Tag: Jesus

Did you see the Son rise today?

Perhaps your body hurts with too much pain.
Or your heart is broken, there’s so much strain.
The sadness has caused your eyes to close.
“Jesus loves me …” in this day, who knows?
The clouds are too thick. Is there a Son rise?
Forever, yes. And not as far as you think.
If you stop, and be still … and open your mind.
Put off the doubt, and a young child do find.
If you are able, sit with a youngster or just watch, the wiggles and squeals for a short while or else:  think back of a sweet memory as far back as you can, and sit in the warmth, to cheer up your soul.
Make thinking ‘on good’ be your new style. Sacrifice some time to offer to God a thankful heart for awhile.
Put off the dark colors for a minute and see, the light, the blues and yellows and pink. The Lord will cover you in His tenderness and get you through the  moments of great sadness.
Sacrifice thanksgiving, even though clouds still hang from the sky, somehow, miraculously,
you see the sun rise.
“He, (Jesus) said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”  Mark 10:13-15.
Can you see you are His child in His arms? He desires to touch and bless you, even now,
even today,
with His love charms of hope and grace always.
 “And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.” Mark 10: 16.
Let us make a ‘Thank offering.’ Oh how beautiful the Son is to our eyes.
“…Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:9-13.
 

What we believe, matters.

The call has come. There’s not much time.
We’ve all been taken captive, bound up by sin. Even though this word is not ‘politically correct’, we’re all bound; and deep down, we know it inside.
Just as the research for many, many years went out to discover that smoking ‘kills’. But the words that came to the public ears, written even on the boxes themselves: ‘smoking may be hazardous to your health.’
Did we not know – these words were just lies.
So, what if in fact, “truth is not what you make it?” But truth has been told -in the Book of old.
Does what we believe really matter at all? Does smoking actually, ‘kill’? Or simply give you a cough.
So much better than ‘good advice’ is the gospel message of Jesus Christ. You see, the chains will be broken.  Chains that have you stagnant and hurting.
There’s a wash inside-out, a free ticket home, and the power to breathe with God’s living hope.
Hey, The Book is the same from page one to the last. In the beginning God created. Many can’t get past that. You see, faith is required and what you believe really matters.
Believe in yourself, and see where you get. But keep your eyes on those who put their hope in the One, that each page of The Book was written about.
The whole Book, really, is about the Lamb. Remember Adam and Eve, making the choice for us all. (And don’t fret about it, if it were any of us,  we would’ve also made the fall).
We do, everyday. And in every way, we are like just them now:  “Do something! Let’s hide from God. Let’s cover ourselves in leaves that bring pain.
Now they knew they were naked. Just as we know we’ve messed up. They were anxious and afraid. The bottom line – they disobeyed their Love.
But what we believe matters. If we stop reading the story, we miss the full picture of the Hand of God reaching. A spotless lamb slain, that they might be covered at last, not by their own efforts and strain, but in softness and gentleness of wool of an innocent Lamb.
Yes, there was blood. Yes, there was death. But it didn’t come from them. It came in the Lamb that was sent. The only work for Adam and Eve to do that day in the garden, was to take off the old garments of prickly thorns they’d sewn on their own, and receive the covering that God offered them.
“No thank You God, we like the pain. You keep the Lambskin. I’m going my way.”
We all have a choice, to believe God, or not. To believe in His Son, to spend time in His word. To receive His great love, to walk in His Way, to accept new life and obey His truth.
God is in control. He created this world. But it’s broken and fallen. The Story is told. From beginning to end. Genesis to Revelation. The Lamb has come to ‘take away the sins of the world.’ In John 1 verse 29, it can be read in black and white,
but these words are living and even sharper than a sword. They cut to the heart, because you are loved by the Lord.
What we believe, matters. Everlasting life forever is offered to those, who take off the old and receive  – new life that’s given.
Lambs skin over thorny leaves … put on Christ, and see God’s Hand take the lead.
Please let someone know that you believe in the Son. But first, even right now, talk to God in your heart, or even better, out loud and make a new start. With God, nothing is impossible. He heals. He restores.
And He has a plan for you that is better than you can know. Keep your eyes up, and in His Love may we each day grow.
 

So far away, yet the stars sing

One million, three-hundred thousand earths can fit in our sun. Our sun is big. However it is told, Antares can hold 64 suns. Antares is huge. But, not compared to Hercules, which can hold 100 million Antares.
Hercules is gigantic. Yet, Epsilon, the largest known star in the universe can hold 3 million Hercules. How do we know all this?
Some amazing magnification.
But back to earth, looking up to the sky, even our tiny, little sun, which can hold 1,300,000 earths – can be hid completely with only our thumb.
If we can hide the sun with our thumb, does that mean the sun’s not there?
“Out in the open wisdom calls aloud,
    she raises her voice in the public square;” The light of God’s word is spoken to all of mankind. It is not hidden is some quiet place.
The sun rises in the morning and sets each night. “Day unto day utters speech.” Proverbs 19:2 proclaims. Do we block the words that God has breathed out for us, because this world and people have brought us pain?
Our eyes become dim. Our hearts, discouraged.
“How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?
    How long will mockers delight in mockery
    and fools hate knowledge? Proverbs 1 verse 22, speaks with blunt eloquence. But quite frankly we can hide the sun with our thumb. We hide the Son with our thumb.
Shunning God’s word, doesn’t change it at all.
Dear children of the world, God offers life, and joy, and rest, and peace. Do we walk in the counsel of words at our tips. Do we stand in the path of ‘Do that and do this’?  Do we sit in seats with those who criticize God?
“Turn at my rebuke;
Surely I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.” Proverbs 1 verse 23. Do these sound like words of a God who’s angry?
The King speaks to His Bride, in words poetic and lyrical in the Song of all Songs by King Solomon. Words bright as Epsilon – so far away, but who can see …
unless one looks carefully. With purpose and determination. With a heart whose eyes are wide open. Almost too wonderful to have understanding. Great beauty exposed, in magnification:
“I slept but my heart was awake.
    Listen! My beloved is knocking:
“Open to me, my sister, my darling,
    my dove, my flawless one.
My head is drenched with dew,
    my hair with the dampness of the night.”
The King is calling, but what is the response.
3 “I have taken off my robe—
    must I put it on again?
I have washed my feet—
    must I soil them again?”
The Song continues, faint to most ears:
4 My beloved thrust his hand through the latch-opening;
    my heart began to pound for him.
5 I arose to open for my beloved,
    and my hands dripped with myrrh,
my fingers with flowing myrrh,
    on the handles of the bolt.
6 I opened for my beloved,
    but my beloved had left; he was gone.”
This is Canticles V, verses 2-6, in the Book breathed by the King in the Song of Solomon.

  “My heart sank at his departure.
I looked for him but did not find him.
    I called him but he did not answer.
7 The watchmen found me
    as they made their rounds in the city.
They beat me, they bruised me;
    they took away my cloak,
    those watchmen of the walls!
8 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you—
    if you find my beloved,
what will you tell him?
    Tell him I am faint with love.”

The Song of all Songs, verses 6 through 8. The Bride remembers and brings her King into focus, fearing it might be too late:

“He is altogether lovely.” Verse 16, chapter 5, Song of Solomon.

My Bridegroom is pure. Even His enemies can find no fault in Him. (John 18:38). He is ‘ruddy’,  strong and full of vitality. He is ‘the chiefest of ten thousand’ and stands superior to all the rest. His head is as the most fine gold’. He is all divine. (Song of Solomon 5:10,11).

How do I know? Because when you seek, you find.

He never changes.  ( Hebrews 13:8).

There is no shadow of turning in Him. (James 1:17).

“His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk and fitly set.” This is the Song chapter 5 verse 12. Eyes of a dove are gentle and compassionate. Doves eyes condemn not.

Is this really a book that should stay dusty on the shelf?

“Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest
    is my beloved among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
    and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
4 Let him lead me to the banquet hall,
    and let his banner over me be love.
5 Strengthen me with raisins,
    refresh me with apples,
    for I am faint with love.”

The morning stars ‘sing’, I discover in God’s word. The Book of Job chapter 38 verse 7.  Let’s examine His thoughts more intently each day. And magnify His love, and hear His voice say:

“How beautiful you are, my darling!
    Oh, how beautiful! (Song of Songs 4 verse 1),  These are thoughts of the King towards me. “Oh come let us magnify the Lord, and exalt His name together, …”  Psalm 34 verse 3. Exalt the name of the Son. As stars, let us sing.

Planted by Streams of Water – a forward by Jared Rypkema

It was August 23, 2012, almost 4 years ago. I was a daughter. I was a sister. I was a wife. I was a mom. But one day, (before I became a wife and a mom), my view of the world was washed away before my very eyes, and all that was left, was the sky and the Son. It was that very day, that my life really had begun. I didn’t know who I was anymore, but one thing was sure – I was a child of God. So long story short, many, many, years later after being educated in the school of life, I asked my son to help me get started. He set me up with this wordpress blog and he kicked it all off with this love-felt letter:

Speak in a hymn. "Be Still My Soul" Make melody in your heart to the Lord

“Be Still my soul … ” (1)
O God … How can it be? The reality? God help us see – that You are the Almighty. “Be Still my soul … Be Still my soul.” 
Words – are powerful. Let us speak old words together. With tears and pain, whether seen on the outside – it is raining within. Let us cry out with our whole heart  – “O God – increase our faith  – again.”
 Words penned in 1752, over 200 years ago, bring health to the soul, somehow. So, today, let us pray together, to our God Almighty and our Father in heaven, with old words, true, (yet first person is changed a few)-  that we might  comfort ourselves in You. Let us say together:    “Be Still my Soul.” 
“Be Still my soul, The Lord is on our side …
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to our God to order and provide;
In every change, You faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heav’nly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.”
“Dear God there is so much change. But You, O LORD remain. We draw near to You, and You draw near when we do. O God, help us, today in such darkness, take hold of Your light and believe and rest …
in Your faithfulness:
“Be still, my soul: Our God doth undertake
To guide the future, as You have the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
Your voice Who ruled them while You dwelt below.”
Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart, And all is darkened in the vale of tears, 
Then shalt we  better know Your love, Your heart,
Who comes to soothe our sorrow and our fears.
“Dear Lord, comfort the downcast with Your Spirit, we draw near.”
“Be still, my soul: the hour is hast’ning on
When we shall be forever with You Lord.
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.”
“Dear Father in heaven, we bow our heads together. The most important change that needs be, is that which must be done, inside of me. Increase my faith, that I might stand, and follow You, as You take hold of my hand:
“Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, believing,  You, O Lord on high; to
Acknowledge You in all our words and ways,
So shall You  view us with a well-pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Son of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.”
Today. Today! This is what You have given us. Teach us to pray. To talk with You the words of this hymn rather than complaint. Be merciful to us.
Teach us to trust.
Help us to take hold of You – who are Love, and let go of all lust. Let us put off the fight, and the anger, and the strife …
and let us make harmony as we sing Your melody throughout the rest of our life.
We bow our heads, we pray to You. We end our words  and whole heartedly say:  “Our soul is still, as we set our minds on the hill, where You laid down Your life, as a perfect sacrifice, forgiving my failures, Dear Lord Jesus, Thank You.”
(1) “Be Still My Soul” by Katherine von Schlegel. 

True riches …

So precious the little girls, how they love tiaras and gowns. And the boys how they make the everyday sticks into a swords protecting all around.
Oh, there is much clamor about how this isn’t true. But, silently, some know not to listen, to listen to all the noise.
To breathe in the beauty of the sky above and marvel at it’s breathtaking brilliance and  magnificent poise.
Some choose to hear the music in the everyday sounds. To know that God is. To sing His praise and own riches of inner peace, casting off cares and sleeping sound.
He is fairer than the sons of men, so much fairer is He. He is a Rock, a fortress, a buckler, tis true, but He’s also the Rose of Sharon.
He’s the Lily of the Valley. He is gentle in beauty. He brings joy greater than any man’s wine, and best of all, He’s mine.
And He can be yours too.
May a song sing and your heart dance when your ears hear His voice at last.
This is no ‘dream’ to  follow. There is substance and power. There is lasting hope, there is beauty – never fading. This is faith in believing.
Believing and becoming part of the Bride, (both men and woman together),  the church – for Christ is by our side.
“She lives in a bubble. She’s messed up in the head. She’s been brainwashed to believe!” these are the thoughts of those around. But what have I lost, by believing in the Son? What have I lost?
Faith is believing. God is Spirit. He’s in everything around.
“My Beloved came to His garden, and He knocked on the door in the night, saying, “Open for me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one; for my head is covered with dew. . .
but I was tired and just wanted sleep and couldn’t move from my bed. But when I came to my senses and opened the door, He was nowhere to be seen, so far out of sight.
So I went searching and asking all around, “Have you seen the one I love?” And it was then, in my search that I found the One . . .
This is written in the Song of all Songs, the words of this ready writer’s pen. Like a wedding procession, He stands and sings over us, His Song:
“Behold, you are fair my love! Behold you are fair! You have dove’s eyes behind your veil…(1)
You are fair my love, and there is no spot in you… You have ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; you have ravished my heart…”
This is the heart of God towards me, this is the heart of God, towards you!
But the clamor, the noise … movement never ending. “Be Still and know!” He calls in the night. He makes us lie down. But we put up such a fight.
“Like a lily among thorns, So is my love among the daughters.” (2) He is the Lily of the Valley among the thorns He came down…
He calls, I will follow. Can you hear His voice in the night? – I am His ‘lily’, His lily among the thorns – sick and torn. Even despised in some’s sight. But, He’s got hold of me, He’s got a hold of my heart.  (3) He calls your name too. He waits for your answer. He has a still small voice – He won’t shout and flail His arms. He is the Lord.
He is God.
He stretched out the heavens. He has power to open blind eyes. He is our peace. He doesn’t fret. He is not anxious at all. He loves with an everlasting love. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is first and He is last.  He has broken down every wall. (5)
“But now in Christ Jesus you[Gentiles] who once were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby bringing the hostility to an end. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. (Ephesians 2:13-18 RSV)
 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 28-30.
What do you say? come out of the night? He will show us the way … moment by moment, one step at a time. He is our Husband, our Maker. He is with us. His love is better than wine!
 
(1)Song of Solomon 4.
(2) Song of Solomon 1-3.
(3) Isaiah 41:10
(4) Song of Solomon 5.
(5) Ephesians 2:14. “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.”

Today, is new!

Today, I wake up turned around in my thinking. Today is a new day. The enemy of God hates me and my family, but God … O how He watches over our way.
Do you believe? The lies of the enemy or the truth and strength and hope of our Lord? The liar, the accuser fills us with doubt and fear for the day and even hatred and pride and words that destroy.
Do we hurt inside and then turn to hurt those beside us? Let us let go of what’s past and take hold of today, that God might breathe new hope and life for tomorrow. Let us stop. Let us be still – and … hear the voice of the Lord:
“Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.” reads Psalm 27:14.
The truth of the matter, is after going it ‘my own way,’ I am left weak, weary, and lean. That’s when we must take courage in God, and know what He has to say. Because the accuser, the hater of God and of man is quick to speak in our ear, “God wants nothing to do with you, my friend.”
“In that day,” says the Lord, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.  This is what the Lord says:

“Those who survive the coming destruction
    will find blessings even in the barren land,
    for I will give rest to the people of Israel.”

 Long ago the Lord said to Israel:
“I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.
    With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.
 I will rebuild you, my virgin Israel.
    You will again be happy
    and dance merrily with your tambourines.
Again you will plant your vineyards on the mountains of Samaria
    and eat from your own gardens there.”(1)

This is the word of the Lord for the one, who no longer does things in his own schemes, but makes the choice to be ‘Governed by God!’ That is what the name Israel means. We no longer have to be weak, weary and lean. We can take courage when we put our eyes on the Lord.

Do you see Him? He laid down His life for all who are bitten. And for that matter, we all have been – there has been none that has escaped! So what do we do? We open our ears to hear. We STOP. We, ‘Be Still’ and hear the voice of the Lord:

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,  that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” (2)

 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (3)
Today can be your first prayer of salvation, or just a refreshing of what we have in us still: For God so loves you, He laid down His life, and He is with you now, and forever will.
“Psalm 40:1 For the choir director. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry.” 

God has ears that hear the voice that call out His name. Don’t let the enemy have any more gain. Call out to Jesus … “Indeed, none of those who wait for Him, will be ashamed…” (4)
“For God so loved you, that He gave His only Son, …” (5) Remember today, remember tomorrow, the song you sang as a young one: “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little one’s to Him belong, they are weak,…
but He is strong.” 
Today is new. I am changed inside. “Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so.”
(1) Jeremiah 31:1-5.
(2) John 3:14,15.

(3) John 3:17.
(4) Psalm 25:3.
(5) John 3:16.

Mind craze in the maze …

You and I live in a broken world. The attack, the battle, the unrest is in our minds. Playing havok with our peace, our thinking destroys us, even in our sleep.
There are pressures just to  survive. Our physical needs must be met or we’re weak, our emotional needs need met or we weep, our spiritual needs? There’s no time for that…
at least, that’s how we’ve been taught by professors to think.
Add to that, through the course of the day, media at our eyes notice constantly to say,  “You’re incomplete, you now  need this!” “You need more, and more – come out to our store!”
It’s like we entered the fairgrounds, striving to win the biggest prize. But it all seems twisted somehow –  impossible – and instead of that wonderful prize, (that we just saw with the other guy) –  we simply get the dollar-store size.
But out of nowhere, a ‘voice crying in the wilderness,’ says, “Turn around’. Where it came from, I’m not sure. I never heard a sound!
I’ve heard these words before, John the Baptist, we all know:  “Turn around , the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (1) But the mind brings the battle. Thoughts bring me down, when, unlike a child, I rebel and twist things around. The maze has me spinning, I feel I can no longer stand …
unlike a child, who simply takes the father’s hand.
“He was a weird dude, and his word went against what’s natural inside. Anyway, what would people think? The mind, the crazy games, the battles divide – “I’m not going to listen! This is judgement on his part. Who is he to tell me what I should do, beside!”
‘Turn around, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ …
“What if that’s true? Plain and simple. What do these words mean anyway? The craze continues, confusion follows through.”
“Today! Today! Come follow Me,
Turn around once for salvation and grace.
Make Me your Shepherd, that I might give you all you need. I AM the one who will make you to rest, to lie down on green pastures and lead you in what’s best… I am the One sent by the Father, I am the Son,
I have come that you might have life, abundant and blessed.”
“What makes me hesitate? What makes me stall? The battle rages – is this all there is to life after all?”
“Trust in Me and feed on My faithfulness. Delight yourself in Me, I am able to give you the desires of your heart.” “Today, today , I call you by name, I lead you out, I don’t drive you alone. Dwell in My pastures, I protect and provide, and I love you more than My life.”
“Follow Me through the gospels on the shelf.  Open it up and read it yourself. I am there, come with Me… ‘Today’ is the first day, of the rest of your life.”-Jesus
 
(1) (Matthew 3:2, paraphrase, mine).

How do we let hurt feelings heal?

How do we let hurt feelings heal?
Don’t revisit! Don’t rekindle the flames! Don’t go back and let the enemy gain. ‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His glorious face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.’ (1)
We will pray from our whole heart, broken and torn. We will cry out for  greater faith to see Love through the thorns:
‘ In You O God, I seek refuge. I will put my trust. Let my hope in You not be disappointed. Deliver me in Your righteousness! Bow down Your ear, O God.  Speedily, deliver me!  My rock of refuge, my strong fortress – be!(2)
Do we have neighbor, friend, or even family write us off as evil? We will not be greatly moved by opinion – our prayer has been written. King David cries out to God in his song, Psalm 31, To the chief musician, A Psalm of David, written for us all:
“For I have heard the slander of many, terror on every side! While they schemed together against me, they plotted to take my life. But I trusted, relied on and was confident in You. O Lord; I say, You are my God. My hope is in You. (3)
How do we let hurt feelings heal? We open God’s word. We cry out the prayers and the songs that have been written to a living God, “our Father in heaven,” …
“His kingdom come” – He is with you and me – “His will be done” – that we cry out to see, like blind Bartameus, open our eyes, “My times are in Your hand, dear Lord, deliver me from the hand of my foes and those who pursue and persecute me!” (4)
How do we let hurt feelings heal? We will not get our wisdom from philosophy of man, we will follow the King’s steps, we will ‘hide under the shadow of the wings’ of God – we we rest in the midst of God’s  – powerful – right – hand!
“Let the lying lips be silenced! Lips with pride and contempt! Let me not be put to shame, O Lord, or disappointed; for I am calling upon You! O how great is Your goodness” (5) … in my trouble I choose, in the chaos, in the dust, O God, I worship You!
We will be strong. We will let our hearts take courage. “O love the Lord, all you His saints; the Lord preserves the faithful,“(6), those faithful to seek cover in the blood of the Lamb who was slain in great punishment for all the sin of all men.
We will sing a new song, not a song of strife from the past. We will sing as the king, to the King of all Kings: “Oh soul are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness to see? There’s a light for a look at the Savior! And life, more abundant and free.”
“So turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth, …
will grow strangely dim, …
in the light of His glory and grace.”
Psalm 31 verse 5, our ending prayer: “Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth and faithfulness.” In You I find my rest –  Selah    (we will pause and consider all of this!)
(1) Hymn: Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Helen H. Lemmel.
(2) Psalm 31: 1,2. (paraphrased by me).
(3) Psalm 31:13-15, (with my paraphrase to make rhyme!)
(4) Psalm 31:15.
(5) Psalm 31:18, 17.

"There's no room in this Inn!"PLEASE Change your mind!

“There’s no room!” You can’t come in! We are all full! Go, and find different place!”
These words are familiar to every child who has heard, the story of Mary and Joseph  traveling, when she was near to deliver – ‘how absurd!’
“Go find a different place!” Take down the Landmarks!” “Get God out of the schools-no prayers-no mention of Jesus in the public squares!”
“Where is there room? To receive His precious grace?” “Where is there room, for the King to reveal His face?””Where can He be born? The King of all mankind? Where is there room for Love Divine?”
There is an answer! God gave it Himself!” It’s hidden in a treasure of words, perhaps dusty on the shelf! But it’s there, and He’s waiting and He knows all things – He knows your name. He’s alive, remember-He died and rose again!”
The birth of the King happens in places rough and low. It’s in the story that we know – but do we really know? The story has become starched and stiff and fitted on fire-place mantles, yet it’s dead and forgotten…as we light up the candles.
So, here it goes, straight from His word, in Isaiah 35 – powerful and full of hope and delight. So if your heart is stuck in a ‘desert place’ – rejoice! You are ever so close to even see His very face, as you draw near to Him in your rough ‘wilderness’ and He restores your sight and brings light to your night:

“Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days.
    The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses.
2 Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers
    and singing and joy!
The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon,
    as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon.
There the Lord will display his glory,
    the splendor of our God.
3 With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands,
    and encourage those who have weak knees.
4 Say to those with fearful hearts,
    “Be strong, and do not fear,
for your God is coming to destroy your enemies.
    He is coming to save you.”

5 And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind
    and unplug the ears of the deaf.
6 The lame will leap like a deer,
    and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!
Springs will gush forth in the wilderness,
    and streams will water the wasteland.
7 The parched ground will become a pool,
    and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land.
Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish
    where desert jackals once lived.” (Isaiah 35: verses 1 through seven, New Living Translation. Hope for the hurting and broken and lost, because there’s room in the desert, He can find entrance there. There’s room in the solitary place,  yes, there is room for Him there!

8 And a great road will go through that once deserted land.
    It will be named the Highway of Holiness.
Evil-minded people will never travel on it.
    It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways;
    fools will never walk there.
9 Lions will not lurk along its course,
    nor any other ferocious beasts.
There will be no other dangers.
    Only the redeemed will walk on it.
10 Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return.
    They will enter Jerusalem[a] singing,
    crowned with everlasting joy.
Sorrow and mourning will disappear,
    and they will be filled with joy and gladness.” (Isaiah 35:1-10, New Living Translation).

“Joy to the world the Lord is come. Let earth receive her King. Let every heart…

prepare Him room. And heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing: “Joy to the World!”

 

 

"We will never understand, but Prince of Peace we cry out to YOU!"

When I think of children losing their daddies and mommies and even grandmas to terror in this day…A new song we sing to You Jesus, …a new song we sing, today…
“How can I think on what is a good report when terror has stolen from my very own heart?
Pour down more, than words can ever express, Dear Lord Jesus, the children are crying, we suffer unimaginable stress!
Prince of Peace, the Great I AM – I cry to You, I will NEVER understand. Lift us Jesus, in Your gentle Hand. Hold us near to Your heart, NOW! Like never before, pour out Your grace on us – make our beds, wipe our tears, Dear Lord Jesus be ever so near!
’cause what I know, that “Jesus loves me so,” I can’t even hold on to…all this You know.
But Your Spirit is present, Faith will not fail…It’s Christmas time, ‘Immanuel’-God be with me! Be with me now, and our family: “Be near me Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay, close by me forever and love me, I pray…” though I am bleeding and weeping and hurting so deep, so deep inside- Jesus, I love You. I will worship You still.
“Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good…” Your Good word has told me,… so I cling to You, as I should! There is nothing in the world for me, but Your Voice and Your  gentle touch… I will cling to You in my pain – You know all about it…during the Passion and death on the cross.
I will Remember You, as ‘You prepare a Table before me in the presence of my enemies’.  Table of Communion, the broken bread and blood that You shed. You are God. You are all Might.
“I love Thee Lord Jesus, please hold me real tight, and Comfort me now…Be the  Light …to my night.”

Adversity? '…that the works of God might be revealed' in us!

Small things can come into our day and suddenly everything else has to stop! What about if you get a grain of sand in your eye or a piece of dirt? The pain becomes our primary focus and no matter what is going on, it is priority to get it out!
Jesus passed by a man who was born blind from birth. The story is found in John 9:1-9: “His disciples asked Him, saying , “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.” (John 9:3).
Today, I imagine taking this walk with Jesus. Watching Him pass by this man who was born blind… but He didn’t just ‘pass him by..’
“So then Jesus speaks these words: “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9:4,5).
When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.” (John 9:6).
He allowed… a painful trial, and a painful solution! An ‘anointing’ of spit and clay in the eye! Oh my!
John 9:7, ‘And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated , Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.
‘So, he went and washed and came back seeing! (Exclation point, mine!)
Jesus said, “Go wash in the pool of Sent!”
Because of pain and great irritation, we can be sure that the blind man went straight to the pool he was sent to! Spit and clay rubbed in the eye! … So, oftentimes for us as well, pain sends us to – His Word!
“What’s going on?” We ask God! “How can this be?” “This is hard and painful!” we cry to God! Pain then brings us to open the pages in the plain black and boring cover only to discover…
Treasure of living water… He washes away all the dirt and suddenly we can see the Light of the world!
Jesus has said, “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.” (John 15:3,)
This ‘blind man’s world was forever changed one day, because Jesus put some spit and clay in his eye and Sent him to a pool.  God is being glorified today as we read this story because…our  ‘darkness’ and ‘walk in this dark world’ can be forever changed as well-when the pain of it all…sends us to the Comfort and Power and Truth and Life and ‘Light’ of God’s word!
‘While it is day…’ He is working! ‘While it it day’…may we simply ‘trust and obey’. Even perhaps, He has allowed pain and even ‘spit and clay’ as a solution! But may we go to where He has Sent us…“This is my comfort in my affliction, Your word has given me life.” (Psalm 119:50).

"Tell me something good."

“Tell me something good.”
“Are your ears open then? What’s the focus of your eyes? Take a minute to see into your heart, is it bleeding in pain from loss, or even shame? Or is your heart hardened by kicks and pushes and mean looks and lies?”
“I will tell you something good. In your sorrow, in your pain, in your brokenness and even in your  shame. God loves you. The true and living God, the One Who sent His Son, He loves with an everlasting love- and He is forever the same.”
“There is no shadow of turning with Him. He sees your doubts, he sees your fears, he knows the anger and the hurt. He even counts your tears.”
“He doesn’t give up on you. He is waiting… He ‘suffers long.’ He is able to accomplish all that concerns you today. But there is one requirement on your part – oh, not to ‘do good’ and ‘get your act together’, don’t you know the Power of His Spirit will do that in and through you all-together!  No, not that, those you will do in the Power of His name, –
but first, open your ears, and lift up your eyes, and hear and see the Love in His eyes. Can you see His hands reaching out to you? They are scarred just like your life, but they are healed  –  through and through! And if you cry out His name with your willing but broken heart, He will take hold of it and wash the doubt and fear and sin all away. He will comfort and mend and wrap you in compassion…
His name is Jesus. So you ask, “how do you know all this then?”
“Because, this is my story. I just tell you again, what God did  for me when I was broken and torn – even beyond what I thought, any remedy! But He came and He showed me His love, and yes… He reached out His hands-that I might see that ‘He knew’. So I tell you today, because I know deep in my heart – it doesn’t matter where you’ve been, what you’ve done or gone through – Jesus, He is the Good Shepherd after all,
and you His dear lamb, He is calling… you!”
“Can you hear His voice? Ask Him to Help! He will show you truly, that you are His love, and YOU are His choice!”
(“Where do I get all my information? Yes, the Good Word, the Bible! Read it aloud, it will give you great satisfaction!”)

"Cross-fitness! Step #1, Tie your laces and listen to a story!

“Cross-fitness! To be fit to know Christ and Him crucified. This is no time to be flabby, when it comes to eternity! The earth’s final days draw ever so near. Have you ever read the words:  “heaven and earth shall pass away…” (Matthew 24:35). ‘Logos’, the Word, came in the flesh and communicated this, and even more: “but My words will by no means pass away.” (Matthew 24:35). Jesus speaks very clear.
There’s no guessing, there are no ‘opinions’ about it,  do you want Cross-fitness? It will not always be ‘fun!’ This question must be understood:  “what is wise, and what’s a fool?” This IS Step #1! Don’t be offended, but it’s time to understand – this is the first step in fitness is to know God –  because the ‘way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise.’ (Proverbs 12:15).
” Tie up your laces, get your ‘walking shoes on!’ ‘Listen to advise and accept instruction, and in the end, you will be wise.'(Proverbs 19:20, NIV). There is  communication from God, ‘Logos’, ‘the Word was God’ (John 1:1) has spoken. Come, there’s a story you’ve got to hear. It paints a picture of the wise and the fool  – making the meaning crystal clear.
“Now I know some of you are saying, (to yourself perhaps), “Hey, wait a minute, you’re moving way too fast! You’re killing me with pointed words – like wise and fool –  They’re poking and messin’, and my heart’s anger is full –  and “I really don’t like you, in case you wanted to know.”
“I know all about that, they rejected my Lord. But He loves you and  cares, Yes, He cares for your soul.”
‘So, this is the story, for whoever will hear: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is like 10 maidens. They gathered their lamps to prepare to meet their  Bridegroom.’ (Matthew 25:1). This represents all who seek God. The words are in red and they say very clear that 5 were wise and 5 were’,…don’t be upset but the words are a bit ‘ish’ ,but the story is told:  ‘5 were wise, and 5 were foolish!’
“The 5 who were foolish took their lamps with no oil. Trusting in themselves and their own works to finish. But the wise filled their vessels with oil – knowing there is nothing in and of themselves to do it, so they called upon Jesus to fill them with His Spirit.”
“The Bridegroom was delayed in His coming, it is told, so the maidens, all 10, laid down and slept. But at midnight, the ‘Cry’ was finally heard: “Go out to meet Him! The Bridegroom is coming!” So the 10 maidens woke and made ready for the Wedding!
“After trimming their lamps and preparing to leave , the foolish 5 said to the 5 that were wise, “Give us some oil! Our lamps are going out!” But the 5 who were wise said to the foolish, “No, for there isn’t enough for us and for you, but rather go and buy from those who sell it! (Matthew 25:9). You have to ask Jesus, to fill you with His Holy Spirit!”
So, ‘the 5 with no oil, went out to buy…but the Bridegroom came,” the story unfolds! “And those who were ready, the 5 maidens with oil, went in with Him to the wedding; and the door was then shut!” This is exactly as the story is told, and it’s typed in red letters because they are spoken by the LORD!
“Oh my! I wonder what the 5 maidens were thinking: “It must have been true, when Jesus then said,  “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6). We  rejected His counsel! Oh, how we  hated those words! We believed many roads can lead us to heaven.” 
From Matthew 25 verses 1 to 13, we read the story written in red:  ‘Afterward, the maidens came to the door, saying, “Lord, Lord, open to us!’ “But He answered and said, “I don’t know you.”  Yes, these are the very words that were spoken by Him!
Verse 13 of Matthew 25 says, “‘Watch therefore, for you know not the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” We must understand, while it’s still in our power, to choose to be wise and not foolish today. To listen to the Voice of the Bridegroom give warning and  have our lamps ready and filled with the oil, the oil of the Spirt, that the Father gives so freely! Have you called out to Him and believed in His Son? This IS Step #1!
This is hard stuff! This is Cross fitness!  The Father gave us ‘choice’ that we might choose to love Him. To listen to His word and believe on His Son! Yes, Wisdom calls aloud, in Proverbs Chapter 1: “Wisdom calls aloud…She raises her voice…How long you simple ones, will you love simplicity?’ For scorners delight in their scorning” each day “and fools hate knowledge” as the speak  loudly their own way. “Turn at My reproof; I will pour My Spirit on you…” (Proverbs 1:20-23). “Maidens, fill your vessels with oil, for without Me you can do nothing! (John 15:3). Be wise today, and call on My name!”
‘Watch therefore, please don’t be foolish’ I, the Bridegroom speak, hear My voice, even now, though I delay: “Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out My hand and no one regarded, Because you disdained all of my counsel, and would have none of My reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes…Then they will call on Me, but I will not answer; They will seek Me diligently, they they will not find Me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the ‘fear of the LORD,…
“The Bridegroom is coming!” The cry will soon be heard! It is time for ‘Cross-fitness’! Yes NOW is the time! This is a hard story, but it was spoken by Truth in letters of red, that the whole world would know that the Marriage of the Lamb is soon!  And the Bride? If she be wise,  she will know in her heart, to ask God to fill up her lamp with the oil of the Spirit and make  herself ready!

"Tell the people to sit down…:

The story is told, and it would be good to imagine the pictures in our mind, that ‘a great multitude was coming toward Jesus’. (John 6:5). (How I pray that this would again be the case, today, that the hearts of men, in a ‘great multitude’ would come toward Jesus).
But before ‘a great multitude was coming toward Jesus’, the words are written, “After these things…”(John 6:1).
After ‘what’ things? we might ask. After – Jesus had changed water into wine at a wedding feast in Cana.  After – Jesus had given the promise of eternal life to a Pharisee named Nicodemus,  After – Jesus asked a  Samaritan woman for a drink of water, only later to tell her about her life’s decisions, and she speaking of the Messiah who will tell them ‘all things’ and Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”, (John 4:26), and then she went out and told her whole city about Him! After- Jesus healed a ‘nobleman’s son’ from a distance, a paralytic was healed and made well by the pool of Bethesda. And after speaking to the Jews who sought to kill Him because “He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.” (John 5:18). “After these things… ‘a great multitude was coming toward Jesus!”(John 6:1,5).
Word got out about Jesus! People were talking about all His wonderful works!
Back to the story: “And Jesus went up on a mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. (John 6:3). “He said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread for all these people to eat?” John 6:5.
What would you say if you were Philip?
We would probably say just what he said: (my paraphrase), “a half a years pay wouldn’t be able to buy enough bread for this many!” But the brother that always had to be known as ‘Simon Peter’s brother, (Andrew) said, “Here is a boy with five loaves of barley bread and two little fish. But that is not enough for so many people.”John 6:8.
There is SO much in this story! The Bible is the most amazing living Book! But today, for me, I write what is magnified on the page. I write the words that totally knocked me over:
 Jesus said, “Tell the people to sit down.” (John 6:10).

The Bible tells us that it was a very grassy place and that there were about 5,000 men who sat down there. But there were women and children there as well, so we are looking at close to 10,000 people perhaps.
Have you ever tried to tell  even just fifty children to sit down? It is an effort. Now imagine telling 5,000 men plus more women and children – to sit down! I don’t think they had a megaphone, and we know that they did not have a microphone!
“Make the people sit down.” Jesus said.
These were His words,…for me. Are they for you too?
Today in this society we see the words, “Stay calm and …” Well, here in this story, Jesus doesn’t say, “Send them away to get their own lunches! He planned on having them sit and watch Him take the bread and give thanks to His Father and give them to His friends who then fed the crowd, and the same with the fish! (John 6:11).
Often times,obeying the Lord is hard. Often times, obeying the Lord  doesn’t make any sense at all.But EVERY TIME it is good to ‘trust and obey’ the Lord!
“Make the people sit down.”(John 6:10)…. This makes me think of Psalm 23, “the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want, He makes me to lie down in green pastures…” (Ps. 23:2).
God’s word against the reality – often times leaves us with a struggle – the struggle  to trust and obey! Just to ‘be still’ and read His word and a  hymn these days is hard…but Jesus spoke to me this morning, and I feel instructed to ‘make the people sit down’, including myself, after this is all typed and written – yes, we will ‘sit’ and be fed, by Him –  by a hymn.
This  hymn written so long ago, is for today, timeless, forever powerful:Trust and Obey, by John Sammis in 1887:

  1. When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
    What a glory He sheds on our way!
    While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
    And with all who will trust and obey.

    • Refrain:
      Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
      To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
  2. Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
    But His smile quickly drives it away;
    Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
    Can abide while we trust and obey.
  3. Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
    But our toil He doth richly repay;
    Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
    But is blessed if we trust and obey.
  4. But we never can prove the delights of His love
    Until all on the altar we lay;
    For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
    Are for them who will trust and obey.
  5. Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
    Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
    What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
    Never fear, only trust and obey.”  And we’ve even got leftovers to share!