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

What we learned from the Jews - Joseph Loconte

                                        What We Learned from the Jews


Every culture, in one way or anther, reaches out for God.
  
This has been true throughout human history.

The Jews in Jesus' day were very much like, but also very different from, the other cultures around them.

Virtually every other society viewed nature as divine.  The list of gods and goddesses, representing every aspect of the physical world, was endless.

No matter where we look -- among the Babylonians, Egyptians, Persians, Greeks or Romans -- we find people worshiping nature as the living and breathing embodiment of divinity.

Not the Jews.  The opening pages of Genesis assert the non-divinity of the cosmos: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth..."  (Genesis 1:1).

The heavens and the earth are not eternal. They came into existence, we are told, from the hand of a Being outside of them, a Creator utterly distinct from His creation.

While other religions assumed the presence of deities all about them, the religion of the Jews began in a radically different place.

Jewish philosopher Leon Kass says the opening lines of Scripture set Judaism at odds with the rest of the known world: "This perfectly natural human tendency [nature worship] the Bible seeks to oppose, and right from the first verse, by denying that the heavens -- or any other beings -- are worthy of human reverence."

In another sense, though, the Jews are like people in other societies. They, too, are God-seekers.

More importantly, they believed firmly that they had discovered the one true God and that they were known and favored by Him among all the peoples of the earth.

They championed the idea that God is not only personal, but purposeful, a Supreme Being with a supremely moral agenda for mankind.

Scholar Paul Johnson calls the introduction of this idea "one of the great turning points in history, perhaps the greatest of all."

   -- From The Searchers, by Joseph Loconte


Most ancient religions viewed history in a circular pattern - cycles of planting and harvest, birth and death, in never-ending circles like a spinning stationery bicycle wheel.

History was not "going" anywhere.

The Jews, however, viewed history as a straight line, a journey along a road, with a definite destination -- starting someplace and ending someplace.

History was going somewhere......

This road was revealed to them in the Old Testament Scriptures.

Charles H. Spurgeon - What is Satan's Work?

                     

                       What is God's work?  what is Satan's work?

It is always the Holy Spirit's work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus.

But Satan's work is just the opposite; he is constantly trying to make us look at ourselves instead of Christ.

He insinuates, "Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you do not have the joy of His children; you have such a wavering hold on Jesus."


All these are thoughts about self, and we will never find comfort or assurance by looking within.

But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: He tells us that we are nothing, but that Christ is everything.

Remember, therefore, it is not your hold of Christ that saves you--it is Christ. It is not your joy in Christ that saves you--it is Christ; it is not even your faith in Christ, although that is the instrument--it is Christ's blood and merits.

Therefore, do not look so much to your hand with which you are grasping Christ; do not look to your hope, but to Jesus, the source of your hope; do not look to your faith, but to Jesus the founder and perfecter of your faith.


We will never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our deeds, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we are to overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by "looking to Jesus."

Keep your eye simply on Him; let His death, His sufferings, His merits, His glories, His intercession be fresh upon your mind. When you waken in the morning look to Him; when you lie down at night look to Him.

Do not let your hopes or fears come between you and Jesus; follow hard after Him, and He will never fail you.

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and

righteousness

I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus'

name.

What does 'inspired' mean? James Montgomery Boice

All scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correction, and training in righteousness.

   -- 2 Timothy 3:16 


The first thing 2 Timothy  tells us about Scripture is why it is useful -- because Scripture comes from God.

Old translations of the verse use the word inspired, reading "All scripture is inspired by God."

The Latin Vulgate translated the Greek as divinitus inspirata, and inspirita passed into  English as "inspired" through the translation of Wycliffe.

The interesting thing about the Greek word is that, strictly speaking, it does not refer to inspiration at all.

That is not to say that inspiration is not a valid theological term. It is.

When we think of inspiration we think of the power of God guiding the writers of the Bible so that what they wrote, even though they wrote in their own language and with their own vocabulary and on the basis of their own experience, was nevertheless exactly what God wanted written.

The word inspiration refers to this. Inspiration means "breathed into," from in meaning "in" or "into" and spiro meaning "breathe."  It describes the process of God's revelation of Himself in Scripture from a human point of view. However, this is not the meaning behind the underlying Greek word in 2 Timothy 3:16.

Theopneustos, the Greek word used, combines the word for "God" (theos) and the word for "breath" or "spirit" (pneustos). It means "God-breathed," and

is the translation used by the New International Version.

It teaches that Scripture is the result of this breathing out of God. Much as God created man by breathing into him and making him "a living soul," God also breathed out the Scriptures so they became a living revelation.

Paul is not talking about how human authors of  Scriptures received God's revelation. He is talking about Scripture itself, saying that the words of Scripture are the words of God, and this is what makes Scripture so useful.

A book containing merely human words might be true and useful to a point.

An instruction manual for your new dishwasher helps you run the appliance. The operator's book on your new car is useful.

If you want to learn Latin, a book teaching you Latin will be useful.

But there is no comparison between human books, useful in limited ways, and the Word of God useful in the ways Paul spells out in 2 Timothy 3:16.


   -- James Montgomery Boice, Standing on the Rock,

        Chapter 6, The Most Useful Thing in the World

The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground

and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,

and the man became a living being....

  Genesis 2:7

Challenging Words From Long Ago

 

John Chrysostom, an early church father, wrote these words about 1600 years ago:

"Do you see how often Paul puts the health of the entire church community into the hands of each individual Christian?"

Yes! We are called to -- 'serve one another'-- 'be at peace with one another' -- 'live in harmony with one another' -- 'be patient with each other' -- 'love one another' -- bear each other's burdens' -- confess our sins to each other' -- 'edify each other' -- and so many other admonitions. 

We all have a part in the nurturing and maturing of those who take this journey with us.

As we nurture each other the whole body of Christ grows stronger!

So it is just as Chrysostom said: the health of the entire church is in the hands of each individual!

I'm thinking about our US constitution. Some responsibilities are listed as belonging to the federal government and some belonging to the states. 

But the church is different: everything is our responsibility!

Yes, the health of the entire church rests solely in the hands of each individual! That's us -- it rests in our hands!

It's About Noah!

 

A friend just came back from touring the Ark Encounter in Kentucky. He loved it!

Other popular replicas of the ark are in Hong Kong and the Netherlands -- they appeal to millions of people who are entranced with the account of Noah and the ark that that saved him and his family from the flood!

Great research goes into these replicas: exact wood, measurements, proportions, windows, door, food supply and storage, endless details to present the  models as perfect as possible.

And think about toy stores --they have models children can put together themselves! Games, puzzles, coloring books -- people for years have been fascinated with the ark.

Favorite topics for VBS and Sunday School!

But maybe we should change our focus -- maybe we need to focus on Noah himself. The ark saved Noah's family, but more Noahs could save more of the world! 

Scripture tells us "Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in fellowship with God"(Genesis 6). NLT

Then in Hebrews 11 we read "By faith Noah when warned of things not yet seen, in holy fear, built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith."

We live in a corrupt world, too! Evil is valued as good and good is called evil. Yet in that dark world Noah lived for God and exhibited righteousness.

 So can we -- In our corrupt world we can still have fellowship with God -- we can exhibit righteousness and glorify God ....and condemn the world. 

Let's concentrate on replicating Noah, not the ark!

We, too,  have been warned of 'things not yet seen'. We know what is ahead.

We can help spread God's kingdom right here, right now!

"Thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven!"

PS Genesis 6:22 -- "Noah did all that God commanded him to do." Obedience! That will likely not appear on my grave marker!

[If there had been a lot of Noahs, there would not have been a flood!]

Applying for Unemployment - C S Lewis

From Weight of Glory, by C. S. Lewis



We have in our day started getting the whole picture upside down. Starting with the doctrine that every individuality is "of infinite value," we then picture God as a kind of employment committee whose business it is to find suitable careers for souls, square holes for square pegs.

In fact, however, the value of the individual does not lie in him. He is capable of receiving value. He receives it by union with Christ.

There is no question of finding for him a place in the living temple which will do justice to his inherent value and give scope to his natural idiosyncrasy.

The place was there first. The man was created for it. He will not be himself until he is there. We shall be true and everlasting and really divine persons only in Heaven, just as we are, even now, colored bodies only in the light.


To say this is to repeat what everyone here admits already--that we are saved by grace, that in our flesh dwells no good thing, that we are, through and through, creatures not creators, derived beings, living not of ourselves but from Christ.

                              

                                          *****

Ephesians 2:10 --

"We are His masterpiece (handiwork), created in Christ Jesus, to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Where is His Tabernacle Now?

 

In Hebrew, the word 'tabernacle' means 'dwelling place' or 'residence.' It refers to the portable sanctuary carried by the Israelites, which the LORD directed Moses to build. Read about it in glorious detail in Exodus 35-38. Later  Solomon's Temple became the permanent sanctuary. But while wandering in the wilderness, they carried the tabernacle.

  Where is God's dwelling place now?  He lives in us.  - our heart is His tabernacle!

                                           *****

During the wilderness wanderings there came a wonderful moment. God had instructed Moses to build a tabernacle for Him. Once the project was complete, the majestic cloud, which had hovered above them, descended and entered the holy place. From that moment on, every child of Israel could point to the tabernacle and say, "God is there!" Read about that amazing event in Exodus 40:34-38.

Now gesture to your Heart and say "God is here!" On the day you decided to follow Jesus, an unseen miracle occurred. The Holy Spirit descended from the heavens, and stopped directly over your body. He took up residence in you! He turned your heart into His tabernacle. Paul describes it in Ephesians 3: 'That God may grant you, through His Spirit, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith," or as another version says 'that Christ may settle down and be at home in your heart by faith.'

  1 Corinthians 3:16 - 'Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple?'

Without question, one of the most remarkable Christian doctrines is that Jesus Christ Himself, through the Holy Spirit, will actually enter a heart, and make it His home. 

And He will live in any heart that welcomes Him!

Keep reminding yourself all day: "He is here! He is our Immanuel"

Don't worry about the clothes!

A favorite old hymn - sung by our pioneer ancestors -

Come ye sinners, poor and needy,

Weak and wounded, sick and sore;

Jesus ready stands to save you,

Full of pity, love and power.

Come, ye weary, heavy laden

Lost and ruined by he fall;

If you linger till you're better

You will never come at all

Let not conscience make you linger

Nor of fitness fondly dream;

All the fitness He requireth

Is to feel your need of Him!

These amazing words were written by Joseph Hart, who born in 1712 and died in 1768. It is recorded that this song was one of Daniel Boone's favorites.

He was well-educated, became proficient in Latin, Greek and Hebrew, (which he later taught)  and spent much time translating and writing poetry.

He lived in London, served as pastor of Jewin Street Chapel, and had a large congregation.

But Joseph Hart was not a Christian, believing as many people of his day, that the atonement of Jesus Christ was a myth and all one needed to do was believe in God and salvation was assured.

He even wrote a tract denouncing Christianity and ridiculing the popular preacher John Wesley. He titled his piece, The Unreasonableness of Religion Being Remarks and Animadversions on the Rev. John Wesley's Sermon on Romans 8:32.

But he had persistent doubts about his own salvation.

Maybe, he considered, righteous acts were the key, and he began to concentrate on living a good life and performing deeds that would honor God.

The doubts persisted: was he really and truly saved?
Did belief in God take care of it? Did righteous deeds?

He prayed for a sign, some special revelation from God, and writes later that he had sincere torments "for more than a year."

Just before Easter, 1757, Joseph Hart, "had such an amazing view of the agony of Christ in the garden [of Gethsemane]" that he began to understand that all Christ's sufferings were for him and for his salvation.

He began re-reading the Bible and searching for answers.

Shortly after, on Whitsunday (Pentecost), he was converted under the ministry of George Whitefield, and began to feel the confidence that God had indeed, through the sufferings of Jesus Christ, eternally saved his soul, and that all those who trust in our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, would find salvation.

He apologized publicly to John Wesley and the other Christians he had ridiculed and his life became a living testimony to the grace and goodness of God.

He wrote a number of hymns, but in the days of colonial America, "Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy," was the most popular, as newly arriving settlers from England came to these shores and brought the song with them.

When he died, in May of 1768, it was reported that tens of thousands gathered around his graveside at Bunhill Fields.

What makes these words to appealing to us today, as well as then?

To me it is these phrases: if you linger till you're better, you will never come at all...and All the fitness He requireth, is to feel your need of Him....

Is it foolish to try to fix yourself up in order to come to Jesus. We are unable to do that. All our righteous acts are as "filthy rags" as Isaiah says.

We're just wasting time and energy trying to be good enough!

We come to Jesus just as we are...poor, wretched, and needy. That is how we are and that is how He receives us.

Come now!

Then He clothes us in His righteousness and forever sees us in the radiance of His glory!



To God be the glory --- such great things He has done!

I sought the LORD and He answered me;

He delivered me from all my fears.

Those who look to Him are radiant;

Their faces are never covered with shame.

--Psalm 34:4-5

I delight greatly in the Lord;
My soul rejoices in my God.
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation
And arrayed me in a robe of righteousness.
--Isaiah 61:10

Good News - At the Last Minute!

 

                               Good News -- At The Last Minute!

   The man sat on the floor of his cell.  His head was buried in his hands and his shoulders quivering as he sobbed. The time was approaching -- either very fast or very slow -- he couldn't tell. But soon the jailor would arrive to take him to the site of his execution.

He was more grief-stricken and hopeless than afraid. He was guilty for sure. But he tried everything to stop the process. He had written the governor begging for a pardon. He had exhausted his appeals. Had a retrial. But -- the verdict was the same: "Guilty as charged" and he now waited for the jailor to come a take him. No possibility of another chance.

He heard someone coming. Sounded like the jailor. Then the sound  of the keys clanging loudly at the cell door.

Yes, the jailor was here.

"Yes, I came to get you," he said. "But it's good news -- they took Jesus instead. You are free to go! Right now! You are FREE TO GO!"

What happened? Grace!

Grace happened...and he was free!

Refresh your memory everyday -- that one day Grace appeared and paid your debt and set you free!

Who Was Jesus Looking For?

"And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of disease among the people."  Matthew 4:23

As Jesus began His ministry, He walked the dusty shores of Galilee, calling fishermen like Peter, Andrew, James and John. He healed a leper who dared approach Him. He welcomed a paralytic who was lowered through a hole in the roof to see Him!

He even invited Matthew, a despised tax collector, to be His disciple. These were not random encounters -- they were intentional invitations, not to important scholars and leaders, but to the ordinary people, some who were often rejected and forgotten. Invisible.

How about you? Ever feel alone and alienated from "the important group"?

No one expected you to sit with the "cool kids" at lunch? That nobody ever saved you a seat for you? That you were never a part of the "in" group? Always "outside"?

Does it seem that Jesus usually chose those kinds of people to build His kingdom?

It does seem that way to me...and I am forever grateful.

When Jesus noticed people, when He called them, it seems He was not deterred by their weakness. Actually, it appears He was drawn to it! He doesn't wait for us to be strong and confident. He steps into our pain, heals and restores and then sends us out with a purpose. In a world where status determines influence, Jesus flipped the model. The broken became His messengers!

Jesus' actions remind us that ministry doesn't begin with perfection - it begins with surrender! We bring our imperfections to Him and He greets us with healing and restoration. If He can use fishermen, tax collectors, lepers and paralytics, He can use us, too!

He still walks into the lives of the outcasts and invisible and ordinary people today. He does it through us! Ask Him to open your eyes and show you someone who needs to see Him! And then show that person Jesus!

I Hardly Recognize the World

Father,

I hardly recognize this world anymore. I see so many heartless and hopeless people.

Everything seems so broken.

Was it always like this and I just didn't notice? Were there always
so many hurting people?

I must not have been paying enough attention...forgive me...please give me the gift and challenge of seeing people as You see them - people who need to know Your unconditional never-giving-up always-available love.

Please show me today how I can help be a part of the 
solution to the problems in this broken world.

Please let love and restoration start and blossom in my heart today.

Amen

Can I still say "God, I love you! "?

Sometimes things are just "Not OK".

                 And sometimes things are truly dreadful.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:19-20: "Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

He repeats this theme often in his letters to the early churches. 

And Jesus gave thanks, even when on His way to Gethsemane.

Praise God and thank Him for everything! we are told.

Job had more bad news than any of us could ever imagine. But, he says, "Though He slay me, yet I will trust in Him" (Job 13:15).

Daniel's friends, when facing the fiery furnace, assured King Nebuchadnezzar, "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from Your Majesty's hand. But even if He does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up" (Daniel 3:17-18).

Even if He does not.....we will still worship Him only...

Habakkuk expressed it this way in his praise song: "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vine, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior (Habakkuk 3:17-18).

Even though....yet I will....

There's a story about  Arthur Blessitt that I love to recall.

Remember him? He is the Christian preacher who has carried a large heavy cross around the world --  literally,  he has taken the cross to every country and Guinness Book of World Records awards him with making the longest walk ever! 

Well, once he was in northern Israel at the beginning of the rainy season. It was cold. He was exhausted. There was no place to put his cross and he had no shelter or food or dry clothes. Finally he found an empty park bench at a bus stop. He lay down. Then it began to rain harder.

He looked at the rain and commanded, "Stop in the name of Jesus!"

What happened? A large flash of lightning and crashing thunder. The rain poured harder than ever!

And Arthur just looked up a the sky and proclaimed, "God, I love you!"

Sounds like Job and Daniel's friends, and Habakkuk.......

                    but does it sound like me?

PS Arthur Blessitt died about 6 months ago, January, 2025).

Feeling Outcast? Invisible?

 "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people."

                                                              Matthew 4:23

As Jesus began His ministry, He didn't start by going to schools and choosing scholars or to fine government buildings and asking for important dignitaries. 

Instead, He walked the dusty shores of Galilee, calling for fishermen like Peter, Andrew, James and John. He healed a leper who dared to approach Him. He welcomed a paralytic who was lowered through a hole in the roof so he could see Jesus. He even invited Matthew, a despised tax collector, to be His disciple.

These weren't just random encounters -- they were intentional invitations to the rejected and forgotten, to the invisible laborers supporting their families in Galilee.

It appears Jesus chose ordinary people to build His kingdom. People who were not well-known and not applauded by the people around them.

Ever feel like you didn't belong to the "important group"? Like you were so ordinary no one even noticed you? That you were practically invisible? No one expected you to have lunch with the "cool kids" at their table? No one saved you a seat. You just sort of "blended in."

Does it seem to you that these were the kind of people Jesus specifically wanted to use to build His kingdom? He sought these people out. It seems to me that that was who He was searching for. And I am forever grateful!

Each encounter shows us that Jesus isn't deterred by our weaknesses. He's drawn to them. He doesn't wait for us to be accomplished and confident -- He steps into our pain, heals and restores and then sends us forward with purpose and in His power.

In our world where status so often dictates influence, Jesus flipped the model. The broken and troubled became His messengers. (Actually, who better?)

Do you think your pain and past disqualifies you from serving Him? Maybe you should think again!

Ministry, to Jesus, does not begin with perfection -- it begins with surrender. When we bring our imperfections to Him, He greet us with healing and direction. If he could use lepers, paralytics, simple fishermen, and tax collectors - He can use us!

And remember, He still walks into the lives of outcasts today, only now, He does it through us! It is our body He is using for His ministry!

Look around you. Ask God to open your eyes - Who is invisible to the world? Who is weak and ordinary?  Search for them as Jesus did and then...show them Jesus!