Times Up?


Rising up in their midst, in this particular generation, is a man who speaks of the ancient ways.  They call them ancient ways, as if they are dead, but they have simply been pushed out of the way.

Much to their amazement, and to some extent disgust,  the old words present themselves again.  They thought time had destroyed them.  They thought the modern age had made them obsolete.  To complete their pleasure, all they had to do was wait for the old ones to die.

How surprising that the ancient words of history live even today!  And how surprising it will be, that when they think their victory complete, babies are raised up to speak them again!

My friends, they are not ancient words, as if the eyes of man sees decay.  They are ancient eternally long before the beginning of this place.  They are as strong this moment as they were from the beginning.  And to your amazement, they will thrive long after you are dead.

The language of man has changed, and so his toys and the use thereof.  But truth and mercy are never ending; from eternally before to eternally after.  It is only your wicked perception that gives truth a time limit.  It is only the perception of wicked men that relegates truth to the old folks, in the obscurity of their death.

By His Grace

Sibling Rivalry


Millions of people, all over the world, know the nature of Truth.  They know the God who made us all.

You know them.  They walk among you.  And they are not ashamed to testify about what they have come to know.

How do I know this?  Because I am one of them.  I know that the Living God, the Holy Father, would not leave this world without testimony about what is more important than anything in this world.  He gave His Holy Son into the hands of man to die.  And this for the sake of saving us all.  Why would He now abandon man by having no witnesses among us?

They are all at various stages of understanding.  But God works in them to testify, with reliability, according to the Gospel.  By the power of God, their testimony is reliable.  It is the ears of man which muddy up the “Word of God”.  And it is their “past man” which conflicts within them to deliver what they have come to “know” by faith.

Perhaps you have one in your family.  You know that person, so you discount what they say.  You remember the person they were before they came to understand the Gospel.  So you assume they are only spouting what they believe, as if what they now believe were only another opinion (of which there are, apparently, billions).

By rejecting what they say, because you have known them, you reject the One who has transformed their thinking.  Did you know that?

I know it’s hard, but if you would only listen to what they are saying, you too can become a child of the Living God.  I am, after all, speaking of Christianity.

Now if you find it too hard to rid yourself of the image of the man or woman you used to know, as you strive to listen to them, then go find a stranger that speaks the same things.

It’s curious, about people, that they get stuck in a rut when it comes to the Gospel preached by family or acquaintance.  But let us recognize that such difficulties exist.  Fine.  But don’t let that stop you from looking into the things of Christ.

Don’t let the natural mistrust divide you from eternal life.  Don’t let sibling rivalry, (that hideous tendency of man to discount the words of another man, simply because that person is another man just like you) rip eternal life from your fragile fingers.

Right now you have no idea how precious the Gospel is.  You don’t know what is at stake.  You don’t know the glories you are throwing away by not being willing to listen.  You are judging the content by the wrapper.  Strive to get past what you think you know.  Strive to understand what you’ve never comprehended.

And have mercy on that person.  He or she is trying, with all they have, to interpret the things of heaven to human ears.  It might take some time to get the message out clearly.  Encourage them to try again, if what they say to you makes no sense at all.  If you want mercy from God, be willing to give it to your sincere brother.

You’ll have to put on patience, something we humans seem to have extremely little of.   But if you comprehend what they’re trying to tell you, you’ll find every difficulty more valuable than all the riches in the world.

Amazing Wisdom of God


Wisely, God has established that the gift of language should come to us long after our birth.  Lest angry words of frustration and anxiety begin the journal of our testimony.

Rather, we are blessed with noises obscure, until we learn to ask questions.  Does this wisdom really change with our years?  Or does man perceive himself more than he can possibly be?

By His Grace

Trust


Of the things of Heaven,

I have not a clue.

By force of hope,

I am thrust to trust you.

Not by sounds or syllables,

Are my ears confused.

But by the very truth,

You are forced to use.

You are our eternity,

Blessed and always to be.

While we are of the tiny things;

Death is all we see.

Cataracts born of temporary,

Obscure your Glory from me.

Yet I will dare to hope.

For what You say will be!

By His Grace

The Proper Use of Greed and Jealousy


“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” (John 8: 19)

God’s people speak of heavenly things.  And when they speak so, they speak of things the world is not able to understand.

Just before the Lord spoke the words cited above, he said this:  “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Therefore as you follow the living God in Christ, do not be surprised that you are not received or understood.   But as we speak what is true and faultless, let their lack of understanding be a source of joy. 

We strive to interpret for their benefit.  But understanding must come from the Holy Father.  If anyone wants to understand, let him humble himself before the Living God and ask for wisdom.

We are adopted into a foreign land.  But they remain natives of this place of testing.  We speak the language of the land into which we are adopted.  Let us boldly speak according to the will of God.  Allow God’s power to be displayed in our speech.

We were once native of this place also.  In this, to some extent, we are bilingual.  But our allegiance must be first to the One who calls us home.  It is not profitable to rejoin the rebellious that we may draw them out. 

They speak in the vulgarities of rebellion, and to this alone they understand.  But remember we are cautioned that “it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret”. (Ephesians 5: 12)

Display the beauty that you have received.  Let greed and jealousy do its proper work.

By His Grace

Just Worthless Noise


Words that you will likely never hear from the HR staff of a company:

“Let God come in here.  Talk about him all you want.  Because wherever God is, good things happen.”

You will not see a sign like that posted in a bar. 

There will be no places made along the highway, where people can pull over and pray.  A secluded and beautiful little place, where quiet is the only regulation.  And Christianity is the commanded focus.

The government will never find funding for a public memorial, depicting the beautiful things that Christ has done for humanity.   Certainly nothing similar to the memorial of the Vietnam War, Mount Rushmore, and the like.

You will never hear the president give orders to the citizens of America to fast and pray to the living God in Christ Jesus, for the sake of some trouble.  Never.

But you will hear the glorification of man.

From very early in the morning to deep into the night, Man babbles about with words for everything but God.  All his celebrations have one purpose: “Make Man happy”.

The statistics are vague but they are consistent in variation.  It is said that women speak about 20,000 words a day.  While men use about 7000.  How many of those words, do you think, relate to the glory of Christ?  Let the reader do the math, but multiply those numbers times the population of the world.  What is the volume of words used by Man everyday?  How little is dedicated to the Holy One?

Heaven is!  And there, Christ is King and glorified.  For the time being, the world is.  But take note of how Christ is not glorified.

Judge for yourself,  should we really ask God to bless America?  Does any nation really have the right to ask for the blessing of God?

PS: How many words of yours glorify God’s Holy Son all day long?

By His Grace