Are you an ordinary person? - C S Lewis

Remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw him now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption that you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare.

All day long, we are, in some degree, helping each other toward one of these destinations.

It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealing with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics.

There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations -- these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat.

But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit--immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.

   -- The Weight of Glory, by C S Lewis

This is MY God!

                                              This is MY God!       

Remember these  words written by Horatio Spafford?    

   "My sin -- O the bliss of this glorious thought --  my sin, not in part, but the whole -- is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!"*

Just think about it: ALL our sin, not just part of it, but ALL of it, was taken care of by Jesus at the cross!

God doesn't look at our sins, divide them into separate piles, and say, "OK, I'll take care of this pile. But you knew better when you did these things. You knew they were out of my will and against my holy plan for your life, and you did them anyway. I had warned you about them. So you'll just have to take care of them yourself!"

No!  He put them ALL in a very large -- cosmic-sized -- garbage bag -- and hurled them into the depths of the deepest sea, out of His memory forever!

In Micah we read, "Who is a God like You who pardons sin and forgives transgressions. You do not stay angry forever, but delight to show mercy. You will hurl our iniquities into the depths of the sea" (Micah 7:18-19).

But You delight to show mercy! Who can imagine it? He delights to give us mercy!

I believe in THIS God! Not just any so-called god, but this God who gets pleasure by forgiving me and who never gives up on me.

He promises that when we "confess our sins" He will be faithful and just" and forgive us and "cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

This is the God I have put my faith and hope - Have you?

*These words are from his hymn "It Is Well With My Soul," written about 1875.

Quoteworthy - C. S. Lewis - Am I a Whiner?

On Christmas Eve, in 1930, C. S. Lewis wrote these words to his friend Arthur Greeves...


     What we call hindrances are really the raw material of spiritual life.


     As if the fire should call the coal a hindrance?


     (One can imagine a little young fire, which had been getting on  nicely with sticks and paper, regarding it as a mere cruelty when the big lumps were put on: never dreaming what a huge steady glow, how far surpassing its present crackling infancy, the Tender of the Fire designed when He stoked it.)

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking any thing.
                 James 1:2-4

                                                                                              

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

The Little Prince - The Fox's Secret

"Goodbye," said the fox to the little prince. Then he continued:

"And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: it is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.

"The eyes are blind. One must always look with the heart..."


            --From The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord

Open the eyes of my heart

I want to see You, I want to see You

See You high and lifted up

Shining in the light of Your glory

Pour out Your power and love

As we sing holy, holy, holy

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord

I want to see You!

     Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, "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."

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

            -- John 3

     That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified..."

          -- Romans 10:9-10

Prayer Hint - Place of Prayer - William Law

I remember Sammy  Tippit's visit a couple of years (?) ago....He told an amazing story about a connection between him and his grandmother, a woman he had never met.

It seems Sammy has a special place for prayer -- his meeting place for daily prayer with God. For over 20 years, every morning before going to his office, he gets a cup of coffee, and goes to that place where he meets with God for his TAWG (Time Alone With God). He describes it:

To everyone else it is just an ordinary clump of trees. However, to me it is holy ground. I have shared my deepest sorrows and greatest joys with the One who created me in that place. For decades my meeting place has been under those trees.

Imagine his delight when he learned, in recent years, that his grandmother had a similar practice. He learned about it from a note from his aunt:

I think that mother felt she could talk to her Redeemer better in a garden near a peach tree than in other place on the farm. So many time she would steal away and pray under that peace tree.  When I heard her pray I knew there was a direct connection between her and God...

She often prayed for her son, Sammy's father, that he would receive salvation. Years after she died, Sammy received the Good News and men from his new church came to their home and led Sammy's father to salvation. She never saw the answer to her prayer for her son,  but it came -- a different route -- through her grandson. 


It appeared to her sister that she 'had a direct connection with God'...so did she, through her faith, know -- for certainty-- that someday her prayer would be answered?


A Place Apart...a place of prayer ... a sanctified and holy place.


Sometimes I have visited in homes of girlfriends from my church -- and often they show me the place where they or their husbands meet alone with God -- their TAWG place. Sometimes it is a special chair  with a good light and a small table to place their Bibles and prayer lists.



Sometimes it is in a small side room.  It is their "closet" as we are instructed in Matthew 6:6.



What makes it such a special place? I like this description from William Law:


Now if you could always pray in the same place, and reserve that place for devotion and not allow yourself to do anything common in it, and only be in the room yourself during times of devotion, that little room, or even some particular part of a room thus consecrated as a place consecrated as holy unto God, would have an effect upon your mind and heart and create in you faith and dispositions that would very much assist in your devotion.

For a sacred room, or a sacred place in your room, would in some spiritual measure resemble a chapel or a house of God.

This would inspire you to be always in the spirit of devotion when you are there, and fill you with wise and holy thoughts when you are there by yourself.

As time passed, using such a place would raise in your mind the kind of sentiments you have when you stand near a true altar of prayer in a sanctuary, and you would be concerned of thinking or doing anything that was foolish in that place, which would increasingly become your place of prayer and holy communion with God.

--William Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, written in 1728.

Does the punishment fit the crime?

Sometimes the passages we read in the Bible, Old and New Testaments, record harsh penalties for sin.

At least, it seems that way sometimes.

Lot's wife, disobediently looking back, annihilated....
a priest killed for a wrong offering, etc.

An entire population (less Noah's family) killed in a horrific flood....

Is God too harsh when He hands out punishment?
After all, we are only human.

On the other hand, we see many times over more
evidences of His grace and mercy.

For every act of judgment recorded we see dozens more examples of His long-suffering patience.

Maybe the penalty of sin is not measured by our opinion of it. Maybe the seriousness of sin has to do with whom the sin is against.

If a prison employee strikes a prisoner, is he in trouble?

Maybe.

If that employee strikes the sheriff, is he is trouble?
Without a doubt.

What if he attacks the President of the United States?

For sure. A felony with heavy imprisonment.

The penalty of sin is determined by the magnitude of the one sinned against.

If we sin against another human being, we are guilty.

If we sin against the infinitely holy and eternal God, we are infinitely guilty and worthy of eternal punishment.

When it comes to all our misconduct, toward other human beings and toward God Himself, it indicates that we are always breaking God's Law, that "Royal Law" of loving God with all our heart, soul and mind,
and our neighbors as ourselves.

So all our sin is against God.

David the Psalmist and King wrote:

     For I know my transgression, and my sin is ever

     before me.

     Against You, You only, have I sinned and done

     what is evil in Your sight, so that You are proved

     right when You speak and justified when You

     judge.

    (Psalm 51)

What about Bathsheba? What about Uriah? What about David's army and his countrymen?

Hadn't David sinned against them, too? After all, he had Uriah killed in the attempt to cover up his adultery? What about the baby?

So many victims in the story. But the laws telling us how to treat each other are God's Laws. And He calls us to obedience to them

So David was really sinning against God, in rebellion against Him, in these selfish actions. 

So what did he do?

Just what we are to do.

Throw ourselves on the mercy of God and seek His forgiveness.


     Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your
     unfailing love; according to Your great
     compassion blot out my transgressions.

     Wash away my iniquity and cleanse me from
     sin...

     Create in me a new heart, O God, and renew
     a steadfast spirit within me....

     Restore to me the joy of Your salvation....

               -- Psalm 51


There was no provision for sacrifices David could offer to cover his guilt for these sins. Offering 10,000 lambs and 20,000 goats - still wouldn't do it.

Throwing himself on the mercy and grace of God was David's only option.


And ours....

    

But He's Mine!

I have a dear friend whose 28-year-old son is severely handicapped. He has a special wheel chair and she has to feed him every meal. The obvious love she has for this son takes my breath away, as I watch her carefully spooning specially prepared food into his small, deformed mouth, and wiping his lips, and gently patting his hands. The love shining through her eyes cannot be explained to some people. She tells me, "Well, I love him because he is mine."

Her son will never cross the stage in a cap and gown, never walk down the aisle to marry, never lovingly hand her a grandchild to hold and rock. Actually, he will never be able to perform for her at all. He will never be able to take care of her in her senior years. Her love is a love that receives, and expects, nothing in return. "Because he is mine."

I think of John 10: "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me--and I lay down my life for the sheep...no one takes it from me but I lay it down on my own accord..."

We are His sheep -- the sheep of His pasture....

We are just as helpless as my friend's son. Christ did for us what we could never do for ourselves.

He loves us and cares for us "because we belong to Him."

Jesus, my Lord, will love me forever. From Him no power of evil can sever.
He gave His life to ransom my soul--now I belong to Him.
Now I belong to Jesus. Jesus belongs to me.
Not for the years of time alone--but for eternity.

Traces of Jesus - Philip Yancey

Jesus left few traces of Himself on earth. He wrote no books or even pamphlets. A wanderer, He left no home or even belongings that could be enshrined in a museum. He did not marry, settle down, and begin a dynasty.

We would, in fact, know nothing of Him, except for the traces He left in human beings.

That was His design. The law and the prophets had focused like a beam of light on the One who was to come, and now, that light, as if hitting a prism, would fracture and shout out in a human spectrum of waves and colors.

Six weeks after His Resurrection and His Ascension back to His heavenly glory, the disciples would find out what Jesus meant by the words for your good. As Augustine put it, "You ascended from before our eyes, and we turned back grieving, only to find You in our hearts."

     -- From The Jesus I ever Knew, by Philip Yancey


Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you...He will bring glory to me by taking what is mine and making it known to you."  (John 16:6, 7, 14)

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." After he had said this, he was taken up before  their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.  (Acts 1:8-9)

Interesting application of Scripture in US History

Here's an Interesting Application of Scripture....from US History

I'm reading some British records of the months just preceding the beginning of the American revolution.

Late in 1775 Parliament was arguing various approaches to end the revolutionary fever sweeping their 13 colonies over the Atlantic in America.

King George III was determined to take harsh action. Most of Parliament agreed with him, but a few disagreed.

One of those was David Hartley. When a bill came up for discussion -- a bill that would prohibit all trade and communication among the colonies during the "course of the present rebellion" he realized that the colonies would be even more inflamed and more eager to declare their independence. If the bill passed Britain would lose that valuable part of their Empire. 

And the bill was passed.

His speech to Parliament included these words: "The Opposition was overpowered by numbers," he voiced. "An inflexible majority in Parliament have now declared all America to be an independent hostile State. But Parliament would rue this day," he went on, for the fate of America was clear for all of them to see. "You may bruise its heel, but you cannot crush its head. It will revive again. The New World is before them. Liberty is theirs. They have possession of a free government, their birthright and inheritance.....If you will cast them off, my last wish is to them. 'may they go and prosper!'"

What we learn from Acts 1:1-11

The Book of Acts is in the New Testament. It could be named "The Acts of the Apostles" or "The Acts of the Christians in the Early Church" or even "The Acts of the Holy Spirit."

But no matter what the preferred title of the Book, it is an historical account of what happened in the 40 or so years after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The author, Luke, also the author of the Gospel of Luke, investigated thoroughly all the events of those beginning years of the Church. Often he was an eye-witness.

In the Gospel of Luke, we read, in the first verses, that he wrote his account to assure "most excellent Theophilus" so that he could "know the certainty of the things" he had "been taught" about the life and teachings of Jesus.

Now again in Acts, Luke refers to Theophilus and introduces his second work, the account of the early Church.

These documents were written on scrolls, and generally ran no longer than 35 feet in length.
Scrolls longer than that would be too bulky to carry around. (The Gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John would be about 35 feet in length on scrolls.)

So Luke divided his research for Theophilus into two scrolls - first, the Gospel of Luke centered in the earthly life and ministry of Jesus, and second, the genesis and early days of the new Church.

Here's how Acts begins:



     In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus
began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven,
after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles He had chosen.

     After His suffering He showed Himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that He was alive.

     He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the Kingdom of God.

     On one occasion, while He was eating with them, He gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift My Father promised, which you have heard Me speak about.

     "For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

     So when they met together, they asked Him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"

     He said to them, "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority. But you will receive power
when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

     After He said this, He was taken up into the sky before their very eyes, and a cloud hid them from their sight.

     They were looking intently up into the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.

     "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven will come back the same way you have seen Him go into heaven."
                     --- Acts 1:1-11


1. Who was "most excellent Theophilus"? We have no other references to this man. He was an official or person of importance of some kind. Perhaps he was a new Christian, or maybe he was a seeker, considering the claims of Jesus Christ, but unsure of what he was being told.

Luke wanted to re-assure him of the truths he was hearing. Maybe he was a convert of Luke.

In either case, he was someone like many of us.

2. Christ appeared on earth for 40 days after His resurrection and then ascended to heaven, telling His disciples to wait in Jerusalem to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, which would empower them to be witnesses for the good news "to the ends of the earth."

We know from other New Testament scriptures that Christ appeared personally to over 500 people. And we know that He appeared to "believers," His followers, not to "unbelievers." He didn't go to Pilate or Herod, which would certainly make a compelling narrative.

But it was not His intention to parade Himself in a bitter "I told you so" and "now you will be sorry" act of revenge. He revealed Himself to those who trusted Him and in Him.

He always displayed humility, not arrogance.

3. We see that the disciples still did not "get it." They still associated the Kingdom of God with an earthly restoration of the nation of Israel, the expulsion of Rome, and, probably, their own lofty positions of authority in the "Cabinet." 

But they finally "got it." A few days later.


4. The phrase Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth is a brief outline of the Book of Acts.

The first 7 chapters of the Book concentrate on the Church in Jerusalem.

Chapters 8 - 12 show the Church moving into Judea and Samaria.

Chapters 13 - 28 give the account of the Church expanding throughout the Roman Empire and beyond.

5. This same Jesus who was taken from you into heaven - I read great compassion in this statement.
The angels knew it was a heart-wrenching experience for the disciples to see Christ leave. He wasn't lost - He was taken from them.

But He didn't just disappear either - He went to heaven and they knew from His comments in the Upper Room before His crucifixion, that He was going to prepare a place for them to come and be with Him forever.

The messengers brought comfort and encouragement to them with their words - Yes, He was taken from you - but He was taken to heaven - as He told you!
And He will come back!


Luke tells Theophilus that Christianity is a religion based on historical facts. Even the fact of the resurrection was witnessed by hundreds of people.

So the resurrection in a fact.

That fact proves the deity of Christ.

The divine Christ must speak the truth, because God is truthful and must speak truthfully.

So we can trust everything God says in the Bible because He taught that it was the Word of God.

And that includes the fact that He will be

coming back to earth in the same

manner in which He left.

But that date is determined by God the Father.

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
 (Revelation 22:20)

Madame who? Part 2

Madame Guyon's study focuses first on Praying the Scripture. (part 1)

She summarizes it like this:

In "Praying the Scripture" you are seeking to find the Lord in what you are reading, the very words themselves. In this part, therefore, the content of the Scripture is the focal point of your attention. Your purpose is to take everything from the passage that unveils the Lord to you.

Throughout her writing she says things like, "Remember I am addressing you as if you were a new convert...I would like to address you as though you were beginners in Christ, one seeking to know Him..." And that is her whole writing style -- gentle and thoughtful, teaching her audience as if they were children.

I wish I had known her -- she does remind me of the pastor's wife in the church where I grew up. Her name was Alvina and she was a great prayer warrior. Our pastor's name was Harry Burch (we called him Bro Burch, or Rabbi, if the occasion permitted it). Often Bro. Burch would come to me at church and tell me he saw Alvina on her knees for several hours that day and he heard her mention my name. That thought has sustained me many times when I really needed prayer. She also had a gentle, thoughtful spirit and touch.

Well, anyway, Madame Guyon moves to her second way of coming to the Lord in prayer. She calls this method Beholding the Lord or Waiting in His Presence. And this how she describes this way of approaching prayer.

The second kind of prayer which I described as "Beholding the Lord" or
"Waiting in His presence" also makes use of Scripture, but it is actually not a time of reading...now you come to the Lord in a totally different way. Perhaps at this point I need to share with you the greatest difficulty you will have in waiting upon the Lord. It has to do with your mind. The mind has a very strong tendency to stray...Therefore as you come before the Lord to sit in His presence, beholding Him, make use of the Scripture to quiet your mind.

You begin by setting aside a time to be with Him. When you come, come quietly. Turn your heart to His presence. How is this done? You turn to Him by faith.
By faith you believe you have come into the presence of God.

Next, while you are before the Lord, begin to read some portion of Scripture. As you read, pause. This pause should be quite gentle. Remember, you are not reading to understand or learn, you are reading to turn your inward thoughts to Christ...to turn your mind from outward things to the deep inward parts of your being.

The Lord promised to come and make His home within you (John 14:23). He promises to meet those who worship Him and do His will. The Lord will meet you in your spirit. St. Augustine once said that he had lost much time in the beginning of his Christian experience by trying to find the Lord outwardly, rather than by turning inwardly.

Once your heart has been turned inwardly to the Lord, you will have an impression of His presence. You will notice His presence more acutely because your outer senses have become calm and quiet. Your mind is no longer on outward things; instead, sweetly and silently, your mind has become occupied with what you have read and by the touch of His presence.

It is not that you will think upon what you have read, but you will feed upon what you have read. You swallow what you have tasted.

This may seem difficult at first....have you not, at times, enjoyed the flavor of a very tasty food? But unless you were willing to swallow the food, you received no nourishment. It is the same with your soul. In this quiet, peaceful and simple state simply take in what is there as nourishment.

Be assured that as your soul becomes more accustomed to withdrawing to inward things, this process will become easier. There are two reasons that you will find it easier each time to bring your mind under the subjection of the Lord. One is that the mind, after much practice, will form a new habit of turning deep within. The second is that you have a gracious Lord!

The Lord's chief desire is to reveal Himself to you and, in order to do that He gives you abundant grace. The Lord gives you the experience of enjoying His presence. He touches you, and His touch is so delightful that, more than ever, you will be drawn inwardly to Him.

Madame Who? Madame Guyon

Madame Guyon (1648-1717) wrote a profound and yet simple little book called Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ. Sometimes another title is used for this book: A Short and Very Easy Method of Prayer. I like the second title better, because I think it is a more definitive introduction to her work.

Madame Guyon spent much of her life imprisoned under royal order in a convent and then in the Bastille because of her devotional beliefs.

This is a summary of some of her thoughts (the complete booklet is about $10 at Amazon).

She says there are two ways for us to come to the Lord in prayer: (1) Praying the Scripture and (2)Waiting in His presence.

Her simple, gentle style is easy and comfortable, yet she pierces my soul.

Praying the Scripture

This is what she says to do: Turn to the Scripture and choose some passage that is easy to understand. "Then come quietly and humbly to the Lord. There, before Him, read a small portion of the passage you have opened to.

"Be careful as you read. Take in fully, gently, and carefully what you are reading. Taste it and digest it as you read...you do not read quickly. Do not move from one passage to another, not until you have sensed the very heart of what you have read. You may then want to take that portion of Scripture that has touched you and turn it into prayer.

"You will be surprised to find that when your time with the Lord has ended, you will have read very little, probably no more than half a page.

"Praying the Scripture is not judged by how much you read, but the way you read.

"If you read quickly it will benefit you little. You will be like a bee that merely skims the surface of a flower. Instead, in this new way of reading with prayer, you become like the bee who penetrates into the depths of the flower. You plunge deeply within to remove its deepest nectar.

"Of course, there is a kind of reading the Scripture for scholarship and for study--but not here...To receive any deep, inward profit from the Scripture you must read as I have described. Plunge into the very depths of the words you read until revelation, like a sweet aroma, breaks upon you.

"I am quite sure that if you will follow this course, little by little you will come to experience a very rich prayer that flows from your inward being."

Following this advice has helped me. Actually I am more eager to begin my prayer time with this system -- I am excited to see what God is going to reveal to me in those few words. And I have had some wonderful surprises!

And prayer seems to flow outward in a natural way, streaming forth to search out the things I already wanted to pray for. It's almost like the water cascading down as a waterfall, and then spreading out to cover the landscape. Also, it seems to reduce the problem of distractions, which is a major problem for me.

And it reminds me of Philip Yancey's book on prayer. He talked about a mountain summit, with the melting of the snow pack, how the streams flowing down into the valley below became rivers and then lakes. I need to go back and read that again because I am not getting it correctly some of the time.

Why do we pray? David Platt

Why does the disciple of Jesus pray?

Because the disciple of Jesus craves communion with God.

Yet we are prone to miss this. Most of us have learned to pray and think about prayer as simply asking for things. "Bless me, help me, protect me, and provide for me" -- these are often the only words out of our mouths when we bow our heads.

Our prayers are filled with a list of things we need and the stuff we want.

Consequently, in prayer, we're pleased when God responds like we've asked and perplexed when He doesn't.

But what if prayer isn't primarily about giving God a to-do list? After all, Jesus tells His disciples that their 'Father knows what they need before they ask Him' (Matthew 6:8).

Apparently, God is not up in heaven with a pen and paper waiting for us to pray so that He can find out what our needs are.

Clearly, prayer involves something far deeper--and far more wonderful--than simply informing God of what He already knows.

The purpose of prayer is not for the disciple to bring information to God; the purpose of prayer is for the disciple to experience intimacy with God.

That's why Jesus says to his disciples, "Go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen" (Matthew 6:6).

Find a place, Jesus says. Set aside a time. Get alone with God. This one practice will utterly revolutionize your life--not just your prayer life, but your entire life.

For something happens that cannot be described in words when the disciple is alone with God.

In a quiet place, behind closed doors, when you or I commune with the infinitely great, indescribably good God of the universe, we experience a joy that no one or nothing in this world can even begin to compare to.

--From Follow Me, Chapter 5, by David Platt

Good Morning! It's a Hallelujah Day!

 

                                          

                                         Good Morning - It's a Hallelujah Day!

"I will sing of Your power; Yes, I will sing of Your mercy in the morning. For You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble" (Psalm 58:16).

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).

Remember this old hymn? --  When morning gilds the skies, my heart, awakening, cries, 'May Jesus Christ be praised!'  (and this morning the sky was truly gilded with golden tones of glorious reminders of our Creator God)

And a newer song:  In the morning, when I rise, give me Jesus! Give me Jesus, give me Jesus, in the morning when I rise, give me Jesus!

How else would we start our day? 

In other words, my friend, have a hallelujah day!

Friends Forever

Recently one of my "Forever Friends," Margaret W, called my attention to a devotional thought by Joni Eareckson Tada. It's from her Diamonds in the Dust for March 9. She begins with this verse:

From one man He made every nation of men, that they should
inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them
and the exact places they should live. Acts 17:26

Then she says: "Did you catch that? It's no mistake you are living in this century, this decade, and this very year. It's no accident that you are residing in your town, living on the street you live, and with the neighbors you see every day. And is your circle of friends just coincidence? No way. God has determined it.

"Just think. You could have easily been born in another time, another place....
You would be growing up with a whole new set of childhood friends and neighbors.

"Of the billions of possibilities, of all the millions of people with whom you could have been best friends, God determined the exact time and place where you should live. When you consider this amazing fact, your friendships take on a new and profound significance. God has a special reason, a unique design in each friendship. He chose to surround your life with these certain and treasured dear ones for good reasons.

"As Christians, these are the people with whom you will live for eternity, enjoying an even greater dimension of friendship. Because God has placed you together on earth at this time and in this place, you and your friends have a chance to get a head start on God's eternal plan.

Father, I stand in awe at Your wisdom and ways. You could have
placed me anywhere on earth, but You determined that I should live
here and now. Teach me what this means. Show me Your special
design for my friends and family. And thank You that each person
You put in my life is precious in Your sight." Amen.

She's right -- all my friendships take on a more profound significance when I remember that God places all of us right here, right now, to fulfill some undisclosed part of His grand design for all of His creation.

God is good...and His love endures forever!

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!

How can I be sure?

When God made His promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for Him to swear by, He swore by Himself, saying, "I will surely bless you and give you many descendants."

And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.

Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.

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

God did this so that, by two unchanging things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be great encouraged.
                                     -- Hebrews 6:13-18

What are the "two unchanging things" the writer of Hebrews is talking about?

The two unchanging things are (1) the original promise (covenant) God made with Abraham, and (2) the oath He made later to confirm it.

The story is told in Genesis 15.

The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
     'Do not be afraid, Abram.
     I am your shield, your very great reward.

     '....Look up at the heavens and count the starts -- if indeed you
     can count them...so shall your offspring be.

     Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as
     righteousness.

     ....I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans
     to give you this land to take possession of it.'


But Abram questions God about the land:



     'O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession
     of it?'



This is such an astonishing glimpse of the Sovereign God, LORD Creator of the Universe, speaking to one of His small creatures.

But He doesn't speak to Abram in a condescending way, as if he were small and insignificant (most astonishing is that He would speak to him at all, if
you think about it).

Instead God takes Abram's question seriously.


"How can I know for sure?" Abram asks.


"Well, Abram, you foolish man," I might say. "God just told you what He was going to do...how can you
question Him?"

But Gold decides to swear to Abram, in an oath-confirming ceremony, just what He had promised.

It was a common, accepted ceremony performed in those days between people making business arrangements.

They would take sacrificial animals, cut them in two parts, and both parties would walk between the pieces, reciting the terms of the agreement.

This would make it binding, as if we went to the Court House and had our signatures on a contract verified by a Notary.

Perhaps one man was selling land to another man, and the buyer was going to pay in cattle.

The two men would walk between the pieces of the animal, reciting the terms to each other. When the ceremony was completed it was sworn testimony to their agreement.

In the book of Jeremiah there is another reference to one of these ceremonies.

So instead of being angry at Abram for his doubt, we see a gracious and kind God patiently dealing with Abram in human terms that he would understand.

And why did God do this act of mercy?

The writer of Hebrews tell us in the passage above: (1) to make His promise and purpose very clear
and (2) to encourage us.

Read about it in Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament, chapter 15.

What does Abram do during the ceremony? Does he walk between the pieces with God?

No. Abram falls into a deep sleep and God walks alone through the ceremony.

Why? Because Abram had nothing to bring to the agreement. He wasn't paying anything. He was the recipient of all the blessings.

So God walked alone and confirmed His everlasting covenant with Abram and Abram rested and received it all.

It's called grace.

And it is pictured again at Calvary, when God the Son
confirmed His oath to mankind, and suffered alone.

We, like Abram, have nothing to bring to the table.

We are only recipients of the benefits of the oath.

Jesus performed the ceremony alone.


                              

Faith Floats

My life seems unusually difficult these days. Dealing with car and health insurance companies, doctors, family issues....I feel like I am struggling just to tread water.

I imagine those buoys out in the harbor. They, like the little red robin, just keep "bobbing along!" They don't get far, but they keep bouncing up! They are anchored -- placed in a special place to alert sailors to rocks or shoals, or to mark a channel.

They just keep doing their job. Does a buoy ever just give up and sink?
The Holy Spirit gives us buoyancy. He asserts pressure from below to keep us floating and He anchors us just where He wants us. Just where we need to be.

I read these words from R. C. Sproul today:

Have you ever felt you were living your life swimming upstream?

Swimming upstream is difficult, if not impossible. You might make some headway in a wide, slow-moving river. But, if you are in whitewater rafting territory, forget it.

You are going downstream, and no matter how hard you paddle, your strength will not save you. You might even die.

Instead, picture yourself seated in an unsinkable inflated boat as you head down the river. It's inevitable; you will wind up downstream at your destination simply because you are in the boat, whitewater or not.

As a believer, you were chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the earth. Your destination, holiness and blamelessness before God, is assured because you are in the unsinkable boat: Christ. (Ephesians 1:4)

It is not because you have been paddling so hard to meet God's standard of holiness that you arrive.

It is because He is taking you.

Be assured that when you "pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you" (Isaiah 43:2) because He is with you!

O God, please restore my buoyant spirit today!

P.S. When you reach the end of your rope, reach out and touch the hem of His garment!

The Best Thing I've Re-read Lately......C S Lewis

Of course we never wanted, and never asked, to be made into the sort of creatures He is going to make us into.

But the question is not what we intended ourselves to be, but what He intended us to be when He made us.

He is the inventor, we are only the machine. He is the painter, we are only the picture. How should we know what He means us to be like?...We may be content to remain what we call "ordinary people," but He is determined to carry out a quite different plan.

To shrink back from that plan is not humility -  it is laziness and cowardice. To submit to it is not conceit or megalomania - it is obedience.

Here is another way of putting the two sides of the truth. On the one hand we must never imagine that our own unaided efforts can be relied on to carry us even through the next twenty-four hours as "decent" people. If He does not support us, not one of us is safe from some gross sin.

On the other hand, no possible degree of holiness or heroism which has ever been recorded of the greatest saints is beyond what He is determined to produce in every one of us in the end. The job will not be completed in this life; but He means to get us as far as possible before death.

That is why we must not be surprised if we are in for a rough time. When a man turns to Christ and seems to be getting on pretty well (in the sense that some of his bad habits are now corrected), he often feels that it would now be natural if things went fairly smoothly. When troubles come along--illnesses, money troubles, new kinds of temptation--he is disappointed...

God is forcing him on, or up, to a higher level - putting him into situations where he will have to be very much braver, or more patient, or more loving, than he ever dreamed of being before. It seems to us all unnecessary; but that is because we have not yet had the slightest notion of the tremendous thing He means to make of us...

Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised.

But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense.

What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building a quite different house than the one you were thinking of--throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards.

You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage; but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.

From Mere Christianity, Book 4, Chapter 9, Counting the Cost, by C. S. Lewis

God's Intended Destiny for Us

 

                                                  God's Intended Destiny for Us

Sometimes sharing the gospel awakens an intense resentment in the one we are talking to.

That's because the gospel reveals our sin and unholiness -- and that's bad news.

But we have to hear the bad news first before we can hear the really good news!

The good news is that He has rescued us from our sin and is eager to forgive and welcome us into His family!

Hearing the gospel can also awaken an intense longing -- yearning -- an intense desire -- to know God and receive His love and forgiveness.

What does He want to do with us?

God has only one intended destiny for mankind: holiness.

His goal is to make us saints. He does not save us out of pity. He saves us because He created us to be holy.

That begins at the cross. 

Christ takes on our sin and by His death pays the debt we owe God for our disobedience.  And by His perfect life of obedience He clothes us in His garments of righteousness.

It's like we come to Him with all our garbage - sin, guilt, hurt, bitterness, hatred, anger, broken dreams and hearts and messed up relationships. We put them in a really big garbage bag and take it to the Cross. He takes that bag and casts it away into eternal forgetfulness,

Then He reaches down and gives us a bottomless Treasure Chest - a chest full of love, forgiveness, joy, peace, eternal life, healing -- every good and perfect gift.

And the most precious gift of all -- His presence with us every moment of every day - forever!

And He begins the process of making us like Him - holy -  and able to fit into His family of saints.

What a great exchange! How could anyone resist such an offer?

He gives us what we need - - C S Lewis

A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word 'darkness' on the walls of his cell.

But God wills our good, and our good is to love Him (with the responsive love proper to creatures) and to love Him we must know Him; and if we know Him, we shall in fact fall on our faces.

If we do not, that only shows that what we are trying to love is not yet God -- though it may be the nearest approximation to God which our thought and fantasy can attain.

Yet the call is not only to prostration and awe; it is to a reflection of the Divine life, a creaturely participation in the Divine attributes which is far beyond our present desires.

We are bidden to 'put on Christ,' to become like God.

That is, whether we like it or not, God intends to give us what we need, not what we now think we want. 

Once more, we are embarrassed by the intolerable compliment, by too much love, not too little.

                -- From The Problem of Pain

And There Was Light!

                                      

                                                            And There was Light!

Psalm 97:11-12 -- "Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in  heart. Rejoice in the LORD, you who are righteous, and praise His holy name."

Some of the older Hebrew texts say light is "sown" in us. It is planted to grow and produce more light. A beautiful thought.

Light refers to truth and clarity as well as to the holiness and beauty it brings.

C S Lewis said once that he believed in Christianity 'as certainly as I believe in the sunrise. Not just because I can see the sun, but also by it I can see everything else.'

That's what God's light does!  It brings everything else into perfect focus and clarity.

It brings perfect knowledge and displays GOd's infinite truth and glory.

God "sows" His light  in us and like a seed that grows it spreads its wisdom and beauty throughout our lives.

Christians find that what they see in the world and in their hearts just makes more sense!

And people around them see them  turning into something like God - loving and beautiful.

The brighter the light the better we can see all the truth and beauty around  us.

Father, fill me with Your Light!

O Love That Will not Let Me Go

                                                      

                                                     O Love That Will Not Let Me Go

I've been thinking about another old hymn today - about 150 years old, written by George Matheson.

I didn't hear it sung much in church when I was growing up. But I do remember seeing it in our hymnal and pondering its gentle, sweetly powerful words.

I remember thinking about who wrote it and wondering if I would ever know anyone who knew God that well.

In the passing years I have met a few -- a few-- saints who loved God and worshipped Him like the author of this hymn. 

I think anyone singing it must bow their head in prayer and in awe.

I really isn't a congregational hymn, I think;  It is too personal. Sometimes I sing it when I am alone with God and no one is listening....

    O Love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in Thee.

     I give Thee back the life I owe, that in Thine ocean depths

    its flow may richer, fuller be.

    O Light that follows all my way, I yield my flickering torch to Thee.

My heart restores its borrowed ray, that in Thy sunshine's glow

its day may brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to Thee.

I trace the rainbow through the rain, and feel the promise is not vain

That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that lifts up my head, I dare not ask to hide from Thee

I lay in dust life's glory dead, and from the ground there

blossoms red, life that shall endless be.

He is our LOVE, LIGHT, and JOY. He is everything we want and need, but it all starts at the CROSS.