C S Lewis - No Ordinary People

     There are No Ordinary People....


It may be possible for each to think too much of his own potential glory hereafter; it is hardly possible for him to think too often or too deeply about that of his neighbor.

The load, or weight,  or burden of my neighbor's glory should be laid on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken.

It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare.

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

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

There are no ordinary people.

You have never talked to a mere mortal.

Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations -- these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat.

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

This does not mean we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously -- no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.

And our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner -- no mere tolerance, or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment.

Next to be Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.

If he is our Christian neighbor, he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ vere latitat - the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden.

    --- From The Weight of Glory, by C S Lewis

Mercy and Grace Before We Ask?

 In John 8 we read the well-known account of the woman caught in adultery. The religious leaders brought her to Jesus -- for punishment -- but  mostly to trap Him and find cause to accuse and discredit Him publicly. 

The first, and obvious question, is "Where is the man?" They said she was 'caught in the act.' The law was clear -- the man was also guilty. They didn't seem to care very much about that detail!

So she is standing there alone -- obviously guilty -- no defense lawyer to plead her case. Alone. A cruel death waiting for her.

What is Jesus doing? Starting to write something on the ground with His finger....in a kneeling position as we picture it. He makes His famous answer, "Let any of you who is without sin be the first one to throw a stone at her."

They begin to walk away and then only Jesus and the guilty woman are left. "Neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin."

Notice He forgave her first! He didn't parole her; didn't tell her to change her life and then come back and report to Him.

He forgave her first! He gave her mercy and grace before she even asked. Freedom. A  second chance. A new life. 

What an amazing God we have!

Questioning God

 It's truly amazing how God's words in His Word speak to us just when we need to hear them!

I say, "Lord, how could You truly love someone like me?"

He answers, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving kindness" (Jeremiah 31:3).

I say, "Lord, why would You draw me to You?"

He tells me that He takes great delight in me and that He rejoices over me, singing to me while quieting and soothing me with His words (Zephaniah 3:17). He tells me I am His (Psalm 100:3).

"But, Lord," I protest. "How can You accept me? My weaknesses, my return to sin, my disobedience! Even I wouldn't want me!"

He answers, "Though the mountains be shaken  and the hills be removed, yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken, nor My covenant of peace be removed"(Isaiah 54:10).

Doubts press in. But He overrides them with His perfect promise from Lamentations 3:22 that His love and compassion never fail -- in fact, they are new and fresh every morning!

He has spoken! Case closed!

Nothing can stop His love.

LORD, help me accept Your love for me and to joyfully display it every moment of every day! Amen.

{Thoughts from Anchor Devotional, November, 2024}

Restore My Joy - Is it too much to ask?

 

                                          Restore My Joy - Is it too much to ask?

"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin...Create in me a pure heart, O God....restore to me the joy of your salvation." (Psalm 51:1, 2, 10, 12)

I find it necessary to read this psalm multiple times. It appears in centuries past that congregations recited it together every week at worship services. I can see why.

David  composed it just after he was confronted with his sin with Bathsheba and his attempt to cover it out by having her husband Uriah killed.

When I was younger I was amazed at David's presumptuous attitude! -- What gall, I thought! Such serious sins and to ask God to restore his joy!!?

Asking forgiveness -- that's OK. But asking for his joy in God's presence to be restored? That's just too much!

But now I am older and have seen more clearly - and more frequently - the darkness of my own heart and realize that all sin is treason against our holy God-- all sin is serious - displeasing to Him and deserving of judgment and death.

But His gracious forgiveness of all our sins does restore us - brings us back into our close fellowship with Him and brings back our joy in His presence.

Yes, it is hard to believe, and that's why we call it 'Amazing Grace'!

His total complete forgiveness does this for us.

And so I pray, with David, when I confess my sins and experience the miracle of forgiveness,  please restore the joy of your salvation to me, a sinner saved by your grace!

Who Wants a Tin Can Without a Can Opener?

                                      Who Wants A Tin Can Without a Can Opener?

We  can always count on God's timing. It's perfect, down to the last second accurate.

In Ephesians 2:10 He tells us that "We are God's handiwork [masterpiece], created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Not only did He prepare the tasks He wanted us to do, but He also prepared us to be able to do the tasks!

We read in 2 Timothy 2:16-17, that "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

His timing is perfect! When the task is ready for us we are ready for the task!

Our human timing is not so great. I remember reading that Napoleon Bonaparte, in the 1790's, discovered that food, when heated, could be preserved for long periods of time and still retain flavor if kept safely in a secure container.

I don't know how he discovered that - but he talked about it - he didn't realize that by killing the bacteria and applying a sealed vacuum it was kept from recontamination - he just knew it kept food longer and preserved more of its taste.

A British inventor in 1810, applied this study to his own work, and created the world's first canned goods. But his 'cans' were wrought iron and so thick they had to be opened with a hammer and chisel!

It wasn't till 50 years later that an American inventor, with thinner steel cans, invented an actual can opener that had a blade that could puncture a can and saw the lid off!  And it wasn't until 1870 that a rotary can opener  appeared on the market that could actually be used by home consumers.  A huge advancement in food consumption!

But it took 60 years for the practical, operational can opener to be invented so those marvelous cans of food could be opened!

I am thankful for the variety of food tin cans made possible. And how the ideas of "canning" food right at home changed our diets forever. But I am also thankful we can get into them without a hammer and chisel! 

Nothings compares to God's perfect timing in all He does.

He has a job He wants us to do. And He has already prepared us to do it!

The Problem With Trying to Make Yourself Look Stupid

Looking  back to the beginning -- When the Lion (Aslan) Created Narnia 

(From "The Magician's Nephew," The Chronicles of Narnia, by C S Lewis)

"When the Lion had first begun singing, long ago when it was still quite dark, [Uncle Andrew] had realized that the noise was a song. And he disliked the song very much. It made him think and feel things he did not want to think and feel. Then, when the sun rose and he saw that the singer was a lion ('only a lion,') he said to himself, he tried his hardest to make believe that lion had never been singing, only roaring as lions do in our world.

And the longer and more beautifully the Lion sang, the harder Uncle Andrew tried to make himself believe that he could hear nothing but roaring.

Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. And Uncle Andrew did. He soon did hear nothing but roaring in Aslan's song. Soon he couldn't have heard anything else even if he had wanted to.

And when at last the Lion spoke -- 'Narnia, AWAKE!' -- he didn't hear any words, just a snarl. And when the Beasts spoke in answer he heard only barkings, howling, baying and growling."

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

[Poor Uncle Andrew. He didn't want to see or hear the truth. He preferred to hear and see a lie. He didn't even hear the Talking Beasts! He was there, but he missed it all! Missed the joyous magnificence of Aslan personally creating Narnia!

And so he exchanged the truth for a lie, as explained in Romans 1. He had ears and eyes, but he could not hear or see!  I know some people like that around me right now - and we aren't even in Narnia! You probably do, too!]

More about baby birds....

I ran across these verses in Deuteronomy:

                When you come across a bird's nest beside the road, either in a tree or on the ground,
                and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with
                the young. You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may
                go well with you and you may have a long life.
                                          Deuteronomy 22:6-7

Why are these verses in the Bible? If there is, as I believe, no "filler" in God's Word -- if, as I believe, every Word from Him is important...then what is the importance of this?

I turned back to the Chumash (the Jewish commentary).

Here are some thoughts from the venerable Rabbis....

1. It is referring to an ownerless bird - not someone's poultry from their farm
2. The oldest commentaries say that the Torah forbad  taking an ownerless bird while sitting on the nest of eggs or young because it is cruel to do so.  

 Here's the exact wording in the Chumash:

 "The Torah forbids one to take an ownerless mother bird when it is sitting on its eggs or young. One must send away the mother bird --  even many times if it keeps returning to the nest -- and only then is one permitted to take the eggs or young....the reason for this commandment, as the prohibition against slaughtering a mother animal and its young on the same day (Leviticus 22:28) is because it is cruel to do so, especially since animals instinctively love their young and suffer when they see them slaughtered or taken away...Another reason is to symbolize that people should avoid doing things that will destroy a species, for to slaughter mother and children on the same day is akin to mass extermination.....these commandments are meant to inculcate compassion in people...that people should accustom themselves to act mercifully."

I am so touched by these thoughts from the ancient Jews.

The reference to Leviticus 22:28 is when God told the Jews "do not slaughter a cow or a sheep and its young on the same day."


Another thought from the Chumash....the Rabbis said that God would honor obedience to this simple commandment, that involved no financial loss, and so it demonstrated how much He would honor obedience in areas that caused hardship.

If we would obey God in small areas it showed that our hearts are yearning to be obedient in all areas.

The next verses in the passage from Deuteronomy talk about being responsible human beings, not only within nature, but within our communities, with each other. Verse 8 says that the Jews were to build a fence or other form of barrier around his roof, to keep people, who often entertained visitors on the flat roofs of their houses in the Holy Land, from falling off the roofs. Modern Jews use this verse to require them to build protection around their pools, or tall stairways that need railings.

The earlier verses in the Deuteronomy passage  talk about an ox, or sheep or goat that has strayed. They are to be returned to their brother. If the owner lived too far away, or perhaps was unknown, the finder was to keep the animal safe and fed until the owner came to claim it. He was to do that for any lost items -- even a garment.

 [And Jesus talked about a lost coin, a lost sheep, a lost boy .Just because the item is lost doesn't mean it changes owners!  Finders keepers, losers weepers is not God's description of holiness.]

And you were to help your neighbor, whose ox or donkey had fallen, get the struggling animal to his feet.

The Torah says, "Do not hide yourself" from these everyday situations. Our NIV says, "Do not ignore it."

So God is deeply concerned with all details of our lives. He is watchful that we care for His creation. That we care for the endangered species around us. That we not treat carelessly the animal world nor our great natural resources that have come to us from the bounty of God.

And that we are watchful of the welfare of our neighbors -- helping them whenever we can. We must not 'hide oursevles' or ignore problems we can help fix!

What a wonderfully caring God we worship!

Bro Mike says he is himself a "tree hugger" in the sense that he recognizes that God has put us "in charge of" His vast creation. We are to be careful, thoughtful stewards of the bountiful world we live in.

From the words of our Redeemer Savior:

         Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God.
                Luke 12


And from my childhood, the Westminster Catechism:


Question 11. What are God's works of providence?
Answer: God's works of providence are, his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all of his creatures, and all their actions.
(Psalm 145:17, Psalm 104:24, Hebrews 1:3, Nehemiah 9:6, Ephesians 1:19-22, and Psalm 36:6.)

How He Went Back Home

 Jesus' resurrection and appearances to His followers removed any doubt that He was, in truth, their long-awaited Messiah! Their Immanuel!

He apparently only appeared to His believers and followers -- not to Herod, or Pilate, or His outspoken belligerent critics in the religious circle.

He only stayed around 40 days before He left them and ascended to His place of honor and glory --He went back home! Certainly His best day!

Here's how Luke describes it in Acts 1:9-11 -- As the disciples watched in wonder -- 

"He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.'"

As I write this I am looking at the sky -- some lovely morning pinkish clouds and billowing white displays of morning beauty -- I am looking for Jesus! You probably are, too. This would be a perfect day for Him to come back and call us up to be with Him!

Yes, Maranatha!  Our Lord Jesus!

(I guess we'd better get busy - there's lots to do yet!)

So what's new?

The more things change, the more they remain the same...



Words from the Parson:

"...Then his face got serious...You know, Harriet, sometimes I get the feelin' that people are beginning to be a little ashamed of religion. They seem to think there is something old-fashioned about it. In this house we wouldn't notice it. Religion is part of our everyday life. It should be because it's mah business. But there's something about religion that seems to make people uneasy nowadays. Some of them seem to think it makes them look a little ridiculous if they say they believe in God and what He stands for."

-- From Stars In My Crown, written in 1946, by Joe David Brown. In the book he recalls his minister grandfather (Josiah Grey, a Civil War veteran) and events and conversations with his beloved and much admired grandfather occurring between 1900 and 1910. Stars in My Crown was made a movie in 1950.



For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes...for in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith... just as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."
  -- Romans 1:16

(God's own righteousness is revealed in the gospel)

Do we have a soul?--C. S. Lewis & Eugene Peterson

Spirituality is the attention we give to our souls, to the invisible interior of our lives that is the core of our identity, these image-of-God souls that comprise our uniqueness and glory.  -- Eugene Peterson, Subversive Spirituality.




We do not have a soul; we are a soul. We have a body.
                                   -- C. S. Lewis 



And the Lord God formed man from the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7).   .

Reveille - Winston Churchill

 

Jesus said, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). 

Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in Me will live, even after he dies (John 11).

One man who believed this was Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of England during World War II. He died in January, 1965. He carefully planned his own funeral, paying close attention to every detail and leaving his instructions with his family.

He wanted to make certain that everyone understood that he believed in the truth of Christ's words about the glorious resurrection of believers.

(About 6,000 people attended Winston Churchill's funeral service. And it is estimated that one million people lined the streets as the funeral procession passed by and that 350 million watched it globally!)

He was particularly interested in the concluding moments of the service.

Here is how he planned it:

He directed that two buglers were to be positioned in the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral. At the conclusion of his funeral service, the first bugler would play "Taps," the recognized signal that proclaimed "Day is Done." This call told soldiers to lower the flag, turn off the lights, and end their day. And the second bugler was to then to play "Reveille," which told soldiers to "Wake up! Raise the flag and go to roll call!"

-- a new day had begun!

Churchill wanted everyone to consider these two ideas: that death is not the final chapter of our life story! It opens the first chapter of our eternal life story!

He also loved these words from Isaiah: "Your dead will live, LORD, their bodies will rise  -- let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy!" (Isaiah 25)

Don't you wish you could have been there for his funeral?

He wanted to go with Jesus

 

                                                      He Wanted to go with Jesus!

"The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with Him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 'Return home and tell how much God has done for you.' So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him." 

(Luke 8:38).

Think about it --! Simple, immediate joyful obedience from an overflowing grateful heart!

Isn't that what Jesus wants from us?

Are you too easily pleased? C S Lewis

 

                                                Are You Too Easily Pleased?

"If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing...I submit that this notion is no-part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of rewards and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.

We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.

We are far too easily pleased."

     -- C S Lewis, "The Weight of Glory"

(He wants to do so much more for us!)

The Art of Being Wise - Abraham Lincoln

 "A man's wisdom gives him patience. It is his glory to overlook an offense" (Proverbs 19:2).

I read once that the art of being wise is the the art of knowing what to overlook -- part of what this verse teaches us!

To overlook someone's offenses allows us to drop our pretentions and defenses (in my case usually pride, arrogance, and self-righteousness) and just humbly drop the burden and move on.

And we can choose to do that!

Abraham Lincoln chose to overlook an important offense -- he was wise.  Once his secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, called him "a damned fool." Lincoln didn't retaliate in any way. He didn't relieve Stanton of duty, didn't come back with an angry retort, didn't replace him, argue in any way. Didn't try to make Stanton look bad.

Lincoln simply responded, "Mr. Stanton is very smart. He is usually right, and I usually agree with him. And he usually means what he says. So I must be a damned fool."

By being neither offensive or defensive, Lincoln killed the story! If he had responded others would have gotten involved, the press would hear about it and promote it and the fight would continue ad nauseum. (It certainly would have made the history books! Sort of like what would happen today!). Think about it -- have you ever heard this story before? No, I just dug it out of an old journal...by responding as he did, Lincoln killed the story forever! He was wise....

By the way, their friendship survived this challenge and apparently when Lincoln was fatally shot, Stanton was the one who announced, "Now he belongs to the ages," indicating he understood Lincoln's greatness.

Overlooking offenses give us joyous freedom!

Remember, "Love covers a multitude of sins." And "love is not easily angered; it keeps no record of wrongs..." And we are told repeatedly that God Himself keeps no records of our wrongs!

We should always keep the big picture in mind -- petty offenses have no effect on God's big picture. They are meaningless.

Prayer for today: "As You have been to me, loving Father, help me to be to others today."

A well is not a stream.....

The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."

"Sir," the woman said, "You have nothing to draw and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?"

Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
                                            ----John 4:9-14


Jesus offered the woman "living water."

What did that mean? In Jewish speech the phrase "living water" meant water that was flowing, not water that was stagnant, as in a cistern or a well.

Fresh, flowing water would always be preferred over
well water.

So the woman He was speaking to naturally thought of a stream.

She seems skeptical. Here was a man who thought he could produce better, finer water than did her ancestor Jacob.

After all, had Jacob known of a stream he certainly would not have taken the trouble to dig a well, probably a hundred feet deep.

He goes on to talk about living water that cures thirst forever. Not only that, it becomes a spring inside us that wells up continually.

No one as ever seen a well of water spring up. Only the water in a spring springs up.

The water in a well just lies there.

So Jesus is not talking about a well at all.

The woman had come to a well. Jesus has invited her to a spring.

Now He adds that if she allows Him to place this spring in her, the spring will never cease but will continue to bubble and bubble on forever.

Perhaps you want to build a house on a piece of property on which there is a well. But you don't want the well -- you will have city water.

You will just ask the bulldozers to push some dirt into the well and the well will be gone forever.

This won't work with a spring on your property. (Of course, you probably wouldn't want to stop up a lovely spring of fresh water, but if you did you would find it a much more difficult task.)

You could push a large pile of dirt over the spring and it might appear to have stopped the flow. But by morning, the stream will be there again, simply by pushing its way through the ground.

A well can be covered. A spring seeps through anything you may place over it.

That's what Jesus is talking about. He is promising to place a spring within the life of anyone who will come to Him.

His spring will be eternal, free, joyous, and self-dependent.

But He is also warning us that we will never be able to stop it - we can't bulldoze anything over it to stop its flow!

We might try -- I know I have.

Sometimes His Presence in my life has seemed inconvenient and maybe intrusive - certainly He seemed to interfere with my plans.

So I tried to "put a plug on it" and go my own way.

But, like the stream the builder tried to cover up with dirt, my life became muddy water.

Obviously, muddy water did not come from the stream itself -- the stream water was clean and pure -- it was because I pushed dirt into the water source that it produced filthy, not fresh and clean, water!

So I came back to the Source of the Living Water, to Jesus, and asked Him to clean me up again - to remove the dirt and grime and let His lovely sparkling water flow freely again!

It took some work, but He did it!

And if I mess up again, He'll certainly clean me up again. I'm confident of that.

Being confident of this, that He who began

a good work in you will carry it on to completion

until the day of Christ Jesus.  

Philippians 1:6

Thoughts of an old Monk

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

We often think of these ancient saints as rigid and austere.
And we are often wrong. He is loving and joyous in his writing
and displays those attitudes in simple, yet dignified, language.

He also wrote a favorite hymn: "Jesus, the Very Thought of  Thee."

Here are some of the lines:

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

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

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

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

These words are from "In the Garden,"  a favorite of my father's, written about 100 years ago by Charles Austin Miles.

My Dad's favorite line was: "He speaks and the sound of His voice is so sweet, the bird hush their singing!"  (My favorite line, too!)

So wouldn't it be glorious to meet these two men someday and
"Jesus talk" with them!  Maybe we will!

What I Missed at Christmas

                                                         What I Missed at Christmas

It feels so strange. Christmas only a few weeks away, but it feels like it was months ago!

Now I remember what I missed this year!

I never heard the Hallelujah Chorus! I never heard any of The Messiah!

Feels like I missed the best part of the season!

Our ancestors were right to celebrate both comings of Christ at Christmas -- not only His appearance in disguise as a baby born at Bethlehem,  but also His victorious return in the future to reign in power and glory as King of Kings!

I am focusing on the Hallelujah Chorus right now - I have the words playing on my phone and also Alexa to give a sort of stereo affect -- Sing with me --

"Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

The Kingdom of this world is become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ!

And He shall reign forever and ever!

King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

And He shall reign forever and ever!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!"

Now I feel like we've truly celebrated Christmas....but nothing like we will in the future when we see it all happen with our own blessed eyes! 

Hallelujah!

Living with eyes wide open.....

Open my eyes that I may see
Wonderful things in your law.

(Psalm 119:18)

This was one of those mornings when I just don't seem to get it.

Like I am reading a scriptural passage I know is important but I can't get my brain to focus on what that message is. The ideas are blurry and indistinct. I know there is something more....something that adds to my picture of God's character and would direct me toward more holiness and obedience....but I can't seem to shake off the feeling that I am hopelessly distracted from what He is wanting to tell me.

So I pray: "Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law." I am asking, not just for assistance at this moment, I am asking for a miracle.

The word open used in this verse is the same word used in the story in Numbers 22 when the Lord opened Balaam's eyes so he could see the angel of the Lord standing on the road in front of him with his sword drawn.

And when Hagar was fleeing with Ishmael and was in the desert, thirsty, desperate for water -- Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water.


And in Luke 24 we read about the two grief-stricken disciples on their way to Emmaus, who didn't realize they were walking and talking with the risen Savior --
then their eyes were opened and they recognized him.

When I ask God to "open my eyes" to more of His truth, I am asking Him to reveal Himself to me, not in an ordinary physical way, but in a supernatural way.

When Hagar saw the well, when Balaam saw the angel, and when the disciples saw Jesus, they were not seeing things that had not been there before.

God wasn't miraculously causing the well and the angel to appear -- they were already there.
The miracle was not in the appearance of the well and the angel and Christ, but the miracle was the Holy Spirit's work so they could see what was already there.

Were they so distraught by grief, by unbelief, by desperation that they couldn't see?


I think I am sometimes that way. The words and phrases are there, but because of my distractions, my disobedience, or my unbelief I just can't really get His message.

The word has to do with removing a veil, or a covering from our eyes. And I can't do that for myself.

It is a good time to remember that everything we have is a gift from God: our faith, our joy and peace, and even our repentance -- He is the source of all. And that includes our understanding of His Word --

Another Miracle When God Opened Someone's Eyes....

William Tyndale translated much of the Bible into early modern (contemporary) English in the early 1500's. He was the first to draw directly from the Hebrew and the Greek texts. (He was a well-known linguist -- fluent in at least 8 languages.)
He was also the first to take advantage of the new printing press and so copies could be distributed fairly quickly.

The Catholic Church and the English monarchy arrested Tyndale and he was burned at the stake in 1536.(Some records say he was strangled by one of the King's men before being tied to the stake, and some say a dear friend pierced him with his sword so he wouldn't feel the fiery pain -- I hope one of those is true.)

His last words, though, expressed his final prayer: "God, Open thou the King of England's eyes."

Was this prayer answered? Well, within 4 years of Tyndale's death, there were already 4 English translations being circulated in England. These included the Miles Coverdale version, Thomas Matthews', Richard Taverner's, and the Great Bible.

And then in the early 1600's the England's King James was gathering an assembly of the great linguists and theologians of the day to publish a brand new translation which would be called The Authorized King James Bible. It was completed in 1611.

So Tyndale's last prayer was answered in ways he could not even imagine.


(And we think things change fast these days!)

King James' scholars owed a great deal to Tyndale-- 83% of the King James New Testament and 75% of the Old Testament came directly from Tyndale's translation.


So really most of the credit for the "Authorized Version" should not go to all those scholars, it rightly belongs to William Tyndale!

Tyndale was the first one to substitute "love" for "charity." And he was the first to use the word "Jehovah" for the transliterated sacred Hebrew tetragrammaton, YHWH.

Living With Eyes Wide Open...

But back to David, the writer of Psalm 119. He doesn't just pray that God will open his eyes. He tells us why. He wants to live by God's law. And if he is to live by it, God will have to teach him from it (verse 26), give him understanding (verse 27)and keep him from false ways (verse 29).

And David was acknowledging that he would do his part: he would cherish and long for God's law (verse 20), he would meditate on God's decrees (verse 25) and delight in God's statues (verse 24), and let God's statues be his counselor (verse 24) and that he would obey God's law (verse 21).

Asking God to open our eyes is not something to be taken lightly. There are obligations and responsibilities for me when I am being instructed by the Holy Spirit. It makes me more accountable!

I should not pray this prayer without serious intent to live out what He is teaching me within.

 A Personal God? Or a Life Force? Which do you want?

From C S Lewis, Mere Christianity

One reason why many people find Creative Evolution so attractive is that it gives one much of the emotional comfort in God and none of the less pleasant consequences.

When you are feeling fit and the sun is shining and you do not want to believe that the whole universe is a mere mechanical dance of atoms, it is nice to be able to think of this great mysterious force rolling on through the centuries and carrying you on its crest.

If, on the other hand,  you want to do something rather shabby, the Life Force, being only a blind force, with no morals and no mind, will never interfere with you like that troublesome God we learned about when we were children. The One who speaks to us and holds us accountable.

The Life Force is a sort of tame God. You can switch it on when you want but it will never bother you. All the thrills of religion, and none of the cost.

Is the Life Force the greatest achievement of wishful thinking the world has yet seen?

(As for me, give me a personal God. Point me to the cross and tell me about Jesus. That's the God I want to believe in. A Rescuer, a Redeemer, a Savior God! I'll cast my life on Him!)

More Reasons to Say Thanks!

 

                                                        More Reasons to Say Thanks!

Reading Romans 1 --

Here are God's thoughts on the history of mankind:

"For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images...therefore God gave them over to the sinful desires of their hearts."

So they didn't glorify Him as God, nor did they give Him thanks. Thanking God Isn't trivial or optional; It is critical! Not thanking Him leads to destruction.

And as we look at Jesus we also see the importance of giving thanks. When He fed the multitudes the record says, "When He took the loaves He gave thanks" and the 5 small fishes fed thousands!

And standing outside the tomb of Lazarus, He gave thanks! And then the dead man came out -- alive -- and into the arms of his family!

See the pattern? First "thanks" and then the miracle! It is repeated through the gospels.

Are we missing something important these days?

First Thoughts -- First Words - Eric Metaxas - From The Moon

From Eric Metaxas...


It's interesting to think that some of the first words ever spoken on the surface of the moon were those of Jesus.


"I am the vine, you are the branches. [Whoever] abides in Me...will bring forth much fruit...(John 15:5)



Astronaut Buzz Aldrin said that he'd intended to read this communion passage in his transmission back to earth, but at the same time, NASA was embroiled in a legal battle with Madalyn O'Hair, the outspoken atheist who was suing NASA becase the Apollo 8 crew had read a few scriptures from Genesis when they orbited the moon on Christmas of 1968.



Aldrin had been asked not to read the scriptures over the radio, and he reluctantly complied, reading them quietly as he gave thanks to God.



"It was interesting for me think," he said some years later, "the very first liquid ever poured on the moon, and the very first food eaten there, were the communion elements."




And interesting for us to think that the first symbolic act on the moon was a remembrance of a self-sacrificial act of grace made 2000 years earlier by the One who made the moon and the Earth and the stars.

What is God Longing For?

From Isaiah:

"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....

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

For the LORD is a God of justice, Blessed are all who wait for Him.'"

                                                                      --Isaiah 30:15-18

What an amazing God we have! He 'longs to be gracious to us'! He even rises up to greet us when we approach His throne to show us His mercy.

The prophet Micah says this: 'You delight to show mercy'!

(Micah 7:9)

Who could ever imagine a God like that?

The Last Time On Earth John saw Jesus...W A Criswell

From W. A. Criswell.....

"When I saw him I fell at his feet as though dead" (Revelation 1:17)

That response of John is most strange. It would seem that he would have looked upon the face of his Master with ecstatic bliss and joy beyond words to describe....He was a beloved disciple in that inner circle who lived next to the very heart and ministry of our Savior.

He laid his head on Jesus' bosom at the Last Supper. He stood at the cross. He saw the blood and the water flow out like a fountain from his heart.

It was this beloved disciple, John, who in obedience to the loving, tender, shepherdly word of the Savior took Mary, the Lord's mother, to his home and cared for her.

Yet when he sees the Master on this Isle of Patmos, he falls at His feet as dead. I repeat, it would seem that he would have looked upon the Lord with joy unspeakable, with a bliss and a gladness that would be indescribable. Instead, great fear fell upon him.

Dr. Criswell goes on to talk about why John reacted the way he did:

The beloved disciple is looking upon unveiled deity. In the days of His flesh, in the days of the Lord's ministry in the earth, His godhead was covered over, it was shrouded, it was curtained in the flesh.

There's a second reason why John fell over as a dead man in the presence of the great God and Savior Jesus Christ and it's this: he immediately was conscious of the burden of his own nothingness, the burden of his own folly, the burden of his own insignificance, his on shortcoming, his own humanity, his own sin and iniquity. No insect would have expected to live in the furnace of the Son.

Remember Isaiah? When he describes his own experience seeing God?

"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." (Isaiah 6:5).

Is there something wrong with the way we (I) view and approach God?

How do people see God?

 

You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air,  or like any creature...and when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon, the stars -- all the heavenly array -- do not be enticed to bowing down to them and worshipping them....."  Deuteronomy 4:15-19

God always makes His instructions perfectly clear.....in this case He illustrated it with a profound example -- God has no form --You saw no form of any kind -- There was nothing His people could see -- so always remember, My people, your God can't be seen -- so don't try to make up a god you can see ..... because I have no form and I alone am God!

How could He have made it any clearer -- I AM GOD AND I CAN'T BE SEEN! - Don't try to make Me into something you can see! Don't try to make Me less than what I am!

What we used to call "object lessons" - with a profound Object and a profound lesson - don't try to take a picture of Me - put away your camera! I am bigger than all that - You will have to see Me with your "other" eyes -

Maybe is this because the Holy God is to live in us? People who want to see what God is like should be able to observe us?

Memo from God

 

My child,

Don't worry so much about the world. 

Just love everyone.

I'll sort it all out later.

I promise.

Your Father

The 12th Day of Christmas

This is the 12th Day of Christmas!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No one can have more than one King!

 --

 --

Fortunatus and his friends

I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived because they supplied what was lacking from you. For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition.
1 Corinthians 16:17-18 (NIV)

.

I am so glad that Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus have come here. They have been making up for the help you weren't here to give me. They have been a wonderful encouragement to me, as they have been to you, too. You must give proper honor to all those who serve so well. 1 Corinthians 16:17-18 (NLT)



Paul writes these words to the Christians in Corinth. He was in Ephesus, and the three men, Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus, brought him a message from the struggling Corinthian church.


Paul mentions a written letter from the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 7:1. Probably this is the message they brought with them, and they could further explain and give detail through their verbal comments when seeing Paul face-to-face.

It was not a simple "Hello, how are you? We are praying for you" message. It was apparently long and detailed about the problems and ungodliness that had infected the church at Corinth.

We can tell from 1 Corinthians some of the problems they reported. The three men must have been greatly burdened to travel all the way to Ephesus to counsel with Paul.

We know very little about these men. In verse 15 (chapter 16) Paul writes, "You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achai, and they devoted themselves to the service of the saints."

So we know Stephanas and his family (Achai is in southern Greece - its major cities are Athens and Corinth) were the first gospel followers in the area and they were diligent leaders of the small congregation.

We know from 1 Corinthians 1:16 that Paul himself baptized the Stephanas household.

But even if we don't know much, we know that Paul applauds them: such men deserve recognition. They are to be honored for their dedication and faithfulness. They are serving well.

They were Christians who stepped up and filled in the gap - who filled an empty place for ministry - they deserve honor. They would minister to Paul as representatives of the entire body of believers in Corinth. What the whole congregation could not do, because of distance, they could do.

And because of their faithfulness and love for Paul, we have today
in our New Testament the book of 1 Corinthians, the letter from Paul they delivered back to their church in Corinth.

I want to be like those early Christians -- refreshing those around us who are ministering -- encouraging them -- holding up their arms as Aaron and Hur held Moses' -- and as we do that we are serving well.....

In Times of Trouble

"Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish"
    .....From King Hezekiah's prayer in Isaiah 38:17.

My prayer in my times of trouble....

Father, the circumstance I am in right now is difficult and painful.

I would not have chosen it.

If You had given me a pile of problems to choose from, this would probably have been the very last one I would have chosen.

But You, in Your love and wisdom, have chosen it for me.

And I know You intend it for my good, and so, by faith, I thank You for the good You are going to do in my life through it.

Help me to genuinely believe this and be able to thank You with all my heart.

Amen.

(US/TX) My Father is Here

Background: The Battle of Galveston Bay, January, 1863

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

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

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

Soldiers of the Army of Galveston:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Edward Lea
1840-1863
My Father is Here

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

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

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

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

DOXOLOGY!

He Longs to be Gracious

                              

                              Our Father God Longs to be Gracious to Us!

From Isaiah:  "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....yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore, He will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of Justice, blessed are all who wait for Him.'" Isaiah 30:15-18.

What an amazing God we have! He 'longs to be gracious to us!' He even rises up to greet us and show us mercy when we approach His throne.

The prophet Micah says this: "You delight to show mercy!" (Micah 7:9).

Who would ever even imagine a God like this?

P.S. And notice where our strength lies? "In quietness and trust..."

"Be still and know that I am God" He tell us.