We bring home the bacon, and fry it up in a pan. We spend much of our time taking care to furnish our daily bread. But, do we consider why we are living, breathing, food consuming beings? Ever wonder about eternity? Does the thought of the afterlife, or what's after life cross your mind? And we know that the Son of God is come, and has given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. 1 John 5:20
There are so many voices. Sound waves are directional and projectional. They have a velocity. They are aimed at us with a certain amplitude and volume. But, we listen to what we choose. We select our frequencies and "tune in or out" at will. What will we hear? What will we understand? The media, radio, the internet, television, print media, they all have agendas. I have an agenda, as well. So, how do you select your truth? Have you been truth-shopping lately? Just think about it.
Our weakness reminds us of the strength and power of God. My latest podcast episode is ready at http://reason2believehim.libsyn.com/ and on the player below. I read in a variety of versions; KJV, NKJV, NIV, and the Living Bible. For a complete transcript of Scripture references, see the Podcast Page. | | Music:
"I Choose to Praise You"
Used by permission from Mark Snyder
Written by Mark Snyder of Tree Hill Collective
http://www.weekendwarriorworship.com/www-artist-weekend-warrior-worship/
http://treehillcollective.com/
Vocals by Helene Immel
https://www.facebook.com/Heleneimmelofficial
Tree Hill Collective’s music may be purchased at:
Amazon- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007ITCAB8/ref=dm_dp_adp?ie=UTF8&qid=1331706018&sr=8-3
ITunes-
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/one-redemption-ep/id509287455 |
It appears we are seeing quite a spectacle at night, of the planets dancing in the sky, or rather it doesn't appear since we have had rain all week. Oh, but I know they are there. I can see them in my mind's eyes. The show started Monday. Shortly thereafter you could see both planets with the moon. Tomorrow, Thursday, just after sunset, Venus and Jupiter will line up in a planetary conjunction. It will take place whether we can see it or not.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him.
Yes, there are things unseen, and yet we see them...with our Spiritual eyes.
Sources:
http://astrobob.areavoices.com/
http://www.universetoday.com/93859/astrophotos-moon-venus-and-jupiter-conjunction/
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/03/120313-conjunction-venus-jupiter-sky-space-science/
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/03/12/skywatching-treat-venus-and-jupiter-dance-together-this-week/
Autumn is my favorite season, and is upon us. I found this beautiful poem on Kindle reader:
LEAVES
Lo! I am come to autumn, When all the leaves are gold; Grey hairs and
golden leaves cry out The year and I are old.
In youth I sought the prince of men, Captain in cosmic wars, Our Titan,
even the weeds would show Defiant, to the stars.
But now a great thing in the street Seems any human nod, Where shift
in strange democracy The million masks of God.
In youth I sought the golden flower Hidden in wood or wold,
But I am come to autumn, When all the leaves are gold.
Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith) (2004-04-01). The Wild Knight and Other
Poems (pp. 17-18). Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition.
I always thought it poignant how the progression of seasons are drawn in sharp parallel to the seasons of our life. Of all the seasons, I find Autumn the most rich and starkly beautiful. The only thing missing is rain. A soaking rain with leaves plastered around our world randomly makes it seem as a fingerpainted work of art. Just like the leaves, we are snatched from our spot, tossed to and fro, only to land in some different spot where we lie in repose upon the grass growing beneath us; feeding those who come after with the nutrients of our living. Our dying becomes their life. And, so it is with the circle of life. Then comes Winter, with the bare, naked trees, shaking in the cold December evenings, waiting for some hint of tomorrow.
Yes, Autumn is when all the leaves are gold. We only hope to embrace the changes we face as the turning of a chapter of our lives. For, when God moves you... the page is always turned to something more beautiful! As such, Autumn is like an open doorway into the best the future has to offer. I love the Autumn!
Isaiah 6:13 "But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and
shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when
they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof."
This verse speaks of an oak tree losing its leaves, yet it still has its essence within itself. And, when the Spring comes, the tender shoots spring out of the branches; new leaves which were there all along inside the Oak, and would never have been seen if the old had not fallen away.
In the New King James, it translates the verse to say that the tree is actually chopped down and the tree sprouts anew. But, this is a mistake. It translates the word "matstsebeth" as trunk instead of substance. As you can see, the word means: something stationary, i.e. a monumental stone; also the stock of a tree:--pillar, substance. This refers to that which is of value inside the tree, the seed. Stock means the basic stored life in this verse... like soup stock.
John the Beloved said in 1 John 3:9 "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." This is the same idea, that we have God's seed within us and it will continue to grow.
Don't think that you have been chopped down. No, the leaves are only falling away so that you will see your new beauty just months from now. Let the winds blow. Let the rain fall. The stuff that you are made of will spring forth and you will see a new thing come to pass in your life.
I lost something of great value to me at church on September 11th this year...my Wedding Band and Engagement Ring. I have had problems with my hand swelling...my whole left side actually. I was putting lotion on before slipping them back on when I went somewhere. But, that Sunday, they wouldn't go on and I had forgotten they were in my lap when I got out of the car.
I thought about them after service started. There was a huge crowd that day for the Memorial service. I sent my son to look for them, hoping I had dropped them in the car door or floorboard, since I have trouble getting out of the car. He came back without them. I've never been much of a "jewelry person." I used to wear a sports watch but got out of the habit of that except when I was running or swimming laps. I do like lapel pins and rings with meaning...which my wedding rings were of course. But, I was suddenly so upset and about in tears at the thought of them being gone possibly forever...it was a heart sickening thought.
I don't know what came over me. Before I knew it, I left church to look in the parking lot, before too much more time had passed to ever find them. I couldn't find them in the car. I even looked under cars. Of course, by then I was so upset that I went home in tears by myself. When my husband got home, I thought I was so unhappy I would never be able to get over it. I couldn't speak from the sadness. I couldn't accept this seemingly small loss. Amazingly, this bothered me more than any of the "losses" I felt I have had in the past two years. That surprised me. More than the five surgeries, the scars, the weight gain, the loss of my career, friends, income, all the pain...
I felt like I couldn't bear this loss. It overwhelmed me. My husband looked at me silently for a bit. Then he just began to comfort me and reminded me of how much I love him and how much he loves me. It made me realize something I had forgotten. I had his rings because he loved me...not the other way around. Its easy to confuse the gift with the giver. The same can be true with God. We mistake His gifts for the love He gave them with. Those signs...trinkets of His love... become dear to us because of who gave them to us. But, sometimes we forget that the gift is not what we are in love with.
Saturday, our church had many more people there for the citywide yard sale, with vendors set up all around the walking track. I wasn't able to go, but I thought about my rings, and hoped for the slim chance of them being found. Near the end of the Yardsale, I got a phonecall letting me know they had been found there in the parking lot, and they were fine. I got them back Sunday morning. But, I also have the reminder that God's love is not dependant on my visible blessings. He loves me...period. I don't need any visible "signs" of His love. He loves me when I am blind with pain. He was blessing me when the Fitness Manager from my gym called to tell me I won the Fitness Challenge Grand prizes. And, he was blessing me when my nurse ordered me a walker to get around this week. He created my body whole before I knew I was His child. Now that my body is broken and damaged, I am still His child. None of these things are based on signs or blessings.
1st John 4:12 We can't see God. But, we can see His love if we love others. 1 John 3:1 The greatest gift He has given us is calling us His children. 1 John 3:16 The only real sign" of God's love is his death on the cross. If you know He died for you then you know He loves you. That is enough.
I Corinthians 1:18,19-31
The subject of this passage as a whole deals with the two different views of the cross; the world vs. the believer. The conflict is in the acceptance of Christ’s cross, which is required for eternal life. Those who come under the blood willingly, now, are covered and their sins are remitted. Those who ignore or refuse the cross carry the guilt of their sin. But, even believers who have received the expurgation of the cross blanch at the idea of carrying the cross after redemption. We are afraid of the self-denial that comes with the cross. To carry your cross, you must lay down your pride, anger, rebellion, self-will, greed, and covetousness. That can be scary even to believers and foolishness to unbelievers. The world believes the highest wisdom is in providing self with the greatest happiness here on Earth. The world view is backward. Therefore, the cross is foolish, needless suffering. They look at it like religion and the church should meet my needs. Cross-carrying does not meet the needs of anyone's Earthly wants. Embracing the cross of Jesus is accepting that you are a sinner, and that Jesus died to set you free, and set you on the path to Heaven.
Thomas Akempis put it this way, “Why, then, do you fear to take up the cross when through it you can win a kingdom? In the cross is salvation, in the cross is life, in the cross is protection from enemies, in the cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness, in the cross is strength of mind, in the cross is joy of spirit, in the cross is highest virtue, in the cross is perfect holiness. There is no salvation of soul nor hope of everlasting life but in the cross.”
1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down
his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (Notice how this verse mirrors John 3:16?)
The roar of the lion is no new sound. Some of the references to Jesus roaring like a lion appeared many thousands of years before the first advent of Jesus on Earth. C. S. Lewis wrote a picturesque trilogy based on the coming of the Lion that he called the Chronicles of Narnia, Narnia being the abode of the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve.
Joel 3:16-18 The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice
from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be
the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So shall you
know that I am the LORD your God... And it shall come to pass in that day, that the
mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the
rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth from the
house of the LORD..."
Of course, we all wait in hope for the return of the Lion. Jesus is the Lion and He will call His children from afar on that great and notable day.
Hosea 11:10 They shall walk after the LORD: he shall roar like a lion:
when he shall roar, then the children shall come trembling from the west.
The image of the Lion fits well, because is Jesus not the King, much like the Lion is the King of Beasts? Actually that is quite a striking metaphor, seeing as how the King of the Beasts must be a beast himself. God, being the Creator of mankind, was not a man himself, until he robed Himself in flesh like clay, and took upon Himself the likeness of a man in Jesus Christ. Then He was able to call Himself the King of Men... the Son of Man... He who was first the Son of God now walked in the clay that He created. Now... the Lion could call Himself the King of all Creation, because He dwelt in our earthly realm.
Isaiah 31:4 For thus has the LORD spoken unto me, Like the lion and the
young lion roaring over his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth
against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor disturbed by the noise of
them: so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for its
hill.
Oddly matched battle usually, between the lion of Judah and the multitude of world leaders! (Our leaders are our shepherds, I hope we vote in the matter.)
Isaiah 42:13 The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up
jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, shout aloud; he shall prevail
against his enemies.
And on the Lion marches...coming, coming in glory! Hear the battle cry? Our Champion is leaping and charging ahead, leading the Kingdom Saints!
Jeremiah 25:30 Therefore prophesy against them all these words, and
say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his
holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a
shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the
earth.
There will come a day when all will see His face in glory. After the rapture of the church, after the havoc of the man Antichrist, the man of sin, has devastated Earth with the climax of sin's effect which began at the Fall, after the desecration of everything called holy on this earth! Then comes King Jesus, charging on a white horse, leading the saints in their glorified bodies. Then we will not only behold Him, but we will be like Him, for we will have seen Him as he is.
1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the children of God, and it does not
yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be
like him; for we shall see him as he is.
What had appeared only nights before to be the end of their world, now became the beginning of life for them and so many to follow their steps to that empty tomb, you and I included. Jesus, the Master of stone removal! He was born to die. He came with reason. He lived and died with reason. But, what happened next was beyond reason. He defied death! The stone was taken away by an angel to reveal an empty tomb. Jesus arose from the dead on the third day!
Why? Why would He do that? Why die for us, if He didn't care for us on an intimate personal level... if He was not involved in our lives in the most minute of details? What kind of love would cause someone to lay down His life for a person who had violated everything the life giver stood for? Maybe for his own countrymen, men who stood for his own ideas and beliefs. But, for us who were contrary to His law? Again, beyond reason.
But, Jesus' cross-work served a purpose. Sure His blood washed away our sins...made us clean. But, why make us clean...why remove our sin debt? What was the point? Why did He die? He satisfied the price for sin. He reversed Adam's curse. He made right the great wrong. He died a substitutionary death. He died that we might live...forever!
He is good. He is love. Am I sure? Sure I'm sure. Doesn't the bible say, "God is love," and "God is good?"
1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
Psalms 73:1 Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.
God had more motive than we often want to think about. We see the sin part readily...because how well we know we fall short of God's righteousness! But, do we see the love? Can we feel the love of Calvary? Can we reason out the unfathomable love of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ?
Psalms 143:10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.
Yes...God is love and God is good. God is a consuming fire that will fill your heart, mind, and soul. In the morning...yes there was a resurrection morning... in the morning...don't just remember that your sins are forgiven...remember...why?
A woman and her husband, a beautiful home, and immaculately kept lawn and gardens. On nature walks through the woods nearby they saw wild creatures tame enough to hand feed. The night sky filled with stars was not marred by pollution, air traffic, or space debris. And the perfect neighbor, God, took evening strolls with Adam and Eve each evening at dusk.
Sounds Idyllic, I know. Paradise has been conceived of by every culture, and never seems to vary from the same basic ingredients. We really don't require much as human beings do we? All that was missing was a grill...and a few zebra steaks, or maybe catfish. :)
Jesus hung out with fishermen. And, he was handy with a grill. I don't know that He ever ate zebra, but remember the silent feast of fishes by the seashore that early morning beyond Calvary in John 21? Peter's Fishing Expedition had caught nothing all night. But, Jesus had called out from the shore with an inside tip, producing a miraculous draught of fish. Then Peter dove rashly into the water and swam to Jesus. Jesus instructed them to bring Him some of the catch to add to the grill. They ate the fish apparantly in silence. Jesus looked at Peter sitting there with the water dripping off his coat, droplets sizzling in the heat of the campfire. It was then that Jesus opened the subject the others must have been dreading. "Do you love me?" I'm sure the others all breathed a sigh of relief that Jesus singled out Peter, instead of them to drill about the issue. I am amazed at Jesus asking only about Peter's love, and not his faith. We get it all backwards. We think God cares so much about what we believe or know, while He is wondering how much we love Him. It's all about relationship.
If you look back to the last meal Jesus spent alone with the disciples, the Last Supper, you will find Peter protesting to Jesus that he will never be offended over Jesus. Matthew 26 Then he denied Jesus three times, just as Jesus said he would. I'm sure this meeting with Jesus had to be an uncomfortable reminder of their failures. I'm sure their denial and abandonment was on Jesus' mind. But, He forgave them.
Of course, Adam and Eve had failed in Paradise as well... the best of situations. But, God had a solution to the failure problem. Incarnation and Pentecost: twin historical events where God came down to man, to redeem and restore His fallen creation to Himself. Sadly, neither event would solve the love problem. It would take Jesus' crucifixion to teach us how to love Him.
1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
We didn't even recognize love until he died for us. Strange isn't it? If love is blind...why do we see so clearly when we fall in love with Jesus?
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