Doubt - an Enemy?

Is doubt the enemy of faith?  I read a quote recently that made me think.

"The beginning of wisdom is found in doubting; 

by doubting we come to the question 

and by seeking 

we may come to the truth."

~ Peter Abelard

Doubting is not the opposite of faith, nor is it sin, if we do not hold onto doubt, if we do not sink into it, if we do not let it take away from what we know to be true. 

Doubt always begins with a question.  "Is that true?"  "How can that be?"   

But questions have a built-in invitation for the inquirer to seek the answer.  While a doubting question can threaten faith, finding the answer always strengthens faith. 

In my experience, I have  found that when people struggle with doubt in their understanding of God, it is often the result of not having all the pieces of the picture. 

 If something - a question -  makes us doubt God's word, or God's character then we need to be diligent in seeking the answer. 

Let me share an example. 

In Numbers 16 we have the story of the rebellion of Korah against Moses and Aaron. 

Korah, was a Levite, a leader in Israel, but he was ambitious and greedy for more. He allowed bitterness and jealousy toward Moses fester in his heart until he could no longer keep it hidden.

Not wanting to stand alone in his rebellion, he organized a revolt against Moses. Rebellion spreads quickly and soon 250 men , all respected leaders of the people, joined with Korah. They came in the unity of their complaint demanding that Moses answer to their charge. He had overstepped his authority, taking too much into his own hand. They declared that they were just as holy, just as qualified as he was and Moses had no right to claim his own exalted position and deny them equal standing before God and the people. 

If you read the story you will see that God's wrath came upon Korah, Dathan and Abiram and the men with them and God declared that He was going to destroy them for their rebellion against Him and the ones God had called. God commanded the Israelites to move away from the tents of these wicked men, least they be consumed with them.  In verse 27 we are told that Korah and Dathan and Abiram came out to stand at the door of their tents with their wives and their sons and their little children. Verses 30-33 describes God's judgment against them - how the earth opened up under them and swallowed them up, with all their goods and everyone with them. 

Doubt questions - "Is this the God we serve?  One who would  destroy the children for the sins of their fathers? Does God punish the innocent for the sins of the guilty? Would God punish me for what my parents did?"  

What do we know about the character of God?
We know God says ,"For I am the Lord, I do not change." ~ Malachi 3:6,  and we know that God is a righteous judge. "He shall judge the world in righteousness, And He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness." ~ Psalm 9:8
*

We also know what God commands regarding the sins of the fathers and the sins of the child.
He says in Deut. 30:16, "The father shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall the children be put to death for their fathers, a person shall be put to death for his own sin." 

And again in Ezekiel 18:20 we read ... "The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself."

If God does not change and God is always righteous, then what do we do with this example in Numbers 16, where God seemingly does the opposite of what He declares in Deut. 30? Does God say one thing and 'sometimes' do another?   If He says that He will not punish the children for the sins of the fathers ... then how do we explain this story about Korah in Numbers 16?  Does this mean that we cannot fully trust God to be consistent in what He says and does?

Awwww....  of course not !  God is always the same, God is always true, God is always worthy of our trust and confidence in who He is !!!  

Let me show you the answer .... Turn to Numbers 26:9-11 and see that here is added a clarification, more detail added to the story as we find it in Numbers 16.  

While the men stood at the door of their tents with their wives and sons and little children ... it was only the men that were swallowed up, only the men that were burned - the children did not die. 

Genealogies, Anyone??

Yes...  I'll admit it ... I like to wander in cemeteries and I enjoy genealogies.  Not because I have a morbid fascination with death but because I value people's lives and feel a desire/need to honor someone who once lived, even if it is only to read their name on a gravestone or in a genealogy.
I don't find the genealogies in the bible boring - God has hidden some interesting details in what could be viewed as a boring list of names.  But God is not the author of 'boring' -  His creation and His word are equally beyond our limited ability to absorb all there is hidden therein.

 I was recently looking at the genealogies of Jesus.. the genealogy of Jesus through Mary, found in Matthew 1:1-17 and the genealogy  Luke records in Luke 3:23-38 that is Jesus 'legal' lineage through Joseph, his 'supposed' father.
 Both genealogies overlap from Abraham to David but then Mary's continues through Solomon and Joseph's continues through Nathan, - Solomon and Nathan both being sons of David.

In Jesus' lineage through Mary, we see from King David , a consecutive succession of kings - sixteen of them, while in contrast, Joseph's lineage contains no king after David.
We have Jacob's prophetic word over his son Judah recorded in Genesis 49:10 - "The sceptor shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh comes and to Him shall be the obedience of the people."   In plain English it is saying that "There will be a continuous line of kings from Judah ...  until the Messiah comes!"  And so we see it was ...  The continuous line of sixteen kings until the captivity to Babylon followed by the 400 years of silence - during which period there were no kings - until Jesus was born.

But there was another detail in Mary's genealogy that I found fascinating ....
As I studied this long list of Kings, I noticed something that caught my attention. Jeconiah is listed as 'the son of'  - not his father -  but his grandfather. I had to know why, and I found the answer  proved how the smallest detail of God's word does not return to Him void. When God speaks, we can always follow it with "and so it is already done!"

In Deuteronomy 29:18-20, God warns the Israelites  that if any man walked in rebellion and idolatry, turning away from the Lord God, that God's curses would come upon him and God would "blot out his name from under heaven!"

In Jeremiah 36:30,31, we read "Therefore says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah 'He shall have no one to sit on the throne of David and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat of the day the front of the night .. and I will punish him ....all the doom that I have pronounced against them..."
Jehoiakim was cursed by God for all his iniquity....  and it is his name that is missing in the genealogy of Jesus - literally blotted out!  It should be listed between Josiah and Jeconiah..

I can't think of a greater disgrace than to be blotted out - disowned- and not recognized in your family tree or lineage.

I think of the words of Jesus when He said there would be those who cried out "Lord, Lord!" but would be barred from the kingdom of heaven by His words, "I never knew you, depart from me!" 
Oh ... let us make sure that we are not in that number but that we stand and sing with countless saints the refrain of  Daniel Whittle 's 1883 hymn... 

"I know Whom I have believed, 

And am persuaded that He is able

To keep that which I've committed, 

Unto Him against that day."

"Our hands have handled"

my family - daughter, granddaughters and son-in-love

We recently celebrated the wedding of my son in law's sister.  My granddaughters were bridesmaids and my husband took the above photo of our daughter and family.  We have always lived near enough to each other that our close relationship was one we have treasured but also taken for granted.

Now things are about to change.
My  older granddaughter, who graduated from high school this summer and just celebrated her eighteenth birthday has chosen to go to school in Australia and will be leaving in a couple of months.
 I am happy for her to have the experience attending a Christian music school,  but my heart is also painfully aware of what separation from her will feel like.
I was thinking about it the other day and thought how fortunate we were to have so many ways to stay in touch with someone far away - e-mail, Facebook and Skype that allows voice/sight connections.   Yet somehow it didn't feel 'enough' in my emotions and I questioned myself, "Why not?"
The answer came almost immediately -- because as much as our technology offers, it does not allow 'hands on'.    I won't be able to touch her, hug her, kiss her, see her 'face to face'.

And suddenly I had a deeper insight into one of my favourite verses. -
I John 1:1 -  "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled..... "

This verse speaks to relationship with Jesus.
For some people it is only a very vague sense, or none at all, of some historical figure named Jesus.
For some, they have heard of Jesus' and  have some knowledge of His story.
Some have actually 'seen' Him as in recognizing that Jesus was born as a baby and grew up to give Himself in death on a cross to provide forgiveness of sin.
Then some have actually 'looked upon' Him, accepting Him as their personal Saviour so they can go to heaven when they die.
But then, there are those who 'handle Him' - they make Him their 'hands-on' focus on a daily basis. He is their go-to source of wisdom, of comfort, the one they depend on and trust  for guidance and direction. Their fellowship with Him is real and intimate.

None of the progressive levels of awareness of Jesus are enough  until there is the 'hands-on' relationship. Nothing less will satisfy.  Even so the beloved disciple, John, articulated in his letter. He 'handled' the Word. The Word took on flesh, became Jesus, like unto man, and John had the privilege of being so close to Jesus that he could touch Him and love Him and know Him in an intimate way - heart to heart, mind to mind, Spirit to spirit.

I am not satisfied with anything less either.

The Mysterious Melchizedec

I wish I had a quarter for every time someone wondered who Melchizedec was, the  man  who met Abraham after his successful rescue of his captured nephew.

 There is more to understand about Melchizedec than what is commonly taught in Christian circles.

First,  Melchizedec is not a name, it is a title.  
This man, who met Abraham, uniquely had two  roles, he was "Priest of the God Most High" (Gen.14:18) and he was also the King of Salem (meaning 'peace') . Therefore, being both  King and  Priest - the combined titles make up the word we have mistakenly taken to be a given name, Melchizedec. Melchi is Hebrew for King, and Zedec or Zadok is Hebrew for Righteousness.
 His Hebrew 'name'  Melchizedec translated into English would simply be KingRighteousness.
(Therefore as a Priest of God, when he met Abraham, he came to bless him with the words of God given to him  to deliver.)

What I want to do here is explain the connection between Melchizedec and Jesus, since the link between the two is stated in Heb 5:10 , "called by God as High Priest "ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK," 

 Let's look at the pieces one by one.
What is meant by 'order' ?  
Order is defined in the dictionary as   the arrangement or disposition of people or things in relation to each other according to a particular sequence, pattern, or method.

The 'order' we are examining  is a called out succession of men, 'put in a row',  meeting the requirements God Himself put forth.  

What we readily understand is that under the leadership of Moses,  we have  God calling out one tribe of Israel -- the Levites, who would  be in charge of the things concerning  the worship and sacrifices and rituals of  temple service.
From that tribe of Levites, God called out Aaron and his line of descendants to be the High Priests - standing in a place of service before God that only the High Priest could fill.
But what we miss is  there is another line of priests that precedes the Mosaic 'law', a line of Zadok priests whose righteousness qualified them to serve as the High Priest of God.
The very first Zadok, (we are not told specifically) but we do have a hint,  that Seth was 'an appointed seed'.  (Gen. 4:25)  and in his time people began to call on the name of the Lord.   
What we are told is that Melchizedec was without question a Priest called of God in the line of Zadok or Righteous priests.
This line, including Melchizedec and traced through his 'seed',  follows  down into the tribe of Levites, and into the line of Aaron.  Those in this line of Zadok priests were set apart from that of the other High Priests who needed themselves to be cleansed of their sin before entering the Holy of Holies to intercede for the sins of the people. (this is important as I will show) 
It is important to note that the  'order' of the Zadok priests preceeds the law, because the final Zadok High Priest  (Jesus) was not a High Priest under the law. Just as Melchizedec came to the father (Abraham) of those who walk by faith, (Rom. 4:16) so Jesus comes to the children of Abraham or those who, like him, walk by faith  in Jesus, both Jew and Gentile.

While we could look at a thread of Zadoks traced  through the Old Testament , I want to point out a verse in Ez. 48:11 that speaks clearly of the distinction of the Zadoks ..   Verse 10 and 12  speak of the sanctuary of the Lord being placed in the middle of the 'most holy' district given to the descendants/sons of Zadok.  Then verse 11 gives the reason why,  "It shall be for the priests of the sons of Zadok, who are sanctified, who have kept My charge, who did not go astray when the children of Israel went astray , as the Levites went astray."

The Zakok Priests   stayed faithful in their 'righteousness'  before God, even when everyone around them was unfaithful.   There was an unbroken line of Zadok priests ... ending with Jesus. 

I showed in my last post how we know that Zacharias was the ligitamate High Priest rather than the impostor Caiaphas, but Zacharias was also a Zadok priest.   How do we know ?  
His righteousness is specifically noted, and also the righteousness of his wife Elizabeth, also an important detail. Why?   
In II Chron. 27:1 we have a reference to the mother of a righteous king.  It is noted that she was the daughter of Zadok .    If the Hebrew word was used in our NT account, we would have it noted that Elizabeth was the daughter of the sons of Zadok.   It is important that we have that fact.   Mary, the mother of Jesus was related to Elizabeth, rather than John,  so the 'seed of Zadok' (Ez. 46:19) was also passed to Mary, otherwise Jesus would not be in the seed line , or descendants of  Zadok and He could not be linked to Melchizedec. 

No priest could be annointed for service before the age of thirty.    We read in Luke 3:23 at the time of his baptism by John, that Jesus begain His ministry at about thirty years of age.  
Even at the age of twelve, Jesus was already astounding the leaders with His teaching in the temple -  so His being a teacher had nothing to do with His age.   It was important to note His age at His baptism  because He was being anointed as the last and final Zakok High Priest.  

It is also important that Jesus was of the seed of the Zadok High Priests, rather than just descended from Aaron  because He did not have to be cleansed of His own sin before entering the Holy of Holies to make intercession for the sins of those He died for. 

He was of the order of Melchizedec because He also holds a dual title, being not only  a Righteous High Priest  but also, like Melchizedec,  a King of Peace, being of the tribe of Judah and a descendent of King David.  


 

Imposter by Design

The year was about 5 BC.
The day, the most Holy Day on Israel's yearly calendar.   Yom Kippur or Feast of Atonement.
The question  on everyone's mind that morning was --  Would their sin be covered for another year?   Or instead of God's mercy, would His wrath fall upon them in judgement.

As was the custom, the people - pressing  together-,  gathered at the temple.  They stood, watching, waiting with bated breath as the High Priest took the incense  censor into the Holy of Holies to intercede for and receive forgiveness from God to cover the nation's year's-worth  accumulation of sin.

But wait ...   who was the High Priest at that time?  Does our scripture, in Matt. 26:3 not record it as being Caiaphas?
But it is not Caiaphas we see preparing to enter the Holy of Holies,  it is Zacharias! What is going on ?
  

Only the High Priest was allowed  to enter the Holy of Holies, and that only on this  one Holy Day of the year.

So why was Caiaphas not fulfilling the High Priest's God-given duty on this most holy day ?  

One reason .. and one reason only - it was a matter of life and death! 

The High Priest had to be a direct descendent of Aaron and to enter the Holy of Holies the High Priest himself had to be righteous before he could intercede for the people.  

Oops !  Caiphas has two strikes against him ! 

One-   he was an imposter High Priest, put in place by Herod who , in naming Caiaphas as the High Priest ignored the fact that he was not descended from Aaron. 

Two - he was hardly righteous!  

But if it did not trouble him that he could not claim Aaron in his ancestral tree,  why would he allow someone else to usurp his honoured place of service in the Holy of Holies ?   

Ahhhhh ..   it seems he still had the fear of God in him somewhere.   If a High Priest was not righteous, was not clean before God,  and he entered the Holy of Holies, he would never come out !  God would strike him dead the second he stepped behind the veil !

That was a deterrent strong enough to cause Caiaphas to quite willingly  allow another to take his place. 

Someone who rightfully filled the role of High Priest at that time.
And who fit the requirements?  None other than Zacharias !

How do we know that Zacharias was the 'legitimate'  High Priest at that time ?
Three reasons .
1.  Zacharias was of the lineage of Aaron --  We are told in Luke 1:5, that he was of the order of Abijah -  that order is named in I Chron. 24:10 under the lineage of Aaron.
2.  Zacharias was righteous .   Luke 1:5 is careful to make note of this.
3.  Zacharias was not struck dead in the Holy of Holies.   If he had not been the true High Priest at that time offering the incense in the Holy of Holies, he would never have left the Holy of Holies alive.

But ....   while Caiaphas was an imposter High Priest --   God 'designed'  His plan in such a way that it looks like Caiaphas was exactly where he needed to be for God's plan to unfold in perfect symmetry.

(to come in future post --  How did Jesus become our High Priest? and what does Melchezidec have to do with it ?)  

The Word of God Came

The phrase "the word of the Lord came to...."  is repeated one hundred and four times in our bible.
And all 104 references  are in the Old Testament.

One of these scripture verses leapt off the page one morning as I sat with my open bible.
Sometimes it is the obvious that escapes our attention until that moment when our 'eyes are opened' to suddenly see it !
I never considered how these OT words "and the word of the Lord came"   were prophetic flashes hinting of and foretelling the coming of  Jesus.

In the Old Testament "the word of the Lord came to..." always preceded some message of God spoken to one of His prophets.  It came unexpected and only at certain times and only to chosen individual people.  But the day was coming, and has come, where "the Word of God came'  in Jesus Christ, to the whole world. (John 3:16)
And it came in a Person.  "..which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled!"  (I John 1:2)  Such was the testimony of the disciples who lived with Jesus.   Jesus, God with human skin on , was someone physical like us, someone who came to walk among us and dwell with us.  No longer the Word of God that came to one person who became the messenger to deliver the word to others ,  but God Himself speaking so ALL the world could hear for themselves.
  "God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son....   the Word (who) became flesh and dwelt among us! "    John 1:14, Heb. 1:1,2

 "The word of the Lord came to .. "  is first recorded in Gen. 15 where we find "the word of the Lord came to Abram".   It is interesting that the first occurrence would involve Abraham, the father of faith.  The father of all those who would receive the Word made flesh.

I love a verse that defines God, Is, 52:6, as the "God who speaks!"

Take a few moments today and reflect with joy and gratitude that we do not need to seek for the word of God today,  we have the Spirit of God within us,  we hear His voice guiding, directing our steps. All because, the Word was made flesh --  in Jesus, our God, our Shepherd, our Friend.
"Therefore My people shall know My name. (Jesus) Therefore they shall know in that day that I am He who speaks, Behold it is I !" 

Are those not thrilling words?    That we can KNOW the name of God, and hear His voice?  

A False Bottom - Discovering Baruch's Secret

Recently, I was thinking of writing some posts about obscure or little known characters or scriptures. I'm always curious about the people or verses that are important enough to be in the scriptures but are not commonly known or understood.
I love the book of Jeremiah and coming across the passages speaking about  Baruch, wondered  how many people would, on hearing his name,  immediately  know who he was.
As I sat thinking about Baruch, I  had that 'nudge'  that I recognized as God saying ...  .. There is more to his life story than what immediately meets the eye !

For those of you who are not sure who Baruch is, here is his story in brief.
He is first mentioned in Jer. 32, as the scribe that recorded and filed the legal documents needed when Jeremiah purchased a piece of property.
We see him again  in chapter 36 when Jeremiah again had need of him, this time to record the words of God as God spoke them to Jeremiah.  Then, because Jeremiah was under house arrest, unable to go to the the temple, he asked  Baruch to go in his place and  read the words of the scroll to the temple leaders.  Baruch did so and then also read them before the King when he was commanded to do so. The words angered the King and he tossed the scroll into the fire.   When,  in his rage, he commanded Jeremiah and Baruch to be seized , God hid them.
We see Baruch still with  Jeremiah , staying behind in Israel, after most of the people were taken captive to Babylon.
 Read Baruch's story for yourself and you  see Baruch, as an underdeveloped, background character , simply doing what Jeremiah needed him to do. You glean no sense of who Baruch was as a fleshed out person that would interest you.

BUT .. . there is a false bottom in Baruch' story box.
In chapter 45 of Jeremiah... very near the end of the book and long after we have forgotten about Baruch,  we have a very interesting chapter with one last reference to Baruch.   Here in verse 5 we read this .. ."And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them, for behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh," says the Lord. "but I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you will go."  
These words were spoken by God to Baruch, but they make no  sense.   Why would God promise Baruch his life after he already lived through the threats and danger that were now finally passed? And what great things could Baruch seek for himself ?  His country had been ravished, his people in exile, life become an exercise in survival!
But wait....this is not as it seems !   Look closer and you will see that chapter 45 is not in a chronological sequence.
Verse 1  indicates where chapter 45 belongs in context of Baruch's story.   These words were spoken to Baruch in the fourth year of the reign of King Jehoiakim.  Chapter 44 ends long after that !
When was the the fourth year of King Jehoiakim's reign in our story?  It was a very narrow window of time placing this word to Baruch in chapter 36, just after Jeremiah's first dictation when  Baruch is told that he will have to go read it in the temple.

Wow...  put this passage into its rightful place in the story and Baruch becomes a very interesting character !
Look at the first words... "Do you seek great things for yourself ? Do not seek them."  
We know Baruch was not just an ordinary scribe.  He was sought out as the one who handled important documents.. a lawyer , a scribe of scribes.   His career was building, he was gaining influence in high places.
But then, he is pulled into Jeremiah's service. It would not be politically correct to be seen as a Jeremiah supporter , since Jeremiah was the number one political/public enemy.  Standing with Jeremiah, in any way would not only put his career at risk but his very life !
Even though Baruch had high hopes for his place in Israel society, he was a godly man.  When faced with a life changing decision, we are told that he struggled, considering the probable consequences of doing what Jeremiah was asking of him. He cried out ...  maybe while pacing the floor in the dark torment  of night...  "Woe is me now! For the Lord has added grief to my sorrow. I fainted in my sighing and I find no rest. !!"  
God heard his cries, and sent Jeremiah to him with a message from God's mouth.
Not only does God tell him that his own plans for success are not what he should be focused on, but God also says that He will reward him by giving him life..  Baruch, no matter where he went could be assured that his life was in God's hands and God promised to keep him safe.
NOW, we understand why Baruch so calmly did all that Jeremiah asked him to do. He knew his life was not in danger!  
We see in Baruch an example of faith even when his own plans were crumbling or his heart quaked in fear!

Do we take God's promises so to heart that no matter how dark the world gets  around us, we just keep doing what we are called to do, steadfast without an anxious heart ?

** more insights under the 'false bottom'  in Baruch's story... next time ..

All Roads Lead to Rome

                                                                                       photo by Greenery ,Melanie Batemen

      The saying  "All roads lead to Rome"  is  historical  in origin.  At one time all roads DID lead to Rome.   At the height of the Roman Empire, Rome was the centre of the known world.  All roads were built leading directly to Rome or linking with a road that did. 

      As a saying, "All roads lead to Rome",  survived the Roman Empire itself. It is  commonly recognized and used today as an idiom  meaning that while there may be many ways to do something it will end up with the same result.  

I was reading Psalm 84 - a beautiful Psalm in which David extols the delights of dwelling in the house of the Lord.  

Verse 5 is especially insightful as the central thought of the psalm... it says  "Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage."  

The Amp. bible as well as some other translations word it... "Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways of Zion."   

Just like Rome was the centre of the Roman Empire,  so we also have a City in the Kingdom of God  - Zion or Heavenly Jerusalem.  Hebrews 12:22-24 speaks so beautifully of  the spiritual city to which we are all called to claim citizenship !   

One day, the city will be our physical reality on the new earth but until then our life is a journey - not just physically but more importantly, spiritually - a journey to an eternal  destination.

Our heart will determine whether or not we reach the destination we desire -- to spend eternity with God in joy and celebration and worship.

It is not enough to set up the 'city of God' as our destination -- we must build the highways of our heart leading to it.
As we travel through this physical life,  we are so often drawn aside in our journey to follow our own ways, seeking our own pleasures, trusting in the 'strength' or wisdom of this world and we build heart roads that twist in confusion leading nowhere.  
 Building highways is hard work -- but if our strength is in God , He Himself helps us and our pilgrimage will stay on course.   If we build all the highways of our heart to lead to God and His eternal city, then no matter what befalls us -  circumstances of pleasure  or tragedy,  life's joys or sorrows, success or failure -  the highways of our heart will always lead us back to God and to His word.  

We can never get 'lost'  if  our heart highways lead to the city in which He lives and where He desires us to dwell with Him.

Have you inspected your highway system lately?  Do you need to do some major heart highway construction or re-construction ? or does your heart pass inspection!

I pray with King David ...   "Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties" (or faulty highways)  Ps. 139:23 

Deep Calling Deep!

 One of my favourite places to be is Long Beach on our BC coast.
There is nothing that makes me feel as small and insignificant as the powerful, endless roar of the ocean waves as they come crashing onto the shore.

I was reading Psalm 42 today and was moved by the poetic words but even more by the message the words deposited into my mind and spirit.
This Psalm expresses  the agonizing cry of one overcome by life's  trouble and heartache.
"Deep calls unto deep" --  there is no help , only sorrow calling for more sorrow until the billowing waves pour over the sufferer  threatening to crush what is left of a fragile  life.
This Psalm is the WHY, O WHY ? cried by those who see their hopes and dreams lying dead at their feet.

Yet, no matter how deep the storm that rages,  no matter how powerful the emotional tsunami,  no matter how dark the horizon appears,  no matter how hopeless tomorrow looks ...  there is One who  is our Rock to cling to .

"Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me?  

Hope in God, 

for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance."  

Ps. 42:5 

  

But that was not the verse that my heart focused on this morning.   Though I have read this Psalm many times I never really noticed the poignant sweetness of verse eight. 

It says .... 

"The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, 

and in the night His song shall be with me....  a prayer to the God of my life."    

When we are going through difficult trials of life, how often have we dreaded the coming night, knowing that fear and anxiety lurk there.  In the night when we are so aware of being alone, our troubled mind and aching heart keeps us awake. We see no answers to our need, find nothing to soothe our raging emotion. In the dark of night there is no light, only magnified shadows that terrify. 

But there is this ...  "In the night His song shall be with me... "

I find it significant that the Hebrew word for 'song'  here is in the feminine.   

Does that not immediately bring to the mind a mother singing to her infant?   

A child waking at night cries out and the listening mother, immediately  hears the cry and gathering the child to her bosom, she softly sings her lullaby.   The child's fears melt,   it nestles in the warmth of his mother's arms, comforted and safe.  What tender expression of love is the picture of a child being rocked to sleep by  his  mother's lullaby. 

That is what God is telling us here ...   No matter how dark our night, He is there to sing His lullaby over us - His lullaby becoming a prayer in our hearts,  birthing hope for the 'morrow!     All is well,  for He is our life!

26 = Total

My dogwood tree this year is abounding in blossoms.  I stand on my patio gazing in wonder at the perfection of each blossom as pure in colour and shape as the one crowded beside it.
I wonder at how every blossom has exactly 4 petals, always has, always will.  My pansies also insist on their allotment of 4 petals, even though they have their own peculiar arrangement.
Other flowers differ.  I recognize the familiar wild flowers blooming beside our roadways and in the fields . The buttercups have five petals, the chicory flower has 21 ALWAYS -  season after season, year after year.

Numbers.....  God's creation is built on the unwavering consistency of numbers as any scientist will tell you.   So numbers are important to God  -- and if you stop and think for a minute you will realize how important they are to us as well.
How would you keep track of your wealth (or lack of it, smile)  if there were no numbers with which to count it ?    How could you cook/bake your food without numbers to measure the ingredients ?
How would a carpenter build a house if he could not measure for accuracy to make sure the structure he was building would stand solid?

Take away numbers and the order of our life and that of the universe itself would collapse.

God, being a God of numbers, also built His chosen language -  Hebrew - on numbers.   Each Hebrew letter doubles as a number.  Because of this we sometimes find what could be 'hidden treasure' in scripture - hidden at least to those of us who are not familiar with Hebrew as our mother tongue.  
I am so thankful that today with information so readily at our fingertips there is not much that we cannot learn something about  if we wish to do so.

For example.....

This morning, I opened my bible to Psalm 136.   It is a Psalm I have read many times before and I had already noted the repeated phrase "For His mercy endures forever"  at the end of every verse.
This morning, however, I was suddenly curious about why God repeated it 26 times and not 25 or 27 times. God is a God of detail, right ?  so ... I thought God perhaps  repeated it 26 times on purpose !

Knowing the importance of numbers in the Tanakh ( Jewish name for the canon of the Hebrew Bible) I wondered if the number 26 had  a given significance.
I found something very interesting  - that the number 26 is indeed a number with special meaning.

The name of God to Jews was/is considered to be so holy that it is never completely written out -- only the consonants were ever written.  In the Old Testament the name for God is Yahweh - written in the Tanakh as  YHVH.  (still today)
Taking the numerical value of each letter Yod = 10 , Hey = 5, Vav = 6, Hey = 5  , they make a total of 26.
Because 26 is the numerical  sum value of the letters in the name of God , in Hebrew the number 26 is referred to as Total.

Now looking back at Psalm 136 ,  where the  repeat of  "For His mercy endures forever!"  is 26 times, it takes on a deeper significance of meaning.    If God says something once it is true, if He says it twice He is telling us to take note .... if He says it 26 times it is TOTAL.

How wonderful is it that God wants us to know that His mercy enduring forever is TOTAL ..  we can trust that His mercy will never be withheld from us ....  If we come to Him needing His mercy.  yet one more time, we will never find a sign hung on the throne room door .. "Sold out"  

"Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven! For His mercy endures forever !"  

Psalm 136:26 

The Difference Between Law and Faith

In looking through my many photos I had to look a lot longer to find a photo of a grey sky than I did a blue one. Obviously, because a blue sky is much more inviting to use my camera to record memorable moments.
It is true, is it not,  that when we look up to see a grey sky our emotions plummet and we feel the heaviness of a gloomy day.   In contrast the blue sky lifts our spirits and we face our day with joy and gladness.

We all know people who come into our day as a 'cloudy sky' and some who come like a 'blue sky' of sunshine.
The cloudy day friend is one who is quick to point out faults , failings, things that are wrong - finding any reason to criticize and burden.
The blue sky friend is one who comes with praise and encouragement, quick to find the things that are good and finds every reason to be thankful and rejoice.

The law is like a cloudy day friend. It focuses on  our weaknesses, our sin, our failings ... pressing us down with a long list of 'don'ts'.   No matter how hard we try,  the list just grows.

Faith, on the other hand, is like the sunny day friend.   Faith looks for what is praiseworthy. It inspires us to do  righteousness  that fills us with joy and confidence  to look into the face of our Father.

 These thoughts were inspired by my reading  Romans 3:19,20,21 the other day and I saw it in a light I had not noticed before.
Verses 19,20 tell us that it is the law that came  to point out our 'sin'  .. to make us guilty before God.  The law focuses us on our failings , the things we do that are not pleasing to God.
In trying to obey the law, the only conclusion we come to is that we hopelessly fail..
What a cloudy sky hangs over those who try to live by the law.

But then verse 21 declares the sunny sky of faith !   Faith focuses us on living, not by the list of law 'don'ts'  but by a  list of 'do's'.
Instead of the law revealing sin, faith reveals the righteousness of God..
Where the law condemns, faith lifts up righteousness!
Faith has only one focus -  LOVE... walk in love and  we cannot fail, we cannot do otherwise than be righteous before God because God is love, and if we love we are like Him.
Without faith it is impossible to please God ... (Heb. 11:6),   He that loves his brother will have no reason to sin . ( I John 2:10)  Trusting in God to guide us in our walk by faith is like having a built-in GPS, instead of  a handbook listing the pitfalls and dangers along the way. Faith allows us to enjoy the scenery and fellowship along the journey!  
Faith lifts us up to feel like we can do all things through Christ Jesus (Phil 4:13) in whom our trust is focused.

I'm so thankful that God knew we could never attain righteousness through keeping the law , and gave us the New Covenant of grace that gives us the victory and by faith in Him makes us to stand righteous before Him!
I love blue skies, don't you ?

Recognized

We recognize things and people by their outward visual characteristics. We do that so automatically -- an Iris is distinct from other flowers because of its unique form of petal.

While we also recognize people by outward features we judge them by another standard -- their inward characteristics displayed outwardly in their words and actions.
For Christians, who represent to the world the 'image' or reflection of Jesus, this becomes very important.
Often we are the only gospel people read and what they 'read' in us is the basis of what they believe about God.
I think we tend to forget this as we go about our daily duties.

I read something in the Jewish Talmud the other day that sharply reminded me.
Here is the quote that caught my attention....
"Therefore a distinction was made between a wrong done to a Gentile and to a co-religionist on that ground. “More serious is the defrauding of a non-Jew than the defrauding of a brother Israelite on account of the proclamation of the Name’ "

It immediately brought to mind the verse... Rom 2:24 For "THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU." (Rom. 2:24)

In the Talmud quote above... I considered why they would say it was a worse crime to defraud a non-jewish person than a jewish one and I realized that their thinking was this - If they wronged a fellow Jewish person the offense remained between the two of them but if they wronged a Gentile the offense would reflect back on God and cause the Gentile to think less or evil of God Himself.

Do we consider what people, because of watching us , believe about God?
Before we react.. before we speak... do we ever stop to think -- how will this reflect back on God?

We have evidence in scripture that God is concerned about how He is represented to those who do not yet believe in Him... His name is important to protect -- His reputation is at stake!

Even to David, the prophet came with this admonition ,
"However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die." (II Sam. 12:14)

Does God care what the non-Christian world thinks of Him? Yes.. He does!!! and it is up to us to uphold the honor and integrity of His name and character.

Look at Rahab words to Joshua and Caleb when they came to spy out Jericho. She said.. "And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath." (Joshua 2:11)
Rahab had listened and watched God revealed through His people and she changed her life accordingly.

"Dear Father, help us to be the kind of witness that will cause people to turn to you as Rahab did and not be the cause of people turning away from you in anger, thinking evil of Your holy Name!"

Two Mountains - Plan A, Plan B

He "exceedingly quaked and feared!"
I love the descriptive KJV words.... do they not stir your emotions ?
And just who is this talking about ?
None other than Moses - the man who spoke with God face to face , the man who was closer to God than any one else, the man whose face shone when he came from God's presence.
And why was he so afraid ?

Let's go back. God had declared that He was going to show Himself to His people - that He was going to physically come down on Mt. Zion and speak with them.
I can only imagine the excitement in the camp as the people followed the directions they were given to ready themselves for this incredible event!
They were to wash their bodies and their clothes. A fence was erected at the foot of the mountain to protect the people. If anyone so much as touched the mountain when God was on it they were under penalty of death !
Only Moses would be allowed to climb the mountain .
When God came down .. His voice roared like a trumpet blast that just got louder and louder ! His Presence was veiled with smoke and covered the mountain. The glory of God appeared as a blazing fire ! The ground shook ! Thunder rolled and lightening flashed.
The people were terrified and instead of crowding closer to God they all fled backwards, away from the mountain and watched from afar!
They begged for mercy....and for God not to speak to them anymore - they feared for their lives!

God knew that if He revealed Himself, the people would pull back in terror. Showing Himself physically on Mt. Zion was His plan B. He knew all along that plan A was the perfect one!
He did not enact plan B to prove anything He did not already know... He enacted it to show US why He chose plan A.

PLAN B

In Hebrews 12 verses 18-21 is the description of the plan B Mt Zion!

"For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest,
and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore.
(For they could not endure what was commanded: "AND IF SO MUCH AS A BEAST TOUCHES THE MOUNTAIN, IT SHALL BE STONED OR SHOT WITH AN ARROW."
And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I AM EXCEEDINGLY AFRAID AND TREMBLING.") "

The description starts out with the words... "For you have NOT come to the mountain that can be touched!"
We, of the New Covenant are not part of plan B !

What then was plan A ??

PLAN A

The writer of Hebrews tells us about plan A.

"But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels,
to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect,
to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. "

In plan A God does not come to us wrapped in smoke....He does not physically appear before us.
He has made Himself totally invisible and comes to us 'spiritually'. That way our physical bodies will be not terrified of Him!

We have come not to the physical Mt. Zion that is on an earthly map of Israel but the spiritual Mt. Zion that is the Lord's dwelling place among us. The Mt. Zion of God's Presence in His city... the heavenly Jerusalem and His angels.
If we don't understand the symbolism, it is spelled out for us ... We are part of the church, our names are registered in Heaven , we dwell in God and He in us, and we are joined with the saints of all ages. And best of all... we have a Mediator, a King who understands our flesh, He took it upon Himself to bring us into the spiritual New Jerusalem!

In plan A there is no 'fence' to keep us from drawing too near to God. The separation veil was rent in two when Jesus' dealt with the sin issue that kept us from God's Presence.

Spiritually we are not afraid of God ... not afraid to enter His Presence and not afraid to have His Holy Spirit live within us.

I often hear people say that it would be easier to walk with God in the OT where He revealed Himself physically. No, it wouldn't... we too would be terrified!
God in His gentle mercy has covered Himself, not to hide Himself, but so that His children will come to Him without fear.
One day when we escape these fearful physical bodies we WILL see Him face to face and be filled with awe at His Holy Majesty and Power. But then we will recognize the One whom, though we have not seen , yet we have known. He will not make us afraid - we will know Him as our Father!
Because of Plan A !!!
******

The Unjust Steward

Perhaps the most difficult to understand of Jesus’ parables is the one about the unjust steward found in Luke 16. But if we look at it carefully, it is not so difficult after all and of course has a message for us from Jesus’ own mouth.

The parable.
There was once upon a time a very rich man who entrusted the managing of his financial affairs to a steward. This steward ingratiated himself with his employer who trusted him completely.
But the steward was taking advantage of his position by misappropriating funds and lining his own pockets.
It seems his master never noticed but someone who did brought accusations against him. The steward was called to face the music and while his master seems somewhat reluctant to do so he told the steward to ‘clean out his office’, his employment was terminated – no recourse.

It is interesting to see the steward’s reaction. We see no repentance or self defence…he accepts his judgement but immediately reacts true to character - considering his options.
He could take a job digging.
Manual labour?? Forget it! He is a desk-man.
Beg? Beneath him!!
So how can he turn this to his best advantage?
It does not take him long to come up with a plan. He has had years of experience of looking out for his own best interests.
Wasting no time, he calls into his office, one by one, those who are in his master’s debt – those who lease or rent premises from him – and one by one he lowers their rent or amount owing. He reasons that he can ‘buy’ his future security – by helping them financially they will surely be happy to take him in when he is soon-to-be-homeless.

There is no generosity of heart in his actions, no intention of making amends, although perhaps he WAS in truth only lowering their rent or debt to where it should have been in the first place. Perhaps he was only reversing the exorbitant amount he had added to their debt – that showed up well in his master’s money coffers but also allowed him to make his own pockets heavy.
Now he was ‘buying’ with his master’s money a ‘pension’ plan.

When his master heard of what the unjust steward did, he gave him his grudging admiration. He chuckled at his ingenuity and slapped him on the back – perhaps sorry to see him go.

Jesus always used situations or life experiences that the common people in his audience would understand. And then He used his story to clarify the spiritual truth He was teaching.
The common people in Jesus’ day totally understood the ‘unjust steward’. They all had to deal with dishonest tax collectors.

At first glance, we are surprised that Jesus seems to commend the actions of this unjust steward. Is Jesus condoning shady business practices?? Hardly! To understand what He is saying we need to look a little closer.

What Jesus pointed out as admirable in the unjust steward was that he took advantage of what he had been given to ensure his security and future habitation. In that, Jesus says, he, as a child of darkness was wiser than many children of the light.

Let’s unwrap the parable and look closer at its interpretation and meaning for us.

The master is of course God. The unjust steward is you and me. God has given into our stewardship all that we have, whether it be much or little and has left it in our hands to see what we will do with it.
The day comes, in each of our lives that we realize we stand accused before God.
Satan, our accuser, is ever ready to point out that we are unjust in all our ways. We have no defence, we are guilty and God knows the truth. And so we realize that one day soon our stewardship will be taken away from us… this life will be over. We will leave this life, as the unjust steward left his position, with nothing.
So we are faced with the decision of what we will do. Simply face the inevitable, and take what comes? Make no provisions for our well-being on the other side?
Or will we take the example of the unjust steward and with haste and diligence use what God has entrusted to us to ensure for us a secure and eternal habitation.

It is interesting how Jesus weaves into His story truths that at first glance are not even noticed. The unjust steward’s reactions are full of meaning.
In considering his options he declares he is incapable of manual labour. That is also our declaration. There is no ‘work’ that we can do to earn our salvation, our eternal habitation is built by God – we can add nothing of ourselves.
The unjust steward also found begging abhorrent. We do not have to beg for our eternal well being – it is a gift that God offers freely to those who believe in Him.
Even the master's reluctance to terminate the steward..."What is this I hear of you?" has an echo of God's heart...He has "no pleasure in the death of the wicked". (Ez.33:11)

Jesus gives us the advice that “we are to make friends of unrighteous mammon”.
How do we do that?
The things of this world will one day pass away and the things of this world are ‘unrighteous mammon’ in comparison to eternal riches. But if we USE them to serve others , if we “through patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honour, immortality”, we will find the door to our heavenly home open to welcome us. (Rom.2:7)
And just as the master of the unjust steward commended him, so we also will have the praise of God. (I Cor. 4:5)
If we are faithful with what we have been entrusted with here, then we will be entrusted with much on the other side.

Our thought to ponder for the day…. How can I use what God has entrusted to me to serve Him and others?? - thereby storing up for myself "treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches, nor moth destroys.” (Luke 12:33)

Wise Words

Tennis is my sport of choice, although my RA has put me on the spectator side of it, rather than the participant side where of course I would prefer to be.
I have never been an athletic person but from the time I watched my first tennis game I knew that tennis was one sport I would enjoy playing and believed I would be able to attain some level of skill. I took up the game and did enjoy it, even becoming somewhat proficient.
Then one summer, I developed tennis elbow – from over use of my right arm, - more from typing a manuscript on an old typewriter (maybe some of you still know what I am talking about?!) than from tennis .
It was extremely painful , and I should have waited for it to heal, but my impatience drove me to keep playing in spite of the pain.
Well, I discovered something. If I swung my racquet correctly using my shoulder to pull through, then there was very little strain on my elbow , but if I reverted back to swinging at the ball incorrectly using only my forearm, I was repremanded by a sharp pain shooting through my elbow radiating down my arm.
Wow… talk about a built-in coach !! I now had great incentive to perfect my style and my game actually improved !!
My tennis elbow was my ‘goad’.

There is a verse I love in Ecclesiastes 12:11 that says, ”The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given by one shepherd.”

A goad as defined by the dictionary as “something that pains by pricking” or “something that urges or stimulates into action”.
While a ‘goad’ is painful , it exhorts toward a desirable goal, just as in my tennis game, the pain served as a ‘goad’ motivating me toward playing better.

This is the analogy presented in this verse about the words of the wise being like goads.
I think we have all been in the position where someone gives us advice or counsel we do not want to hear…it is not pleasant and it pricks and pains us. Our natural tendency is to reject what does not make us feel good , and so wise words often trigger an initial reaction of anger or wounded feelings. Hopefully , in thinking about it later, we recognize that the words were true and consider them in a more accepting light.
Good advice is often like medicine , bitter in the mouth but it benefits our health.
Foolish advice, if the converse is true, soothes the soul, is easy to swallow and sweet to suck on like candy, but having no health benefit whatsoever and can actually do us harm.

The next part of the verse is an interesting word picture. “as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies”.
Masters of assemblies -- ‘masters’ denotes experts in a field, those who have perfected their trade or excelled in their position. Assemblies is a word that collectively refers to scholars. So together – masters of assemblies- would be the learned masters who have studied well and are able to pass on what they have learned. But here is the interesting part – their words are “as nails fastened”-- I know there are at least two craftsmen/carpenters (my brothers) reading this post and they could tell you about nails ! A well fastened nail is secure and secures whatever it was intended to hold so it will not move. A well fastened nail goes in straight and true and sinks into something solid.
So the picture presented here is that of a craftsman who is a master at his trade who works with words instead of nails, words that are straight and true and are fastened into something solid.

The last part of the verse describes this ‘something solid’ - the One Shepherd.
It is the fact that the words of the wise , no matter where they are spoken, no matter how many wise men/women speak them , though they come from a chorus (assemblies) - they speak in unison, echoing the same voice, the Voice of the One Shepherd from whom all wisdom comes. It is only in truth that everyone will speak the same thing and all “ truth is in Jesus” (Eph 4:21)
Wise words are only wise if their source is in God. Daniel celebrated this truth in Dan. 2:20, “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever for wisdom and might are His”.
No matter how wise worldly wisdom may appear “ ..the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, for it is written, ’He catches the wise in their own craftiness.. and again, ‘the Lord knows the thoughts of the wise that they are futile’.” (I Cor. 3:19,20)

In our world today we are surrounded by so many voices …all competing and contradicting each other …. is it not comforting that through all the noise we can train our ears to listen for those who speak the words of the One Shepherd?
Though their words be as goads , may we allow them to spur us on to good works.
And may the words we speak also be as well fastened nails that will cause others to recognize His Voice through us and be exhorted and edified to follow Him.

The Scepter

The plot had been hatched , and the law passed to authorize the extermination of the Jews.
No, it wasn’t 1939.
It was , in fact, a couple of thousand years earlier, but the intent was the same - to rid the land of the Jews . Strange as it may seem the Jews have always to attracted the hatred of anyone needing a scapegoat, and so it was even back then in the kingdom of Persia.
A man by the name of Haman, filled with a Hitler’s kind of hatred for the Jewish people, tricked the king into giving him the authority to carry out his plot to kill every Jew in the 127 provinces of the kingdom.
Mordicai , lurking in the shadows, heard the whispers in secret places and learned of Haman’s plot. He also gleaned that the king’s seal of authority had already been given and the law was such that when the king had spoken, his word could not be repealed. The lives of the Jews were in Haman’s hand.
There was only one thread of hope and it was held in the hand of a young girl, Esther, Mordicai’s adopted daughter who just happened to be the King’s wife.
Mordicai discretely sent a message to her advising her of the dark cloud hanging over her people. Of course her identity as a Jewess had been hidden and no one, including the king , knew her blood line.
I can’t imagine the angst Mordicai’s news would have stirred in Esther’s young heart. I’m sure the trauma of being uprooted from her humble home living with her uncle/cousin and thrust into the unfamiliar world of pampered royalty as queen to the king was still fresh in her mind. Now she was told that the lives of thousands of people are held in the balance and it was up to her whether they live or die. Questions must have raced through her mind. What could she possible do? She had no influence, she was just one person, and a girl at that. And it was much more complicated than just using her feminine whiles to coax her husband to grant her a favor.
First – the plot had already been empowered by the validation of the decree making it lawful, and the law could not be revoked.
Secondly , she could not even go to the king to beg for mercy without endangering her own life.

In ancient cultures a ruling king had absolute power and such was the power of King Ahaesurus . His power was all encompassing to the point that it was unlawful for anyone to come into his presence without an invitation . That included even his wife !
Anyone who dared to approach the king without having been summoned , played Russian roulette with his life. It all depended on the ‘mood’ of the king. If someone stepped into view of the king in his throne room and the king happened to be in a favorable mood… he would hold out his scepter to them , indicating that they were welcome to come before him and present their petitions.
However, if he was in an irritable mood or if the person entering his throne room displeased him for any reason, by a wave of his hand the guards would immediately remove the unfortunate person from the king’s presence and execute him!

This was the reality of Queen Esther’s world. When Mordecai informed her of the danger her people were in and that she must help them, Queen Esther understandably hesitated to agree to speak to the king, arguing that he had not called for her for thirty days, that fact lessening her chances of pleasing him if she appeared unbidden into his presence.
We find it hard to believe that a queen would have to fear seeking her husband’s company or asking for his attention to any matter… but we need to remember his first wife was disposed of because she refused to come in response to her husband’s request for her to display her beauty. Esther’s position was by no means any more secure… beautiful maidens were plentiful and available.

Esther told Mordecai that she would fast for three days.
Then she would risk her life for the sake of her people, if she perished she perished.

When her fast was ended, she dressed in her finest royal clothes and made her way to the king’s throne room. It is easy to imagine how her heart would have been pounding… her stomach lurching and twisting with fear… her head dizzy from anxiety and fasting….. as she walked down the corridors of the palace…. knowing that perhaps she is walking to her execution. I’m sure she thought of all the other people who had spent their last minutes just as she was…coming with a petition for the king, feeling the adrenalin rush of a life or death crisis --- and then being rewarded with death.
Would she suffer the same fate… or would the scepter be held out to her???

Finally, she comes around the last corner and the entrance to the courtyard is just before her…. I’m sure she took one last deep breath before she resolutely stepped into the courtyard.

Time stopped….yes, the king was on the throne… his scepter was in his hand…. His head turned in her direction…. her heart stood still… his eyes met hers… could she read his expression?? She wasn’t sure…. her eyes fell on the scepter…. did she imagine that it moved ???
Yes- yes, could it be?? Oh , relief…. a thousand waves of relief…. the scepter was being held out to her…her life was safe… her eyes filled with tears…. the king had welcomed her !!

In Hebrews 1:8 we read about another King who sits on an eternal throne, ruling over a vast kingdom. He too has a scepter in his hand. But this scepter is a scepter of righteousness that He holds out to his subjects, He holds it out, not according to His whim or changing impulse…. but according to His justice and mercy.
Justice because the price has been paid for the privilege of His subjects to enter His throne room – and mercy because He paid the price they could never afford.
His subjects are welcome to come into His presence anytime… in fact they are assured that they can come with boldness… rather than trepidation or fear of being rejected….. And EVERY TIME they come…. His scepter is held out to them in welcome!!

Who is this King but our own King of glory … who has saved us and brought us into His kingdom of light !! Jesus, our mediator who opened the way for us to come to the throne room with the abandon of a child running to his father….even though we deserved to be turned away to face an eternal death sentence.
What a privilege , what a joy to be able to approach the God of all Creation without fear!!

“For your throne, O God, is forever and ever, A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom" ( Heb. 1:8)
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need !!” (Heb.4:16)

What is a Tree Worth?

I have always loved trees.
We bought our ‘dream’ property in 1974, six private, treed acres of wild forest and animals. Deep ravines divided the property with all year creeks. On the second ridge stood a huge maple that measured over 25 feet in circumference and stood higher than all the trees around it. When we built our house, I could see this tree from our kitchen breakfast nook and in all the years we lived there , I never tired of gazing at it through all the changing seasons.
We recently sold this property but a couple of years before we did , my husband came into the house one day and said, “Do you want to make $1,000.00 dollars?” I glanced at him and the expression on his face told me that he knew I would not agree to whatever it was I had to do to make the money. But I was curious and asked, “How?”
“Sell the maple tree on the ridge.” I was incredulous . “What?!?”
He explained that someone had just been at our place asking if we wanted to sell the tree. They had tested it and it was a curly maple , valued wood used to make violins and fine furniture. The only way they could get it out would be to airlift it in pieces with a helicopter.
I didn’t even have to consider it . “No Way !!” Vic laughed and said, “Well, that’s what I told him, that my wife would never agree to sell the tree.” The man had said that he could probably up the price a little but we did not even ask how high they would go.
Joyce Kilmer wrote a poem the last line of which is, “Only God can make a tree.” I agree !

It is an interesting detail that the very first story in the bible centers around a tree and the last chapter of the bible talks about the trees that will be in the eternal city.
I couldn’t sleep last night and I lay musing on Psalm 1 , which compares a righteous man to a tree.
The Psalm begins with a declaration of what a blessed man doesn’t do and what he does do.
He “walks not in the counsel of the ungodly" - The ungodly man speaks of the things of the flesh, of the world, the things that are contrary to God.
The one who listens and follows him will be drawn aside into the ungodly mind set until he ‘stands in the path of sinners’. He has progressed from listening to being … standing where he is drawn into the company of sinners and partaking of their sinful deeds.
Associating with sinners will harden his heart even further until he is so comfortable he is “sitting in the seat of the scornful”. He now looks with contempt on the things of God with open scorn.
The Psalm warns that there is no blessing for a man who follows this path.
The one who is blessed is the one who “delights in the law of the Lord and in His law he meditates day and night”. The Psalmist tells us to meditate on God’s word, to read it , to think about it during the day , to look for ways to express God’s truth in our words or work.
You do not have to listen to a person for very long to find out what he delights in. Our thought life centers around the things that are most important to us and our mouths are quick to speak of the same.
Do you remember when you first fell in love, how your thoughts were so consumed with your ‘love’ that you found it difficult to think of anything else for any length of time?
What would this world be like if all Christians were so ‘in love’ with God’s Word, that they thought and spoke of it every chance they had?

The Psalmist tells us what a man who centers his passion on God’s word is like…….
“He shall be like a tree planted” Trees grow in many places, but when a tree is planted by someone …. .great care is taken to plant the tree in a spot that best suited for it’s healthy growth. We are planted by God in His kingdom … actually transplanted from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God.(Col. 1:13 ) God’s word is ‘living water’ than nourishes our soul and spirit and teaches us the things of God.
A tree that is nourished will be fruitful…”that brings forth its fruit in its season”
I grew up on a farm where we had an orchard and I remember how we watched and waited for the fruit to be ripe. Have you ever thought about how a tree gives its fruit without diminishing itself? When we bring forth fruit… it is an overflow of God’s goodness within us that we offer for the benefit of those around us. A tree does not benefit from its own fruit. If it is not picked it simply falls off and rots. The promise here is that our fruit will be timely ..– when it is most healthy and ripe and of most benefit to the ones who ‘pick it’.
The comparison continues - “whose leaf also shall not wither.” What a joy it is to see a tree that is strong and healthy with not a single withered leaf.
Do we have ‘withered leaves’ ? Areas of our life that are not drawing from the well of living water? Characteristics or personality quirks that need to be pruned , that are still of the ‘old man’ and not the new?
And then comes the line…”and whatever he does shall prosper.” Isn’t that the way we would all like to live? The prosperity spoken of here is not the monetary kind that fails to satisfy, but is the kind that brings contentment and fulfillment to every area of your life.

While the man who delights in God’s word is like a tree …. “the ungodly are not so” but “are like the chaff the wind blows away”. There is nothing solid, nothing of value in the life of someone who turns away from God. Chaff… at the mercy of the wind that blows it where it will. Perhaps the ungodly man thought he could stand in the company of sinners, but “the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.” Though God allows man to go his own way for a time.. there is coming a judgment day when he will have to answer for his life and “the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

But, “The Lord knows the way of the righteous.” God Himself is the guide for those who follow after Him and He will direct their paths .

What kind of tree are you ? Are you planted by the rivers of water? Do your roots go down deep to drink of the wonderful water of God’s Word?

"Well Done!"

“Well done, thou good and faithful servant!” (Mat.. 25:21)
How I yearn to hear those words one day when I come face to face with God.

Acknowledging someone with a word of praise or appreciation is a gift we offer one another that makes us feel loved , accepted and validated. Though we thrive under the praise of man, his words are often undeserved or hypocritically given.
God’s praise will be pure and true and when we receive His praise it will stir our emotions as no earthly praise ever could.

Though we all long to earn God’s praise, I think most of us doubt we have anything worthy of praise to offer Him.
We compare our efforts to men and women who have accomplished great and wonderful things in God’s kingdom - people who have won countless souls to Christ, or have large successful ministries, or have written inspiring books or used their musical gifts or artistic abilities to bless thousands.
I used to feel envious of people who had such obvious gifts and talents with which they could so effectively serve God.
I lived a simple life , did ordinary things. How could I serve the Lord in a way that would cause Him to say , “Well done!”

Then, as I studied the scriptures, I began to realize that I had it all wrong… I was confusing the world’s standard with God’s standard and the two were very different. The world divides people into the haves and the have-nots, the gifted and the not-so-gifted, the intellectuals and the handicapped, the elite and the common. But in God’s Kingdom - God being no respecter of persons - every person has equal opportunity to please Him and to find themselves worthy of His praise.

What is it that God is looking for ?
We see in His-story is that God chooses ordinary people even for extraordinary tasks or purposes.
David , a little shepherd boy became King, Mary, an innocent maiden became the mother of Jesus, twelve uneducated fishermen became the disciples of Jesus, Gideon, a shy young man from an insignificant family was called to be the deliverer of his people. That God looks for the humble and the lowly is confirmed in I Corinthians 1:26 it says…”For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called…”

But not all of us can be kings or leaders , nor do most of us want to, so serving God in some prominent place is not the prerequisite to receiving His praise.
What God is looking for is simply our faith , our trust in Him. Heb. 11:6 tells us that without faith there is nothing man can do that will please God.

A quick look through scripture confirms to us that faith is what God is looking for.
Abraham is called the friend of God and the father of all who live by faith in God. Gal. 3:6,7 tells us Abraham was called righteous, not because of his deeds or accomplishments but because of his faith in God.

There is story told in Matt.15:21-28 of a Greek woman. She did not live by the laws and commandments of the Jewish people and being a heathen she was looked on with contempt by any self-respecting Jew.
But she had heard of Jesus, and was willing - at personal risk- to get close enough to Him to beg for the deliverance of her daughter.
She tried to get Jesus attention by crying out to Him. The disciples, who were disgusted with her, asked Jesus to send her away.
Jesus told the woman that He had not been sent to anyone other than the children of Israel, and seemed to insult her by saying the it was not proper to give the children’s bread to dogs.
The fact that Jesus implied that she was a ‘dog’ did not trouble her. She knew her place but her faith found a way, and she cried out that even dogs are allowed to eat the crumbs that fall from the table. Jesus , of course knowing her heart, exclaimed for all to hear “Woman , how great is your faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was made whole .
What pleased Jesus about this woman? Her unshakable trust in Him.

If you do a study of the miracles Jesus did in the lives of the people who came to Him, you will find not one instance where Jesus commended anyone on their status in life or accomplishments but rather rewards them for their faith in Him.

The faith chapter , Hebrews 11, lists people who found God’s praise…. all of them because of their faith.

God is totally self-sufficient… to Him belongs all power…His are the cattle on a thousand hills… all the silver and gold are His… He has riches in glory we cannot fathom…He created the universe and holds it in His hand. What gain is it to God if we return to Him what He gave us? Our life, our strength , our abilities, our possessions and resources are all gifts from Him. What on earth can we give Him that He does not already own ? What can we do that He could not do better Himself ?
Nothing !! Except for the one thing that God values more than gold but cannot have - unless we give it to Him…. Our trust !

Do you trust Him?

My Desires

I read of a grandmother shopping with her young grandson. When she asked him if he was ready to go home, he replied, “Not yet, Grandma, I might find something I want to need .”
We may smile , but don’t we all mix up our needs and our wants?

Psalm 37:4 says “….. He shall give you the desires of your heart”.
Wow! sounds like a blank check and many people take their ‘want list’ and run to present it to God.
They come away disappointed because they missed two things.

First of all, there is a pre-condition …”Delight thyself in the Lord..” He must be our greatest desire ! Delighting ourselves in the Lord means that we ‘ renew our minds’ , substituting His ways for our ways, His thinking for our thinking, His priorities instead of ours. It will change who we are.
The second thing they miss is that God does not promise to give us everything we want ! He says He will give us the very DESIRES of our heart. We will want what He wants…. and when our requests fall in line with His will, they are granted, every one !

I John 5:14-15 explains it so clearly.
1> ask according to His will
2> then we KNOW that we have been heard
3> if we are heard, He WILL grant our request.

So then, the promise of Ps. 37:4 is that if we are close to God He will give us the desires of our heart. With what confidence we can then wait for God to fulfill those desires.

We do grow somewhat wiser as we grow older . Hopefully we grow much wiser in the things of the Lord.
I have learned that if a desire for something comes out of my own heart… the fulfillment of that desire rarely satisfies the anticipated joy and often is sadly disappointing. So I have learned to wait , holding my desires loosely - if the desire is in line with God’s will, then I know He will fulfill it in a way I could not have foreseen and beyond my expectations.

Some months before this last Christmas season, I had a strong desire to give a gift that would make a difference in someone’s life, to fill a real need. I had a few ideas but money was tight and they did not work out. So I watched and waited and left it in God’s hands. Nothing came up… and it was now two days before Christmas. I had pretty much decided that it wasn’t going to happen and I had either missed a clue or just been too negligent in my efforts.

My husband and I had done a ‘favor’ job for some people that we had not seen for several years and we delivered the finished product to them just before Christmas. In our conversation we learned that they are personally involved in an outreach project in a village in Uganda, which is funded and overseen by the private school their children attend. They have made several trips to the village and are going again. The lady spoke highly of the work being done there and we were fascinated.
When we handed her the bill for our work she took one look at it and objected that we had not charged enough. We insisted it was adequate and did not want any more. We argued good naturedly for a bit , then she walked into the other room and came back with a check. She said, “Here is your money… but what I am going to do is send a cow in your name to a very poor family living in the Uganda village..” The cow would change the whole family’s life from abject poverty to being able to meet their basic needs. I was thrilled.
Not only was the cow sent but we are now also sponsoring a child and her family living in that village.
The really neat thing is that these people are going down to the village this May to deliver their daughter who is going to work there for three months. We will be able to have such a close connection to our sponsored child.
God truly does all things well, if only we trust Him!