Tag Archives: Lord Jesus

Where do I Stand?

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c. 1632

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Many look at the Lord Jesus and say, “That’s nice.”  Most hear of Him and His expectations for His people and turn their heads another direction.  Some hear of the Lord of Glory in Jesus and reach into their pockets to give alms to those who appear to serve Him.  And some study their entire life to learn of His secrets.

But a few will lay down pride and gain in this world to receive the Glory of His promise.  Some have given all they own to be a part of His Testimony.  Some are looking at Jesus and pondering what all this “giving of self” means.  And they are about to cast in all they own to join the Glorious war of God.

Where do I stand?  What have I left that can be thrown down for His sake?  What do I hold dear in this world?  How close am I to being counted as one who threw it all away for His Glorious Name?

To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom.   But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume.   And who is adequate for such a task as this?  (2 Corinthians 2:16 [the Living Bible])

By His Grace.

What do I Know of the Night Sky?

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The oldest star of our Galaxy: HE 1523-0901

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I step out early while the stars proclaim the season.  The Sun will soon take their place.  There are noises of night that the day does not hear.  Few move.  Most are sleeping.  What an awesome time of reflection.

Note how the stars move.  Silent in their position and obedient to the Lord to shine for billions of years.  They do not care that I see them.  They take no notice of the cycle of day and night here.  God has placed them where He saw fit.  And He has not given man any more information as to why.  He told us that they are placed in their positions to help us note the seasons.  And while men speculate regarding other planets where life like ours might exist, speculation is all man has about the stars.

I come inside to ponder what I saw.  What of life on other planets?  I shrug my spiritual shoulders.  “What is that to me?”  I live here on this blue marble.  Even at this moment I have no concern regarding life on any other planet.  My concern ends at the limit of my ability to do something about my concern.  The work I have to do is limited to the skin I wear.  And study of things “other” is fascinating, but relatively useless.  I am forced to admit that I don’t even know how to read the stars positions for the purpose God told us He created them.  I can’t tell the position of the stars for summer anymore than I can tell them for winter.  They appear to be in the same place to me.  But I believe what God has told us regarding their purpose.

So I turn my mind to what I can understand.  And apply myself to things I am able to do.  I can pray.  I can witness to the things I know.  I can testify regarding the Lord of Glory.  And I can trust that He is able to fill in the gaps, both for my understanding and the understanding of others.

Billions of years?  I’m concerned with the next 20 minutes.  How limited is man.  And God has done this.  Adam lived hundreds of years.  And so did many who lived at the beginning of man’s war with God.  I have lived less than 60.  What do I know of the night sky?  And if those people knew something of value, there is no record of their wisdom passed to us.  They are dead now.  And we are left to ponder such things without their help.  Does this make us less?  No.  For, even in their time, men died both old and young.  The amassing of wisdom is not the key to life’s meaning.  Nor is the gaining of knowledge regarding the world and the universe.  For when we die we come face to face to He who made all this.

My task is to try to notice His hand in everything I see and experience.  And I am to prepare myself to receive His instruction every moment of every day.  So the stars become a curious quandary to me.  A puzzle I have no way of putting together.  Though I admire their beauty in this pitch black sky, I am left to ponder the approaching moment of the Sun.  For the people will wake.  They will go about this world in a frenzied attack untill the moment of the Sun is passed.  And, again, the night lights of God will reign over man.

By the Lord Jesus I make my way in this Place of Testing.  And by the Lord Jesus I testify to His Glory.  This is the sum of my encounter with the stars in the early morning darkness.

Prepare me, Father, to receive the tasks which rightfully belong to a slave of Righteousness.  I am Yours by the Blood of Your Son.  Speak by Your wisdom.  Guide by Your eternal and powerful hand.  Your servant is listening.  May the peace you had before the foundation of the world return to You.  And may your servants worship you with that certain peace of knowing.  Praise the Lord God of all creation, all you saints of Glory.  For He is worthy of praise.

By His Grace.

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Pop a Pimple.

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Pondering the possibilities for me, regarding the will of God for the remainder of my life, I fell upon something beautiful:

I spoke with a man who decidedly hates the word of God.  He suggested that it’s only fair that I entertain the writings of those who would tear at the Faith of God in Christ Jesus.  Without reservation, my response was that I am not interested in “fair” when it comes to dedication to my Lord.  I am singularly interested in His truth.  I have no need for the trash of man.  Such garbage is not for the godly to consume.  And such writings are mere speculation driven by a hatred for God and His people.

The beauty is that God has caused me to desire Him!  Every day, every moment, my sin is before me.  And every day, every moment, the Holiness of the Lord Jesus surrounds me.  What a beautiful pain to endure.  And so it is with all His people.  May it never cease in this place of testing.  May it grow to an uncomfortable level, forcing me to move from sin and into holiness!  And may the Lord of Life find pleasure in His creation.  May He provoke His people from glory to glory, that His Word will find fulfilment as the Transformer of death to Life.

As we might pop a pimple by the use of force from two fingers, may God force sin from our lives.

 

By His Grace.

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Swarm of Words

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“What is the Kingdom of Heaven like. . . ?”  Why did the Lord say that?  Was He not sure?  No.  He was sure of His vision of where He had come from and where He was going.  But, “How shall I describe it?”  He was speaking to men of this world, who had never seen what He was describing.

I consider the vision He has allowed my mind to conceive.  How shall I describe this meager vision?  It is meager because I can only behold His words through the mind of man.  And I speak to the mind of man.  So what shall I say?

I wish to speak words of beauty.  The words that describe the joy He instills within my soul.  So:

Fill me with a swarm of words Lord!

Caress my soul with tools of Your beauty!

Allow me to speak what is true and eternal, to men of my own blood.

I sit enthroned in this tent of flesh.

And I see things radically “other”.

How shall I describe, and to what shall I liken, this beautiful vision You give?

 

By His Grace.

The Swatter is Coming.

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Common house fly (Musca domestica).

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The fly buzzes my head.  And he gives no thought that he is irritating me to violence.  He does not notice as my hand reaches for the fly swatter.  And he takes no notice of how I have dressed myself in patience for his destruction.  I will wait for him to lite in a place of my convenience.  Then I will unleash his end.  What was tethered in patience will become a lightning end.

So it is with the wicked against the Lord.  They give no thought of how irritating they are becoming to the Lord.  They do not notice how their lives are headed toward a place the Lord has established, the place of their destruction.  They speak and rail against Him while they take no notice of how He is dressed in an eternal patience.  They are the ones who count the minutes.  The Lord only counts for the sake of those who number, for eternity has no number of days.  He waits for them to lay down in the dirt; their days spent in rebellion and hatred for His Righteousness.  And then, He unleashes His perfect and Righteous Judgment upon the wicked.

By His Grace.

I’m Not the King.

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Delivery Truck

I presented a witness to you.

And you thought you mocked me.

I stood before you and spoke.

And you shot your hatred at my head.

I did not flinch, nor did my soul respond.

While the dust of your words passed me by.

I knew, without doubt, that those words you cast out,

Were not meant for one such as I.

The dust of your words left no trace upon me.

Every speck has landed somewhere else.

It is the Lord you’ve insulted.

I am only His messenger to your face.

And how foolish to dash the messenger,

Then turn and boast that you have killed the King.

 

By His Grace.