Move over Dr. Phil... I give you Christ Jesus

‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’—Isaiah 8:9    

Understanding the human mind is certainly not easy! When we become Christian, we
begin to be much more aware of our own inner selves, and it isn't always such a positive
revelation. We find, with the help of the Holy Spirit, that we are convicted and therefore
aware of our sins, ones that, before, we might not have even identified as sins. We begin
to see weaknesses and conditions that we cannot fix without the grace and provision of
God.

Consider, if you will, the unique perspective of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

A truly remarkable scripture, isn't it. I will always remember, with a degree of embarrassment, that it reminded me of a riddle when I first encountered it. But it
certainly isn't a riddle: Jesus is God. He is fully God and, being so, He is completely
aware of that which He created...mankind. Yet, He is different from His creation
because He is God. I give you transcendent, majestic, omnipotent, omnipresent, Holy...
I could go on. Those are God characteristics and differ, completely, from how we
would describe people.

Now the amazing part! Jesus Christ, fully God, came into this world and became
fully man. He was, simultaneously, fully Divine and fully human. He, therefore, was
subject to the same emotions, desires, temptations, illnesses...you get it, He was a
human being.

What a marvelous happening, obviously, because without Jesus incarnate, we would
never have been seen as righteous, would never have been justified by His loving
blood, never have been atoned for through the work and death of our Savior. He did
these things for the glory of His father with a unique perspective on humans: He was
after all, creator and creation. How great must His understanding, compassion and
love be for us. He intercedes with full knowledge and understanding of what it is to
be human and what it is to be God! Praise His Holy Name!!! 
  

How, then, could we NOT pray?

9 And I tell you, rask, and sit will be given to you; tseek, and you will find; uknock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for4 a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, wwho are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father xgive the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Luke 11: 9-13

Prayer is an interesting subject for us all. It is, obviously, a direct communication with

God that is a personal involvement with Him. The bible, God's word, suggests that God

welcomes and desires to hear our prayers; He is glorified by the fact that we are dependent

upon Him and aware that He is sovereign and in control.

At our church, Crossroad Christian in the McKinney area, I started to send out bi-weekly

prayer request lists, mainly because I found myself unable to remember who I was

wanting to pray for. Old age, again. So this was a way to not only remember prayer needs

but also to share them with others and track the apparent success of prayer 

from the standpoint of positive answers. I am amazed at the number of prayer 

offerings that seem to have been answered in a positive way! I would have to say that

prayer works.. big time.

I think, personally, that my praying has greatly increased my trust and faith in God. I

haven't "heard" from Him personally, by voice, but I have the increasing assurance that

He is listening and that He will answer in his own way, in His own time. It's so

comforting to understand that, despite what I encounter, problems, hopes, dreams...

He is there to listen.

Obviously, God is true to His own directions, promises and answers. He is willing
to listen and consider, but, as we would expect, he will be true to His own decisions.
Sometimes He will answer our prayers with a "Yes!" Sometimes, He will answer
them with a "No." We need to go to Him humbly with appreciation for all that He
has done and is doing in our lives.

Pray enthusiastically, pray frequently and pray with the expectation that the King
of the universe is not too busy, amazingly, to listen and consider. Praise God!!!

Could use some help, Mr. Einstein

¹ You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.  Psalm 139

The average weight of the human brain is 3 pounds. There are 100 billion neurons in
the brain and there are 1 quadrillion connections in the average brain. (I think that's a lot!)
It seems to be common knowledge that Einstein's brain was taken from the rest of his
body; it's whereabouts seem uncertain and the conclusions resulting from autopsies
vary. It is probably a safe assumption that Einstein was a brilliant man with a highly
functioning brain, indeed. (Did I mention that brains, themselves, are not the most
pleasant things to look at!)

Nevertheless, I'm certain that even Einstein could not explain some of the wonders
one discovers and questions one encounters when we look at our wondrous God. 
Take, for instance, the whole idea of the Triune God. That's one God in three persons.
All three persons are fully and wholly God, yet God is one and Christianity is a
monotheistic religion. After listening, recently, to Wayne Grudem discuss this whole
issue of the Trinity and conclude that he did not know how to explain it, that was good
enough for me to realize that such things are not going to be understood by folks
like me. Scripture is clear that there is a Father, a Son and a Holy Spirit so, even
though I can't understand that concept, I am fully confident in believing it. In fact,
I am in awe of the concept.

The above scripture from Psalm 139 is another amazing concept; God knows as
completely. Now, there are a bunch of us He has to know! He doesn't just know
us by our white rock name, He knows us completely, down to each and every hair
on our heads. He's probably not working with a Rolodex, He doesn't need a
complex system for recall of information on His people...He just knows us. Amazing,
isn't it. Mind boggling, comes to mind. 

It just shows that we, as humans, were never meant to be able to understand the
ways of God. I see it as comforting. We aren't, in so many ways, on a need to know
basis. He, God, can handle things. We just need to sit back, listen quietly, pray
fervently and praise Him continuously for His grace and His being. He created us
and we are His! Praise God Almighty!

Home Sweetest Home

In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you John 14:2

"Home" has a connotation of comfort and welcome. It's usually a place we think of
in a very positive sense; it'a a place where we feel we have roots. I can remember,
vividly, sitting on the back screened-in porch at my parents' home, crying, because
they were about to move out. I didn't even live there, any more; yet, there were
so many memories associated with the place that a great sense of loss came over me.
It's also disconcerting to re-visit an old neighborhood only to find that your old "home"
is either in disrepair or possibly even torn down.

A House Is Made Of Walls And Beams..A Home Is Built With Love And Dreams

So it is important not to confuse house and home, even though they may be one
and the same. "Home" may very well be whatever location one finds himself in,
as long as it is occupied by those he loves.

The one problem with our earthly homes is that they are temporary, not
permanent. The people who make up our earthly homes are temporary, as well.
That old home where parents and family resided will eventually become the
place where a different set of people reside. Our loved ones and family members,
our friends and close associates all will pass away. We are temporary; mortality
will end us all. 

So the Bible verse above is super important and super comforting to those who
are solidly in Jesus. The home He speaks of is not temporary. It is eternal. Even
though we know more about what will not be in heaven than what will, we have
been assured by one who is Truth that we are bound for a place where God is
present, and we are bound for a home where there will be no transition. Until we
get there, we do not know what the floor-plan is like, don't know what the
accommodations and furnishings will be like. We do know that this final, glorious
home will be in the presence of the Holy God that we praise and honor. I have
the feeling that this home and its inhabitants will be more glorious than we can
even imagine. Aren't you a bit anxious? I certainly am! Praise God!

TRUTH or Consequences

John 14:6
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.

Well , I will admit, up front, that I am small-brained. I have taken Philosophy courses
that dealt with the concept of truth and that didn't go so well. I have listened to tapes,
read books and engaged in discussion with those smarter that I, and I always come away
shaking my head, trying to clear the fog.

So don't read on if you expect anything other than my feelings. 

I believe there has to be A TRUTH. For there to be a whole bunch of truths, I think
that fits into the relativism category, each one real because it is what that person
thinks is true, sounds like mental anarchy. Truths aren't the same as feelings,
opinions, preferences, etc. Truths aren't grey areas somewhere between black
and white. I guess I am saying that for anything to make sense there has to be some
absolute truth. 

It is my belief that God is truth because I do not believe that he is capable of being
untruthful. I believe that the Bible is the true word of God. If He is truth then His word
is truth. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He, is therefore, also the truth.

My concern, here, is the consequence of not accepting God, rejecting Him and His truth.
God did a very brave thing, a loving thing. He created us with free will; the right to choose
to accept Him or reject Him. We all meet people who decide to believe in their own truth;
people who, in a real sense, are "being their own God."

Wow, I think that is eternally dangerous. Rejecting the truth, rejecting Jesus, rejecting
the unearned gift of salvation  through the grace of God, means that there is an eternity
facing that person. An eternity in the absence of God. I'm not the hell fire and damnation
sort, but it is a fact that Jesus did not skirt the concept of Hell. he spoke often and
clearly about those who would choose not to believe in Him. There's no attempt to sugar
coat things; it's gonna be eternal, and that's a long, long time. That's why I pray
daily and work daily to try and reach those I love who haven't accepted Jesus. He is
the way and the truth and the life. It's an eternally important thing...the truth. God.
Praise Him!!