. Bro Mike reminded us of our participation in the National Day of Prayer last May. 

We laid aside our petitions, our promotions, our own comments and agendas and predetermined answers to important questions.... and our thoughts about what kind of government we need or want.

We just prayed. Together.

2. A Prayer that recognizes God for who He is.

Verse 24: Sovereign Lord, you made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them....

They were acknowledging God's authority over everything.

3. A Prayer that is guided by God's Word

v. 25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit....

I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11

God's word sparks our prayer. It prompts, informs and inspires us.

4. A Prayer that Recognizes God's sovereignty.

Verses 27-28 ....They [Herod and Pontius Pilate] did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.

God was in control -- in every detail.

5. A Prayer that seeks God's help to do God's Work.

Bro Mike talked about taking a 30-day inventory of our prayer life and see how much of our prayers center on us and our own needs and requests. Things to make our lives easier.

Verse 29: Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.

Remember what we signed up for. We are on assignment. We need to be in the right place at the right time to accomplish our assignments .

Bro Mike talked about going to Israel and seeing all the young men and women in uniform and carrying guns. They were on assignment. Bro Mike and his group were tourists - not in uniform and not carrying weapons.

Conclusion: Bro Mike referred again to how much our our prayers gravitate to our own stuff.

God is really interested in our prayer life. He is the Creator, the one at the beginning and the one at the end. We are in the middle -- along for the ride, at His invitation. We need to "buckle up."

This was a really great message for all of us. Bro Mike said he was himself challenged during his preparation to expand his prayer life to emphasize God's will and His word - not centering on His blessings to benefit himself.

I think just about all of us there were also challenged in the same way.

Do we lack faith? Or imagination? Dean Koontz

Surprising words from Dean Koontz:

Creation in all its ravishing beauty, with its infinite baroque embellishments and subtle charms, with all the wonders that it offers from both the Maker and the made, with all its velvet mystery and with all the joy we receive from those we love here, so enchants us that we lack the imagination, less than the faith, to envision an even more dazzling world beyond, and therefore even if we believe, we cling tenaciously to this existence, to sweet familiarity, fearful that all conceivable paradises will prove wanting by comparison.

                 From One Door Away From Heaven

They're All Around Us

We went with a friend today to TDECU to help her with some estate planning. A delightful woman named Leah assisted us. She led us over some hurdles in dealing with one of our friend's investment companies and we were so happy with the advice she gave.

Our friend stepped out to take a "cigarette" break and I asked Leah if she had ever smoked. She replied "Yes, indeed, I used to smoke, probably more than anyone you have ever met. And I drank vodka, large mugs, several times a day."

She elaborated. When she smoked she couldn't even take a shower without stopping in the middle for a cigarette break! (Yes, that is probably more than anyone else we know!). And she just couldn't stop drinking. What changed? Was it hard to stop?

Her answer, "Jesus!"

Here is her story: When she had been married about 6 years, and had 3 small children, she found out her husband was a cocaine addict and they lost everything they owned. She took the kids and left, without a place to stay, and she suddenly became a mother living on the streets. For a week she and the kids lived in her car. Each morning she took them to Bucc-ees to wash up for school and she for work. No one at work knew what was going on. At that time she was working at TDECU at one of the "answering call" desks.

She was desperate and didn't know where to turn. How long could she keep the kids with her if they were staying in the car? She was frantic.

One day a retired minister called in with questions about his account. She helped him, and at the end of the call he graciously thanked her for her help and asked, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Without thinking, she blurted out, "Yes, PRAY for me!" Then she told him the story...He asked her a question which surprised her. The question was "Have you ever asked Jesus Christ to take over your life? Have you put your trust in Him?"

No one had ever asked her that question.
He led her to accept the message of Christ's salvation there on the phone. She says, "Right there. In the middle of the room, with 40 people around me, I accepted Christ!"

He helped her take care of her immediate physical needs for herself and her children. Since then, she has moved back home with her mother. Her children are now 6, 7, and 13. They are doing well, and they love their grandmother. Leah studies the Bible daily. Her sister has become a Christian and her mother is now attending church. She is still in contact with that pastor, who lives in Angleton.

The chains of smoking and drinking? She says, "I didn't even realize I had quit. One day it just occurred to me that I hadn't had a cigarette or a drink in several weeks! I have not missed either one. I have never looked back."

Leah has a sparkling smile and eagerness to share the message of Christ. We prayed with her -- yes, right there, in her office at TDECU, where, after several promotions, she now handles investment questions.

What a blessing it was to talk with her -- to hear her testimony -- to see the photos of her with her children and her mother at happy events -- and we thanked God for changing her life.

She is now so wealthy! She has everything!

I just have one question....Why hadn't anyone ever asked her before about turning her life over to God? People like Leah are all around us.....

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good. These then are the things you should teach, encourage and rebuke with all authority. Titus 2:12-15

The Measure of It All

My mouth is filled with your praise,

declaring Your splendor all day long.

My mouth will tell of Your righteousness,

of Your salvation all day long,

though I know not its measure.

Psalm 71: 8, 15

I treasure these words. Did David write them?

All day long we can sing His praises - for His splendor, His righteousness and His salvation....

even though we know not its measure.

To measure means to determine the extent, dimensions, or capacity of something.

I wonder: will we ever know the measure of God's righteousness and salvation?

In the Bible there are examples of people seeing, sometimes in vision, glimpses of God's glory, or splendor.

(Splendor is a great word - comes from the Latin word meaning shining brilliance, magnificence, richness, and glory - conveys a sort of ethereal luminesce.)

Isaiah records:

     ....I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted,

     and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him

     were seraphs.. and they were calling to one another,

     'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty. The whole

     earth is filled with His glory.' At the sound of their

     voices the doorposts shook and the temple was filled with

     smoke.

Ezekiel describes:

    ...an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded

     with brilliant light...spread out above the heads of the

     living creatures was what looked like an expanse, sparkling

     like ice and awesome....above the expanse over their heads

     was what looked like a throne of sapphire and high above on

     the throne was a figure like that of a man...and brilliant light

     surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds

     in a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.

    This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the    

       LORD. When I saw it I fell face down. (Chapter 2)

Moses relates:

     Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders

     of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel, Under His feet

     was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as  

     the sky itself. (Exodus 24)

John tells us:

     At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne

     in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat

     there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow

     encircled the throne, resembling an emerald....(Revelation 4)

Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel and John saw glimpses of the

radiance of God - His vast splendor.

But they did not see its measure.

I find these biblical images hard to envision. I try.

But I don't have the same gasp of wonder and awe

that they did. I am not seeing it with the glorified

eyes that God gave them to see His radiance.

But I do know of something I can sort of imagine

about the glory of God - John saw it, too.

It is a wooden cross on a hill called Calvary.

When I see that vision in my mind, I, too, like Moses,

Isaiah and Ezekiel, fall down on my face in awe and wonder.

And, in spite of all they did see of God's splendor, they didn't see that picture of God's righteousness and salvation.

I see the cross, wear a cross, ponder the meaning of

the cross daily, and yet I still know not its measure.

Will I ever? Even in heaven?

Paul prayed:

     I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may

     have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how

     wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

     and to know this love that surpass knowledge -- that

     you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of

     God. (Ephesians 3:16-19)

And to the Romans he wrote:

    For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither

     angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,

     nor any power, neither height nor depth, nor anything else

     in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of

     God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

We can still praise Him all day every day for His splendor, righteousness and salvation --  even

though we know not its measure.

Maranatha, Lord Jesus, come in Your glory!

    

    

Christian and Hopeful Approach the River of Death

From Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan


Christian and Hopeful are journeying together and getting near the Celestial City, but first they must
pass through the River of Death.




Christian and Hopeful begin their last earthly journey.....

I saw when they awoke that they prepared to go up to the City.

However, the reflection of the sun upon the City, which was pure gold, was so extremely bright that they could not with the natural eye look directly upon it. They had to look through a glass made for that purpose.

As they went on they were met by two men in golden raiment whose faces shone like the light.

Christian asked the men to go along with them. They said they would, but added, "You must go on your own faith."

So I saw in my dream that they all went on together till they came in sight of the gate.

They come to the river....

Between them and the gate was a deep river, dark and cold, and there was no bridge.

At the sight of the river the pilgrims turned pale, and were silent. The two men said, "You must go through, or you will never get to the gate."

"Is there no other way?" they asked.

"Yes," said the men, "but since the foundation of the world
only two, Enoch and Elijah, have been permitted to go that way, nor shall any others ever be so permitted until Christ comes again."

Then they accepted the inevitable.


Crossing the fearful river....

Entering the water, Christian began to sink. He cried to his good friend Hopeful, "I sink in deep water, the billows go over my head; all His waves go over me."

"Be of good cheer," said Hopeful, "I feel the bottom, and it is good."

Then said Christian, "Ah! my friend, sorrows of death have surrounded me; and I shall never see that happy land."

Then an awful horror and darkness came over Christian so that he could not see what was before him. He could not quite remember or speak coherently of the good things he had enjoyed in the way of his pilgrimage. But what words he spoke indicated he had great fears of dying in that river before reaching the beautiful gate.

They that stood by perceived that he was troubled over sins he had committed, both before and after he became a pilgrim.


Hopeful holds on and brings them through....

Hopeful, therefore, had all he could do to keep his brother's head above water.

"Brother, I see the gate, and I see the saints standing by to receive us," he consoled Christian.

But Christian said, "It is you, it is you they wait for. Jesus Christ would have come to my rescue. But because of my sins He has brought me into this snare and left me," was his reply.

Then Hopeful said, "My brother, these troubles and distresses that you go through in these waters are no sign that God has forsaken you. They are sent to call to your mind that which you have received of His goodness, that you may trust Him in your distress."

Then Christian seriously reflected for a moment as Hopeful added these words, "Be of good cheer, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole."

Then Christian broke out in a strong voice, "Oh, I see Him again, and He is saying, "When thou passeth through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee...."

Then they both took courage. Soon Christian found ground to stand on, and the rest of the river was shallow.



They cross over the river...

Reaching the other side, on the bank of the river, they saw the two shining ones waiting for them.

When the pilgrims came out of the water, the two angles saluted them, saying, "We are ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation."

Now they went along together toward the gate. Though the City stood on a great high hill, the pilgrims went up the hill with perfect ease because of the two heavenly ones leading them by the arms and because their mortal garments had been left in the river.

When they drew near the gate, they were met by a company of the heavenly host, of whom, in introduction, the shining ones said, "These are the men who loved our Lord when in the world and left all for His service. He sent us to guide them Home, and we have brought them thus far, that they may  go in and see the King."

The heavenly host gave a joyous hallelujah, saying, "Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb."

Then also came out several of the King's trumpeters to welcome the pilgrims with heavenly music.

Then they walked on together to the gate and were admitted into the eternal City. They were given new costumes which shone like white gold. Then all the bells of Heaven rang out with joy, and one said, "Enter ye into the joys of thy Lord."

Then all the multitude sang out with loud voices: "Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the Throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever."


And so Christian and Hopeful arrived at their home.


Rev 21:18; Ps 73:4-5; Is 3:2; Heb 1:14; Heb 12:22-23; Rev. 21:1-4; Matt 5:12; I John 3:2; Jude 14-15, Rev 19:9; Rev 22:14.

How A Father Loves

 

                                                               How a Father Loves 

The Lord your God is in your midst; the Mighty One will save;

He will rejoice over you with gladness,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing.

Zephaniah 3:17    

I love this image! God, our loving Father, holding us, soothing us, calming us as we fret, whispering a lullabye, rejoicing in His love for us...."O how He Loves You and Me'!   

Short Thought of Comfort for Every Day

After His resurrection, when Christ appeared to Peter, He asked him, "Peter, do you love Me?" Peter said, "Yes, You know I love You!"

What I notice today is what Jesus didn't say. He didn't say, "Peter, will you deny again?" "Peter, will you fail Me again?"

What Jesus didn't say brings me great comfort.

The Meaning of History- James M Boice

Thoughts on redemption....



"But all are not to be redeemed. That is hard saying, yet it is the teaching of the Word of God.

... to make the Christian view of history complete  there must be added to the other doctrines already considered--creation, providence, revelation and redemption--the doctrine of God's final judgment at the end of history.

Christians express belief in this doctrine in the Apostles' Creed: "From thence [that is, heaven]
He [Christ] shall come to judge the quick and the dead."

In saying that Christ is to judge the dead as well as the living (the quick) the Creed is saying that in the ultimate analysis the meaning of history is not found only at the end of history -- as if everything had been building up to one final peak of accomplishment    which shall then be judged fit or not fit for glory.

The meaning of history is rather found in any given moment in the choice or choices made by any given individual no matter who that person is, where he nor she has come from, nor how important he or she may seem to be...

The important moment in history is always now."

  --From Foundations of the Christian Faith by
James Montgomery Boice.

Making Pleasure Displeasing - C S Lewis

When I was growing up, C. S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters was a big hit. Later he wrote so many more books that Screwtape's (Screwtape was a senior demon) letters to his trainee (Wormwood, a junior demon)) have been almost forgotten, at least neglected.

Narnia, Mere Christianity, Weight of Glory and Til We Have Faces are on most people's bookshelves. I don't see Screwtape much any more.

These "Letters" were among Lewis' earliest writings. He was still a relatively new Christian.

He describes Screwtape  as a demon who holds an administrative post in the bureaucracy ("Lowerarchy") of Hell. He is mentor to Wormwood, the new, inexperienced apprentice tempter.

Screwtape gives Wormwood detailed advice on various methods of undermining faith and promoting sin.

Here's Screwtape's letter to Wormwood about Pleasure:

Screwtape -- Hell's View of Pleasure

Never forget that when we are dealing with any pleasure in its healthy and satisfying form, we are, in a sense, on the Enemy's ground.

I know that we have won many a soul through pleasure. All the same, it is His invention, not ours. He made the pleasures: all of our research so far has not enabled us to produce one.

All we can do is to encourage the humans to take the pleasures which our Enemy has produced, at times, or in ways, or in degrees, which He has forbidden.

Hence we always try to work away from the natural condition of any pleasure to that in which it is least natural, least redolent of its Maker, and least pleasurable.

 An ever-increasing craving for an ever-diminishing pleasure is the formula. It is more certain; and it is better style. To get the man's soul and give him nothing in return--that is what really gladdens our Father's heart.
             
                                                             ***********************


Lewis includes a lot of doctrine and observations of human nature in these illuminating letters.

The world that Screwtape and Wormwood live in is a messed-up (or bent as Lewis would say) morally reversed world, in which greed and self-indulgence are seen as the greatest good. Neither demon is able to understand, or acknowledge, true virtue when he sees it.

Sounds like the same world we live in today!

In Uniform - Thoughts from Oswald Chambers

Thoughts from Oswald Chambers

O Lord, I would crave more and more to put on love like a garment, that in my contact with men that is what they will most lastingly recognize.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While He was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on His head. Mark 14:3

The characteristic of love is that it is spontaneous; it bursts up in extraordinary ways; it is never premeditated. The reason Jesus called Mary's act "a good work" was because it was wrought out of spontaneous love to Himself. It was neither useful nor her duty; it was an extravagant act for which no one else saw any occasion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Love is not blind; love sees a great deal more than the actual; it sees the ideal in the actual, consequently the actual is transfigured by the ideal. That is a different thing from "halo-slinging," which means you have your own idea about other people and expect them to live up to it, and then when they don't, you blame them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We have to dedicate ourselves to love, which means identifying ourselves with God's interests in other people, and God is interested in some funny people, viz., in you and me!

The First Gleam of Heaven - C S Lewis

                                        The First Gleam of Heaven - C S Lewis

Good advice from C S Lewis:

"To trust Him means, of course, trying  to do all that He says. There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you wouldn't take his advice.

Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him.

But trying in a new way, a  less worried way.

Not doing those things in order to be saved, but because God has begun to  save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions,  but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first gleam of heaven is already inside you."

                                        ---From Mere Christianity 

{At sunrise, we see the gleam first, and then the sun. There is never a sun without the gleam announcing its appearance!}

Psalm 29 - Part 6 - One more thing

The LORD gives strength to His people;

The LORD blesses His people with peace.

Psalm 29:11

Where are God's people during the storm?

   -- In the temple praising Him

Where are the angels?

   -- In heaven praising Him

Where is God?

   -- Enthroned as always, King of the Universe,

       Sovereign over all, in heaven

The flood of Noah's day was a flood of judgment.

God's people were rescued and safe in the Ark.

Is this psalm reminding us that there is a final storm

of judgment coming?

Is it warning us to get ready, using the thunderstorm as a powerful image?

The only ones who will be ready for judgment are God's people...the ones to whom He gives strength to withstand the storms and on whom He gives His peace...

The ones who have been rescued and found safety

in the hands of Christ.

We see a future judgment in Revelation, Chapter 19.

The scene is described by John:

     Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters, and peals of thunder, shouting:

    

          Hallelujah!

          For our Lord God Almighty reigns

          Let us rejoice and be glad

          And give Him glory!

     I saw heaven standing open and there before

     me was a white horse, whose rider is called

     Faithful and True. With justice he judges

     and makes war....

     He treads the wine press of the fury of the

     wrath of God Almighty.

     On his robe and on his thigh he has the name

     written:

                     King of Kings and Lord of Lords

The only ones who will be ready for judgment are God's people  - the ones to whom He has given His peace.

     Rejoice, the Lord is near...And the peace of God

     which transcends all understanding, will guard

     your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

                -- Philippians 4:5, 7

Another thought from Dr. Boice:

     Do you remember the words of the angels to the shepherds at the mid-night announcement of the birth of Jesus in Luke 2:14?

        Glory to God in the highest, and on earth

        peace to men on whom His favor rests....

     This in the very pattern of Psalm 29, as Franz Delitzsch noted more than a hundred years ago.

It begins with the angels giving praise to God in heaven: Gloria in excelsis.

And it ends with the blessing et in terra pax, that is, "Peace" to those on whom his favor rests.

And God blesses His people with peace