Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Where is this Prince of Peace?

Horrific events this day as many many children were senselessly gunned down
in Pakistan. There is something so very sad about children being the victims, whether
it's Sandy Hook or Pakistan; it just hurts so much. 

It makes one think about the secular words so often associated now with Christmas;
'peace on earth, good will to men.' A quick look at history will clearly show that there
has been NO sustained peace on earth either before or after Jesus was born, died
on a cross and ascended to heaven. So what of this peace on earth? What of this Prince
of Peace?

First and foremost it is important to remember that Jesus Christ came to this world
to bring the good news of salvation for those chosen by God and those who would
respond to His open arms of acceptance. It was His first arrival; there will be a second!

The world was created good by a God that knows no evil. The world was cast into sin
and dysfunction by the first people turning their backs on God, disobeying Him and
changing this world in which we live to something it was not meant to be. Jesus came
with a task of explaining God's plan for reconciliation and becoming a perfect sacrifice
for the propitiation of sin and the defeat of death, Satan and sin. He accomplished
this task through the cross and His resurrection.

He did not, however, leave things in a perfect state. We are in that time period when
the word of the gospel is being spread and taught with the intent of bringing as many
into God 's adopted family as possible. Whatever theory one subscribes to about the
end times, it all points to nastiness. I am going to go out on a limb and suggest that we
have arrived.

Knowing Christ can bring the peace of relationship between people, it can being the
inner peace that can only come with the changes that come about in ones life after
being raised from sin into Christ. The peace on earth we all yearn for can only be
achieved by the return of this King, at which time all weapons of anger and war will
be thrown into disuse, the lion will lie down with the lamb and there will be one
rule; the Kingship of Jesus Christ on a new earth and a new heaven

I would suggest that you join me in praying for all who continue to suffer from
senseless violence and for the immediate return of the King of Kings. Only
He can deliver what was meant to be. He created it once and He will create it
again and sustain it for all eternity.

Praise God!

Thursday, December 11, 2014

The Universal US

For to us a child is born
To us a son is given.....
   Isaiah 9

I just love Isaiah. How strange it must have been for both Isaiah and other prophets
whose prophesies included a look far into the future to the birth, life and death of
Jesus! I have heard this discussed as prophets standing on their tiptoes seeking to
see into the future of God's plan.

The words of this glorious chapter include the four names that this special child
would be called: wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father and prince
of peace. This child, a light sent into the darkness of a fallen world and into the
darkened fallen hearts of his created, was and is God over all creation. Indeed
God sent a baby to counteract the chasm that exists between the Creator and 
His creation, and this baby will continue the process of re-doing all of creation
until it falls under His divine will and control.

The US in the above two lines is of supreme importance. The very God of the
cosmos, one who came into this time-space to enact great changes and achieve
great victory, came for US. That isn't us vs them sort of stuff. He came here in
love for each of us that we might have the possibility of being adopted into the
family of God based upon the grace and love of God. This God woos and seeks
His created. He cannot and will not, however, accept those who reject, who
are unwilling, who have deceived themselves into believing that they have
no need of being saved.

Our secular, societal re-make of Christmas endangers us by slipping the real
celebration of this amazing birth away behind the shelves of gifts, lights
and stuff. Christmas lights should remind us, in fact, of that great light that
had fallen into and upon the world....

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

It is Christmas; a celebration of the greatest gift ever given, the gift of
reconciliation, atonement, propitiation.... not stocking stuffers...
life savers. Celebrate our Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart. Merry
Christmas!




Tuesday, December 9, 2014

What of this baby?

Ready to rev up the imagination? We are wise men, far traveled from the east, who have
asked Herod the whereabouts of the baby child, king of the Jews. We, having then left
this troubled man, have come upon the site of the child and mother, Mary. Nothing so
unusual about this baby.... or is there?

We may be using our imagination, but we bave the benefit of two thousand plus years
of hindsight so we know that this baby is none other than God. This baby is resting in
a humble location that He created. The fact is that this baby created all that is.

This baby has come on a mission of salvation, salvation not only for sinners but
for the entire broken world, a mission that He, and only He, could ever accomplish.
This baby has always existed. He was alive before this incarnation, He lives today
and will live and reign forever! He has come as the second Adam to fulfill the law,
to live righteously and to lift the veil that has separated mankind from God.

Speaking of man and God, He is both! Also He is Lord of the cosmos. This bright
star and all the stars that light the sky are created by Him, held in place
by Him and He knows them each by name.

This tiny babe will impact the history of the world like no other. He will deliver
the message of Good News, die as a curse on a tree and rise victorious over death,
sin and the evil one.

He is God who cries, God who dies, God who cares, God who forgives, a God who

loves and, of course, God who will reign for eternity.

This tiny babe is the Lord, Christ Jesus. Not just any baby. The baby!


Wise men shall gift Him, sinners should thank Him and all created should
honor, praise and adore Him!

Oh come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

Monday, December 8, 2014

Have you SAD?

John 8-12

.... I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in
darkness, but will have the light of life.

Seasonal Affective Disorder is upon us. The days have become short which means
that people like me are already apt to be more grumpy. Add in clouds and,
depending on where you happen to live, the possibility of several days
in a row without even a ray of sunlight. Ramp up that grumpiness!

The whole light vs. darkness concept is eternal and present at every level of
creation. It has been a battle in the very confines of heaven itself, is
present in this world we inhabit, a world very very different than it was
supposed to be, and it is a battle going on in our hearts. Our hearts are filled
with darkness, and we, on our own, cannot deal with this very darkness.

Isaiah 9- 2...
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
On those living in the shadow of death a light has dawned.

I believe that seasonal affective disorder is merely another manifestation of our
need for light that only God can infuse. Only He who created light is capable
of bringing new light into the new lives of those who have become
in Jesus. That need for glory-provided illumination lasts within us until the
day that we go to be with God in a new earth and a new heaven.

Reach for the light. Shine that precious gift out to all you meet and
glorify God for its precious warmth and brightness.

Praise God!

Monday, November 24, 2014

A Thanksgiving Challenge

Everywhere I Go, I see you!

Whenever I need a boost in spirits or just want to enjoy some great music, I listen
to Rich Mullins. Now this is someone who I want to immediately look up when I
get to Heaven and just give a big hug. His was a rather fascinating and all-to-short
life that reflected love of God through the gifts of music.

And the eagle flies and the rivers run
I look thru the night
And I can see the rising sun
And everywhere I go I see You

It's a haunting song captured by C S Lewis's quote...

'We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade, the presence of God. The
world is crowded with Him. He walks everywhere incognito.'

Scripture assures us that God has revealed Himself through His creation. It
has been corrupted by sin; yet, it remains a reflection of Him if we just
choose to be aware.

Here's a challenge for you. Begin a day purposely looking, intently, for God.
It's an exercise in noticing and awareness. Look at what is around you, listen,
watch, search, wait quietly. Make a list as you make your day's journey. See
peripherally, listen acutely, gather in what is there of the Creator. You may
be shocked to learn that He isn't hidden at all; He is everywhere.

Omnipresence is such a strange concept to consider. I even find Skype a bit
unnerving because it seems that you are right there with those who are Skyping.
God doesn't need to Skype. He is living within His creation, actively, aware of
those He has chosen, those He is wooing and busy sustaining creation. Without
his presence we would not survive.

So become aware of Him. Seek Him within His creation and His created. Listen
to His masterful work. Wait for the return of the King, Christ Jesus.

Friday, November 21, 2014

Life can and will be breathtaking!

I got to thinking recently about what a beautiful messed up world we live in. It isn't the
world that God created. It was altered by sin and the ramifications of that change are in
evidence right down to our own cellular level. Yet, there are so many beautiful things about
this gift of life that can take our breath away.

I was recalling, for example, the beauty of the Smoky Mountains that were a frequent
destination when we lived in Tennessee. Hiking back along the trails adjacent to streams
of crisp, cold water, the smell of the pine trees and the sunlight filtering down through them
were breathtaking. The birth of my daughter and the chance to hold her for that first
time, breathtaking. Any of us could begin a list comprised of the many wonderful,
memorable things in our lives.

In another sense which we often choose to suppress,  God almighty has knowledge of the
moment in which we will draw our final breath on this earth. Along with and as a result of
sin,  we are all to go through death. This moment is suppressed in our culture due to fear
and we choose to ignore it on a day to day basis.

God, through His beloved son, Jesus, devised a plan which does not circumvent death but
conquers it. We will die, but that death, with the resurrection of Christ Jesus, is a moment
of glorious passage into the family of God. It is a passage, through grace, that renders us
acceptable to a Holy God based solely on the work and love of Jesus to make atonement
for our sins. We don't accomplish it in any way; we are given this gift due only to the God
who values and loves His wayward creation.

There was death upon that cross, but that death was life-giving because it triumphed
over the grave, over sin and over the evil one whose temptation brought about death in
the first place. So in a very real way, that moment of death is breathtaking and truly
breathtaking.

Are you a child of God? Are you saved by the precious blood of Jesus Christ? Have you
gone to your knees and asked Him to forgive and save you? God calls and woos but He
will only save those who are willing.

Praise Him!

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Oh how glorious to be known!

I am about to do things backwards by stating my conclusion, first. I am known.
I am thoroughly and completely known, inside and out, by the very Creator of the
universe. He doesn't need to look me up in His Book of Life because He knows
everything about His created.

When we consider who really knows us, in reality, none do. Our closest friends, siblings,
parents, church friends, teachers, those on Facebook... none of these really,
deep-down knows who we truly are. We reveal parts of who we are through words,
deeds and interactions, yet those revelations are guarded by what we choose to
share.

I will go a step further and say and admit that I do not truly know myself. I am
capable of saying and doing things that can leave me shaking my head wondering
how I could do them. I am under sin, and despite my best efforts, not what I
was intended to be.

God knows me completely! There is no hiding of things from Him. There is no
controlling His knowledge of my thoughts and actions because it is He who
has known me from before I was born. The events of my life are laid out before
Him as pages in a book. He knew me in the womb and He knows that hour of
my final breath.... and everything in between.

Do I, in turn, know Him? Bits and pieces that He has chosen to reveal
through His creation, His words from His holy book and through His precious
spirit that lives within me. I could not grasp Him completely. I could not
understand His ways; yet, there will come a moment when I leave this alien
world and return home to Him. Then I will know all the answers to my
questions. All it will take is a look into His eyes. Then I will know Him
who has forever known me.

My Father, my Creator, my God.


Are you known? No limited atonement, here. He is waiting for your call!
Do it now. 

Monday, November 17, 2014

THE most wonderful of friends!

What a friend we have in Jesus
All our sins and griefs to bear,
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer.


In my precious relationship with Christ Jesus, I have become quite comfortable calling
Him my Lord, my All in All, my Savior, Redeemer, my Great High Priest, my King; yet
calling Him friend still feels a bit presumptuous. How could One so perfect think of me
as a friend?

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends...  John 15
 

It becomes clear that His final words proclaim that His work here on earth had to
include death as a complete blood sacrifice for those He called His sheep. Nothing less
could ransom the lost into a relationship with His Father. That most horrible death was
the key to salvation for everyone who would call on His glorious name, trust and
believe on Him as their Lord. His friends.

There are many qualities we associate with friendship: Faithfulness, Honesty, Compassion,
and it is blatantly clear that this Jesus is the embodiment of those qualities, the model,
as it were, for all true friends to seek to emulate. Would we lay down our lives for our friend?
This Jesus did so for each of us, willingly.



One there is above all others,
    Oh, how He loves!
His is love beyond a brother’s,
    Oh, how He loves!
Earthly friends may fail or leave us,
One day soothe, the next day grieve us;
But this Friend will ne’er deceive us:
    Oh, how He loves!
 Jesus, even though it is hard to understand, knew of you and me as He hung there on
that cross. He was aware, through His sovereignty and His foreknowledge of who would
be His sheep, that you and I were being given what only this truest of friends could give,
the chance to be redeemed and saved from the Holy wrath we deserve. We are forgiven
by this amazing, gracious friend called Christ Jesus!

Praise our God!

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Genealogy for us all


I have always been fascinated by my roots. That fascination, however,
never really blossomed into action. My middle brother, now
diseased, delved into the family tree on my father's side and
discovered that really getting serious about one's background
can be a task that is time consuming, expensive, and
frustrating!

We all want to know where we came from; it's one of those
core questions in our lives. In talking with my relatives, I
learned that my roots are German, English, Scottish, Dutch.....
I even had one relative state that I probably do not want to
know!

But I have a deal for you. I can trace your roots back to the
same place mine began. We are all related to the first humans created
by God and placed in a luxurious garden of unimaginable beauty.
Unfortunately, their time there was cut short, and they were
made to leave, having changed the course of human events
in drastic ways. We, thus, have inherited from them the curse
of sin. This sinful nature is within us from birth to death. We
cannot, of our own will and effort, rise up against sin.

Well the other part of the deal is that I know who your
real Father is. Amazingly enough, He is my Father, too.
He is God the creator of all things, and that 'all things'
category includes you and me. This Father of ours loves us
despite our sinfulness, and He has provided that which
we cannot attain, forgiveness from sin. It is a provision
that came at a dear price; yet, we need only accept this
gift and believe and trust His son, Jesus Christ, the savior
of the world.

Hard to do? Expensive? NO! He is our Shepherd, our
Priest and our Redeemer. He accepts all those who seek
Him. He is waiting. He is the Truth and the Answer. He is
the God/ Man who came into the world to save all of
us who were lost.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Be aware of your "use by" date!



We are, all of us, Christian or non, born with a 'use by' date. We
don't have any bargaining power when it comes to the end of
our brief stay here on this planet. Unless we purposely make
our own exit, something I would never encourage, we will come
to an final due date.

 

Those who are Christians, who are re-born into Christ through
faith and grace, are well aware of this end. Others may see
an end point as random, fate-driven, haphazard... not something
planned by a God who is sovereign, in complete control.

 

My point, here, is that our lives here are as a vapor, here one
day and then gone. While it is important to make plans for
those we leave behind, we ought to bear in mind our own
future. Within all of us, whether we want to admit to it or
not, is the fundamental realization that we are eternal. Oh
our atheist friends, our nihilistic friends and others will claim
that it does not matter, that they do not care. They know,
nonetheless, that this is a self-deceptive lie.

 

It really comes down in the end to where each of us will
spend eternity. Deny the living God, deny the Lord Jesus
Christ, deny the salvation offered to all who are deserving
only of God's wrath, and one sentences himself to a
never changing existence without the presence of God.
The descriptions of such a choice are very troubling.

I would assert that each created understands this. One
cannot fool oneself without sinful pride and the help of the
Evil One. 

Just be careful! Your terminal breath can come
suddenly; that last moment may be too late, even for a
God who was willing to give His beloved son to die for
each of His created.

 

Wise up, kneel down and ask Jesus into your hearts while
you still can! Why not do it right now!!!

Friday, October 24, 2014

The REAL Ebola Czar: Jehovah

If one maverick molecule exists in the universe, God is not
sovereign, and if God is not sovereign, He is not God.

R C Sproul

It is so easy to be overwhelmed by the qualities and abilities
of God, probably because we aren't cognitively able to wrap
our minds around the immensity of those attributes. The
sovereignty of the living God proclaims complete control
over all events, from minute to immense, simultaneously.
Take a moment and let that percolate.

The recent events surrounding the Ebola virus were certainly
interesting and troublesome. I found, and find, myself
troubled that I wasn't really concerned until things began to
unravel in Dallas. I believe I should have been praying in
ernest for those in West Africa who are being over-run by
this disease long before the events at Dallas Presbyterian.

 Listening to news radio, CNN and others, I was amazed
as the whole scenario of blame and anger took place. Yet,
the most amazing thing of all was the total absence of any
mention of seeking God's help and God's good will/ plan.
The real Ebola czar, truth be told, is none other than Jehovah,
the God of the Universe.

One could debate things like disease in relation to God's
sovereignty, whether or not He knew them into existence,
but one dare not doubt, for even a moment, His control
over events here on this planet. So while the rush is on
to find a vaccine, the debate ensues about limiting travel
to and from and incubation periods are completed, I
want to welcome you in joining me in prayer to the One
who really can control outcomes. Nothing, not one
thing, is beyond the grace and ability of our Sovereign....
nothing!

Praise Him and Pray to Him!

Saturday, October 18, 2014

So WHO killed Jesus?

Who killed Jesus?
To bring about the atonement, Christ Jesus had to be a
sacrifice for those He would save. This was a part of the
covenant agreement made among the persons of the
Trinity before the very dawn of creation. But when we picture
the very God of the universe hanging there brutalized on
the cross, we want to cast blame. The answer to the
question is most humbling.

 
The Jewish Leaders killed Jesus. They were looking for the
Messiah foretold in scripture, a king who would bring a
triumphant end to Roman rule and set things right. This
Jesus did not fit the mold, so to speak. He challenged their
legalism and hung out with the wrong people. They feared
His growing popularity and, therefore, handed Him over
to be crucified.

 
The Romans killed Jesus. Though they did not invent it,
the Romans were experts at the horrific art of crucifixion.
So in a very literal sense, it was the Roman soldiers who
saw that He was dead.

 
God killed Jesus. For He so loved the world....  God knew
that only one path lay open to the salvation of His people,
to the eventual re-establishment of the bond between the
Creator and His creation. It was His gracious plan to
have His beloved die and rise again to Glory as the King
of all creation. He did it out if love.

 
I killed Jesus!  My selfish, prideful life of sin, lost for all
those years in darkness, placed that precious God-Man
on the cross. My every sin became His burden and He
willingly paid the ultimate price for those transgressions!

 

I have been forgiven my sins, and with that been forgiven
for His suffering. Without that death, without that cross,
without that resurrection, I would be dead in my sin, still.
What a glorious God we serve and love!

Praise Him!

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Today's Homework Assignment...

Having been a teacher for all those many years makes me
yearn for just one more chance to give a homework assignment.
Are you ready?

 

In one paragraph, explain the Gospel to me. Now this gospel
is not the type of music that sings 'Oh Happy Day,' that would
be gospel music! It is not the first four books of the New
Testament, co-authored by Mark, Luke, etc.

 

No. This gospel is the Good News wrapped around the success
of Christ Jesus, the one envisioned and agreed upon before
time began. That Gospel!

 

It is a concept vital to the souls of us all; yet, I went sixty years
upon this earth ignorant of its purpose and meaning. That,
my readers, is really frightening.

 

So....
Get out the pen and paper or fire up the tablet and write
that paragraph. Then send it to me at thomaskearms8@gmail.com
or share it with a Christian friend, your pastor, anyone who
can give you some feedback.

 

If you don't complete this assignment, I will keep you
in during lunch recess OR... you may be like I was
and continue dangerously lacking the single most important
concept in this universe..Don't go there!

 

Praise God!

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Questions: THE BIG THREE

Alistair Begg, in several of his wonderful sermons, speaks of
and delineates three fundamental questions of each human
condition. They probably will not surprise anyone because
they lay at the very heart of our lives....

Who Am I?
We all have a name. We all live each day with a sense that
we are someone... yet, to many, this is an intricate question.
To the Christian, the answer seems easy: I am a child of
God, a creation of the Creator, and it is He to whom I
belong.

What Am I Doing, Here?
Now we are dealing with purpose. Many feel that they are
here to make a difference. Many work to earn a big home,
a portfolio, a retirement plan. Many seek to be famous in some
fashion, to be worthy of being remembered by others, to
leave a legacy. These things, however, are temporal and
temporary. The Christian believes that their purposes are
to bring glory to God and work to bring the message of
eternal salvation to others. Not temporary. Eternal. We are,
in fact, living lives whose every day have been mapped out
even before our lives began. We are not in control.

Where Am I Going?
The nihilist... to the grave. Those who believe in reincarnation,
to a next existence, trying to do better. To the atheist, it
matters not. We, within us, all have an awareness that we
are eternal. The question, then, can be answered in this
way: We are all going somewhere for eternity. God's living
book, the Bible, shows, through Christ's sacrifice, that
those who would believe on Him are going to an eternal
home in the very presence of God. The other horrific
option is clearly to live an eternity in a place devoid of
God, a place apart from the new heaven and the new
earth.

So.....  here's the Good News. Christ does not turn
any away who seek Him. You must offer your life, quit
being in charge, trust and let God grant you faith. Hard
to do? No. Swallow your pride, get down on your
knees and answer those three questions immediately!

Praise God!

Friday, October 3, 2014

His dance card is not completed!

“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Mark 13: 32

Scripture clearly tells us, through Jesus, that only the Father knows
the exact time for the triumphant return of the True King. While
we exist in a time-space continuum created by God, He decides,
along that time line, when to intervene.


Four hundred years spanned the time between the final Old Testament
prophet and the birth of Jesus. That same Jesus marched
steadfastly toward the cross mindful at all times of the 'time'
for His work to come to fulfillment.

We yearn for Him to come, to return, to set things right, to
judge creation justly and return all to what it was supposed
to be, including us. That resurrected body certainly sounds
nice to me, and the glorious chance to walk with God as
His adopted.

 So why the delay? Whether you lean toward predestination
or scriptures that indicate God's wish that All should be
saved and not perish, it is clear that God has not yet filled
His family. The mansion is not yet full, the book of life
still has unchecked boxes, the eternal saintly choir
has not yet been fully peopled. There are those who, for
whatever reason, have not yet taken to their knees and
called upon the name of the Lord.

While we anxiously wait, we may just play a part, big or
small, in adding a soul by God's means to the attendance
in Heaven. What a productive and glorious use of our
time as we patiently wait for the trumpet and the sign
of His return!

Praise God!

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Glancing back after 67 years of life.....

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.  Romans 1: 16
 

Luckily there was no attempt to place 67 candles on a birthday cake.
In fact circumstances put me alone on this birthday; except of
course the company of my precious Lord Jesus.

 

It did give rise to some introspection; looking back over so many
many years gives rise to a myriad of memories and thoughts. Is
it just me or do we all feel, on the inside, that we are that same
person we have always been, in many ways?

 

There are regrets, glorious moments of blessing, times of sorrow,
loss and trouble...the same stuff we all must experience in this
brief, first course, if you will. Yet, I am very very different, now,
and that difference wraps itself in God's allowing me understanding
of His Gospel. Sixty years went by with my eyes, my heart and
my understanding blocked by an inability to comprehend
the good news of Jesus at the cross.

 

That understanding has become, slowly and progressively,
at the center of my life, not by my own worthiness or my
own volition, but by Grace. I, like many others who are
lost, had heard of the Gospel... we just hadn't comprehended
its glory.

 

If I could share this birthday wish... that you go onto your
knees and plead with God to open your heart, mind and
soul to an understanding of that Gospel message of
reconciliation, forgiveness and rebirth. Even one enlightenment
would make this a birthday to remember!

Praise our God!

Monday, September 29, 2014

Come on, do you really expect me to believe.....

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 19: 26

...that the Child in the manger is the very God of the universe,
the incarnate Son of the living God come of His own
volition to do His Father's will.

...that the very star shining as a beacon ushering light into
a darkened world, guiding eastern wise men and amazing
shepherds was placed into existence by that same baby
child.

...that this child in the manger was immaculately conceived,
born of a virgin as both fully human and fully God.

...that this child born into insignificance would walk briefly
through this world proclaiming the good news of God's
plan for reconciliation; a plan that could only be brought
into being through the sacrifice of His beloved Son, this
baby in the manger.

...that the one and only answer to the questions,' Who
am I, why am I here, and where am I going' lies in the
word...the truth...the love of this Christ Jesus.

NO! I do expect you to believe these miraculous truths
without the reaching out of God towards you, without a
trip into the Holy Book, without a willingness to learn
and desire the process of salvation through grace, faith
and the realization that we, as created, can only be saved
by He who created us. Unless He reaches out to you in
love, you will never be able to accept the Truth.

Why not kneel down and ask God to come into you
heart and into your life. After all, you belong to Him.

Praise God!

Thursday, September 25, 2014

"DOH!"

 Romans 8:28 
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.


I remember an old joke about a set of parents who send their son
on an errand and move away before he comes back. Well, in
a slightly different arena of events, I moved to join my daughter and
son in law and due to God's circumstances, they moved away. I
became stuck 900 miles from the loved ones I had so fervently
wanted to be near.

 

So here was an excellent opportunity to put into action that
which I have come to say, write about and hope to put
into practice, God's sovereign goal of fashioning me into the
image of Christ should have allowed me to put my faith in His
good will, His plan, His provision. How did I do?
Horribly!!!

 

I have fretted, worried, questioned, felt sorry for myself; you
name the signs of weakness and I have lived them. It's not
as if this was serious like the struggles many are living through
each day. This was an inconvenience, a little roadblock, a
small bump in the road.

 

So what's to learn, here? I know that God will forgive my
terrible lack of understanding and patience, I know this is
a process, I know I have shown that there is plenty of room
for the continuing transformation by the Holy Spirit in my
life and I feel this will give me, with God's  grace, the realization
that I have every reason to trust Jesus and every reason to
express my gratitude.

 

Maybe next time it won't be, 'Whoops, I did it again!'
Maybe next time I will abide more steadfastly in Lord Jesus,
my shepherd and King.


How could I not? Praise God!

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

THE promise keeper!!!



 Numbers 23: 19  God is not a man, so He does not lie. He is not human, so He does not change His mind. Has He ever spoken and failed to act? Has He ever promised and not carried it through?                                                                                


Ever break a promise? I am going to guess that we all have. Circumstances change, situations sometimes call for a change
of heart or maybe we have just moved on and no longer
care about something we promised. There can be damage, though,
if our failure to keep a promise impacts us or others.

 

You know the old expression 'Don't make promises that
you cannot keep.' Well in practice that would seem to be good
advice but, perhaps, poor living. We all want to serve others,
be dependable and follow through; so we will make
well meaning promises.

 

On an eternal level, we know that to have faith in what God
says, we must depend upon His promise. He has promised
through the redemptive work of Jesus, to lift us up on the
Last Day, drawing us to Him, washed clean of sins, able
to enter bravely into the family of God as adopted children. We have
been promised these things as a result of our declaration
of faith, trust and belief on Jesus as our prophet, priest
and king. We have been born up through death of our former
selves into life through the power of Jesus.

 

The reason, therefore, that we can live our lives looking ahead
through and past death is because God made a promise. God
chose not to avoid making promises because HE NEVER
BREAKS PROMISES! Never!

 

We, being human and broken, will sometimes fail to follow
through....God will not!

 

Praise Him!

Friday, September 19, 2014

Sweeet Lord, where are you walking?

"When men sought to make Him a king, he fled; now that they
have come to kill Him, He goes out to meet them."
Rudolph Steir

John 18: 4
Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to Him, went out
and asked them, "Who is it you want?"
"Jesus of Nazareth," they replied.
"I am He," Jesus replied......

"If you are looking for Me, then let these men go."

One who loves and cherishes Jesus cannot, it seems to me,
help but feel so powerfully moved by these events. It is
enough that the Lord Jesus had been beset by terrible emotional
turmoil at the thought of what He knew must soon take
place. Now He is fully aware that a mob of men: soldiers,
Pharisees and Judas, the one who betrayed Him, have come
to set in motion a terrible, yet ultimately triumphant series of
events.
He actually had to wait for them to regain their feet after being
knocked, literally, to the ground when He told them, "I am."
He asks them once again who they seek.

Here, in a most truly amazing picture of the love and
compassion of our Savior, He seeks that His beloved be
let go. Even staring at what was to come, His concerns
are for His flock.

One need look no further than the tug at ones heart to understand
the amazing love of our Christ. He is God and King forever.
He is the answer. He is truth.

Praise God!