Category Archives: Hope

Relinquish With Joy

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The world looks on compassion as a weakness.  They consider that a weakened man cannot sustain his hold on the things he has.  So their hideous greed approaches, emboldened.

Let them take the things their eyes see.  For they do not perceive the Christ of God.  But let your precious belongings be those of Christ.  For these things you will keep though you die.

They cannot steal what they cannot perceive.  They will not take those things which are distasteful and worthless to them.

But let the man add to his treasures, those things of Christ Jesus.  Amass the things that are unspeakably beautiful.  Pile up the things that are eternal.  Become a connoisseur of what is Holy. 

No one will touch your riches.  And you will find yourself void of fear to protect.  Sleep will be peaceful.  And you may even encourage the thief to take more.  For the things of this world can only detract from the riches you are amasing.

If the wisdom of our Holy Lord is determined to take from us all that can be held, how does the man of God say no? 

“No” comes from the lips of the one who is not yet complete.  The weakness in him causes him anguish to consider relinquishing what is filthy.  How can it possibly be right that a Christian should do such a thing?

By His Grace

Psalm 14

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1 Only fools say in their hearts,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and their actions are evil;
not one of them does good!

2 The LORD looks down from heaven
on the entire human race;
he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,
if anyone seeks God.

3 But no, all have turned away;
all have become corrupt.a
No one does good,
not a single one!

4 Will those who do evil never learn?
They eat up my people like bread
and wouldn’t think of praying to the LORD.

5 Terror will grip them,
for God is with those who obey him.

6 The wicked frustrate the plans of the oppressed,
but the LORD will protect his people.

7 Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel?
When the LORD restores his people,
Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice.
(New Living Translation)

By His Grace

The Exceptionally Few

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Always considering the eyes of men.  That’s how most people live out their days.  It takes an exceptionally confident man to do his work in a crowd without notice of the eyes that watch.  And oh how few they are!

The fear of man pervades our every thought.  “What will they think?  What will they say?  What will they do to me for my failings?  Have I been successful at hiding my nakedness?  Do they still see my weakness?”   And so, fear is given a place to live.

Do you want freedom?  Do you want to live with a confidence that rises above the fear of men?  Do you want to become a member of the exceptionally few?

Then seek out the Christ of God with every fiber of your life!  No man can possibly rid himself of this kind of fear.  He has to develop an unshakable belief in the love of God for himself.   That’s when confidence arrives.

It’s not enough to say that God is love.  That’s not enough to dispel the fear.  You have to let your soul live in heaven, even while your body lives among men.  Then there is no fear.

Christ Jesus can do that for you.  He can set you free of every fear, even death. 

You can trust this message.  It is faultless, and will find full acceptance before the Living God.  It is in fact the message he has been preaching since the day of Adam and Eve.

By His Grace

Suffering Complaints

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Are you suffering under a burden that threatens to drive you to the dust?  Has your heart become calloused, so that you will not call out to God for the sake of the things that oppress you?  Have you allowed yourself to blame the One who made you?  Have you come to believe that you are righteous in blaming God for your trouble?

Jesus did no such thing!  Faultless, blameless, and full of love for his Father, the Lord was beaten beyond recognition.  Yet he did not blaspheme the will of God.

He endured his Holy Father’s will, because he knew his God can do no wrong.  And he considered even the greatest of torment as if it should not be compared to the Glory that awaited him.  How is it that we cannot even sustain the sufferings of the common cold without complaint?

The Holy Bible uses a very curious word to describe the testing of the Holy Lord Jesus, “crushed”.  Have you been so treated?  And that for no apparent cause?  Are you without sin?  Don’t we deserve to be crushed?

10 “But the LORD was pleased
            To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
            If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
            He will see His offspring,
            He will prolong His days,
            And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.” (Isaiah 53)

For our sake, and his love for God, he was sustained through it all.  For the sake of his Father’s love for man, he endured the most vicious possible death.  For your sake Christ was purified of all possible pride.  Stripped of his Glory and Majesty, humbled to the likeness of an animal, Jesus became the sacrifice for our sins.

He did not complain.  He did not beg for mercy.  He did not resist the ungodly hands.  He did not strive to evade the whip.  He offered the tender portion of his hands to the nails.  He forgave sins as he hung toward death!  And all of this with the most resolute heart!

And then horror came to visit him; his Loving Father turned his face, as his son became a curse for hanging on a tree.  As it is written in the law of the Most High God, “for he that is hanged is accursed of God”.

Still he did not all allow sin to encompass him.  He endured the will of his Holy Father.  Shall we do any less? 

Consider the tiny burden we bear.  Even if we suffered as Christ Jesus, we deserve the beating. 

As we consider these things, so we become more like him.  As we consider these things, we reach to the victorious one for the strength which sustains. 

Do you want strength to overcome your intolerable need to complain?  You will find that strength in Jesus the Christ of God.

Amen!

By His Grace

In the Shelter of his Wing

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I wake up before dawn and look out my window at a light dusting of snow.  Out pops a little bird, hopping about in the snowflakes.

Then I wonder, “Where have you slept little one?  Did you sleep among the reeds in the ditch?  Did you forsake the tree limb for the shelter of the reeds?

You would have not perched yourself too deeply within them.  You would have slept in a place where two hops allowed your wings to spread.  You would be no food for the predator.”

And then I wonder.  Where did I sleep?  I slept peacefully under the outstretched wing of the Most High God.  I woke to His Glorious covering.  Lacking fear, I woke only to stretch my bones, and then to pray; even as the little bird sings his song of joy.

Is this how Jesus slept in the boat while the storm raged around him?  Is this how Daniel slept with the Lions, for the weariness of their bodies?  Is this how the Apostle Peter slept so soundly in the jail amidst the soldiers?  Is this how the Prophet Elijah slept alongside the Kerith Ravine, knowing the wings of a bird would feed him in the morning?

Oh how desire rages within this servant to instill these things in my fellow man!  Will you please consider the power of God to sustain your tired soul.  His name is Christ Jesus, the Son of God and the Son of Man.

By His Grace

Golden Stairs

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Doing battle with the man I was;

An exceedingly costly affair.

The cost is high and sure because

I must climb His golden stair.

The steps are made of Molten Gold,

Refining in his Fire.

And every step I take, as bold,

Consumes me all the higher.

The price is high, as men perceive.

But is it worth the cost?

I’ll be there on my bended knee,

Enjoying what was lost.

While others who enjoy their gold

With a coolness that will not burn.

Will kneel in fear, and void of bold;

For these steps I take they’ll yearn.

Oh cross of Christ, that precious place;

That step there at the top!

Reflects to me His Glorious face,

As this journey finally stops.

Do you think it odd a man should lose

Everything you hold so dear?

I think it’s odd that you should choose

To hold on to your fear.

As now the Great Proclaiming’s done,

You settle down in your flesh.

Forsaking all that can be won,

You place your loss as best!

Yes the stairs will torch your hope,

Of a life of peace and ease.

But you climb to Him upon a rope;

Consumed by a Fiery Breeze!

Won’t you please come and place your foot

Upon the liquid step?

Belief in Christ will do you good.

He’ll accomplish all the rest.

But if you do this step ascend,

Do not back down again!

The world perceives us not as friends,

Who will His Stairs ascend.

By His Grace