Good Morning Everybody

 

But I will sing of Your power;
Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning;
For You have been my defense
And refuge in the day of my trouble.
Psalm 58:16

A Morning Prayer

O Lord and Maker of all things, from whose creative power the first light came forth, who looked upon the world's first morning and saw that it was good, I praise You for this light that now streams through my windows to rouse me to the life of another day.

I praise You for the life that stirs within me;
I praise You for the bright and beautiful world into which I go;
I praise You for earth and sea and sky, for scudding cloud and singing bird;
I praise You for the work You have given me to do;
I praise You for all that You have given me to fill my leisure hours;
I praise You for my friends;
I praise You for music and books and good company and all pure pleasures.
Amen
From Valley of Vision (Puritan Prayers)


Morning has broken, like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird
Praise for the singing, Praise for the morning
Praise for them springing, fresh from the Word!

Sweet the rain's new fall, sunlit from heaven
Like the first dewfall on the first grass.
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where His feet pass.

Mine is the sunlight! Mine is the morning
Born of the one light Eden saw play!
Praise with elation, praise every morning,
God's re-creation of the new day!
--Eleanor Farjeon

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord;
In the morning I will direct it to You,
And I will look up.
Psalm 5:3

A really good way to start a new day:

Lead on, O King eternal
We follow, not with fear,
For gladness breaks like morning
Wher-e'er Thy face appears!

Generosity - Thoughts From Charles Morris

                                          Generosity - Thoughts from Charles

"He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but he who is kind to the needy honors God" (Proverbs 14:31)

I love these thoughts from Charles Morris:

When we share our resources with others, it helps the other person.

But the Bible teaches there is something more going on, something vertical as well as horizontal.

How we treat others actually communicates glory to God.

God created all human beings, and therefore, when  we mistreat others we insult God.

We say to Him, 'Your creatures are not worth my effort.'

But when we show generosity we are telling Him through those acts that we value the things He has made.

They are worth our respect and investment.

Our generosity flows from a heart captivated by the generosity of our loving Savior.

He is generous to us, the needy, by providing a Savior to rebellious people, like we are, who can offer nothing in return but a heart filled with gratitude to Him.

                      As He has been to us, may we be to others...

.

Nothing can stop it!

The bright Morning Star
Heralds the advent of dawn
Nothing can stop it

The early morning sky these days is crystal clear. I find myself staring at the Morning Star and finding new meaning in its position.

Right now the horizon is just beginning to lighten, with shades of mauve and golden moving upward into the sky. (As Emily Dickinson says about the sunrise: 'a ribbon at a time.')

The Morning Star is still visible though and will be until dawn makes it glorious appearance.

A favorite childhood hymn comes to mind:

Near the cross, a trembling soul,
Love and mercy found me
There a Bright and Morning Star
Shed its beams around me.

To the church at Thyatira, John records God's message --to him who overcomes I will give the morning star. And at the end of The Revelation we see Christ Himself saying ...I am the bright Morning Star.

He is coming and He will herald the New Day of Creation.

And nothing will stop it!

An old hymn:

I was a seeker for light in a dark world

I looked for truth, but settled for lies

I had been blinded, I couldn't see

Till the Star of Bethlehem's sky opened my eyes.

I have seen the Light shining in the darkness

Bursting through the shadows, delivering the dawn

I have seen the Light whose holy name is Jesus

His kingdom is forever. He reigns on Heaven's throne!

It's the Morning Star that announces the coming of dawn.


It's Jesus Himself who will bring in the new day.

And nothing will stop it!

Even so, come quickly! Lord Jesus.

Isaiah 60:22: I am the LORD; in its time I will do this swiftly."

Before We Say Amen!

 

                                                   Before We Say Amen!

Notice how many heartfelt prayers in the Bible end with great exclamations of praise?

Maybe that's how we should end all our prayers....

A good example is Psalm 28

Here are verses 1 and 2:

     To You, LORD, I call; You are my Rock,

     Do not turn a deaf ear to me.

     For if You remain silent, I will be like  those who go down to the pit.

     Hear my cry for mercy as I call to You for help,

     as I lift up my hands toward Your Most Holy Place.

Then look at verses 6 and 7:

     Praise be to the LORD for He has heard my cry for mercy.

     The LORD is my strength and my shield

     My heart trusts in Him, and He helps me.

     My heart leaps for joy and with my song I praise Him.

Maybe that's the spirit in which we should end all our prayers!

Two familiar events

Moses and the Israelites come near the Promised Land

Moses sent 12 spies into Canaan to check out the area, to measure the enemy and gauge its power.

It was a reconnaissance mission. It's recorded for us in the Old Testament book of Numbers, chapter 13.

Ten of the returning spies were overwhelmed at the strength and stature of the Canaanites.

They reported that the land was indeed good and capable of producing much food. It was a land "flowing with milk and honey," as the LORD had said.

But, they said, "We cannot attack those people...they are stronger than we are. All the people we saw there are of great size."

The Canaanites appeared to be giants when compared to the Israelites, who seemed to shrink to mere grasshoppers.

The other two spies, Joshua and Caleb, said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can do it."

What was the difference?

Had they seen different things?

Both groups saw the land and both groups saw the giants.

But the ten focused on the giants in the land and lost sight of God's powerful Presence and His promises of victory.

They did not really see the kingdom God promised them. Fear and doubt clouded their vision.

All they could see were the giants.

Joshua and Caleb kept their eyes on God, and it was the Canaanites who seemed to shrink in size.

The giants got smaller and God loomed larger.

They really saw the kingdom God promised them.

So there they all stood - on the edge of the Promised Land.

Should they believe God and move forward, or trust their own eyes and give up?


Jesus talks to Nicodemus - Seeing and Entering

Hundreds of years later the Son of God Himself came to earth, in the body of a human being.

One night a leader named Nicodemus came to Him saying, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."

(The conversation is recorded for us in the New Testament Gospel of John, chapter 3.)

In reply, Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless He is born again."

A few moments later, Jesus said, "No one can enter the Kingdom of God unless He is born again."

So we can't even see the Kingdom of God unless we are born again with God's spirit.

And certainly we can't enter that Kingdom, if we can't even see it!


Seeing and Entering -
Or Not Seeing and Not Entering


So there stood the 12 spies, along with Moses and all of the Jews who had left Egypt -- most of them could not see the kingdom of God's promise right before their eyes!

They were blinded by doubt and lack of faith. They didn't want to trust God.

But Joshua and Caleb could see the kingdom before them, and they were allowed to enter.

The rest refused to see and so they could not enter.

A Deep Mystery

                                   A Deep Mystery

"This is a deep mystery, designed more for your enjoyment than for your understanding."

Does God sometimes say that to us? I'm thinking, "Yes, He does!"

In Deuteronomy 29:29 we read, "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and our children forever, that we may follow  all the words of this law."

Moses is speaking to the assembly of Israelites here. They are the survivors of the 40 years wilderness wanderings. They are refugees getting ready to enter the Promised Land and he wants to remind them of who they are -- the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, God's chosen, special people through which the redemption and restoration of the world will come.

He will be leaving them soon and this glorious information is vital for their survival and participation in God's grand Plan for the universe.

So God keeps some things secret, but reveals to us other things...why? So we will obey Him, Moses says!

My amazing great nephew used to discuss problems with me and I would try to explain how the world works. Often he would just shrug his shoulders and walk away saying, "It is a great mystery, Aunt Glorya!"

Yes, Carson, it is.

Psalm 25:14 tell us, "The LORD confides in those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them."

He confides in us -- amazing -- the God Creator of all the universe sometimes lets us in on His secrets! Watch for it!

Sometimes in our Bible study He will show us previously unseen insights from His Word and we know He is sending them especially for us at that moment! And so often it relates to reminding us how much He loves us!

What God does show us tantalizes us and makes us eager for more! And more is coming! It's already on the way!

Job tells his friends that what we see of God right now is just the outer fringes of His power. That we just hear whispers when He thunders!

God gives us glimpses of His glory and we yearn for more. Yes, more will come!

Remember the woman who reached for the hem of Jesus' garment and was healed with just that fragile touch of faith? A Bible teacher once told me, "When you reach the end of your rope, just reach for the hem of His garment!"

(And that always works!)

In His Image

 "Then God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish of the seas and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures'...So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God created He them; male and female He created them. God blessed them...It was on the sixth day." (Genesis 1:26-31)

Thank you, Father, for creating me in Your image. Thank You for giving me responsibility for and authority over Your Creation. Thank You for the Holy Spirit's power, filling me with the wisdom and strength I need to accomplish every task You have given me.

Because I am made in Your likeness, in everything I do or say, I want to be like You. I want to reflect more  and more who You are, in the way I live the life that You have given me.

Help me to respond in every situation -- every opportunity, every challenge, and every obstacle I face -- the way You have called me to.

Show me what to do and I'll do it!

Today and every day, I submit my mind, my will and my emotions to be governed by You. In every step I take, I want to be led by You.

You always have in mind what is best for me. Lord, I come from You and was made to be like You. I am Yours and I belong to You. With my whole heart, I want to be pleasing to You. I want to fulfill every one of Your plans and purposes for me.

In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen

Why did He choose them?

Reading in Mark, chapter 3, verses 13-15:

Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to Him those He wanted, and they came to Him. He appointed twelve--designating them apostles--that they might be with Him... 

I have read this passage many times -- but here is something that now penetrates my thick skull....that they might be with Him....


He selected those twelve because He wanted them to be with Him -- like friends.... 


When someone on Survivor wins a reward challenge, sometimes they can take someone to share the special reward with them. How do they choose? Alliances? Future strategy? A payback? A whim? Sometimes it turns out to be a really bad choice.


But Christ carefully chose those twelve. They are the ones He wanted to be close to.  Even Judas?


I would have probably chosen a few disciples with wealthy family connections  - to help us out when things were tight....or maybe someone well-liked and influential, to assure us that our message would fall on receptive ears - someone popular or a celebrity would certainly be an asset to our group.


Maybe someone who had political alliances, to use their influence should we need someone to intercede for us, should the need come.........but I can't imagine I would have chosen those twelve. Did Christ see something others did not see?


Maybe Christ chose them because He knew what they would become, not what they were at that moment. He could see further than we can.


The scripture says....that they might be with Him....It was more than strategy or political correctness.  He was looking for...could He mean that...friends?


I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends...you did not choose Me, but I chose you. John 15:15-16


I did not choose Him...He chose me.....for the same reason?

Short Thought from 2 Peter

Peter was always "bigger than life" and that's how most of us remember him. He was the one to jump into the water to reach Jesus first.  He was the first disciple to ask, "Lord, save me!"
He was the first to understand Who Jesus was.

In John 13 when Jesus was washing His disciples' feet, we read:

     He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, "Lord are You going to wash my feet?"

     Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I doing, but later you will understand."

     "No," said Peter, "You shall never wash my feet."

Jesus' answer?

     "Unless I wash you, you have no part of Me."

Peter's reply?

     "Then Lord, not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"

Peter always wanted more.....

And we all remember how Peter exclaimed, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will..." No one else made that bold claim.

But we know it came from a heart of courage and love.


These stories about Peter recorded in the gospels tell us a lot about Peter, and so tells us a lot about ourselves.

Peter's personality changed after the resurrection. He became a great preacher and his overwhelming character became more godly -- but when I look at 2 Peter, I can see some of the old Peter, especially in the opening verses:

     Simon Peter, a bond servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:

     Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God of Jesus Christ...


Paul also begins his letters with "Grace and Peace" -- (grace always precedes peace) -- but Peter writes that they "be multiplied."  He is the only way to word it that way. And he did it that way in both of his letters.

And in 2 Peter 1:8, when referring to the desired traits of a Christian -- virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love -- he says that they should be in "increasing measure," or "abundance" -- just having these traits is not enough, he says --  they should be gaining power in our lives.

     For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. (2 Peter 1:8-9)

Good verses to memorize. If I am developing the traits of a godly life, in increasing measure, my life and ministry will be more effective. And it is linked to my knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Knowing Him.

If I am not growing in these qualities, that means I have forgotten where I came from! (How could any of us ever forget? But I do!)

Every morning when we awake, every evening when we lie down, and throughout the day -- we need to remember where we came from and what He did about it!

If we get one lesson from Peter, I supposed it would be that we should always ask for more. As Paul said in Ephesians 3:20:  Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above what we ask or think.....that's our God!

Tradition tells us that Peter died an agonizing death, crucified upside down, in front of jeering crowds. He did not fall away.

Today martyrs around the world are suffering. This would be a good time to stop and pray, fast and pray, for the struggling (no, not struggling, the strong) Christians in Syria, Egypt, Iran, Indonesia, Korea -- Christians being tortured and killed right now for their faith. It's too much to comprehend. But Peter knew about it first-hand, as did most of our early Church leaders.

Pray for the persecuted church around the world --

What Does Holiness Do? Oswald Chambers

                                             

                                                     What Does Holiness Do?     

Words to ponder from Oswald Chambers -

"God is not some eternal-blessing machine for people to use, and He did not come to save us out of pity - He came to save us because He created us to be holy.

Atonement through the Cross of Christ means that God can put me back into perfect oneness with Himself through the death of Jesus Christ, without a trace of anything coming between us any longer.

Never tolerate, because of sympathy for yourself or others, any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God.

Holiness means absolute purity of your walk before Christ, the words coming out of your mouth and every thought in your mind -- placing every detail of your life under the scrutiny of God Himself.

Holiness is not simply what God gives me, but what God has given me that is being exhibited in my life."

             

Chesterton, Orthodoxy - - Memory

From Orthodoxy, by G. K. Chesterton, Chapter 4 ~~~~


     We have all read in scientific books, and indeed in romances, the story of the man who has forgotten his name.

     This man walks about the streets and can see and appreciate everything, only he cannot remember who he is.

     Well, every man is that man in the story. Every man has forgotten who he is.

      Man can understand the cosmos, but never the ego; the self is more distant than any star. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, but thou shalt not know thyself.

     We are all under the same mental calamity; we have all forgotten our names. We have all forgotten who we really are.

     All that we call common sense and rationality and practicality and positivism only means that for certain dead levels of our life, we forget that we have forgotten.

     All that we call spirit and art and ecstasy only means that for one awful moment we remember that we forgot.

~~~~~~~~~~~

I get re-reading those last two paragraphs....is there a more perfect description of our life in the 21st century?

C. S. Lewis wrote a lot about this same topic (It was Chesterton's writing that was so instrumental in bringing him to Christ -- actually sometimes it seems to me that they traveled on very similar roads in their spiritual journey -- ). Lewis often referred to that "yearning" and "longing" we all feel that something is missing -- that we are not really at home in the world, because, Lewis, recalls, we were not created or intended for this world! Blaise Pascal calls that emptiness inside a "God-shaped vacuum" that only He can fill. St. Augustine talked about our emptiness and restlessness that only ceases when we find our rest in Him.

At another time Chesterton wrote: We are homesick, even when we are at home.

It happens to us spontaneously...the cry of a bird, egrets circling in the sunlight, a great poem, a fine piece of porcelain, Bach's music, a rainbow, kittens tumbling in the garden, Puccini arias, sunset in the Texas sky  -- all kinds of experiences that awaken within our hearts that intense desire for more (we know deep down that this is not all there is!) -- for an encore -- and even then knowing it is just a glimpse of what we are missing...and what is yet to come!  An intense yearning to have everything put back to its proper place...

Even so come quickly, Lord Jesus!

My Own Coincidence Story!

A few weeks ago I was driving down our street and noticed a man standing in his driveway.  I had seen him a few times and we exchanged waves.

I was thinking I should go back and talk to him about Jesus, but was in somewhat of a hurry and dismissed the thought. After a couple of blocks I felt compelled to go back and talk to him! To not do so would be disobedience to the promptings of God's Spirit, so I turned around and went back.

He was still there. I drove in the driveway and opened the car window. He handed me his phone -- I saw on the screen the name and address of a local doctor and wondered if he needed a ride -- I asked him, but he didn't speak English! I questioned God -- "Why did You direct me here? Why did You bring me to someone I can't talk to?"

At that moment the front door opened and a young woman ran out and came toward me, "Are you Uber?" she asked. I said, "No." She asked, "Then why are you here?"

I didn't know what to say, but I have learned that when I don't know what to way, just telling the truth is a good idea. So I said "God sent me."

By this time she was just a few inches away -- her eyes brimmed bright with tears. She began sobbing. "Oh, I need to get back to God! I need to get back to God! He sent you here to help me! I need to get back to God!"

There was a sound behind me. Uber had arrived and the man got in that car.

She got in my car. We were both sobbing, and then laughing! I grabbed my Bible (and tissues) and talked to her about Jesus! She knew some things and now she is my sister in Christ and she has come back to God!

A coincidence? Or a God-appointment?

The dictionary defines coincidence as "A remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent causal connection."

What about never using that word ever again and just saying "God appointment" instead?

Coincidences?

Ever ask your friends to pray with you about something really specific and the prayer was answered, but one of your friends declared, "I think it was just a coincidence!"

Well, that has happened to me.  And I think, 'Well, he just doesn't know God my Father who loves me and listens to me! After all, He is my Father!'

Here's how Corrie ten Boom responded once: "All I know is when I pray, coincidences happen! When I don't pray, they don't happen"

Good answer!

Bible scholars tell me that the Hebrew language has no such word for "coincidence." That concept is not imaginable to them! There is no such word as a coincidence -- because there is no such event! They call this occasion, "God appointments" or "divine appointments."

I like that!

In Acts 8 w read about a God-appointment for Philip the evangelist. He is preaching to crowds in Samaria. Then an angel appeared and instructed him to leave and travel south to the desert road. Then the angel directed him to a chariot, where an important Ethiopian government official was sitting, reading the scroll of Isaiah. He needed some help understanding what he was reading. Philip obeyed God's appointment and showed him what it meant and how it related to Jesus  -- it was not a coincidence that he appeared,  and neither was the water they passed when the man asked if he could be baptized!

And in John 4 we read about Jesus leaving Judea and returning to Galilee. He  decided to go the short route through Samaria -- a really strange route for a Jew! Why did He  go that way? Because He had a God-appointment there at Jacob's well with a woman at noon...maybe she thought His being there was just a coincidence!

God is at work in your life right now preparing people for you to talk to, and preparing you to deliver His gospel message!  Bringing you together is not a coincidence -- it is a divine appointment! A God-appointment!

Be alert! Pay attention! Pray each morning for open eyes!

Peter understood. He tells us in 1 Peter 3:15 -- "In your heart revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope you have."

Always be ready to explain the miracle that happened in your heart - with gentleness, respect and humility!

Always be ready for those "coincidences!"

In the Presence of God - C S Lewis

Whenever we find that our religious life is making us feel that we are good--above all, that we are better than someone else--I think we may be sure that we are being acted on, not by God, but by the devil.

The real test of being in the presence of God is that you either forget about yourself altogether, or see yourself as a small, dirty object.

It is better to forget about yourself altogether.



C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

A Tree Replanted in Eden

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked

or stand in the way of the sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD

and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither.

Whatever he does prospers.

Not so the wicked!

They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment,

 nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

-- Psalm 1 (NIV)

Here is Psalm 1 from The Message:

How well God must like you--you don't hang out at Sin Saloon,

you don't slink along Dead-End Road,

you don't go to Smart-Mouth College.

Instead, you thrill to God's Word,

you chew on scripture day and night.

You're a tree replanted in Eden, bearing fresh fruit every month,

never dropping a leaf, always in blossom.

You're not at all like the wicked, who are mere windblown dust--

without defense in court, unfit company for innocent people.

God charts the road you take.

The road they take is Skid Row.

Now we can look at Revelation 22 to see the future --

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life,

as clear as crustal,

flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city.

 On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit,

yielding its fruit every month.

And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

What do I Need to Get Through This Day?

For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 

For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, 

 abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.

Psalm 86:4-5

Father,  what more do I need to get through this day! NOTHING!

Just knowing You are good, forgiving and merciful gives me the power to move forward with confidence and joy.

Nothing can separate me from Your love. 

I am one of those who call upon You.

I have so many regrets for my sins, but You constantly remind me of Your forgiveness.

Fill me with Your mercy now so that it will overflow from me into the lives of the other people I encounter today.

Help me to be to them as You have been to me.

In Christ's name I pray.

Amen.

The Revival in Wales

 

I am doing some research on a famous revival -- the revival in Wales 1904-5 -- dozens of books written about it, seminary classes devoted to teaching about it -- church history texts with many chapters written about it --  probably the most famous revival since Pentecost!

Likely started in a youth group -- over one hundred thousand people came to salvation in Christ in less than a year and peoples' lives dramatically changed forever!

As a result? Almost-empty bars were closed for lack of business!  Judges and attorneys reported that many courts were closed because of lack of law suits -- jails were emptied...general lack of criminal activity....and miners had to re-train their mules! 

Seriously! It was reported that most mules had been trained to respond to vulgar  commands and cursing! Repentant miners didn't want to use that language anymore and so the mules had  to be re-trained. Articles in newspapers gave helpful hints on how to re-train those 'stubborn" animals - really! The mules, and mulers, had to learn a new vocabulary!

We could probably use some new vocabulary these days! Let's pray for revival, but not just for the mulers!

We used to sing this revival hymn -- "I will pour water on him who is thirsty.  I will pour floods upon the dry ground - open your heart for the gift I am bringing -- While you are seeking Me I will be found!"

We are certainly dry and thirsty for Truth and Goodness these days!

A prayer for revival today: "Lord, please pour out Your living water upon us and through us. Let us be fountains everywhere we go. May Your light and joy that shines within us overflow and slip over into everyone we have contact with today! Revive us, O Lord!"

Scraps

Remnants and Scraps....

Remnants was a word my mother often used. To her, a remnant was a scrap or piece of cloth left over after the rest of the cloth had been used. Any small pieces left over after she made a dress or a shirt was to her, a remnant. It might be very small, if so she would save it to use in making a quilt. There were stacks of these small pieces, almost like yellow sticky memoes, all around her sewing area.

She was astonished, later in life, when she heard women talked about buying remnants from a fabric store to use in their quilts -- that was "cheating" to her. It wasn't really a quilt unless you used the left over scraps from something you had made yourself. How could any serious quilter use "new" scraps!

After she finished her quilts she could point to a colorful design and say, "That's the skirt I made for you when you were in junior high!" Or, "That was left over from the dress I made for Easter that year -- you remember, I wore that beautiful blue hat with it!" (My mother was a great one for wearing hats! The hat she was referring to was a blue "pillbox" hat - the kind we used to call
"Jackie Kennedy" hats.)

She showed me how flexible she was when, in 1986, she presented me with a quilt honoring the 150th birthday of Texas. It was all red, white and blue, with large stars and solid stripes to separate the sections. It was her own design.

We were both so proud of it -- and she admitted, without embarrassment, that she had had to buy the "remnants," or "scraps" from the fabric store to make it for me!

Well, it is not very often that we see fabric stores any more.....and few women wear hats....
Though Art's sister, Phyllis, who is visiting with us now with her husband Bob, and I went shopping this week and we both bought beautifully designed small white hats --with veils -- sort of "mini" hats that we can wear to church. So we are trying to revive the custom in some small way. And I hear that Patsy Parkey wore a large wonderful hat on Easter, but I didn't see it. Ruby wears hats, and sometimes Patrice.

Back to scraps....I have been thinking about remnants lately.

When Elijah moaned to God:

"I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have broken
down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only
one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."

God answered:

Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel--all whose knees have not bowed down to
Baal...

A remnant. And we are also a remnant.

From the time of Noah, the Bible tells us that the human race has been very sinful, but there has also been a righteous minority that God preserves.

Maybe it was a small group, as in Noah's time, when it was only 8 people. Maybe seven thousand. Many larger today in numbers. But God has not ever allowed His testimony to be completed purged.

The nation of Israel was never, as a whole, faithful to God. Only small families and groups remained true to Him. Isaiah mentions a "righteous remnant' dozens of times. Zephaniah predicted a time when "the remnant of Israel will not do unrighteousness, and speak no lies nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth" (Zephaniah 3:13).

The early Christians saw themselves as a remnant. And the early pilgrims coming to the new world often called themselves a remnant. In fact, the pilgrims on the Mayflower referred to themselves as Noah's family and the Mayflower as the ark.

Early founding fathers, Samuel Adams and others, referred to the righteous remnant God had taken from the old corrupt countries of Europe, rescued them, and brought them into a new world to begin a purer and holier society. Starting from scratch, as Noah did.

But when they used "remnant" it was not in reference to "scraps" and "left overs" -- it was
holy righteous people -- a people of value -- a people treasured by God. Not scraps, but jewels.

Today any small surviving group of people can be called a remnant. I guess that means us, too!
(And I guess women wearing hats are sort of a remnant, too! ...
Although wearing a hat does not make us a 'righteous remnant.')

Where is God when it hurts? Where are we? Notes from Philip Yancey

Where is God when it hurts? Where are we when it hurts? 

(40 days after Christ's resurrection, He ascended from earth back to His eternal heavenly glory...)

Dealing with Christ's Ascension back to His Glory....

Jesus knew that the world He left behind would include the poor, the hungry, the prisoners, the sick. The decrepit state of the world did not surprise Him.

He made plans to cope with it: a long-range plan and a short-range plan.

The long-range plan involves His return, in power and great glory, to straighten out planet earth.

The short-range plan means turning it over to the ones [us] who will ultimately usher in the liberation of the cosmos.

He ascended so we could take His place.

"Where is God when it hurts?" I have often asked. The answer is another question, "Where is the church when it hurts?"

That last question, of course, is the problem of history in a nutshell, and also the reason why I say the Ascension represents my greatest struggle of faith.

When Jesus departed, he left the keys of the kingdom in our fumbling hands.

The problem showed itself early on.

Commenting on the church in Corinth, Frederick Buechner writes, "They were in fact Christ's body, as Paul wrote to them here in one of his most enduring metaphors--Christ's eyes, ears, hands--but the way they were carrying on, that could only leave Christ bloodshot, ass-eared, all thumbs, to carry on God's work in a fallen world."

I could fill several pages with such colorful quotations, all of which underscore the risk involved in entrusting God's own reputation to the likes of us.


Unlike Jesus, we do not perfectly express the Word. We speak in garbled syntax, stuttering, mixing languages together, putting accent marks in wrong places.

When the world looks for Christ, it sees, like the cave-dwellers in Plato's allegory, only shadows created by the light, not the light itself.

Why don't we look more like the church Jesus described? Why does the body of Christ so faintly resemble Him?

If Jesus could foresee such disasters as the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Christian slave trade, apartheid, why did He ascend in the first place?

I cannot provide a confident answer to such questions, for I am part of the problem. Examined closely, my query takes on a distressingly personal cast: Why do I so poorly resemble Him?

How can one sinful man, myself, be accepted as a child of God? One miracle makes possible the other.

I remind myself that the apostle Paul's soaring words about the Bride of Christ and the temple of God were addressed to groups of hideously flawed individuals in places like Corinth.

"We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us," wrote Paul, in one of the most accurate statements ever penned.

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

[Note: You can read Paul's two letters to the flawed church in Corinth in the New Testament of your Bible - the letters are titled, not surprisingly, 1 and 2 Corinthians. For other examples, you can look around you at some of us other flawed sons and daughters of God!] 

An Unusual Battle!

                                  A Most Unusual Battle!

Don't miss this!

Read a truly remarkable chapter about a truly remarkable battle!

Read 2 Chronicles 20:1-30.

King Jehoshaphat of Judah is faced with a terrifying problem: multiple enemy armies are marching against them. They are surrounded -- no way to defend themselves -- catastrophe waiting!

What is his plan? Verses 12-13: "All the men of Judah with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the LORD." They cried, "we have no power to face this vast army...we do not know what to do. Our eyes are on You."

God told them they wouldn't need to fight. He simply asked them to take their positions and trust Him. "Go out and face them tomorrow and the LORD will be with you."

So that's what they did! They took their positions -- starting with a praise and worship team at the front of the army! Seriously! They sang praises and worshipped! And God set up ambushes against their enemies!

What would it look like to put worship in front of our battles?

This record reminds us that worship is not just a musical moment -- it is an act of war in the spiritual realm!

When we praise God in the middle of pain, fear and chaos, we are declaring "Our God is greater than this problem! He is greater than any catastrophe we face!"

Worship shifts our eyes from anxiety to assurance, from the emergency to His eternal power!

Heaven starts moving on our behalf when we choose to honor God and worship Him no matter what we face!

(Don't miss this extraordinary account - Read 2 Chronicles 20:1-30 again)

Are there battles you are facing now where God wants  you to stop and worship instead of organizing your strategy and gathering your troops?  

The Vilest Offender Who Truly Believes!

 A great hymn we used to sing - To God Be The Glory!

            Great things He has done! 

            So loved He the world that He gave us His Son! 

A truly joyful hymn of praise!

But right now I am singing this line from the second verse: 

          The vilest offender who truly believes, 

              that moment from Jesus a pardon receives!

That moment -- that moment -- no probation time -- no application to fill out and get signed -- no deposit -- no 10-day trial with money-back guarantee -- no internship required -- that moment!

  Remember the jailer in Acts 16? He asked Paul and Silas, "What must I do to be saved?" The answer: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved!" That moment!

And the thief at the cross? "Today you will be with Me in Paradise!" Now! Today! Not tomorrow!

Still the greatest mystery of all -- why does He care about us so much? Why did He first love us?

Everything important in life starts right then -- at that moment!

Nothing else is important -- everything is about that moment!

Have you experienced that moment? 

Have you started living -- really living?

What Worries Screwtape?

                              

                                                         What Worries Screwtape? 

C S Lewis wrote an engaging book about a high-ranking demon, named Screwtape, whose job it was to mentor new demons and make them productive agents for their boss, Satan.

In the book, which Lewis titled 'The Screwtape Letters,' we read these words written to Wormwood, a new recruit:

   Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a       human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy's will, looks out             upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks       why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.

These words are so compelling to me. I keep rereading them. I am deeply moved.

                                       I want to be that kind of Christian.  Like Jesus.

Don't you?

  

The Rule of Love - C S Lewis

                                           The Rule of Love - C S Lewis

"The rule of love for all of us is perfectly simple. Do not waste time bothering whether you 'love' your neighbor; act as if you did.

As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets: when you are behaving as if you loved someone you will presently come to love him. If you do him a good turn you will find yourself disliking him less."

Note: I have found this true in my own life. When I find myself offended by someone, if I begin praying for them I do find my attitude begins to change. I begin to think of them differently. And ever notice how Scripture tells us how to act, not how to feel? We are to 'rejoice', not 'feel happy'. To 'love' and 'forgive', not 'feel loving' and 'forgiving.' -- seems like the act always is to come first. We usually try to reverse the order -- apparently God's way is for us to express the act first -- sounds like the key is obedience.

Then He will take are of our feelings!

Today is a good day to start - act first! Obedience first!

Living NOW in the Light of Heaven - Randy Alcorn

Thinking About Heaven....

This beautiful selection--great for kids of all ages--comes from Randy Alcorn's Heaven for Kids:

I hope you'll think about it [Heaven] every day. Remember, the Bible says to "set your hearts" and to "set your minds on things above" (Colossians 3:1-2 NIV).

If we think of what God tells us about Heaven we won't fall for Satan's lies about it.

Listen to what Peter, one of Jesus' disciples, said about how we should live because we know we're going to Heaven

What holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along....We are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth He has promised, a world filled with God's righteousness.

And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in His sight.

And remember, the Lord's patience gives people time to be saved (2 Peter 3:11-15).

If we understand what "the new heavens and new earth" really means, we will certainly look forward to it. (And if we're not looking forward to it, that must mean we don't understand it.)

But notice Peter's emphasis on "what holy and godly lives" we should be living! He says that while we wait for our eternal future with God, we should "make every effort" to live a "pure and blameless" life.

Now is our opportunity to live for Jesus in a world where most people don't believe in Him. By obeying God's Word and not giving in to pressure to do wrong things, we please Jesus and prepare ourselves to live forever in heaven with Him.

These are truly words of wisdom, important for everyone, every day, everywhere in this world. Think of it, once we leave this life, we will never have another opportunity to offer this gift to God -- our obedience to "live for Jesus" in an ungodly culture!

It Will Be Worth It All!

                It Will Be Worth It All - When We See Jesus!

Romans 8:18, 24

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us...in this hope we are saved."

From Charles Spurgeon --

"Here is a precious truth for you, believer. You may be poor or suffering or unknown, but for your encouragement take a moment to review your calling. As surely as you are God's child today know surely all your trials will soon come to an end, and you shall be rich to an extent that is hard to imagine.

  Wait  a while and your weary head will wear the crown of glory. Do not bemoan your troubles, but rejoice that you will later be where no longer 'shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore.'

You are secure. The voice that called you at first shall call you again from earth to heaven, from death's dark gloom to heaven's unuttered splendors. 

The heart of Him that has justified you beats with infinite love for you. You will be with the glorified, where your portion is. You are only waiting here to be made ready for the inheritance, and with that done,  the wings of angels will carry you to the mount of peace and joy and blessedness, where...'Far from a world of grief and sin, with God eternally shut in, you shall rest forever and ever.'"

'Today you shall be with Me in Paradise,' Jesus told the man on the cross. Do you ever wonder if God will whisper those words to us as He brings us home?

My husband died 2 years ago this week. Did he hear those words? I think so....

Absurdity vs Obedience - being "All Ears" - Henri Nouwen

Listening and Standing - Thoughts from Henri Nouwen

"From all that I said about our worried, overfilled lives, it is clear that we are usually surrounded by so much outer noise that it is hard to truly hear God when he is speaking to us.

"We have often become deaf, unable to know when God calls us and unable to understand in which direction he calls us.

"Thus our lives have become absurd. In the word absurd we find the Latin word surdus, which means 'deaf.'

"A spiritual life requires discipline because we need to learn to listen to God, who constantly speaks but whom we seldom hear.

"When however, we learn to listen, our lives become obedient lives. The word obedient comes from the Latin word audire, which means 'listening.'

"A spiritual discipline is necessary in order to move slowly from an absurd to an obedient life, from a life filled with noisy worries to a life in which there is some free inner space where we can listen to our God and follow his guidance.

"Jesus' life was a life of obedience. He was always listening to the Father, always attentive to his voice, always alert for his directions. Jesus was "all ear." That is true prayer: being all ear for God.

"The core of all prayer is indeed listening, obediently standing in the presence of God."

This is from an article by Henri M. Nouwen titled Bringing Solitude into Our Lives.



I am trying to do this - finding an inner space that I can "clear out" all the distractions and listen for God's voice. Just as I was typing the last sentence: "The core of all prayer is indeed listening, obediently standing in the presence of God," I began to wonder about the wording. Standing didn't seem right. We are kneeling, right? Or sitting, but not standing.

Then I realized why, I think, he used standing. Because if we are obedient we need to be standing, ready to act. An obedient servant does not come into the presence of his boss and sit down...he remains standing, ready to act! To run that errand. To write that note. To make that call. A real servant is standing, ready to move immediately in obedience to the master's direction!

It's All About Resurrection - Puritan Prayer

Resurrection

O God of my Exodus
Great was the joy of Israel's
   sons, when Egypt died upon the shore
Far greater the joy when the Redeemer's foe lay
   crushed in the dust.

Jesus rides forth as the victor, conqueror of death,
   hell, and all opposing might.

He bursts the bands of death, tramples the powers of
    darkness down, and lives forever.


Adorable Redeemer,
   thou who was lifted up upon a cross
   have ascended into heaven.

Thou, who as a man of sorrows, was crowned with
   thorns art now as Lord if life wreathed with glory.

Once, no shames more deep than thine,
   no agony more bitter, no death more cruel

Now, no exaltation more high, no life more glorious,
    no advocate more effective.
Thou art in the triumph car leading captive thine
    enemies behind thee

What more could be done than thou hast done!
    Thy death is my life, thy resurrection my peace
    thy ascension my hope, thy prayers my comfort

     From The Valley of Vision, a Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions