Tag Archives: life

A Word from a Writing Candle

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We have all seen a new candle.  The wick is clean and white.  The long white column of wax is perfectly formed.  And every candle bought is intended for a use.  We unwrap the plastic.  We place it in a holder.  And we place it in a certain place for a distinct reason.

A child is born like a candle purchased.  The baby is placed in the house of its mother and father.  unwrapped from the

womb, the child is lit and placed among us.  Time has begun for the little one.  And soon its candle will burn down by degrees.

My candle is nearing the end.  And I look back at what I have become.  I look back to see what I have done, and am mostly ashamed.  But someone came and moved me to a place where I can light a writing desk.  In this I take heart.  For when I burned in the sinful places I lit the way of sinners.  And now that I am burning closer to the base I am more fit for he who writes.  A long candle sheds less light on the desk and more for the room at large.  But a light which is near the base sheds a better light for pen and ink.

I have done what I have done.  And it cannot be erased.    Yet it is not my past which amazes me.  What can be expected from a life of sin.  It is that The Lord has given me a testimony among His people.  This amazes me.  And for this I give thanks to Him.

Believe!

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English: Man's Sin, and God's Promise; as in G...

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Settle matters with death. Once a man has settled his mind to accept death as that inevitable doorway to eternity, he is free to live the rest of his days without fear of anything.  Then what can be held against you?  The world is caught up in living.  God’s people are not to be that way.  They live dead and do all they can to retain what they can’t keep; even their flesh.  But God’s people have settled it in their mind that Jesus has taken away that fear of death which once held us as prisoners.

We have heard that Jesus will take His people into the peace of His Father.  We have heard that He is even now preparing a beautiful place for those He incites to love Him.  We see the marks within us of obedience to the Father’s Will.  And we firmly believe the promises He has spoken.  Then we believe, without the slightest hesitation, that God is true.  What He has said He is able and willing to do.

How odd these things seemed to me as I first read them.  But after watching His hand bless my life, belief is the only reasonable conclusion to retain.  For now we don’t see Him with our senses.  But there is a Spirit who confirms these things to our hearts.  Don’t ever let anyone teach you anything other than what the Lord has said in the Bible.  Believe, and you will live though you die.

 

A Vision of Great Value

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Print by Gustave Doré illustrating the parable...

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As I sat before the Lord and spoke of many things, a picture came to me.  I saw a man sitting on a hill, just short of the crest.  Behind Him was Glory that I could not see.  It was too wonderful for my mind to conceive.  And it stretched out above the man from behind.  As this Glory extended beyond the man and over him, it faded into darkness.  And in that darkness was a place of torment.  Suddenly, I realized it was Abraham sitting there with Lazarus laying against him.  Abraham was calmly observing the souls in torment.  All the while the Glory of God was at his back.

Then I understood something I hadn’t even thought to ask before.  Why was Abraham sitting on that hill in the first place?  And why was Lazarus laying against him?  Why wasn’t Abraham enjoying the Glory of God behind him?  What was he doing to sit there and watch the horror unfold before him?

Abraham was remembering who he was.  And Lazarus was busy loving his friend.  Perhaps Abraham had brought Lazarus with him to survey the end result of certain behaviors.  Perhaps, having met and listened to Lazarus’ story of salvation from certain death, Abraham wanted to revisit the end of Lazarus’ story.   The story doesn’t tell us why he was there in the first place.  But what was Abraham learning, or remembering, as he sat there with Lazarus?

Abraham was learning and remembering that no man is righteous on his own merit.  He was learning the equitable nature of God’s wisdom.  He was remembering the Glory of God which was displayed behind him.  And he was watching the Glory of God which was displayed before him.  And in his very presence, Abraham’s body felt the warmth of Lazarus who had been rescued from that place of torment.  The lesson was dramatic to Abraham.  And he was busy with learning about the Holiness of the God who is all wise and pure in His judgments.  In a way, Abraham was experiencing a truth we should all learn with diligence.  We either respect the God of all Life, or regret will follow us for eternity.

We say, “But for the Grace of God, there go I”.  And we don’t know the full truth of that saying yet.  But wasn’t this what Abraham was doing there?  He was learning the truth of that saying first hand.  He had understood the value of that statement as he traveled this place of testing.  And now he was seeing the saying play out before his very eyes.  And along with the truth of horror, lay the truth of redemption and joy.  What a startling contrast!  And what an incredible tool for those who are allowed to taste life.

This story about Lazarus and the rich man is a truth we would do well to consider with great depth.  For there is such a place as Abraham was visiting.  And there is an Abraham who sits on that hill from time to time.  And there is a Lazarus who joins him for the sake of love.  And, sadly, there are rich men who inhabit that place of torment. 

Pride has no place in the soul of a man of God.  We are all of those who receive God’s Grace.  And this story of Abraham is a vibrant lesson we would do well to take to heart.  Not one player in that story was God.  But each was receiving what God had apportioned to him.  Be wise and consider the outcome of your life.  That place is not far from any of us.

Father, I am glad at this vision You sent me.  My heart is filled with a glorious joy that You would have the mercy to let me see this.  I present this vision with words.  May all who read this be allowed to see the same picture with a vibrant clarity.  By the Marvelous Name of Your Son Jesus, I give you thanks.

By His Grace.

What is the answer?

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When you went to bed last night, was the day over?  Had the day become history?  And had all the worries of the morning become written down in your experience of reality?  Yes.  These things are true.

It is also true that when we die our life in this bag of flesh will become “over”.  Our testing will have become history.  All our worries will become written down in our experience of reality.  Yet.  All these things are true.

Speak to yourself.  Ask yourself this question out loud:  “Is it too much to ask to obey the Lord for the short years He has given you to live?”  And listen closely to the answer you give yourself.  Your flesh will balk about that.  “I don’t want to obey!  What?  Are you stupid or something?”  What will your soul speak to you as an answer? 

 

By His Grace.

Black to White, Hopeless to Hope Filled.

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I read a post by someone who was in the process of taking away their life.  Hopelessness had done its gruesome work.  I left a note in response.  But I don’t know if it’s too late.

What about you?  Are you on the edge?  I have been there a number of times.  I remember waking up in a pool of vomit and marveling at my failure.  I didn’t want to be here.  And the sight only depressed me more.  I was not dead.  WHY?  More hopeless lay ahead.  For at least another year I floundered alone.  No one cared.  No one could care.  I was on the way out.  Nothing I did was good.  Nothing I could think found the strength to live.  I was absolutely lost.

Then came the Lord.  Jesus came back to get me.  He found me driving and spoke to me to lift me from hopelessness.  I don’t know why.  I wouldn’t have bothered to save me.  But Jesus has.  I am no longer tossed to the wind of cruel hopelessness.  I have vastly more than I ever thought possible.  I have hope for today, forgiveness of yesterday, presence of mind to cope, and the promise of eternity with Him!

I don’t have religion.  I have the Living God!  He cannot lie.  And He has promised me eternal life.  It’s due to Him that I am here.  And it’s to Him that I live now.  I will die.  But it won’t be at my own hand.  This hope is real and it’s available to anyone who calls out to Him for help.

By His Grace.

Excluded from Eternal Life.

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Revelation 22:14, 15

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”

I was talking with a friend this morning about why I’m so different than most everyone else.  I don’t get along with those who chose to chat about idle things.  I don’t revel in the media of movies and secular music.  I rarely even listen to Christian contemporary music any more.  So the question came up regarding my distance from the main stream of people.

Consider what that verse says at the last: ” . . . and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”  How many lies can you count in one hour of watching TV?  If you listen to the radio, how many songs and commercials can you count which spout lies or find their basis in anything other than The Holy God of all creation?  Drive down the road and look at billboards.  What do you see?  Can you identify the lies they are using to sell you what they have?

If you don’t think you fall into any of the other categories mentioned in that verse, you likely fall quite well into the round hole of loving lies.  Americans fall for nearly anything these days.   I’m not pointing fingers at anyone here.  I’m just making the point that lies have so built America that it now takes the Holy Spirit of God in a Christian to point them out.

I have no control over what anyone else thinks or loves in this world.  But I do warn, as the Lord has, that anyone who lives like this will not inherit eternal life.   Hey!  Hear me!  You will remain in your guilt if you do not obey Jesus.  What do I mean by obey?   After all, isn’t salvation free?  ok.  here . . .

1. Believe in the promise of God to forgive sins through trust in Jesus, His Son.

2. Obey the command of Jesus to become holy,  even as your heavenly Father is Holy. 

3. The forgiveness and power of Christ Jesus sets us free from the servitude of sin.  We need not carry on as do the un-believers any longer.  And He will hold His people to that.  Pray, and Do, the will of God in Christ Jesus.   If you don’t,  you won’t see the other side of  life after the judgment.  You will be cast away to bear your guilt for eternity.

By His Grace.