Where Earth and Heaven Met, deuxieme partie

Well, I have to keep my high school French sharp, you know.... :) "Deuxieme partie" is French for "part two", which begs the question of why there is a big, golden 7 up there.  But, hang on....

You know how folks will ask, "If you were going to be marooned on a desert island all alone for the rest of your life, and you could take 3 things with you, what would they be?"

I think about that question as I contemplate what God Almighty chose to include in the "furnishings" of the Tabernacle (and later the Temple's) "holy place".  There were only three items.  Are there any indications in Scripture to teach us why He chose those items?  Let's investigate!

First of all, all three furnishings were made of acacia wood overlaid with pure gold, and the accompanying items (such as tableware and coal pans) were made of pure gold.

1.  The Table of Shewbread (aka Table of the Presence)1
"Shewbread" literally means "bread of the face" or bread set out before the face of God.
As one entered The Holy Place, this table was on the right hand side.  (This is the first mention of the word "table" in the Bible. Table is a symbol of communion and fellowship.  More about that in a moment.) On the table were placed every Sabbath 12 loaves of bread, made from the finest flour and unleavened.  They were arranged in two rows of six, on the table.  Each loaf represented one of the tribes of Israel. How beautiful that, even though only Levitical priests were allowed in the Holy Place, all the people of the 12 tribes were represented there before the Lord, by the 12 loaves... Sprinkled over the loaves was the oil of frankincense, which consecrated the bread unto the Lord, essentially making it a grain offering.  At the end of the week, the "old" bread was consumed by the priests and new bread took its place on the table.  Tradition holds that 8 priests would hold hands standing around the table before consuming the old loaves.  Such a sacred communion.
The Table of Shewbread represents our Savior, Jesus Christ.  It is through Him, and only through Him, we have communion with our Triune God.  Frankincense was given to Him by the 3 Wise Men, you will recall, as a birthday gift.  No accident, that.  He called Himself the Bread of Life in John 6:35, 51-58.  This table was part of God's "old covenant".  The covenant meal Jesus established with His disciples shortly before His death represents His New Covenant.  That meal represents the believer's eating the "body" (bread) and blood (wine) of Christ on a regular basis to remind us of His sacrifice's all-sustaining and eternal nature.
Bible references to explore:  Exodus 25:23-30; Leviticus 24:5-9.

2.  The Golden Lampstand2
There were no dimensions given for this item.  (Who, after all, can measure the light of God?)
The instructions for making it are found in Exodus 25:31-40.  It was to be made entirely of gold (which caused it to weigh 75-100 pounds) and fashioned by the best artisans.  A strong motif in the design was the flower of the almond tree.  In that part of the world, the almond tree was the first to awake from the darkness of Winter, the first tree to respond to the increased light of Spring.  The lampstand had a vertical shaft, at the end of which was a bowl for the oil.  In addition, there were three curved branches, curving upward, to form 6 more bowls.  All seven were in the shape of the almond blossom.
The seven, tiny bowls, were to be kept burning at all times.  The High Priest was responsible for the care of the lampstand, to ensure its wicks of flax were adequate and that the finest olive oil was abundant, so that the eternal flame burned in the Holy Place (Leviticus 24:3).  There were no windows in the Holy Place.  None were needed.

The lampstand represents the Godhead, and points forward to Jesus.  Zechariah 4:1-4 tells us that this oil represents the Holy Spirit of God.  When the Holy Spirit fell on the believers at Pentecost, He represented Himself as "tongues of fire" over the head of each believer there assembled (Acts 2:3-4).  Jesus referred to Him as fire in Matthew 3:11-12.  And, Paul exhorts us to "not quench the Spirit" (1 Thessalonians 5:19).  Jesus often called Himself the Light of the World (John 9:5; 8:12).  And, in Psalm 27:1, God the Father reminds us that He is our Light and our Salvation.  In the Bible 7 is the number which represents completion and perfection.3  Our perfect God, the Three-In-One.

3.   The Altar of Incense4
(Exodus 30:34-38)
It was commanded that this wooden altar, overlaid with gold, be the tallest structure in the room.  It stood about 3 feet tall.  Some of the characteristics of this altar, such as the four horns on the four corners, mimicked the bronze altar just outside the Holy Place. There were coals kept burning on this altar, and they were brought there from the Bronze Altar in a golden coal pan.   As noted in its name, an incense, made of the finest spices and frankincense oil, was burned on this inner altar twice a day. The exact combination of incense is lost to us today.  But, this combo was to be used by no other Israelite for any other purpose.  It was a holy combination, used only for the worship of God on the Altar of Incense.  The High Priest, after he had tended the Golden Lampstand morning and evening, would offer an incense offering on the altar.  In this way, a perpetual sweet smell would pervade the Holy Place. (This fragrance of love and worship expressed the delight of one whose sins had been forgiven!) Additionally, once a year, on the Day of Atonement, after the annual sin offering (Passover Lamb) had been offered, some of its blood would be rubbed on the horns of this incense altar, as the High Priest was proceeding into the Most Holy Place (which we will examine in an upcoming blog).
The golden altar of incense has at its essence worship and praise.  It reminds us of Jesus' current ministry in Heaven, to perpetually intercede on our behalf before God the Father.

Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Psalm 141:2 

In the next post, ... the Most Holy Place!

Sources:

1   http://www.bible-history.com/tabernacle/TAB4The_Table_of_Shewbread.htm
2   http://www.bible-history.com/tabernacle/TAB4The_Golden_Lampstand.htm
3   https://www.gotquestions.org/number-7-seven.html
4   http://www.bible-history.com/tabernacle/TAB4The_Golden_Altar_of_Incense.htm
5   Wiersbe, Warren W., and Warren W. Wiersbe. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: The Complete Old Testament in One Volume. Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2007. Print.

A Charge to the Light Brigade

There were times in my childhood when I had to navigate down a dark path.  My memories of feeling safest were when I was led by an adult with a flashlight.  My adult guide would shine the flashlight on the path and sometimes back and forth into the darkness as we walked.  I felt completely safe.  Later, as I got older, I received my own flashlight and gained the confidence to walk down dark paths with Him to guide my steps.

What sensible person carries a flashlight down a dark path but does not shine it out in front, to illuminate the path?  Possessing the light is useless unless it is directed by the light bearer and "shone forth".  This is truly "walking in the light, as He is in the light".  (1 John 1:7)

In Ephesians 5:6-14 Paul is describing the resplendent walk:

⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for God’s wrath is coming on the disobedient because of these things. ⁷ Therefore, do not become their partners. ⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light— ⁹ for the fruit of the light results in all goodness, righteousness, and truth— ¹⁰ discerning what is pleasing to the Lord. ¹¹ Don’t participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them. ¹² For it is shameful even to mention what is done by them in secret. ¹³ Everything exposed by the light is made clear, ¹⁴ for what makes everything clear is light. Therefore it is said:

"Get up, sleeper, and rise up from the dead,
and the Messiah will shine on you."

Previously, in the verses just prior to these, Paul exhorted believers to imitate God by walking in His love.  Here, he begins to talk about our associations with others.  There are times when love must be courageous.

First, he warns us of making alliances with phony Christians - - - those ungodly deceivers who talk a good game, but who have souls empty of the Holy Spirit, who have no flashlight at all.  He labels them as still walking in darkness, that is, not having experienced the salvation of Jesus Christ, regardless of their words.  Indeed, their actions stand in direct conflict with their words.  We are not to line up with them or to become partners with them.

Secondly, since we have the light of life in our hearts, we are not to participate in "works of darkness".  Ok, so, we are to walk in the light, down the path of life, and avoid sinful behavior.

Thirdly, and this is very, very unpopular today - - - we are not merely to go skipping down the path shining our light along the way, refusing to participate in sin.  In verse 11, Paul goes a step further, saying we are to expose the sin that surrounds us.

In a recent Sunday School lesson the emphasis was on learning from, and coming back from, failure.  The majority of the discussion focused on the "crash and burn" types of failures, where we made an unfortunate choice, or an error in judgment or a naive decision and came to an unfortunate condition called "failure".  Well and good.
However, I pointed out that perhaps an even worse failure is the kind where we refuse to obey the Word of God.  Verse 11 of this passage is one such example where in modern-day America followers of Jesus Christ have failed.

There is a pernicious lie which has permeated much of Christendom since the mid-1950s.  It says, "Live and let live."  I can remember seeing this slogan on bumper stickers in years past.  A more modern incarnation of this philosophy is the popular "Coexist" bumper sticker.

In other words, "you do your thing, and I'll do mine."  "You leave me alone, and I'll leave you alone."  The problem with this is that it has resulted in an ever-encroaching tide of godlessness across our nation.  It's not quite as egregious as anarchy, "anything goes," because Christian people would have openly rebelled against that philosophy.  However, it is equally pernicious.  Death by inches, as opposed to one, swift blow.

Case in point:
On June 25, 1962, nearly 54 years ago as of the date of this writing, the U.S. Supreme Court removed daily, corporate prayer from the public schools of this nation.  One year later, Bible reading followed.1  The court's reasoning on this matter was that, although Bible reading and prayer had been taught in public schools for the previous 100 years of American public schooling, somehow it came to amount to "establishment of a particular religion." This was a lie, but the American church bought it, and did nothing to stop it.  The truth is that the Bible's tenets, like it or not, formed the foundational moral principles of Western Civilization.  (Ask an American law student, who is familiar with Old Testament law.)   It was Christianity which civilized and modernized Europe in the 1400s-1500s.  It was Christianity that under-girded American civilization for this country's first approximately 175 years.  Instead of standing up to the lie perpetuated by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1962 and '63, the American church hid its flashlights under its jackets.  As the past 50 or so years have rolled on, additional losses of freedom have followed, one after another, until this assemblage of 50 states, though still in some ways "united" are certainly not "one nation under God".

Walking down the path, boldly shining the light into the darkness takes tremendous courage.  It is much easier to "go with the flow", to "get on board", to "go along to get along".  The original publish date of this post is Memorial Day, May 30, 2016, a day on which we Americans commemorate and revere those men and women whose courage led them to serve our country and to make the ultimate sacrifice of their lives, on our behalf.  They died fighting those who had been identified as enemies to our country and to our freedoms.

The Charge of the Light Brigade

by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
'Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!' he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

'Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd ?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Some one had blunder'd:
Their's not to make reply,
Their's not to reason why,
Their's but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade ?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred! 2

The battle this famous poem describes was the result of a British military blunder, a miscommunication between a general and his subordinates during the Crimean War.  Yet, these soldiers did not question their orders, nor did they shrink from the battle.  They charged forth into the Russian army, heedless of the enemy's numbers, and made military history for their bravery, so much so that "all the world wonder'd".

As Christians, a Light Brigade, we have no need to fear that our "General" is wrong-headed or confused.
 
Most of the 12 disciples of Jesus died martyrs' deaths, rather than renounce the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  They were not content to "live and let live".  They were certain and single-minded, shining their lights so brilliantly and blindingly that the darkness, for a time, fled.

The same challenge given to these heroes has been also given to us.  Will we take it?  Paul uses a well-known saying (even we don't know for sure its source) in verse 14, when he shakes us by the collar to say, "WAKE UP! Rise up from the dead souls who surround you!"  Will each of us who claims the name of Jesus Christ, who bears His light shine?  Will we courageously expose the deeds of the unrighteous in our world, as the Lord gives each of us opportunity, no matter the personal cost, so that all the world wonders at our outrageous love for our Lord?

Father, thank you for giving me your Holy Spirit, the Spirit of my Lord, the Light of Life.  Every day You give me opportunities to shine Your Light into dark places, to expose and opposed wickedness.  May I shirk not the challenge or shrink from the battle!  May I emulate the example of my Lord, who did not retreat from the agony of the Cross, as well as those courageous saints who have gone before me in this ages-old war.  In Jesus' name, amen.


Sources:

1
http://religionandpolitics.org/2012/06/25/when-the-court-took-on-prayer-the-bible-and-public-schools/

2
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/45319

Light Sabers for Light Bearers

So here it is - - - the most blessed night of the entire year, Christmas Eve, the night that Christ -followers celebrate His birth.  After a lovely Christmas Eve service at our church and a good dinner, I had the privilege of going with the Hubster and the First Son to see "The Force Awakens".  Finally. All the fa-la-la-la-la of the season had prevented me from seeing it before now.  A strange juxtaposition, you think?  Not so much.

I remember back in the days of the first Star Wars movies (when I was a twenty-something) there was a twenty-something dude who went to church after seeing the first in the series.  During the welcome, you know, where you are to shake people's hands, he turned around to the folks seated behind him and quipped, "May the Force be with you."

Why has the Star Wars series been such a huge mega-hit?  Last I heard, in its opening weekend, this latest installment had taken in over $317 million!  There are several reasons, but I believe that there are two main ones.

1.  We identify with the characters who are trapped in the Dark Side.  The Bible tells us, and in our souls we know this to be true: we are, from the moment of our human conception, "wired" for sin.  It is part of our human DNA, since Adam's and Eve's escapades.  Although there are times we seem to break free, we quickly find ourselves like the fly in the spider's web, caught once again.
And, we desperately want out.  Oh...there are shenanigans, those strategies we are tricked into trying, in order to solve the problem ourselves.  "I did it my way!"  But, they are only temporary fixes.  They never take care of the sin problem, because they can't.

2.  We are fascinated by those who have "The Force" because we long to have it too.  We desperately want "the light" to overcome "the darkness", both in the story and in our own stories, our own lives. In the movies, sometimes the dark wins; other times the light wins.  Red saber vs. blue saber.  This mimics our lives; the ongoing cosmic battle resonates with the ongoing spiritual battle within us.  As I told a loved one the other day: those with the most potential for the light are always most severely opposed by the dark.  There is in each of us, however, the image of God in which we were created, that spark of the divine, by which we choose - - - either the light or the dark.

Jesus said that if we want "The Force", we can have it.  Well, sort of like that:

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

John 8:12

Perhaps he was thinking of Isaiah 9:2, when He made this declaration.

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them has the light shined.

When we hear the message of the gospel:
how God condescended to us,
how He from before Time began knew that He would put on flesh,
be conceived as a human inside a woman's womb,
go on to live the life of a Jewish man until He
allowed Himself to be crucified,
submitted to His own plan to redeem us by not only suffering the worst imaginable death, but
raised Himself from the dead...

All of earth's finest stories mimic His Story.  His is truly "the greatest story ever told".  Who but God could have spun a (true) tale like this one?

When we hear the gospel, we are faced with the choice: the light (Jesus) or the dark (the world, Satan).  It is the divine spark the "image of God" which the Holy Spirit kindles inside those who submit to Him, those who choose Him.

Upon our "YES", He performs that irreversible, transformative change in our souls.  He gives us a new birth.  He puts His Spirit in us, Light unparalleled, incomparable.
Then, we bear it.  We not only carry Him within us, we wield His light in the world, wherever we go.  It is "the light of life", the one and only, from The One and Only Savior.  There is none other.  All the rest are pretenders, deceivers, cheap imitators.

There is no life like the abundant life.  I was thinking about this precious gift of salvation earlier today - - - how it is the best of this earthly existence, how I would not trade it for anything.  It is the Gift of God, everlasting life, everlasting light.  He is the Gift, the Incomparable One.

So, stripping away all of the fancy paper, the carols, the celebrations, Santa, Christmas cookie swaps and deck-the-halls, it comes down to this:  God came down for you at Christmas.  Will you embrace and follow Him?

"Choose wisely, young padawan!" and "May the Force be with you!"

Heavenly Father, I am so grateful to be Yours.  I did not deserve to receive the greatest gift a human can be given, but You gave it anyway.  Thank you for reconciling me to Yourself and not only me but also anyone who will receive You.  This is unfathomable love.  This is Christmas.  All my praise and worship are Yours, Father, Son, Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Source:

http://www.italianrenaissance.org/wp-content/uploads/Michelangelo-creation-of-adam-index.png

Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Dir. J.J. Abrams, story by George Lucas. LucasFilm, December 18, 2015. Film. 

Everlasting Light

When the Bible begins, in the book of Genesis, we find God, the Creator of All There Is, "in the beginning", lighting up the darkness.

1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 3Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.4God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

Genesis 1:1-4

The first time we meet God, He is banishing darkness, a darkness which covered everything, consumed all.  The entire creation was drowning in darkness, literally.  Water and darkness were everywhere.  Yet with a handful of spoken words, by the mouth of The Word (John 1:1), darkness fled.

The Israelites stumbled around in the desert until their Jehovah Nissi, their Yahweh God, lit up the night sky with a pillar of fire, a beacon that called them to Him, that guided their way.

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; 

Those who dwelled in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined."

Isaiah 9:2

While meditating on this theme, I poked around the internet, doing a search for quotes about "darkness". What a sad endeavor that was!  There were many quotes from many gifted writers and worldly people.  Most of them were very fatalistic, along the theme of "yes, I'm smothered in the darkness of life with no possibility of escape."  And, yes, this is one of Satan's chief lies.  This is the world's mantra.  Right in the middle of that, God turns the light on.

For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us, a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

and His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace

There will be no end,

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,

To order it and establish it with judgment and justice

From that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this.

Isaiah 9:6-7

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

God shines brilliantly the light of life on those who "live in Shadowland".  That's all of us, until we embrace His Son, the Light of the World.  Despite our best "efforts", we are unable to banish our own darkness.  As usual, God does it in a way none of us would predict: "the zeal of the God of Angel Armies will accomplish this."  He dispels the darkness in the form of a Child, laid in a feeding trough, in a stable cave.  The Light of the World breaks open the darkness as He is born, Mary's child, yet infant King.

King Jesus said, "I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."  John 8:12

In the bleariness of mid-December darkness, we light Advent candles, to symbolize the eternality of the Light of the World, to proclaim to the lost, to those stumbling in the darkness of this fallen world, that Jesus came for them.  He didn't come just for "the good" or "the shiny ones".  There are no shiny ones.   Until we meet Him, until He floods our souls with eternal Light, His glory divine, we are all feeling our way through the darkness of life.

Those of us who have encountered and embraced Him as our own may be overshadowed by darkness at times.  We may even in our confusion and despair be overcome by it momentarily.  But, this is truth:  Satan's darkness can never triumph over the eternal Light which takes up permanent residence in the heart of the Believer.  That Light can never be extinguished.  Everlasting Light!

Right now, Believer, His Light dwells in you, even as you abide in Him!  We are His light-bearers to a dark world.  One day, though, we will dwell in Heaven, a place where there is no darkness, "no night there".

22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. 24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. 25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there).

Rev. 21:22-25

Enveloped in Everlasting Light, what a beautiful, blessed certainty!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvD91VKYbM8

Dearest Father, thank you for shining Your everlasting light, "the light of a million mornings", on me. My dearest, most precious desire is to shine Your light wherever You see fit to send me.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Source:

"Everlasting Light: A Christmas Carol for a Dark World", by Claire Cloniger and Mark Hayes
WORD Music, 1986.

"Where is the Lamb, Father?"

Good morning,

7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father?” “What is it, my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 “God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham replied. The two of them continued on together.

9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter his son. 11 But the Lord’s angel called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 12 “Do not harm the boy!” the angel said. “Do not do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”

13 Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord provides.” It is said to this day, “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.”

This time of year always feel dark to me.  When I think of December, in general, I think of words like "dark", "waiting", "resting", "preparing".  When I rise in the morning, it is dark.  When I am cooking the evening meal, it is dark.  I've even gone to do my routine walking by the lights of Christmas decorations.  Dark.

In the midst of this, we light the candles of Advent.  How appropriate that we celebrate the birth of the Lord at the darkest time of our calendar year (here in the Northern Hemisphere)!  He was and is the beauteous, heavenly Light who broke through the darkness of this sin-crippled world to be its salvation.  Lighting the Advent candles reminds me that Spring and longer days are coming, that though all around me appears dead, new life is on the way.

The names of God, written in the Bible, are so beautiful.  Some of them are Adonai, El Shaddai, Elohim, Jehovah-Nissi, Jehovah-Rapha, Jehovah-Jireh.  That last one means, "The God Who Provides".  Yes, He always does.  But, in going to research other occurrences of the Hebrew word, yir·’eh, in the Old Testament, it is more often translated "looks" or "sees".

Yesterday the Hubster asked that I give him some gift suggestions.  There's this one thing that I want and that I truly would use, but when I went to look at its price on the internet, I thought it was egregiously, flagrantly expensive.  In truly seeing, regarding this item, I relegated the item to the category of "want", not "need".  There are just better uses for our money.  So often, we think that there are things we need, when God does not see it that way.

He saw mankind, hopelessly trapped in sin, and provided a Lamb, our Savior.  In so doing, He met our greatest need.  The story of Abraham and Isaac on Mt. Moriah is a prefigurement of how God would provide the perfect Lamb hundreds of years later.

When all seems dark around us, He calls us to light a candle of faith, to trust that He is our Source and our Provider.  The greatest of all our needs is for more of Him, more of Jesus.  When we make Him and His will our first priority it becomes possible to push worry about life's challenges aside. Worry is simply not taking God at His word when He promises that He "will supply your every need according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).  Worry is thinking that God does not know what He is doing, that He will somehow "mess things up".  It often looks that way to us because we do not see as He sees.  We ask, "Where is the lamb, Father?"

Do we truly believe that God sees us in our neediness and that He will meet all of our needs?  If we do believe that, then why do we worry and fret over things which are "out of our control"? (It's all ultimately out of our control, by the way.) Abraham did not do this.  Even when faced with the command from God to slay his son on an altar and then to burn his body with fire, Abraham did not waver.  He trusted God.  I am just "slain" by this.  I would have been freaking.out.  It is little wonder that, when we think of Abraham, we think of stalwart faith.

God provided a ram for Abraham and Isaac, that day on Mount Moriah.  I wonder if the animal was there for some time, even as they were building the altar, stacking the wood, sharpening the knife.  It was not until just the right moment that they saw it.  God opened their eyes ... aligned their will with His.  And, Abraham named the place "The Lord Provides".

Lord Jesus, you are the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).  You are all-sufficient and have the answers to all my questions.  You meet all my needs, showering on me glorious spiritual riches.  Thank you for seeing me in my poverty, and in making me yours, making me rich.  Help me to remember this, when the darkness threatens to close in...that You are my light, and my salvation!  In Jesus' name, amen.

Since We Have This Ministry

Good morning,

I'm just now sitting down to have devotions and blog, here at 10:00 a.m., because I had an early morning "rise and shine" (5:30).  Our church had the privilege of ministering to a wonderful group of middle school teachers today.  They are having a teacher workday; so, some of our members brought them breakfast.  What a privilege to love on those who give so much to our community.

Today's text is 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 (NET):

Therefore, since we have this ministry, just as God has shown us mercy, we do not become discouraged. 2 But we have rejected shameful hidden deeds, not behaving with deceptiveness or distorting the word of God, but by open proclamation of the truth we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience before God. 3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing, 4 among whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe so they would not see the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said “Let light shine out of darkness,” is the one who shined in our hearts to give us the light of the glorious knowledge of God in the face of Christ.

Last night, Hubster and I had the privilege of hosting some college-age students from church in our home for Bible study.  We were talking about, in part, how God will often give us a task to do that seems impossible to us.  Our pastor has said before that, "if the task is not God-sized, if it doesn't force you to depend on Him to do it, then it probably is not from God."  Yet, even so, it is easy for us to get discouraged in our ministries, isn't it?

First of all, things "rarely go according to plan"....our plan, that is.  When that happens, we question whether or not we are really doing what God called to do, or even if He called us to it at all!  Sure, there are times when we can have "misheard" the Lord, that is, Satan has deceived us.  Usually though, it is simply that Satan is opposing our efforts because God is using us and wanting to use us even more for the advancement of His kingdom.  Setbacks should not surprise us or dissuade us.

Paul also said here that it is the mercy of God that motivated him in ministry.  Because God showed mercy to him, he got past his temporary discouragement to go on and show God's mercy to others. He did this by proclaiming the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He stated that he was a  "slave" to this ministry, this life-calling of shining the light of Jesus Christ into a dark, fallen world.  Jesus shined brilliant light into Paul's life on the road to Damascus.  Because of this Paul gained the glorious truth about God, the truth embodied in Jesus.

In the college Bible study, we just began a book study of David Platt's book, Radical.  It has already been such a blessing, and we are just into the first chapters!  You can't truly encounter Jesus Christ, as Paul did, as I have, as many others have, and come away unchanged.  Those who claim to have done so have never really met Him.  Instead they have met some pale imitation or some distortion.  The gospel of Jesus Christ changes hearts, changes lives.  It is the ONLY solution to man's many problems.  David Platt asks us, "So, how do we respond to this gospel?"1  How can we keep this to ourselves?  Paul couldn't; and neither should we.

It is this knowledge, this treasure we possess, which lifts us out of our periodic discouragements. Because we have been utterly transformed, we cannot be silent.  Although our message is often ridiculed as "nonsense", "foolishness", and even the sign of a low IQ, we have experienced the power of The One and Only.  We have tasted of Jesus Christ.  We have drunk from the well of salvation to become His Beloved.  We know that nothing is greater, or higher, or better or more satisfying.  And, that radicalizes us to share this incomparable Light, which shines out of the darkness of mistakes, willful sin, self-centeredness, pride - - - the slime pit of the world in which people find themselves mired.  We extend the hand of faith to them and say, "Brother, let me lead you to the Savior, because He is sufficient for every need, the source of all good things.  All else is, ultimately, unsatisfying."

So, Christian, don't be discouraged.  Every day presents a new opportunity to share the life-changing truth of Jesus with someone in desperate need.  Take those opportunities God puts before you.  Don't let the enemy "talk you down".  None of us is immune, as this is one of Satan's most potent weapons. Don't play right into his hand.  He's defeated before he even starts, and it's okay to remind him of that.  Shine your light today, for the glory of The Incomparable One.

Father, you are a good, good Father, in spite of "circumstances".  Help us to center our thoughts on You, to keep our eyes on our Savior, in order to fight off discouragement.  You have given each one of us a special skill-set, to use in the advancement of Your kingdom.  Empower us to do what You have called each of us to do, for Your praise and for Your glory alone.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Source:

1  Platt, David. Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream. Colorado Springs, Colo.: Multnomah, 2010. p. 36. Print.

The Bible - Our Light, our Sword, our Firm Foundation

Good morning!

Have you ever stumbled in the dark?  A few months ago, late at night, I was walking from the bedroom into the dark den with this laptop in my arms.  I was going to plug it in for the night. Unfortunately, because it was so late and I was exhausted, I had lost track of our dog.  Charlie had left the bedroom and gone to lie down on the cooler hardwood floor of the den.  Well, you guessed it. At top speed, I tripped over the dog.  The laptop went flying one way and I went airborne another.  The dog was fine, but I was severely "shook up" and had some monster bruises for several weeks.  The same thing can happen to us spiritually, if we have no spiritual light in order to see where to take our steps each day.

The Bible testifies of itself when the psalmist says:  "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (Psalm 119:105)  In other words, if we will faithfully read the Bible, it will help to keep us from "stumbling" and getting banged up spiritually.  The world at large throws messages at us constantly, and most of them run contrary to God's instructions in his Word, the Bible.  It is so easy to stumble or to get lured off the path we should be on, because our vision gets clouded.  Reading the Word clears our vision.

One of the evidences that the Bible is God's Word is how it is used by the Holy Spirit to radically change lives.  Sometimes, I read on Facebook about horrid crimes that have been committed by individuals, and I see people on Facebook just hatin' on those people because they're so appalled by the crimes themselves.  And, I think, "Yes, that is a horrible thing, but the power of Jesus Christ can change even a person that far gone.  His love is greater.  His love is stronger.  His love is higher than any other." (a paraphrase of Chris Tomlin's song lyrics from "Our God")

Yesterday afternoon, the Hubster and I went to see Dinesh D'Souza's movie, "America".  In the movie, Star Parker gave a little bit of her testimony.  She was formerly a welfare mother who had at least a couple of abortions, maybe more.  But, when she heard the gospel and met the Savior, He changed her. That is the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, revealed in the Bible.

Accordingly, when someone is trying to discredit the Christian faith, they always start with attempts to discredit the Bible.They are trying to run away from the conviction of their sin which the Bible reveals. You see, if they can downgrade the Bible to being "just another book", they can rationalize away the conviction that the Bible brings.  The Bible shines light on the dark corners of their lives, and because they love their sin, they hate the Bible for doing that.  They want to be "their own boss", "masters of their own fate".   Eventually, they trip over the rocks of life and then have no one nor any foundation on which to grab hold.  It's heartbreaking, truly.

I cannot possibly, in this limited forum, give an exhaustive, comprehensive dissertation on why the Bible is not only highly credible, but further, that it is infallible.  Many others before me have done a much better job of this.  Josh McDowell, with his book, Evidence That Demands a Verdict, is one excellent example.  (I invite readers to comment, in the comments section of this blog, with other helpful tools of this type.)

But, I can promise you this:  if you are doubting the truth of God's Word, and will do a thorough search of the proofs of the Bible's infallibility AND if you will READ the Bible, instead of listening to what the world has to say about it, and pray for understanding.... I promise you that you will be shown the truth.  God's promise is this, from Jeremiah 29:13:  "If, with all your heart, you truly seek me, you shall certainly truly find me.  This is what the LORD says."

Just grab that Bible and start reading.  I love the old hymn, "How Firm a Foundation."  It was written in 1787 by John Rippon, and set to music by Joseph Funk in 1832.  Below are some of the many verses:

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you, who to Jesus for refuge have fled?

Fear not!  I am with the, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy GOD and will still give thee aid;
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through fiery trials they pathways shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no never, no never forsake.


Christian!  Read the Bible daily to walk in the light and avoid getting tripped up.
1 John 1:7 says this, "If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. And, the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin."

Father, Abba, as the old saint said just before dying, let us not add to or take away one thing from your Holy Word.   Thank you for "breathing out" the words to your men of faith so that we could have your revelation of truth today.  Please give us a hunger and thirst for Your Word, Lord, even more than we hunger for the best physical food each day.  Even when we are not going through a "fiery trial", but especially then, teach us to fall on our knees in prayer, with the Word in our hands, so that we may be armed with the Sword of the Spirit.  In Jesus' name, amen.