From An Old Monk

                                             From An Old Monk

I'm reading a great book: "On Loving God" by Bernard of Clairvaux, who lived about 900 years ago.

We often think of those ancient saints as being rigid and austere. And we are often wrong. He is loving and joyous in his faith and  displays that in his writing.

He also wrote one of my favorite hymns: "Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee."

Here are some of the lines:

   Jesus, the very thought of Thee, with sweetness fills my breast.
   But sweeter  still Thy face to see, and in Thy presence rest.

   O hope of every contrite heart, O joy of all the meek
   To those who fall how kind Thou art, how good to all who seek!

   But what of those who find? Ah, this no pen or tongue can show
   The love of Jesus,  what it is, none but His loved ones know!

Sort of reminds me of a more modern hymn, "And He walks
with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own...
And the joy we share  as we tarry there, none other has ever known."

We can magnify the Lord!

For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance

through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ

according to my earnest expectation and hope

that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness,

as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body,

whether by life or by death.

Philippians 1:19-20 (NKJV)

In the preceding verses we read Paul's initial evaluation of his imprisonment -- in verses 12 and 13 he says that his

trials have served to advance the gospel, even throughout the palace guard...that he is in chains for Christ. 

And in verse 14 he says his boldness to preach the gospel has encouraged other Christians to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.

So because of his imprisonment the gospel has been spread and other Christians have been strengthened.

Not only that, in verses 19-20 he declares it is his earnest expectation that Christ will be magnified in his ordeal.

Earnest expectation conveys the meaning of watching for something so intently that one's head is turned away from everything else.

So here he is in prison in Rome, sort of a house arrest, because he is allowed to have visitors. But he is chained, day and night, to the guards, and unable to move about.

His upcoming trial could likely lead to his condemnation as a traitor to Rome and to his execution.

But, because he is single-minded -- desiring only God's glory -- he faces his circumstances fearlessly and joyfully.

Nothing else matters to Paul - except God!

But can we really magnify God?

O magnify the LORD with me, let us exalt His Name together, we read in Psalm 34:3.

Does God need to be magnified? Isn't He already bigger than anything else?

How can we mere human being make God bigger?

Well, what is a telescope? The Latin root word, telescopium,

means seeing from a distance. The instrument we call a telescope is used to make distant objects, such as stars, appear closer, and consequently appear larger.

The stars are huge objects, much larger than our largest telescopes, and yet the tiny instrument makes them look larger because it makes them appear closer!

A believer's body serves this same purpose. We are to be telescopes that bring Jesus Christ close to people.

To most people Jesus is a misty figure who lived many years ago, if they think about Him at all.

But when they watch Christians going through crises, they can see Jesus magnified and brought much closer.

The persecuted Christians  throughout the world today are making Jesus bigger and closer to all of us!

I am wearing a T-shirt from Voice of the Martyrs that has a large read Arabic letter on the front - a letter that stands for "Nazarene." This symbol is today being spray-painted on the homes and businesses of Christians in Iraq to single them out for persecution and death, much as the Jews in Nazi Germany were singled out.

As I wear this T-shirt, I am able to tell people about the plight of the persecuted church all over the world.

And I can focus on their trials and pray for them, and like Paul mentioned, I feel strengthened.

Hopefully, I am able to bring Jesus closer to the people I talk to. I would like to think I am glorifying and magnifying Him.

Anyway we do it, our task is to bring God closer!

Paul was not afraid of life or death. Either way, he wanted to use his body to magnify Christ.

Every Moment Counts!

I was just thinking about the calendar. 

We are about 3 weeks since December 22 -- the shortest day of the year. So the days are getting longer as we head toward the summer solstice --June 22 -- the longest day of the year. 

How much longer is today than yesterday? How much longer will tomorrow be?

I researched it -- just ONE MINUTE! True, the days are getting only one minute longer! Not even noticeable. Hardly even worth counting.

On the other hand, in 90 days, on March 22 --  the first day of spring -- that day will be 90 minutes longer. That's an hour and a half! And till June 22  - the first day of summer -- that's 3 hours!

What a huge difference a minute a day makes!

Maybe we don't take minutes seriously enough.

A song we used to sing:

   "Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee. Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of Thy love...Take my voice and let me sing, always, only for my King....Take my moments and my days -- let them flow in ceaseless praise! Let them flow in ceaseless praise!"

Life's moments....how long does it take to text a verse or prayer to someone who needs encouragement? Or call a lonely friend? Or drop by the nursing home to say hello? Or sing our own song of praise and worship to our Lord and Savior? Or send a message of love and thank you to one of our pastors?

After all, all our time belongs to God anyway; we are just stewards.

Investing a minute a day can add up to a wonderful treasure chest of praising God through loving acts of kindness and goodness.

Our moments....Let them flow in ceaseless praise!

(Is it too late to make New Year's Resolutions? I think I need to start thinking differently about time!)

P.S. That sentence..."Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of Thy love"....I love that picture! Spontaneous acts exhibiting God's love to all around us....

He hasn't lost one yet!

"To whom will you compare Me, or who is My equal?" says the Holy One.

The Prophet Isaiah says......

Lift your eyes and look to the heavens; who created all these?

He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name.

Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.

Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain,  Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God"?

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles, they will walk and not faint.                  ---Isaiah 40:25-31

What Einstein Considered

 

                                                    What Einstein Considered

Einstein once observed that there are two different ways of thinking about our world. One way is to consider nothing as a miracle. And the other way is to consider everything as a miracle!

He chose the second option.

And so do I.

In Genesis we are told that when God created our world and all its amazing creatures, He pronounced everything "good." -- not OK or adequate or acceptable or interesting, but GOOD! Their creation bought Him pleasure.

Psalm 104 says,  "How many are your works, LORD! In wisdom You made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures."

Witnessing His creation causes us to bow in worship and adoration! There are 5,000 known species of sponges on the ocean floor. Over 300,000 species of beetles! Multitudes of different flowers, trees, and birds.

Some are enchantingly beautiful and others are enchantingly odd. They reveal the unsearchable wealth of God's creativity, His love of beauty and color and variety even His sense of humor!

And "in wisdom He made them all."  Its an invitation to us to stop and observe, marvel and explore and worship every day!

Lord, Your word tells us that Your creatures display Your existence and greatness. Open my eyes and ears today as I walk about in Your World -- help me see more about You. "In reason's ear they all rejoice, and utter forth in glorious voice, Forever singing as they shine, 'The hand that made us is divine!'"

Who Really Knew God Best? (Part 2)

Now here's another one who really knew God well: Jonah!



When the king of Nineveh and his people repented of their sin, God had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction He had threatened (Jonah 3).

But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry at God when their Assyrian enemies were forgiven.

Listen to these words of this runaway, disobedient prophet:

He prayed to the LORD:

"O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity." (Jonah 4)


Jonah knew God really well - that he was forgiving and full of mercy.

He knew God so well that God's mercy became his own reason for disobedience! - that's knowing God really well!

But Jonah maybe did not know that God would keep after him - would pursue him relentlessly - that God would not leave him alone, even in that small shelter on the desert.

Jonah pouted and God stayed with him.

Jonah got angry and God stuck by him.

Jonah disobeyed and God came after him.

God never gave up on Jonah.


There is another priceless gem in Jonah, chapter 2, verse 8:  Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.

The Ninevites did not cling to their worthless idols. They gave them up and received God's grace.

Am I still clinging to worthless idols of money, prestige, influence, power?

Psalm 145:16 tells us: You open Your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

We can't receive God's gifts if our hands are already full.


But going back to our biblical lessons: Notice what these men knew about God:

Abraham knew that God, the Ruler of the earth, would act righteously - that He was holy. And that He was merciful and compassionate to and forgiving to His children.

David knew that God was forgiving and holy and merciful and compassionate.

Moses knew that God was holy, forgiving, merciful and compassionate.

Jonah knew that God was holy, forgiving, merciful and compassionate.

See a consistent current of truth here?

Pretty important things to know about God!


These men did not go to seminary. They didn't go to
catechism or new member instruction classes.

They learned what they knew about God from listening to Him, by talking with Him, by watching His actions.

They learned about God, because they came to know God.

Who Knew God the Best? (Part 1)

The Old Testament has multiple stories of men and women who knew God really well.


There's David for one. "A man after God's own heart" (1 Samuel 3:14).

A man who sinned greatly, but who understood God's mercy and forgiveness.

There was no specific sacrifice designated by God to atone for adultery and murder.

So David knew he had to throw himself on the grace of God to have forgiveness.

We see his heart in Psalm 51:

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions....my sin is always before me...cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean, wash me, and I will be whiter than snow....create in me a pure heart...do not cast me from your presence....

He had a "broken and contrite heart."

So David understood that God was merciful and compassionate. He also understood that we are born in sin (also Psalm 51) and that God has to actually give us a new heart to love Him and be in His presence.

So David knew a lot about God!


And Abraham also knew a lot about God. And he knew God well enough to challenge Him, to argue with God about the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot's family.

And God spared Lot and his family because "the LORD was merciful to them" (Genesis 19:16).

Abraham knew God was merciful and compassionate.

Will not the Judge of the earth do right? (Genesis 18:25) He knew God was righteous.

And in Genesis 15 we see that he could even say to God 'how can I be sure You are telling me the truth?'

God showed him the night sky and promised his descendants would be more than the stars in number - but Abraham wanted more - a clearer guarantee.

'But, LORD,' he said, 'how can I know for sure that You are going to do this?'

Abraham could even ask God for more proof!

Someone would have to know God on an intimate level to be able to challenge to Sovereign God of the Universe like that.

And so God treated him to that mysterious covenant agreement, made while Abraham slept, when God appeared as a blazing torch amidst the  animal sacrifice and swore His covenant anew.

A contract, not based on the agreement and faithfulness of both parties, but based on God's unconditional covenant promise only! 



How about Moses? Now there's a man who knew a lot about God, too. He knew God was faithful and holy.  (He had himself received the original holy commandments from God.)

He knew God well enough to  question God's judgment and justice on occasion, to argue with Him, and even to ask for a special revelation of God's glory, and God accommodated him (Genesis 33)

And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your Presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion of whom I will have compassion."

Again, Moses understood that God was merciful and compassionate. He had witnessed many displays of God's mercy in leading the Jews out of Egypt and through the wilderness journey.  He understood why "without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin."


(see Who Really Knew God Best? Part 2)

The 12th Day of Christmas

This is the 12th Day of Christmas!

One of the traditional prayers for this last day of the Christmas season is this:

"We pray that You would saturate us with Your peace from the inside out. That we would be beacons of light and hope in the world, and that as this season closes, we would recommit ourselves to be the peacemakers, purveyors of hope, love, joy and justice in this world."

This day, January 6, is also called "Twelfth Night," the night before the Feast of the Epiphany -- and it closes the Christmas season by commemorating the arrival of the Wise Men to see Jesus, the King of the Jews, in Bethlehem.

"Epiphany" comes from a Greek word that means "appearance" or "manifestation" and refers to the manifestation of Jesus to the world, witnessed by the Wise Men from the East.

We know the Wise Men did not arrive on the 12th night after our Lord's birth (and we don't even know what day He was born).

Scripture is clear -- Jesus was not a baby, and they were living in a house by the time the Magi arrived. But celebrating it at this time makes the Christmas story complete.

And King Herod's reaction to the Wise Men's claim that they wanted to find the "King of the Jews" reminds us that there is always only room for one King --  and any other so-called called "King" would have to be eliminated! 

And so Herod was determined to do that -- because there is only room for one King!

A reminder to us  - there is only room for one King in our lives!  We must choose which one we will worship and serve and reject the others!

No one can have more than one King!

 --

 --

What We Learned in 2024

 

                        What We Learned in 2024

The important stuff - the most important stuff - is still the same.

1. God is still on His throne

2. Jesus  is still King of Kings and Lord of Lords

3. The Bible still has the answers to all our problems

4. The tomb is still empty

5. Jesus is still the only Way to bring us back to God. To change us from being

     enemies of God to being His friends

6. Prayer  still works and God hears our every prayer

7. The cross, not the government, is our salvation

8. There is still room at the cross...'though millions have come there is still  room for one!' - Me!

9. Jesus will save anyone who places their faith and trust in Him

10.  God will be with us always. He will never leave us --  He will never let go of our hand!

11. Our life here is just a temporary assignment- a great future is planned for us!

[I'm sure you can think of more - just add them to the list!]

Isn't it great to know we can still count on the most important things to be stable sand secure - 

no matter what is happening right now! 

                  

                GOD IS GOOD -- ALL THE TIME!  

(US/TX) My Father is Here

Background: The Battle of Galveston Bay, January, 1863

In January, 1863, the island of Galveston was re-captured from Union control by the Confederate forces. It was an important win.

The Union general, two years later, said that Galveston, as a military position was second in importance only to New Orleans and Mobile. General Banks wrote to the Secretary of War in April, 1865, that the loss of Galveston was "the most unfortunate affair that occurred in [the Department of the Gulf] during my command."

Soon after the Battle, Confederate General Magruder told his soldiers:

Soldiers of the Army of Galveston:

The New Year dawned upon an achievement whose glory is unsurpassed. That glory is yours. You have recaptured an island 2 miles from the mainland. You have repossessed yourselves of your beautiful "Island City," and made its hostile garrison, entrenched behind inaccessible barricades, surrender to you at discretion....Your general is proud to command you; your State and country will honor you as long as patriotism and heroism are cherished among men.

General John Bankhead Magruder, Address to the Army of Galveston, January 14, 1863.

An Inside Story:  Father and Son - On Opposite Sides!

The Union troops entered Galveston Bay on the Harriet Lane. One of its young officers was Edward Lea, a valiant Tennessean.

His father, Colonel Albert Miller Lea, a classmate of Magruder at West Point, joined the Confederate Army, and was assigned to General Magruder's staff at Galveston.

In Colonel Lea's last letter to his son he had prophetically warned him,"if you decide to fight for the Old Flag [the Union army], it is not likely we will meet again except face to face on the battlefield."

And so it happened. Like other families, they were divided in their loyalties, and met their last time on the battlefield of opposing armies.

After the fighting had stopped at the Battle of Galveston, Albert Lea revealed to General Magruder for the first time that his son had been serving on one of the enemy's Union vessels involved in the battle.

Magruder immediately gave his friend permission to go look for his son.

As he had predicted before the war, Albert Lea arrived on the deck of the captured Harriet Lane to discover his son lying on the deck dying of multiple wounds.

The boy recognized his father and said, "Father, I wish I could have given the order to move the ship sooner."

Some soldiers nearby, who realized the boy was dying, asked, "Is there anything you need?"

And the boy, in love and trust, said, "No, my father is here."

Two days later, Albert Lea read the funeral service over his son's quickly dug grave in a burial plot in the Episcopal Cemetery on Galveston Island.

Today, if you visit the old cemetery in Galveston, walk among the grave markers and recall that valiant souls on both sides 'gave their last measure of devotion.'

And, if you look carefully, chances are you will come across one particular marker that is inscribed with an anchor and a spyglass, and the words:

Edward Lea
1840-1863
My Father is Here

My earthly father died in 1999. But through the work of Jesus Christ at the cross, and the presence of the Holy Spirit, I can confidently say every morning when I rise and every evening when I lie down to rest, "My Father is here."

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of god. I John 3:1

What manner of love....what a vast supply has been poured out on us...so that we can be called
God's children!

My Father is here. With me. All the time. Immanuel!

DOXOLOGY!

Prayer for the New Year

                                   O LOVE BEYOND COMPARE


Thou art good when thou givest,
     when thou takest away
     when the sun shines upon me,
     when night gathers over me.

Thou hast loved me before the foundation of the world,
     and in love did redeem my soul;


Thou dost love me still,
     in spite of my hard heart, ingratitude, distrust.

Thy goodness has been with me during another year,
    leading me through a twisting wilderness,
         in retreat helping me to advance,
         when beaten back making sure headway.

Thy goodness will be with me in the year ahead;
I hoist sail and draw up anchor,


With thee as the blessed pilot of my future as of my past.

I bless thee that thou hast veiled my eyes to the waters ahead.

If thou hast appointed storms of tribulation,
     thou will be with me in them;


If I have to pass through tempests of persecution and temptation,
     I shall not drown.

If I am to die,
     I shall see thy face the sooner;

If a painful end is to be my lot,
     grant me grace that my faith fail not;


Only glorify thyself in me whether in comfort or trial,
     as a chosen vessel ready always for thy use.


--From Valley of Vision - Collection of Puritan Prayers