- For No Other Purpose - C. S. Lewis

The Church exists to draw men into Christ....


This is the whole of Christianity. There is nothing else.

It is so easy to get muddled about that. It is easy to think that the Church has a lot of different object--education, missions, building, holding services. Just as it is easy to think the State has a lot of different objects--military, political, economic, and what not.

But in a way things are much simpler than that. The State exists simply to promote and protect the ordinary happiness of human beings in this life. A husband and a wife chatting over a fire, a couple of friends having a game of darts in a pub, a man reading a book in his own room or digging in his own garden--that is what the State is there for.

And unless they are helping to increase and prolong and protect such moments, all the laws, parliaments, armies, courts, police, economics, etc. are simply a waste of time.

In the same way the Church exists for nothing else than to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose.

It is even doubtful, you know, whether the whole universe was created for any other purpose.

--from Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis

What Did Jonah Know?

What Did Jonah Know?

When my life was ebbing away, I remembered You, O LORD, and my prayer rose to You, in Your holy temple.

Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.

But I, with a voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you.

What I have vowed I will make good.

Salvation comes from the LORD.  Jonah 2:7-9

                  "With a voice of thanksgiving..."

What did Jonah have to be thankful about?

Here he was in the belly of a great fish, in the midst of a great ocean, facing certain death.

Jonah was not thankful because God had delivered him from his dire circumstances, because God had not yet delivered him.

He didn't even know that God was going to deliver him.

What Jonah was thankful for was that God had turned him from rebellion and had caused him to return to Himself  - to call on His Name once again.

He was thankful for salvation and for the abiding presence of God.

Jonah had recognized his sin, had repented, and turned back to God.


He 'did not forfeit the grace that could be his'....

In the first part of his prayer he had said, "In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and You listened to my cry"  (Jonah 2:2).

Jonah had re-discovered grace in the midst of his terrifying circumstances.

"I have been banished from Your sight; yet I will look again toward Your holy temple," he says (verse 4).

It is at this point that great miracles are performed.

Not just when something catastrophic happens and history is altered and redirected. Not just when bodies are brought back to life or when plagues are averted.

The greatest miracles occur when a person comes to the knowledge, and acknowledges, his sin and confesses it to God, and when, God, in response, restores that person to His Creator-creature, covenant relationship.

"Salvation comes from the LORD," Jonah confidently cried, knowing that no matter what the outcome he would see the salvation of the Lord.

The story of Jonah is well-known. It is the story of a man who was sent on a special mission by His God and King, and he disobeyed, received punishment and re-direction, and then became obedient.

Read his entire (short) prayer from the belly of the fish in the Old Testament, the book of Jonah, chapter 2.

It's also my prayer, and perhaps yours, too.

Don't 'forfeit the grace that could be yours'.....





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 Never 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)

C S Lewis - Why does a mole dig?

I reject at once the idea which lingers in the mind of some modern people that cultural activities are in their own right spiritual and meritorious - as though scholars and poets were intrinsically more pleasing to God than scavengers and bootblacks...

Let us tear it forever from our minds.

The work of a Beethoven and the work of a charwoman become spiritual on precisely the same condition -  that of being offered to God, of being humbly done 'as to the Lord'.

This does not, of course, mean that it is for anyone a mere toss-up whether he should sweep rooms or compose symphonies.

A mole must dig to the glory of God and a cock must crow.

We are members of one body, but differentiated members, each with his own vocation.

                  - C S Lewis, The Weight of Glory


     Just as each of us has one body and many
     members, and these members do not all have the
     same function, so in Christ we who are many
     form one body, and each member belongs to all
     others.

     We have different gifts, according to the grace
     given us.

     If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in
        proportion to his faith;
     if it is serving, let him serve;
     if it is teaching, let him teach;
     if it is encouraging, let him encourage;
     if it is contributing to the needs of others, let
        him give generously;
     if it is leadership, let him govern diligently.

                            - Romans 12:4-8


Father, no matter what I do today - whether it is weeding in the garden, washing dishes, telling people about your Rescue Plan, taking food to the hungry, let me do it for YOU - in your name - for your glory -

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

 - Colossians 3:17

Whatever you do, work at it will all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men...

- Colossians 3:23

Who Spoke First?

Who Spoke First?

When all the work Solomon had done for the temple of the LORD was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated--the silver and the gold and all the furnishing--and he placed them in the treasuries of God's temple....and all the men of Israel came together to the king at the time of the festival of the seventh month...(2 Chronicles 5:1-3)

All the work was done. The new glorious temple of the LORD was finished! It was the crowning achievement of Solomon's reign.

The bronze altar, the Sea standing on the 12 carved bulls, the special basins, the gold lamp stands, the gold sprinkling bowls, the bronze doors, the four hundred carved pomegranates...all the polished bronze ornaments. According to 2 Chronicles 4,"All these things that Solomon made amounted to so much that the weight of the bronze was not determined..."

And this didn't count all of David's treasures of gold and silver and precious stones that he had assembled during his reign. Not to mention the elaborate embroidered curtains.

1 Kings 7 tells us more, "The capitals of both pillars in the portico were in the shape of lilies...gold floral work and lamps and tongs....pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and censers... "


Such priceless elegance to show glory to Israel's God!

But something was missing!  Something else to bring in - the most important piece of all -- the one thing that had been with God's people, through their journeys from the days of Moses.

They were awaiting the arrival of the carved-in-stone commandments. The tablets that recorded the key obligations of Israel's covenant, the covenant that made Israel God's own special chosen people, and its divinely designed container, called the Ark of the Covenant.

And so they waited. At the Feast of Tabernacles, when the new temple was being dedicated, and as Solomon stood ready to commemorate the occasion, the Ark made its stately journey on its carrying poles from the part of Jerusalem called the City of David to the new temple.

Levites pass it to priests at the temple entrance, and they solemnly place the Ark of the Covenant, containing God's written Word, under the wings of the cherubim in the Most Holy Place.

Crowds fill the courtyard. The people sing and rejoice.

All the Levites who were musicians...stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets...
trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD...they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang:

    He is good; His love endures forever.
                 (2 Chronicles 5:12-13)

And then what happened?

Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God
(2 Chronicles 5:12-14).

The glory of the LORD overwhelms them!

So that exact space, in the Most Holy Place, then contained God's Written Word.  The Creator God, symbolized by the cherubim, invaded the space.


Those historical words, carved in stone, have shaped mankind's story for thousands of years. Simple words that even a child can memorize, quote and understand.

Placing the ark in the temple, in its designated place, reminds us for all eternity, that God Himself has spoken to His people before they ever opened their mouths to speak to Him.

Before we even thought to speak to Him, He turned His Face toward us and spoke to us.

And then He continued to speak to us, through His prophets, and through His Son.

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory, the exact representation of His being  (Hebrews 1:1-2).


He spoke to us before we ever even thought to speak to Him.

We love Him because He first loved us.

God Hurls!

Hurl - to throw or fling with force or violence, to cast down, to overthrow.



Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance?

You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.

You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
                   Micah 7:18-19

Notes:

1. The prophet's name, Micah, actually means "Who is like Yahweh?" Here, in chapter 7, verses 18-19, he asks the question rhetorically: Who is like our God?  There is no one like our LORD - no other god, no other religion is like ours - the religion of grace and forgiveness!

2. He delights to show mercy. Not grudgingly, not hesitantly, not in response to our begging and pleading. It is in response to His very nature - He delights to show mercy.

He is not a reluctant forgiver. He is eager to apply the sacrifice of His Son to our lives. He is joyous in His forgiveness.

3. He hurls our sins away! This word picture shows us a God who
vigorously throws our sins out of sight - he doesn't just drop them over the side or even pitch them out to sea - He HURLS them - like something to be rid of and forgotten forever.

Corrie ten Boom once said about this passage, "And then God put up a sign saying, 'No fishing allowed!'"

She said this because she knew we have a tendency to 'go fishing' in that vast sea of forgiveness, attempting to drag up some past sin and renew its guilt in our lives.

We are not as serious about appropriating God's forgiveness as He is in extending it!

Instead of living in the sunshine of God's love and forgiveness, we too often live under the shadow of guilt.

That's a sign of unbelief - and unbelief is a sin that especially saddens the heart of God.

After all He has done to give us peace with Him - TODAY - focus on His forgiveness -- repeat the gospel to yourself all day! (After all, it is the good news!).

Get serious TODAY about receiving God's gift.

YES.... TODAY....RIGHT NOW.....


    And remember, "No Fishing Allowed"!

US: In George Washington's Words

 

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights" (James 1:17).

George Washington knew this....knew that God, in His holy providence, gives in abundance and generosity His grace and gifts to us.

I found dozens and dozens of references to God's Providence in George Washington's correspondence and speeches.

Here are just a few:

In a letter to Thomas Nelson, 1778

The hand of Providence has been so conspicuous in all this [the survival of the Continental Army] that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more wicked, that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations.


In a letter to Jonathan Trumbull, 1788

We may, with a kind of grateful and pious exultation, trace the finger of Providence through those dark and mysterious events which first induced the states to appoint a general convention and then led them one after another (by such steps as were best calculated to effect the object)...That the same good Providence may still continue
to protect us and prevent us from dashing the cup of national felicity just as it has been lifted to our lips is my earnest prayer.


Speech to government leaders in Philadelphia, 1789

When I contemplate the interposition of Providence, as it was manifested in guiding us through the revolution, in preparing us for the reception of a general government, and in conciliating the good will of the people of America toward one another after its adoption, I feel myself almost overwhelmed with a sense of divine munificence.


From his First Inaugural Address, 1789

No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men, more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nations seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.


In a letter to John Armstrong, 1792

I am sure there never was a people who had more reason to acknowledge a divine interposition in their affairs than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe that they have forgotten the agency which was so often manifested during our revolution, or that they failed to consider the omnipotence of that God who is alone able to protect them.


In a letter to Lund Washington, 1779

I look upon every dispensation of Providence as designed to answer some valuable purpose, and I hope I shall possess a sufficient degree of fortitude to bear without murmuring any stroke which may happen either to my person or my estate from that quarter.


In a letter to William Pearce, 1794.

At disappointments and losses which are the effects of Providential acts I never repine, because I am sure the divine disposer of events knows better than we do what is best for us or what we deserve.

US - Prayers of Great Americans - George Washington's Birthday

 

O most glorious God...remember that I am but dust, and remit my transgressions, negligences and ignorances, and cover them all with the absolute obedience of thy dear Son, that those sacrifices (of sin, praise and thanksgiving) which I have offered may be accepted by thee, in and for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ offered upon the cross for me...Direct my thoughts, words and work; wash away my sin in the immaculate blood of the Lamb; and purge my heart by the Holy Spirit.

-- George Washington (1732-1799).
From a small prayer book he composed when
he was about 20 years old.

What Does He Long to Show Us?

 
                                 What Does He Long to Show Us?

From Isaiah 30 -- "This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:

     In repentance and rest is your salvation. In quietness and trust is your strength,           but you would have none of it...You said, 'No' ....

    Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; He will rise up to show you                        compassion...."

How amazing is our God? Even when we disobey Him, He is longing (eager it says in other verses) to forgive and show compassion.

Reminds me of Jesus' parable of the Prodigal Son -- The Father is so eager to forgive his wayward son, he  rushes out to greet him when he humbly and in repentance returns. No accusation. No "I told you so!" 

WOW! What a picture!

It almost takes our breath away!

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

Nothing ever happens around here!

It was a cold winter on the frontier - the coldest anyone could remember. 

And February was blustery with winds seeking crevices and cracks in the log cabins, as if it, too, were trying to escape the cold temperatures to find some warmth around the fireplaces of the pioneers.

The village inn was crowded with travelers going about their usual businesses who sought a few hours of respite.

They chatted in the bar with the innkeeper.

One asked, "Well, tell us about Kentucky. What goes on around here?"

He answered, "Nothing ever happens around here. Nothing. We are quiet and predictable. You would probably call us 'boring.' Mostly just poor farmers trying to farm a little and save enough food to last them and their families for months like this. No, nothing ever happens around here."

The bar maid said, "Oh, well, Nancy and Tom Lincoln had a baby this morning. They had a little boy and named him 'Abraham.' Lofty name for a little one. Tom said they would call him 'Abe.' But that's all. Nothing ever happens around here."

It was February 12, 1809...216 years ago. And we still today celebrate that little boy's birth!

But, "nothing ever happens around here," they thought!

I wonder what's happening right around us - right now- something momentous?- something we might miss!?

God, open our eyes to see what You are doing - right here, and right now! And let us be a part of it!
surprise and amaze us! For Your honor and  glory.

Remember Pig Pen?

Lots of us remember "Pig Pen." His name, when it appeared in Peanuts, was always in quotation marks. (I don't know why. Is there a secret, hidden message there that is over my head?)

Maybe it was because, when he was first introduced into the comic strip (in 1954)  he declares, "I haven't got a name...People just call me things...Real insulting things..."

"Pig Pen" always wore filthy overalls and moved in a bubble of dust and dirt that followed him everywhere he went. Sometimes the dust rose around him. Sometimes it formed a dense cloud that crowned his head like a dingy halo.

It was amusing to hear how he justified his filthy appearance. Once he called himself a "dust magnet."

Another time he glamorized his dirty cloud as the "dust of ancient civilizations."

Only Charlie Brown could unconditionally accept "Pig Pen" and cleverly defended him:

Don't think of it as dust. Just think of it as the dust and dirt of far-off lands blowing over here and settling on "Pig Pen." It staggers the imagination! He may be carrying the soil that was trod upon by Solomon or Nebuchadnezzar or Genghis Khan.

It's not that "Pig Pen" never tried to clean himself up. He seemed to yearn sometimes to be clean.

But  even when he did try to clean himself up, he just couldn't stay clean!

On a rare occasion he did appear clean in the comic strip, but then he was unrecognizable.

 Someone described him as "the only person who could get dirty while walking in a snowstorm."

Once when he wanted to impress Patty, he managed to keep one side of his body clean and presented this clean side to her, causing her to believe that he was completely clean. Until he turned around.

We all loved "Pig Pen." His career was ended in 1999, on September 8, when he showed embarrassment, for the first time, of his dirtiness.  That was sort of his "farewell address" I guess. Because I don't think we heard from him anymore.

I don't miss "Pig Pen." He remains in my memory, always there like a little yellow sticky note, reminding me of the eternal truth of my own appearance and condition when I stand before God.

It's all there  --"Pig Pen" is me.Yes, I do aspire to be clean, but I can't clean myself up.

Sometimes I can clean some parts, and try to show these scrubbed up, neat and tidy, areas to those around me. But then when I turn around they all see the truth!

 I am a "sin magnet." And I carry the sins of past civilizations, as well as my own sins of my own choice.

I can't diminish my own responsibility for my condition by blaming my parents, my education, society in general....it's just the way I am....the "human condition."

But that's not the end of the story.

All our righteousnesses are like filthy rags...(Isaiah 64:6)

We do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. (Daniel 9:18)

Not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. (Philippians 3:9)

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3:5)

Jesus answered, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me." (John 13:8)

You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. (John 15:3)

  When He shall come with

  trumpet sound

Oh may I then in Him be found

Dressed in His righteousness alone

Faultless to stand before the throne.

It's the great exchange -- I give Him my life and all its pride, selfishness, greed, anger -- all my sins -- and He gives me His righteousness and welcomes me into His family! Debt free! Paid in full! Forever!

It's the best deal in the universe. How foolish would a person be who turned it down?

Forgot Your Address?

 

                                            Forgot Your Address?

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge,  my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust Him.  

 (Psalm 91:1-2 NLT)

Trust

Live in His Shelter

Sometimes we forget where we live. Like some amnesiac we see on an old TV show or read about in a novel. We forget our name and where we live. 

A compassionate friend gives them a slip of paper with their name and address on it, until things can be sorted out.

We need to remember who we are - God's children -  and where we live - in His shelter, our only place of safety. Maybe we need to carry this verse with us.

Sometimes we need to go back home!

Struggling Right Now?

 Struggling with something right now?

Think about it: Are you praying with faith or doubt? Or maybe even fear?

Are you trusting in God's timing, or are you trying to control the outcome yourself?

Maybe, like me sometimes, you are, even as you are praying, working  on a Plan B just case His plan doesn't work out? (Now that's really dumb!)

Here's what to do:

1. Take a real step of faith. Choose to seek God daily, not just for answers, but to establish a closer relationship with Him.

2. Write down some of His promises -- start with 8 or 10 -- declare your confidence in His faithfulness, that you know He is working, even if you don't see it.

3. Wait while He works. The waiting season is not wasted --it's critical preparation as He is getting you ready for what's coming next!

4. Repeat out loud several times today: "Courage is not the absence of fear -- it's the presence of faith!"

So, today, whatever you are facing, seek the Lord.

He hears you. He loves you. In His perfect time He will answer!

The Greatest Miracle - There's Room at the Cross

 When thinking about the miracles of Creation, a dear friend sent me this text: "His splendor, power, and majesty are truly awesome. But it is His love that brings me to my knees. It is incomprehensible to my human mind, but it is what keeps me from complete despair."

  Yes! His Creation surrounds us, bringing us joy everynhour, but the sight of that middle cross on that hill we call Calvary brings us to our knees in humble, tearful gratitude.

  Remember how God describes Creation in the Book of Job? He tells us that the angels sang and shouted for joy! They cheered Him on -- eagerly awaiting each new scene -- waterfalls cascading down glorious mountains! A sunset! A butterfly! A giraffe! Encore again! Each act more spectacular that the one before. Then  a man...and a woman!

  "You did all this for them?" they must have wondered in amazement.  

  Then the cross...You're doing this for them?  "No angels in the sky can fully bear that sight, but downward bends their burning eyes at mysteries so bright."

   The angels' applause and joy turns to tears and horror-- "You're doing this for them?"

  Yes, He did it for us - for you and for me!

  Come back to the cross this morning...revisit what He did there...Yes! For us!

  Or is this your first trip? There's room. Though millions have come, there's still room for one...for you!

  Come to the cross...right now!

"

Daniel - How did God Show His love for Him?

What God said to Daniel --

    I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, 'My Lord, what will the outcome of all this be?'

    He replied, 'Go your way, Daniel, because the words are rolled up and sealed until the time of the end. Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand....

    As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest and then at the end of the days you will rise up to receive your allotted inheritance.' 

Daniel 12:9-13

How many times have I read this passage? Dozens?  - maybe a hundred times in my life. But this week I keep re-reading these gracious words. 

How God must have loved Daniel! And how confident Daniel was of His love for him! After revealing so much of the future of mankind and God's Kingdom to Daniel - Daniel knew more than anyone else about what was going to transpire - 'Daniel, go on with your life...you will rest and at the end of your days you will receive your reward.....well done!'

 

Now look at this!

It is really fascinating to compare these words to Daniel at the end of his revelation of things to come with those words spoken by the angel to John the author of the Book of Revelation at the end of the visions given to him. Look at  the Book of Revelation written by John hundreds of years later.Turn to the last chapter (22) and see verses 8-11 -- see how the angel repeated similar words to him at the end of his revelation to John? 

  "I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things....Then he [the angel] told me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near. Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong, let him who is vile continue to be vile, let him who does right continue to do right, and let him who is holy continue to be holy."

To Daniel: These words are rolled up and sealed until the end of time

To John hundreds of years later: Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book because the time is near....

Yes, I am coming soon!

Amen, come Lord Jesus!

 

Which Crown?

I'm still trying to imagine that glorious day when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ and He presents crowns to us for our humble obedient pilgrimage here on earth in  His service.

But who can think about our crowns without thinking about the crown He wore on His head while on the cross - the crown He chose to wear while dying in unspeakable pain -- the crown of cruelty and mockery that the soldiers purposely "twisted together and set on His head."

They spit on Him, abused and tortured Him, and then led Him away to crucify Him (Matthew 27).

Jesus suffered all the pain for our sin so that we would never have to. He endured the agony of the abandonment of His Father so that we would never have to. He wore the mockery of that crown so He could give us glorious crowns of celestial beauty. Who can imagine it?

"No angel in the sky can fully bear that sight, but downward bends his burning eyes at mysteries so bright!"

Jesus wore that crown of despicable horror so He could give us crowns of glory!

Who can even imagine a God like that?

Reformed or Brand New?

I have a young friend, Brian, who has recently received Jesus as his Savior. He used to be in the drug scene and was seeing his life crumble away. Then he came to Jesus and everything has changed!

I just introduced him to one of my friends and explained he was a reformed, now cleaned up, druggie and joyfully living his new life!

Brian taught me a valuable lesson -- "I am not just a reformed drug addict," he said. "I am a new creature, a new creation," he exclaimed  happily and then he quoted 2 Corinthians 5:17 -- "therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; and behold, all things have become new."

"So," he continued. "I am not just changed, I am completely new -- God has given me a brand new start!"

I will never introduce Brian again as a "reformed" or "former," or "used to be." He is a brand new child of God, by God's grace and through his own faith in Jesus!

He has been born again - a new creation!

Thank you, Brian, for reminding me!

Sometimes Miracles Hurt - Eric Metaxas

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped His feet with her hair.

So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one You love is sick."

When He heard this, Jesus said, "His sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son  may be glorified through it."

Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days.....

On His arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days....

"Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"

Jesus called out in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"

The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."


                                -- John 11



From Eric Metaxas:

For God to be glorified, it sometimes means first allowing something unpleasant to transpire.

Jesus could have saved Lazarus from dying, or could have raised him from the dead immediately, but He did not.

In a sense this miracle shows us that we can trust God, and if we do trust Him, He might take us on the long and difficult road, but it's only to bless us more in the long run.

So we must consider the implications of this.

Can it be that God allows us to go through things specifically so that we have an opportunity to trust Him and then to see Him do something we wouldn't have expected, something beautiful and extraordinary that wouldn't have been possible if we had had our prayers answered when and how we wanted them to be answered?

If this is true wouldn't it follow that any difficulty we encounter is an opportunity to trust God, to see how He might bring something glorious out of our trial?

Wouldn't is also follow that if we did not look for God in our difficulty we would be missing the opportunity to see Him do something more wonderful than merely taking away the difficulty?

Or perhaps it tells us that if we really know who God is, we will want to trust Him, and will allow Him to bring us into difficulties or suffering, knowing that if we let Him, He will use these things to bless us and to do something beautiful that would not have been possible otherwise. 
                
             
                      From Miracles, Chapter 7, by Eric Metaxas  

The Cathedral - The very stones cry out!

 The Stones do indeed cry out!


I'm re-reading a book I enjoyed some years ago: Life in a Medieval City by Joseph and Frances Gies.

It's the story of a French town, Troyes, and life in that city in the 1200's.


One of the chapters is called The Cathedral and it describes the construction of the great cathedral at Troyes.


The masons and artists who designed and built the cathedral were not extraordinary geniuses, but they were  intelligent men who could recognize that they were building their monument to God, largely as a result of a series of remarkable accidents: (1) the discovery of  the cross-rib vault, proving to be strong enough to lift tons of stone high into the air, which led to (2) the flying buttresses which could artfully support the walls from outward pressure and (3) the poor quality of the window glass being produced at that time which led to the accidental discovery of using colored, or "stained,"  glass, in order to disguise the many imperfections of the glass.


Very often the masons and artists would engrave their initials in a secret place, not for public acclaim, the authors note.



And even today,  workmen high up on the scaffolding, repairing out-of-sight and hard-to-reach places, find hidden, on the stones, the personal marks left by ancient masons centuries ago identifying them as the humble stone-workers who were creating lasting monuments to God. They left their names on their work!

The master glazier is not aiming at immortality or even fame, though he is agreeably aware that his name is well-known among glassmakers, masons, prelates, and even the general public. Yet he puts something into his work that is not merely talent and knowledge. Neither is it religious zeal. It is pride, and he can find ample justification for it in religion, for the priests told him that God was a craftsman who looked on His work and found it good.

I am touched by these words by the authors. The worker had pride in his crafts, even as God Himself declared His own work good.  These master builders were styling themselves after God. They were eager to call their work good and to stamp their names on it permanently. Just as God stamped His sign, His image, on us.


Not all churchmen appreciated the majesty of the dazzling brilliance of the cathedral. St. Bernard himself wrote angrily about it:

Why this excessive height, this enormous length, this unnecessary width, these sumptuous ornaments and curious paintings that draw the eyes and distract the attention from meditation?...We, the monks, who have forsaken ordinary life and who have renounced the riches and ostentation of the world....in whom do we hope to awaken devotion with these ornaments...One could spend a whole day gaping instead of meditation on God. What ineptitude, and what expense!

But St. Bernard is long dead, as are the masons and artists who put so much of themselves in their work in the European cathedrals.  The authors conclude:

Today most acknowledge that the cathedrals' success in creating an atmosphere of mystery and awe is of incontestable value to religion. No man, burgher, or baron, can enter a Gothic cathedral without experiencing a sense of human insignificance in the presence of such majesty.

We have lost much of our heritage today. Part of that forgotten heritage is the way we look at work. Secular historians call it, often in a scornful tone, "the Protestant (or Puritan) work ethic."


That ethic was that a person's job, or task, was a gift from God. And all details the worker did in his job was to reflect the glory of God. If it was washing dishes, planting crops, building houses, feeding farm animals -- all of our work was to be proclaimed "good," just as God Himself proclaimed all His work good.


I think perhaps this "work ethic" is forever lost. Some things are irretrievable.



            Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.
                               Genesis 1:31


P.S. And in thinking about the great stone blocks the ancient masons carved for their cathedrals -- doesn't it remind you of Christ's words to those Pharisees when they asked Him to quiet His disciples and rebuke them for their words of praise? And Christ said "'If they are silent, the stones themselves will cry out.."  The ancient masons carving the stones for the cathedrals -- they were releasing the voice of God through the very stones around them.....?  Were they themselves hearing the voice of God as they worked?

The Devil Made Me Do It - The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges

From The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges


...Not only must we guard our minds, we must also guard our emotions.


We need to realize that while God most often appeals to our wills through our reason, but sin and Satan usually appeal to us through our desires.

It is true Satan will attack our reason to confuse and cloud the issues, but that is only to enable him to conquer us through our desires. This is the strategy he employed with Eve. He attacked her reason by questioning God's integrity; but his primary temptation was to her desire.

We read that Eve saw the tree was good for food; it was a delight to the eyes; and desirable for making one wise (Genesis 3:6).

Knowing that Satan attacks primarily through our desires, we should watch over them diligently and bring the Word of God to bear on them constantly.

This is not asceticism, it is spiritual prudence. Each of us should seek to be aware of how sin attacks us through our desires and take preventive actions. This is what Paul urged Timothy to do when he instructed him to "flee the evil desires of youth" (2 Timothy 2:22).



But the guarding of our desires is more than fighting a rear-guard defensive action against temptations from the world, the flesh, and the devil. We must take the offensive.

Paul directs us to set our hearts on things above, that is, on spiritual values (Colossians 3:1). The psalmist encourages us to delight ourselves in the law of God (Psalm 1:2), and it was said prophetically of Jesus, "I delight to do Thy will, O my God" (Psalm 40:8). So we see that we are to set our desires on spiritual things and delight ourselves in the law and will of God.

Normally our reason, wills, and emotions should work in that order, but since we so often reverse the order, giving attention to our desires, we must work at directing those desires toward God's will.

We must guard what enters our minds and what influences our emotions. Solomon said, "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flows the springs of life" (Proverbs 4:23).

David said, "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word"(Psalm 119:9)

David guarded his way with the Word of God. The Bible speaks to us primarily through our reason, and this why it is so vitally important for our minds to be constantly brought under its influence. There is absolutely no short cut to holiness that bypasses or gives little priority to a consistent intake of the Bible.

From The Pursuit of Holiness, by Jerry Bridges

My best friend

I remember how hard it was when I was a child to find and keep a "best friend."
What a joy to have someone I could tell anything to -- hopes, dreams, hurts.

Remember Anne of Green Gables? When she discovered the friendship of Shirley Barry and they became "kindred spirits" forever? They were both so joyous at that remarkable discovery.

These thoughts came to me this morning when reading Psalm 25:14.

The LORD confides in those who fear Him; He makes His covenant
known to them. (NIV)

How can this be true? Does it really mean what is says? (I think it always does!) If we fear (worship) Him, He will reveal to us His secrets?

It would have to be a really close friend for us to "confide" in them. Someone trustworthy and dependable to keep our secrets. And those people we have to search out and start sharing our secrets slowly and carefully until we are certain that they are worthy of our trust (trustworthy).

Jesus told His disciples, "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know His master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything I learned from my Father I have made known to you." (John 15:15)

So God Himself is the revealer of His divine secrets, those mysterious thoughts of His own heart, and He will share them with us.

"Privy" (to be secret or privately informed about) is a word hardly used anymore. But when a character in a story boasts he was "privy" to something, then we know he was in the "in crowd." The select group that surrounds a powerful king or businessman.

And who doesn't want to be in the "inner circle"?

So I guess we are in that orb of the LORD's confidence when we connect ourselves to Him through Jesus Christ --

And the LORD of the universe, through our worship of Him, will share His secrets with us!

Here is the verse (Psalm 25:14) from The Message:

God-friendship is for God-worshipers; They are the ones He
confides in.

I need to work on my "God-worship".


P.S. I think we can relate this idea to current news. Sometimes we can be praying for a certain problem or situation we want changed. And it changes! Everyone is quick to applaud the important people involved, but we know that the prayers of His people first moved the hand of God to make the change in response to our heart-felt prayers.

When the Berlin Wall fell, Ronald Reagan received much credit -- and he deserved it, and economical problems contributed. But what the world does not, or chooses not, to recall is the steadfast group of 500,000 Christians who, with lighted candles marching silently night after night, carrying signs that said they were praying for freedom and for the wall to come down. Only CNN showed that group, and only for a short time.

What Do We Do With the Crowns?

 The Bible refers to 5 crowns we may receive when we stand at the judgment seat of Christ. What do we do with the crowns? Here are thoughts from Max Lucado --

  "On the unforgettable day when Patmos [the island where John received The Revelation] became Paradise, the apostle John saw what you and I will see. He saw the One who sits on the Throne. 'Around the Throne were 24 other thrones with 24 elders sitting on them (Revelation 4:4 NCV).

The number 24 probably represents the 12 Hebrew tribes and the 12 apostles - the old Israel and the new covenant. The elders represent us, and what they do is what we will do. 'They put their crowns down before the Throne and say, 'You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, because You made all things and by Your will they were created' (Revelation 4:10-11).

I cannot wait to see you there. One glance into the eyes of the King and you will know that heaven has only one head worthy of a crown. And it's not yours, and it's not mine."

A hymn written by Charles Wesley tells us this:

   "Finish, then, Thy new creation; Pure and spotless let us be.

    Let us see Thy great salvation perfectly restored in Thee.

    Changed from glory into glory til in heaven we take our place, 

    Til we cast our crowns before Thee, lost in wonder, love and praise."

What a day that will be -- lost in wonder, love and praise!

Maranatha! Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

[The name of the hymn is "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" - perfect title! His love supremely excels all other love!]

Most Ancient Song

An Ancient, Almost Lost, Song
                                                   all the way back to Daniel.....


     Legends say that this hymn was sung by the three young Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, while they were in the fiery furnace in Babylon during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar.
Scholars date it as over 2000 years old for certain. 

The last two lines were added to the Hebrew hymn by early Christians and it became a hymn they used in worship.

Glory to You, Lord God of our fathers

Glory to You for the radiance of Your holy Name

We will praise You and highly exalt You forever.

Glory to You in the splendor of Your temple

On the throne of Your majesty, glory to You.

Glory to You, seated between the Cherubim

We will praise You and highly exalt You forever

Glory to You, beholding the depths

In the high vault of heaven, glory to You

Glory to You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

We will praise You and highly exalt You forever.

Remember the story? (Daniel 3)

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisors crowded around them.

They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched and there was no smell of fire on them.

Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and rescued His servants: they trusted in Him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own god. No god can save lives in this way."

Then the King wrote a letter "To the peoples, nations, and men of every language, who live in all the world:

It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God as performed for me.

How great are His signs

How mighty His wonders

His kingdom is an eternal Kingdom

His dominion endures from generation to generation."

No other God can save this way - words from the mighty

Nebuchadnezzar - and he didn't even know the half of it!

[Wouldn't it be great if we knew the melody the early church

used to sing that wonderful hymn? Maybe it will be one of the praise hymns we sing around His Throne when we get to heaven!]