All the way my Savior leads me
This morning's Psalm was Psalm 23 and I read it in Minnie's Bible and noticed that she had only one word underlined in her Bible. It was the word "leadeth" double underlined. And a reference written beside it took me to Exodus 15:13 "Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation." And she had underlined all of that verse, too. That fits so well with Psalm 23:6 "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."
We're on our way home. And just as surely as the Lord led Minnie to the Father's House so He is leading each of us who know Him as Savior to the same place. "Surely" we will have "goodness and mercy" "all the days of my life"--one day at a time. And then we "will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." And we'll be there together.
We know where we're going and with Whom. "My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest." Ex. 33:14 We "shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more. . . For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Rev. 7:16-17
"This God is our God forever and ever, even on through death itself, our constant Guide is He." Psalter 48:14
--Pastor Burnside
"In shady, green pastures, so rich and so sweet,
God leads His dear children along;
Where the water's cool flow bathes the weary one's feet,
God leads His dear children along.
Some through the waters, some through the flood,
Some through the fire, but all through the blood;
Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song,
In the night season and all the day long."
Monday, May 23, 2011
Guide me to Glory
Guide me to Glory The other day we were rejoicing in God’s leading and guiding us throughout life: "He leadeth me." Psalm 73:24 points to the direction God’s guidance is going: "You guide me with your counsel and afterward you will [take] me to glory." [Or, "receive" me. In Hebrew the word is laqach meaning "to take."] He’s guiding us through life and at the end He will be there to take us home. Not send us, but take us Himself. That’s exactly what Jesus said to the disciples the night before He died.
"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." [Greek, paralambano, meaning "to take."] John 14:3 ESV He’s coming for us Himself individually and personally. He guides us through life and then takes us to glory! What more could you ask!
I’m thankful that He is the God of Providence; He controls all details of our lives.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. Psalm 139:2-4 ESV
What beautiful truths embodied in those words of the Psalms, "he leadeth me" and "thou wilt guide me. . . ."
"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and He delighteth in his way." Psalm 37:23
In a modern hymn "Christ Alone" we see the same truth,
"from life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny.No power of hell, no scheme of man,
can ever pluck me from His hand,
‘til He returns or calls me home;
here in the power of Christ I’ll stand."
We’re on our way home to the Father’s House, brethren, and Jesus Himself is coming to take us home–just as He took Minnie–and her Mom and Dad and sister and my parents. Thank the Lord for His goodness and His eternal rather than temporal perspective.
--Pastor Burnside
"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." [Greek, paralambano, meaning "to take."] John 14:3 ESV He’s coming for us Himself individually and personally. He guides us through life and then takes us to glory! What more could you ask!
I’m thankful that He is the God of Providence; He controls all details of our lives.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. Psalm 139:2-4 ESV
What beautiful truths embodied in those words of the Psalms, "he leadeth me" and "thou wilt guide me. . . ."
"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and He delighteth in his way." Psalm 37:23
In a modern hymn "Christ Alone" we see the same truth,
"from life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny.No power of hell, no scheme of man,
can ever pluck me from His hand,
‘til He returns or calls me home;
here in the power of Christ I’ll stand."
We’re on our way home to the Father’s House, brethren, and Jesus Himself is coming to take us home–just as He took Minnie–and her Mom and Dad and sister and my parents. Thank the Lord for His goodness and His eternal rather than temporal perspective.
--Pastor Burnside
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
The Glory of the Moon
The Glory of the Moon
Did you see the full moon last night?! (And tonight.) After so much cloudy and rainy weather here, it was so glorious to have a clear night sky with such a beautiful full moon. I took a few pictures from my doorstep, but the photos don’t capture the reality. I remember so many lovely full moon nights with Minnie on Monterey Bay and Carmel Beach and earlier in Long Beach, California. It is absolutely breath-taking to see a full moon shining over the ocean or a lake.
The moon is glorious and it reflects the glory of the sun! What a beautiful picture of how our lives are supposed to reflect the beauty and glory of God.
In the Psalms the moon is called "the faithful witness in the sky." 89:37 Think of the implications of that statement and also the absolute consistency and faithfulness of the lunar cycle each month. We must not take it for granted, but as a gift from God who created it. Think of a clear night sky with so many stars along with the moon. God created all of them and named them all and put them in orbit where He continues to hold all things together by the Word of His power.
There is so much instability and uncertainty in our culture and in the period of history in which, by God’s grace, we are living. What a contrast to see how God keeps the sun, the moon and the stars and planets and the earth in orbit. They are anchored on nothing except God’s own Being. And that is sufficient because of who He is. We also have "an anchor of the soul both sure and steadfast." And our anchor is Christ. We rest in Him and can always count on Him. "And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted [or tested] beyond what you can bear." 1 Cor. 10:13 "If we are faithless, He remains faithful—for He cannot deny Himself." 2 Tim. 2:13 ESV
And "the moon is used to lend a regular rhythm to earthly existence." It is the "lesser light" that God created to "rule over the night and to separate the light from the darkness." Gen. 1:16-18 God "made the moon to mark off the seasons." Psalm 104:19 "Because of its predictable regularity, the moon becomes an image of longevity and even eternity." "Established forever like the moon, an enduring witness in the skies." Psalm 89:37 NRSV (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, p. 566) "Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night. . . ." Jer. 31:35 ESV
The moon helps us to worship God by being impressed with His power and wisdom and beauty. And it gives us a perspective of our own finiteness, our limited creatureliness. "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" Psalm 8:3-4 NIV Surely that question points us to God’s grace. Why does He treat us so graciously? Because He loves us-- and that is reason enough.
The beauty of the moon and the beauty of a life lived reflecting the glory of God as Christ shines out through us. "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him." 2 Cor. 2:14 NIV
–Pastor Burnside
The moon is glorious and it reflects the glory of the sun! What a beautiful picture of how our lives are supposed to reflect the beauty and glory of God.
In the Psalms the moon is called "the faithful witness in the sky." 89:37 Think of the implications of that statement and also the absolute consistency and faithfulness of the lunar cycle each month. We must not take it for granted, but as a gift from God who created it. Think of a clear night sky with so many stars along with the moon. God created all of them and named them all and put them in orbit where He continues to hold all things together by the Word of His power.
There is so much instability and uncertainty in our culture and in the period of history in which, by God’s grace, we are living. What a contrast to see how God keeps the sun, the moon and the stars and planets and the earth in orbit. They are anchored on nothing except God’s own Being. And that is sufficient because of who He is. We also have "an anchor of the soul both sure and steadfast." And our anchor is Christ. We rest in Him and can always count on Him. "And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted [or tested] beyond what you can bear." 1 Cor. 10:13 "If we are faithless, He remains faithful—for He cannot deny Himself." 2 Tim. 2:13 ESV
And "the moon is used to lend a regular rhythm to earthly existence." It is the "lesser light" that God created to "rule over the night and to separate the light from the darkness." Gen. 1:16-18 God "made the moon to mark off the seasons." Psalm 104:19 "Because of its predictable regularity, the moon becomes an image of longevity and even eternity." "Established forever like the moon, an enduring witness in the skies." Psalm 89:37 NRSV (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, p. 566) "Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night. . . ." Jer. 31:35 ESV
The moon helps us to worship God by being impressed with His power and wisdom and beauty. And it gives us a perspective of our own finiteness, our limited creatureliness. "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" Psalm 8:3-4 NIV Surely that question points us to God’s grace. Why does He treat us so graciously? Because He loves us-- and that is reason enough.
The beauty of the moon and the beauty of a life lived reflecting the glory of God as Christ shines out through us. "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him." 2 Cor. 2:14 NIV
–Pastor Burnside
Friday, May 13, 2011
How did your day dawn?
How did your day dawn?
Many years ago when we were living in Puebla, Mexico for a semester, a lady there often would ask me the first thing in the morning, "¿Cómo amaneció?" meaning, "How did your day dawn?" I was just learning Spanish and seldom knew what to say so I would just tell her, "Bien, bien." meaning "Well, well–or ‘fine.’" And of course that is always accurate for a Christian, "All is well. All is well."
But I’m thinking this morning, "What are your very first thoughts in the morning?" Is it a day you are anticipating because of something you’re planning to do? Or perhaps dreading because you don’t want to take that examination or do some unpleasant chore or talk to someone about some responsibility that is not being met? Is the weather bad and you have to go somewhere? A lot of good thoughts are possible as you rejoice in the fact that you know the Lord and so do others in the family. Do you have food and clothing and shelter for today? Are you thankful for those gifts?
What if you have terminal cancer or some other dread disease? [And we’re ALL "terminal cases" if you stop to think about it! . . . .]You’ve been asleep and all of that is out of your mind. And then when you wake up, the remembrance suddenly hits you again, "This cancer is literally killing me and I’m dying" and the consciousness of the pain and the somber reality floods back into your mind. How do you handle that??
In my research for the book I’m writing I came across a letter from one person dying of cancer to a friend whom she was trying to comfort and help him live his last days with peace from the Lord and rejoicing in Him despite what was happening to his body. For those of you who know them, my wife Minnie wrote an e-mail to Billy Bennett on October 23, 2008. We didn’t know it at the time but Billy had less than two months left to live here on this earth (though he continues to live, of course, with the Lord in heaven.) But how was he going to make those last few weeks?
Minnie told him. He must live it day by day, one day at a time, constantly looking to the Lord and rejoicing in Him. Here is how she concluded her letter, "My Daily verse is ‘This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.’ I try to live that way, not worrying about the future, but enjoying Him and the ones he has put in my life each day. This is my prayer for your sweet family. Love, Minnie"
". . . enjoying Him and the ones he has put in my life each day." People were more important to her than the outward circumstances. Jesus often told His disciples to love one another and to serve one another, doing even mundane things when necessary, including washing one another’s feet. And I can tell you as my testimony that being my wife’s care giver for three years was almost the greatest task God ever gave me in my life. And He poured His love into our hearts just as He promised, "God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us." Romans 5:5 Minnie said several times in her last few months, "I love him more now than even when we first got married." She wrote to our granddaughter Julie on September 25, 2008, "Tomorrow will be our 53rd anniversary. How wonderful to grow old with the love of your youth--and I love him more today than then. It just gets better and better." And we both knew where that love came from. God gave it to us and we were thankful for it.
But don’t miss the first part of her statement, "enjoying Him . . . each day." It was in fellowship with the Lord that she found her strength. She went "from strength to strength in the Lord" "Wait on the Lord and He shall strengthen your heart." "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31
Take your focus off what's causing you anxiety and worry and put your focus on the One who will either 1) bring a solution or 2) give you the grace to endure and go through the trial. As your day dawns with the Lord, so He goes with you through each valley, and in the end you know His promise, "Lo, I am with you always. . . even unto the end of the world." Mt. 28:20
–Pastor Burnside
Many years ago when we were living in Puebla, Mexico for a semester, a lady there often would ask me the first thing in the morning, "¿Cómo amaneció?" meaning, "How did your day dawn?" I was just learning Spanish and seldom knew what to say so I would just tell her, "Bien, bien." meaning "Well, well–or ‘fine.’" And of course that is always accurate for a Christian, "All is well. All is well."
But I’m thinking this morning, "What are your very first thoughts in the morning?" Is it a day you are anticipating because of something you’re planning to do? Or perhaps dreading because you don’t want to take that examination or do some unpleasant chore or talk to someone about some responsibility that is not being met? Is the weather bad and you have to go somewhere? A lot of good thoughts are possible as you rejoice in the fact that you know the Lord and so do others in the family. Do you have food and clothing and shelter for today? Are you thankful for those gifts?
What if you have terminal cancer or some other dread disease? [And we’re ALL "terminal cases" if you stop to think about it! . . . .]You’ve been asleep and all of that is out of your mind. And then when you wake up, the remembrance suddenly hits you again, "This cancer is literally killing me and I’m dying" and the consciousness of the pain and the somber reality floods back into your mind. How do you handle that??
In my research for the book I’m writing I came across a letter from one person dying of cancer to a friend whom she was trying to comfort and help him live his last days with peace from the Lord and rejoicing in Him despite what was happening to his body. For those of you who know them, my wife Minnie wrote an e-mail to Billy Bennett on October 23, 2008. We didn’t know it at the time but Billy had less than two months left to live here on this earth (though he continues to live, of course, with the Lord in heaven.) But how was he going to make those last few weeks?
Minnie told him. He must live it day by day, one day at a time, constantly looking to the Lord and rejoicing in Him. Here is how she concluded her letter, "My Daily verse is ‘This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.’ I try to live that way, not worrying about the future, but enjoying Him and the ones he has put in my life each day. This is my prayer for your sweet family. Love, Minnie"
". . . enjoying Him and the ones he has put in my life each day." People were more important to her than the outward circumstances. Jesus often told His disciples to love one another and to serve one another, doing even mundane things when necessary, including washing one another’s feet. And I can tell you as my testimony that being my wife’s care giver for three years was almost the greatest task God ever gave me in my life. And He poured His love into our hearts just as He promised, "God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us." Romans 5:5 Minnie said several times in her last few months, "I love him more now than even when we first got married." She wrote to our granddaughter Julie on September 25, 2008, "Tomorrow will be our 53rd anniversary. How wonderful to grow old with the love of your youth--and I love him more today than then. It just gets better and better." And we both knew where that love came from. God gave it to us and we were thankful for it.
But don’t miss the first part of her statement, "enjoying Him . . . each day." It was in fellowship with the Lord that she found her strength. She went "from strength to strength in the Lord" "Wait on the Lord and He shall strengthen your heart." "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31
Take your focus off what's causing you anxiety and worry and put your focus on the One who will either 1) bring a solution or 2) give you the grace to endure and go through the trial. As your day dawns with the Lord, so He goes with you through each valley, and in the end you know His promise, "Lo, I am with you always. . . even unto the end of the world." Mt. 28:20
–Pastor Burnside
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Grace Sufficient for Every Trial and Suffering: 2 Cor. Ch. 12
One of the most remarkable truths of scripture is that instead of making life easier for us by supernaturally removing the causes of our discomfort and difficulties, God instead gives us more grace and strength to enable us to go through the painful, difficult stages of life and painful experiences that are part of living as fallen creatures in this fallen world. After all, this world is not our home; we’re on our journey home and God is preparing us for the place that He has already prepared for us in heaven. We would much prefer that God remove "the thorn in the flesh" or take away "our cross" from us but God in His wisdom, says "No." And He seldom explains why, but we see the end result as He makes us more like Christ and floods us with His supernatural peace.
Do you remember the old hymn, "He Giveth More Grace."
"He giveth more grace when the burden grows greater;
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase.
To added affliction He addeth His mercy;
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.His love has no limit; His grace has no measure;
His pow’r has no boundary known unto men.
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!"
God sent a "thorn in the flesh," to Paul, "a messenger of Satan to buffet me." And he tells us why: to humble him. He said it twice, "to keep me from becoming conceited." 2 Cor. 12:7
The word in Greek is huperairomai literally meaning "to raise oneself over" another person, to become arrogant or to glorify yourself instead of God. "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." James 4:6
Do you need more strength, more grace to help in time of need? Scripture tells us how to get it: "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Heb. 4:16 ESV Go to God in prayer and go with confidence, but if you expect to get an answer, you’d better go humbly and realize who you are and who God is and then you can’t be proud. That’s what the verse says that I quoted in James, "But He gives more grace." And then it says that God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. James 4:6
Recognize that you are a created being, a finite creature who has no life in himself but is totally dependent upon God. Take your place as a finite person before our infinite, eternal omnipotent Creator. It’s a matter of simple logic: 1 Cor. 4:7 ESV "For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?"
God did not take away Paul’s cross or his "thorn in the flesh," but He did give him grace and strength to "live with it" and be victorious in that struggle. He flooded his soul with the "peace of God which passes understanding."
And God’s answer to Paul echoes down through the centuries to us to sustain us as well. "Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 12 Cor. 12:8-10 ESV
Our problem is not that we feel inadequate to face the problems of living in this fallen world, our problem is that we are inadequate and totally dependent upon God for our strength and abilities, but He is sufficient. His grace is sufficient for us. "Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God." 2 Cor. 3:5 ESV "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us." 2 Cor. 4:7 ESV
So then we can say with the apostles, "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh." 2 Cor. 4:8-11 ESV
Our lives should be a living demonstration that the risen Christ lives within us: "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:19-20 ESV That’s grace. And it’s sufficient for us. Depend on Christ, not on yourself. Glorify Him, not yourself.
Do you remember the old hymn, "He Giveth More Grace."
"He giveth more grace when the burden grows greater;
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase.
To added affliction He addeth His mercy;
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.His love has no limit; His grace has no measure;
His pow’r has no boundary known unto men.
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!"
God sent a "thorn in the flesh," to Paul, "a messenger of Satan to buffet me." And he tells us why: to humble him. He said it twice, "to keep me from becoming conceited." 2 Cor. 12:7
The word in Greek is huperairomai literally meaning "to raise oneself over" another person, to become arrogant or to glorify yourself instead of God. "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." James 4:6
Do you need more strength, more grace to help in time of need? Scripture tells us how to get it: "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Heb. 4:16 ESV Go to God in prayer and go with confidence, but if you expect to get an answer, you’d better go humbly and realize who you are and who God is and then you can’t be proud. That’s what the verse says that I quoted in James, "But He gives more grace." And then it says that God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. James 4:6
Recognize that you are a created being, a finite creature who has no life in himself but is totally dependent upon God. Take your place as a finite person before our infinite, eternal omnipotent Creator. It’s a matter of simple logic: 1 Cor. 4:7 ESV "For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?"
God did not take away Paul’s cross or his "thorn in the flesh," but He did give him grace and strength to "live with it" and be victorious in that struggle. He flooded his soul with the "peace of God which passes understanding."
And God’s answer to Paul echoes down through the centuries to us to sustain us as well. "Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 12 Cor. 12:8-10 ESV
Our problem is not that we feel inadequate to face the problems of living in this fallen world, our problem is that we are inadequate and totally dependent upon God for our strength and abilities, but He is sufficient. His grace is sufficient for us. "Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God." 2 Cor. 3:5 ESV "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us." 2 Cor. 4:7 ESV
So then we can say with the apostles, "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh." 2 Cor. 4:8-11 ESV
Our lives should be a living demonstration that the risen Christ lives within us: "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:19-20 ESV That’s grace. And it’s sufficient for us. Depend on Christ, not on yourself. Glorify Him, not yourself.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Take pleasure in life. God does. Psalm 16
Take pleasure in life. God does. Psalm 16 You will not have as much trouble with discouragement or depression if you learn how to rejoice in the Lord, be thankful to Him always, and learn to take pleasure in life and delight in the things that God Himself delights in. Search the scriptures that tell us what God delights in or takes pleasure in. There are MANY! And He also tells us that "the living God gives us richly all things to enjoy" [in His time and in His way, of course.] 1 Tim. 6:17
"The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage."
Psalm 16:6 Or, "delightful inheritance" (NIV) Be thankful to God for the heritage He has given you in this life as well as the inheritance that is yet to come "reserved in heaven for you." 1 Peter 1:4 Be thankful and enjoy what comes to you "from the good hand of our God." This "song promotes contentment with the arrangements of one’s life, seeing them as providentially ordered." (ESV Study Bible note)
Then King David rejoices in God’s constant Presence with Him. The Living God, Creator of heaven and earth, actually indwells us after He caused us to be "born again" into His family after we had been alienated from Him by our sins. "Jesus answered him, ‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.’" John 14:23 ESV Our real home is in heaven "in my Father’s house" but during the time of our sojourn on this earth, God’s Presence goes with us and "Christ in you the hope of glory" and presence of the Holy Spirit surely brings joy as well as strength and peace and love and the "fruit of the Spirit" to all who know Him. If we have God dwelling with us, "His divine power has given us all things we need for life and godliness." 2 Peter 1:4 And He has promised, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Heb. 13:5 Nothing can separate us from Him. Romans 8:38-39 A dear friend wrote to me just a few minutes ago, "My favorite part of
that passage is the word "life." Life can't separate me from His love."
And then the Psalmist, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, adds a Messianic promise, "nor will you let your Holy One see decay." That is interpreted in the New Testament as referring to Jesus’ resurrection in Acts 2, "God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact." Acts 2:32 His resurrection was the first step in bringing to pass the hope or certainty of eternal life. Jesus’ resurrection was the "firstfruits" as an historical guarantee that we, too, continue to live after death and our bodies shall be raised from the dead.
We can take pleasure in God’s Presence, in God’s works, in God’s providence, and in the inheritance He has laid up for us, reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God. The hope–meaning "expectation" or "anticipation"–of everlasting joy fulfills "the human yearning to be near to God and to know the pleasure of His welcome forever, beyond the death of the body. . . ."
–Pastor Burnside "I will praise the Lord, who counsels me, even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken." Psalm 16:7-8 NIV "Therefore"–because of God’s constant presence, "my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave. . . ." My wife’s body is in the grave in a military cemetery in Washington State, but Jesus immediately took her spirit to be with Him in heaven when she died: "absent from the body, present with the Lord." 2 Cor. 5:8(ESV Study Bible note) "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." Psalm 16:11
"The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage."
Psalm 16:6 Or, "delightful inheritance" (NIV) Be thankful to God for the heritage He has given you in this life as well as the inheritance that is yet to come "reserved in heaven for you." 1 Peter 1:4 Be thankful and enjoy what comes to you "from the good hand of our God." This "song promotes contentment with the arrangements of one’s life, seeing them as providentially ordered." (ESV Study Bible note)
Then King David rejoices in God’s constant Presence with Him. The Living God, Creator of heaven and earth, actually indwells us after He caused us to be "born again" into His family after we had been alienated from Him by our sins. "Jesus answered him, ‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.’" John 14:23 ESV Our real home is in heaven "in my Father’s house" but during the time of our sojourn on this earth, God’s Presence goes with us and "Christ in you the hope of glory" and presence of the Holy Spirit surely brings joy as well as strength and peace and love and the "fruit of the Spirit" to all who know Him. If we have God dwelling with us, "His divine power has given us all things we need for life and godliness." 2 Peter 1:4 And He has promised, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Heb. 13:5 Nothing can separate us from Him. Romans 8:38-39 A dear friend wrote to me just a few minutes ago, "My favorite part of
that passage is the word "life." Life can't separate me from His love."
And then the Psalmist, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, adds a Messianic promise, "nor will you let your Holy One see decay." That is interpreted in the New Testament as referring to Jesus’ resurrection in Acts 2, "God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact." Acts 2:32 His resurrection was the first step in bringing to pass the hope or certainty of eternal life. Jesus’ resurrection was the "firstfruits" as an historical guarantee that we, too, continue to live after death and our bodies shall be raised from the dead.
We can take pleasure in God’s Presence, in God’s works, in God’s providence, and in the inheritance He has laid up for us, reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God. The hope–meaning "expectation" or "anticipation"–of everlasting joy fulfills "the human yearning to be near to God and to know the pleasure of His welcome forever, beyond the death of the body. . . ."
–Pastor Burnside "I will praise the Lord, who counsels me, even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken." Psalm 16:7-8 NIV "Therefore"–because of God’s constant presence, "my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave. . . ." My wife’s body is in the grave in a military cemetery in Washington State, but Jesus immediately took her spirit to be with Him in heaven when she died: "absent from the body, present with the Lord." 2 Cor. 5:8(ESV Study Bible note) "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." Psalm 16:11
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Parable of an Azalea Bush
Parable of an Azalea Bush
How do you prepare for the disasters of life in this fallen world? In one sense you can't really "prepare" for them in the sense that you can take preparations like sandbagging a flooding river because you don't know what is going to hit you nor when. But in another sense God prepares us for the traumas of life by building our strength little by little as He causes us to go through hardships and difficulties. And He teaches us that He is in sovereign control not only of the weather but of every detail in life so that not a sparrow falls without the Father. And thus we learn to rely on Him and not on ourselves or on other people. We're thankful that God in His providence uses many human means to help us but when they fail, we know God is still there and still in control of everything.
I saw an example of that principle a couple of weeks ago when I planted an azalea bush the day the winds started. And they kept getting harder and more fierce and more persistent for many days. And I looked out at the azalea bush, wondering how those flowers kept clinging to the bush. And I noticed how the wind bent the branches and behind the azalea bush the slender young maple tree bowed in front of the wind.
And what was happening to that tree and that bush while they were being pushed and pushed by the wind? Well, below the ground, their root structure was developing and in the formative months those roots grow stronger when they are subjected to strong winds because they have to hold tighter to the place where they're planted. Look at the rugged hardy trees on a windswept coastal plane. They bend in the wind but they hold their place. So we, too, must have strength and stability as we endure the storms of life. And we get that strength from the Lord. We go "from strength to strength" as we learn to depend on Him and cling to Him. "Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God." Psalm 84:5-7
Yesterday Timothy sent me an article by Charles Spurgeon that says much the same thing though he wrote it 150 years ago. Read it and be strengthened for the storms of life.
Thinking of Jeremiah 17:17 "Thou art my hope in the day of evil," Spurgeon wrote,
"The path of the Christian is not always bright with sunshine; he has his seasons of darkness and of storm. True, it is written in God's Word, "Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace;" and it is a great truth, that religion is calculated to give a man happiness below as well as bliss above; but experience tells us that if the course of the just be "As the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day," yet sometimes that light is eclipsed. At certain periods clouds cover the believer's sun, and he walks in darkness and sees no light. There are many who have rejoiced in the presence of God for a season; they have basked in the sunshine in the earlier stages of their Christian career; they have walked along the "green pastures" by the side of the "still waters," but suddenly they find the glorious sky is clouded; instead of the Land of Goshen they have to tread the sandy desert; in the place of sweet waters, they find troubled streams, bitter to their taste, and they say, "Surely, if I were a child of God, this would not happen." Oh! say not so, thou who art walking in darkness. The best of God's saints must drink the wormwood; the dearest of His children must bear the cross. No Christian has enjoyed perpetual prosperity; no believer can always keep his harp from the willows. Perhaps the Lord allotted you at first a smooth and unclouded path, because you were weak and timid. He tempered the wind to the shorn lamb, but now that you are stronger in the spiritual life, you must enter upon the riper and rougher experience of God's full-grown children. We need winds and tempests to exercise our faith, to tear off the rotten bough of self-dependence, and to root us more firmly in Christ. The day of evil reveals to us the value of our glorious hope." (emphasis added)
--Charles Spurgeon, 1834-1892
--Charles Spurgeon, 1834-1892
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