Affections

'Withhold not thy affection from us'

        That's an unusual admonition, isn't it? For it implies that we have a choice as to whether we will have or show affection or “tender mercies” towards other people. Love is not something you generate yourself but it's a gift from God because “God is love” and the fruit of the Spirt begins with love: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. . . .” Gal. 5:22-23

         Not only so, “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:5 ESV But the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit told us that it's possible for us to block that love or “withhold it.” He wrote to his Corinthian brethren, “We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. As a fair exchange—I speak as to my children—open wide your hearts also.” 2 Cor. 6:11-13 So you can either “close your heart” towards others or “open wide your heart.”

        The Apostle John speaks to the same matter: ^'By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.' 1 John 3:16-18 esv

        “Affection” is a very interesting word. Similar to love but not quite the same, perhaps a sub-division within the broader category of the word love. Jonathan Edwards has written extensively about the importance of our affections and how they are directed. We do well to heed his many scriptural teachings. Philippians 1:8 speaks of the “affection of Christ Jesus and Luke 1:78 and many places in the Psalms speak of “the tender mercy of our God.” That's what affection does. Love may or may not have emotion, but affection always does. Even more than fondness, affection has pity and compassion and emotional feeling for the other person. You esteem them highly, respect them and admire them. Affection certainly motivates you to serve and help and encourage the other person.

        And when we think of our affection towards God, it goes even deeper because of the majesty and glory of God Himself. Jonathan Edwards, 1703-1758, wrote 250 years ago, 'There is a divine and superlative glory . . .an excellency that is of a vastly higher kind, and more sublime nature than in other things, a glory greatly distinguishing from all that is earthly and temporal . . . . We rationally believe that God is glorious, and we also have a sense of the gloriousness of God in our heart. There is not only a rational belief that God is holy, and that holiness is a good thing, but there is a sense of the loveliness of God in our heart. We know that God is gracious but we also have a sense of the beauty of this divine attribute.'

        We understand truths about God but God also gives us 'the sense of the heart, as when there is a sense of the beauty, amiableness, or sweetness of a thing, so that the heart is sensible of pleasure and delight in the presence of the idea of it.'

        'There is a difference between having an opinion that God is holy and gracious and having a sense of the loveliness and beauty of that holiness and grace. There is a difference between having a rational judgment that honey is sweet, and having a sense of its sweetness. If you've never tasted honey, you do not know exactly how it tastes.

       'So there is a difference between believing that a person is beautiful, and having a sense of her beauty. . . . There is a wide difference between speculative rational judging any thing to be excellent and having a sense of its sweetness and beauty. . . . Wlhen the heart is sensible of the beauty of something or someone, it necessarily feels pleasure. . . .

      “This sense of the divine excellency of things contained in the word of God brings a conviction of the truth and reality of them.'” from The Rational Biblical Theology of Jonathan Edwards by John Gerstner, vol. I, pages 201-202.

       Love longs for response and affection gives it. One of the most satisfying parts of love is to be able to share a particular event or situation with someone you love. When you see something beautiful or desirable or worthwhile, your first reaction is to want to share it with someone you love. That's an important part of enjoyment and pleasure. It is part of our fellowship with the other person. “I carry you in my heart” even when they are not with you.

       But affection can also simply mean “tender mercies.” And Ephesians 4:32 tells us to be kind and “tenderhearted” one to another. God treats His people with “tender mercies.” We see them daily. 'The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.' Ps.145:9 'Great are thy tender mercies, O Lord. . .' Ps. 119:156

       And in Psalm 40:11 David prays that God will not “withhold” His tender mercies from him. He won't withhold them because God is in His Being, in His attributes, “tenderhearted” towards all He has made. He always does what is best for them. But it is possible, as we have seen, for us to “withhold” our affection or tender mercies from each other. That's why Jesus told His disciples that “By this shall all know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:35 So affection and love are the “final apologetic” to show the truth of the Gospel and its reality in our lives and the Presence of God Himself giving us that love and affection.

The God Who Hides Himself

              One of the most gracious things God does is to reveal Himself to human beings. The heavens above reveal the glory of God and the sky above shows His creative power. ^“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” Romans 1:20 Everyone knows that God exists because of what He has created. That's called “General Revelation.” But God in His grace gave us details about His attributes, His character, and His purposes in life by means of words. God spoke words! Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4

           How thankful we are that “the word of the Lord” came to [the prophets] in ancient times so that we have God's verbal revelation in scripture. And in the incarnation of Christ when God became Man, He spoke even more clearly. ^“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” Heb. 1:1-2 How wonderful it is that we have the written revelation of God in narrative, in poetry and song, and in propositional truth. And especially we are thankful for the revelation of God in Christ who came not only to redeem and save us, but to show us what God is like. “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” John 1:18 ESV

             What is this, then, about God hiding Himself?? Well, that's what scripture says: “Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.” Isaiah 45:15 ESV 3000 years ago the Psalmist had a similar lament, ^“Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” Psalm 10:1 ESV

             There's more to this question than appears immediately on the surface. One of the reasons God “hides” from man—but only one of several reasons—is His hiding when man “regards iniquity in his heart.” Then the Lord will not hear. ^“If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” Psalm 66:18 (ESV) That's the picture given in Isaiah earlier in the book where God is hiding Himself because of man's sin and refuses to listen to him. God is speaking and tells His people, “ . . . When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.” Isa. 1:14-20 ESV

          There's more! God hides Himself from those who are not willing to listen, but He also hides the understanding of the truth from those who seek to come to God arrogantly and in pride and self-sufficiency. Jesus thanked God for that. He prayed, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children.” Mt. 11:25 ESV God humbles the proud and gives grace to the humble.

            And later in His ministry, quoting the Old Testament, Jesus answered the critics, “Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?” Matthew 21:16 ESV He was quoting, Psalm 8:2, “Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.”

          Scripture tells of a third type of the “hidden God” and that is in the mystery, either undisclosed or undisclosable answers to our questions and curiosity. Isaiah speaks of them, too, in 48:6 “From this time forth I announce to you new things, hidden things that you have not known.” The Apostle Paul spoke of ^“the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Col. 1:26-27

            Mystery in the New Testament means “that which, being outside the range of unassisted natural apprehension, can be made known only by Divine revelation, and is made known in a manner and at a time appointed by God, and to those only who are illumined by His Spirit.” Vines, p. 769 We are privileged to live “this side of the cross” and after the resurrection of Jesus so much more has been revealed than in Old Testament times. But there is still much that we don't know. We will never fully understand the infinite God, but we do have substantial knowledge that is growing and increasing by God's mercy and illumination. We thank Him for what is seen and trust Him for what is unseen.

           Jesus spoke to the disciples in parables and told them, “It is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.” Mt. 13:11

When Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you say that I am,” and Peter replied with such profound understanding, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,” Jesus told him,

“Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” Mt. 16:15-17

            Some things are not given unto us to know. Jesus explicitly said those words to the disciples: “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.” Acts 1:7 Be thankful for what is not hidden from us. For example:

”We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers.” 1 Jn. 3:14 “We know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” 1 Jn. 3:2

^“And we know that all things work together for good to them who love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

          “The hidden things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and our children forever. . . .” Deut.29:29 HCSB    Thank Him for what is revealed and trust Him for what is hidden.

Our Ever-Present Help in Need

Our Ever-Present Help in Need

           The Glory of God is who He is and what He does and one of the great glories of God is His faithfulness. In heaven He manifests himself there in such light and beauty that

there is no need of the sun or the moon to shine on it “for the glory of God gives it light.” We don't see the physical light yet but we do experience the glory of His presence and His faithfulness. He can be counted on. Always. He is always an ever-present help in need, no matter how difficult the trial.

         His faithfulness is seen in His promises: “God is faithful and will not allow you to be tested beyond that you are able, but will with the testing “also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” 1 Cor. 10:13 NIV

         God is unchangeable (immutable). The eternal God is thy refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms. We rest in the reality of His Presence and His faithfulness. But He wants us to be faithful, too. Do you stop to think about God's expectations for you? “Moreover it is required in stewards that a [person] be found faithful.” 1 Cor. 4:2 God expects you to be faithful to the tasks that He in His providence has given you to do. Be faithful. Be dependable. People should be able to count on you. Be single-minded in following the Lord. “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” James 1:8 That's not the way God is and it's not the way we should be.

          You are aware that this world is growing in its instability. It's in a state of flux and confusion. Most people don't even understand who they are, why they were created, and what God's purposes are for their lives. Since God the Holy Spirit indwells all those who know Jesus as Savior, we should be able to add some stability to our own little world that we live in every day. “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. . . .” 1 Cor. 14:33

         The place to begin is with ourselves and within our family. Can the others count on you? Will you “be there” when they need you? Do you help give your home a little taste of heaven and the love that we find there? Is there peace and love and joy and helpfulness and encouragement and patience and stability and beauty of human relationships shown there?
Are you “kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” Eph. 4:32

         Our whole eternal security is based on God's faithfulness. We could paraphrase and apply a well-known scripture, “Be ye faithful even as your Father in heaven is faithful.” Integrity. Truth. Reliability even when it's difficult.

          “A mighty fortress is our God, A bulwark never failing. Our Helper He amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing. . . .” “God is our Refuge and Strength.” Psalm 46 “For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” Psalm 100:5 “From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” Psalm 90:2

"Thou God seest me"

"Thou God seest me"

           Sarah and Abraham wanted to help God out of a dilemma (or what appeared to them to be a dilemma). God had promised to give Abraham a son and make him the father of a great nation that would be as the sand of the sea and the stars in the sky. But they had a problem: Sarah was past child-bearing age. In fact she was at least 65 years of age. Abraham "believed the Lord; and he counted it to him as righteousness." Genesis 15:6 ESV

          But as time passed and Sarah did not conceive a son, she conceived a scheme, a simple one: surrogate motherhood. She gave her Egyptian maid Hagar to her husband as a sort of second-class wife and Hagar became pregnant by Abraham. This was not God’s plan and it was not God’s guiding. This son was Ishmael, the founder of the Arab nation, a son of the flesh rather than a child of the promise as explained later in the book of Galatians.

       Lesson #1: don’t think God is dependent on you or your creative schemes to fulfill His many promises given to you in scripture. You need Him; He doesn’t need you to help Him out. He created the universe by the word of His power; and He can lead you in His providence just as easily. In His grace God has chosen to use you in His service and work through you to minister to others but be sure you are following His Word, His way, and His Holy Spirit and not your own creative ingenuity or clever ideas. Don’t try to manipulate God or other people, just obey Him and be faithful to Him.

      Follow the story in Genesis chapter 16. After Hagar became pregnant by Abraham and Sarah couldn’t, Hagar became proud and arrogant and treated her mistress with disdain. This, of course, angered Sarah who began treating Hagar harshly so much so that Hagar fled from her. She ran away into the desert towards Egypt, her homeland. And scripture tells us, "The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness." 16:7

    So lesson #2: even when you mess up, God will come looking for you. And when God looks for you, He always finds you. Surely you didn’t forget that God is omnipresent, did you? You and I and all of us live in the presence of God–always. We can’t escape from His presence even if we wanted to (which I hope you don’t!)

     The angel of the Lord found Hagar and asked her why she was there. Not that he didn’t know, but he wanted her to admit her situation. Which she did. She said, "I am fleeing from my mistress Sarah." 16:8

      Then the angel of the Lord gave her a promise and a command. The promise was that her son Ishmael would become the father of a great nation also. And the command was simple: change your attitude. Go back and submit to the authority of your mistress. With the clear implication that she should submit willingly and gracefully.

       And Hagar obeyed. She had seen God and God had spoken to her–in human language. The words are recorded in Genesis 16. And Hagar "called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, ‘You are a God of seeing.’" And she understood the implications of that because she also said, "Truly here I have seen Him who looks after me." 16:13 ESV

      So lesson #3: God sees us and seeing us, He takes care of us. Is this not a wonderful truth for us to live by! He has promised to guide us and He does. "He makes me to lie down in green pastures: he leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul: he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." Psalm 23:2-3

     "He looks after me." He takes care of us as the shepherd takes care of His sheep. And His sheep we are. The fact that God sees us just as the angel of the Lord saw and followed Hagar to the spring of water in the desert, means that we are never alone and we are never without help and refuge and strength because God supplies all of that for us. In Him we live and move and have our being. But He is not just watching us, He is guiding us, He is talking to us through His word and directly to our hearts by the Holy Spirit. "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." Romans 8:16 ESV

       Lesson #4: the name God gave to Hagar’s son: "Ishmael" which means "God hears." Hagar’s mistreatment by Sarah had not gone unnoticed or uncared for by God. "The Lord has listened to your affliction" are the words of the angel to Hagar in v. 11. God listened and responded. He does the same for you and for me and for all of His children. Trust the Providence of God. He is looking after you. He is the God who hears and listens and the God who sees and does something about it. He may ask you to do something as difficult as He told Hagar–return and submit to the authority in your life. Trust Him. He knows what is best. He is your shepherd and your exceeding great reward, as well as your Savior and the strength of your life.

                                                                          –Pastor Burnside

The Voice of the Lord in a Thunderstorm--Psalm 29

Psalm 29
The Voice of the Lord in a Thunderstorm

“In these verses there are six descriptions of the voice of the Lord, of which the thunderstorm is an emblem. The reader should imagine a magnificent storm coming eastward from the Mediterranean Sea, making landfall to the north in the mountains of Lebanon, and heading south to sweep through Israel, from Sirion (i.e., Mount Hermon, Deut. 3:9) in the northern end to Kadesh at the southern end. The faithful, worshiping in the temple in Jerusalem, see the awesome power of the storm and from it know that the voice of the Lord is even more powerful and even more full of majesty, hence their responsive cry, Glory!”
–ESV Study Bible note, p. 972
With that in mind, read Psalm 29 ESV
A Psalm of David.
Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
[2] Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
[3] The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over many waters.
[4] The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
[5] The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
[6] He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
[7] The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
[8] The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
[9] The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth
and strips the forests bare,
and in his temple all cry, "Glory!"
[10] The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
And KJV has the last verse: “The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.” Psalm 29:11

“The voice of the Lord is upon the waters.” Listen to Spurgeon’s comments:
“There is a peculiar terror in a tempest at sea, when deep calleth unto deep, and the raging sea echoes to the angry sky. No sight more alarming than the flash of lightning around the mast of the ship; and no sound more calculated to inspire a reverent awe than the roar of the storm. . . .
“The Psalmist’s ear hears no voice but that of Jehovah, resounding from the multitudinous and dark waters of the upper ocean of clouds, and echoing from the innumerable billows of the storm-tossed sea below. The waters above and beneath the firmament are astonished at the eternal voice. When the Holy Spirit makes the divine promise to be heard above the many waters of our soul’s trouble, then is God as glorious in the spiritual world as in the universe of matter. Above us and beneath us all is the peace of God when He gives us quiet.”
“The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.” “The King of kings speaks like a king. As when a lion roareth, all the beasts of the forest are still, so is the earth hushed and mute while Jehovah thundereth marvellously. ‘Tis listening fear and dumb amazement all.’ As for the written word of God, its majesty is apparent both in its style, its matter, and its power over the human mind; blessed be God, it is the majesty of mercy wielding a silver sceptre; of such majesty the word of our salvation is full to overflowing.”
–Spurgeon, Psalm 29, I, 2, pp. 30-31

"For the mouth of the Lord has spoken it."

That one sentence grounds all our hopes — “For the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.” Our knowledge of the Gospel is not based in human speculation, but in the revealed Word of God. We have not come to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord by means of syllogisms or rational calculus. We did not come to know salvation by induction or deduction, but by revelation. We know the great good news of the Gospel because the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.

In this great text from Isaiah, we are firmly established in the knowledge of God’s purposes for his people precisely because God has spoken, and we have heard his Word. Of course, in the verses that follow this declaration, we hear the promise of the eternal power of that Word:
--Albert Mohler
www.AlbertMohler.com

Jesus' Legacy to His Children

Jesus’ Legacy to His Children
Jesus left a legacy to us when He died. You know what a legacy is; it’s something “handed down” or bequeathed to someone after a death, often stated in a will. Jesus is now seated at “the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Heb. 1:3 He told the disciples at the Last Supper that he was going “to prepare a place” for them and for us. And now He is preparing us for that place. He sent the Holy Spirit to help make us more like Christ in our character and attitude towards God. The Holy Spirit was the most important legacy that He gave us. “The Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26 He is called the “paracletos” “the one called alongside to help.” He is the “earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of his glory.” Eph. 1:14 “Earnest” is the down payment, the proof that the rest of the inheritance will be ours some day.

But Jesus also left us another legacy in the very next verse: He gave us the Solution to the problem of fear and worry. Here’s what He said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27 [Notice the verb leave–that’s the legacy.]

The peace Jesus gives us is His peace, the peace that enabled Him to endure the terrible agony of the cross and its temporary separation from the Father. The peace of Christ enables believers to remain calm even in the mostly wildly fearful turmoil. You remember when Jesus and the disciples were caught in the storm at sea and the disciples were terrified. What was Jesus doing? He was “asleep on a pillow” in the back of the boat! “And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And Jesus was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” Mark 4:35-37

It was a wonderful miracle that Jesus calmed the storm, but wasn’t it also very wonderful that Jesus was able to sleep and have peace in the midst of the storm!

Jesus’ peace enables you to face great difficulties with a calmness in your heart that God gives. “The peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:7 Tranquility of the soul–a settled peace that is not dependent upon outward circumstances, but inner strength from God. There is peace because we know that “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.” Psalm 46:1-3

Jesus said, “I give to you” this peace. So we see God’s grace again. All that we have comes from Him. His legacy is not riches or worldly honor but peace–peace of heart, peace of conscience, peace because we have been pardoned and our sins forgiven, a living Savior, a home in heaven. “He who spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” Rom. 8:32

“Not as the world giveth, give I unto you.” The world can’t give this peace because it doesn’t have it! it’s not in their possession. “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.” Isaiah 57:21 The world gives you but empty words, a mere powerless wish when it says Peace or Shalom but Christ’s gift of peace is real.

Jesus said “Let not.” Do not “allow” or permit your heart to be troubled. Do not allow it to be afraid. Fear and worry may come, but you can banish them with this promise from Jesus. And remember Psalm 56:3 “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” Instead of being troubled or afraid, they would rejoice. “If you love me, you would rejoice because I am going to the Father.” In effect Jesus was saying, “If you only believe what I have been saying to you, your cares and fears would vanish, and joy would take the place of sorrow.” “As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. . . .”

Jesus has given us a promise for the future where no foreboding fear of the unknown and dark tomorrow threatens us. Our destiny in the future is secured eternally. We have “an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.” 1 Peter 1.4

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Jesus gives you a choice: you can either stay troubled and afraid or you can refuse to be troubled and afraid. What will you let your mind dwell on? Your problems–or worries, most of which will never materialize anyway. Fear and worry do nothing constructive. They don’t accomplish anything.

Or will you focus your mind on Jesus and His promises and His command, “Fear not”–no matter how wild the storm or how serious the potential problem. Set your mind and affection on things above–and on Jesus Himself; “fixing your eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” --Pastor Burnside

"His peace changes everything."

Minnie Burnside's talk on “Jehovah Shalom” February 14, 2008 at "Heart and Hand" women's group at Sequim Bible Church, Sequim, Washington.

[This was only 7 months since Whipple surgery, July 13, 2007. She had just completed her six months of chemo in January.]

[The first half of her talk was on the use and meaning of “Jehovah Shalom” in the Bible, beginning with its first use at the time of Gideon. She pointed out that Jehovah Shalom means that God gives peace and that He is our peace. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ and then the peace of God in our hearts through the legacy of peace that Jesus left us. And she said, “And His peace changes everything.”]

She read many scriptures on peace including the three “let’s”: John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” with “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.” Col. 3:15]

She then told in detail the medical events leading up to the Whipple [It took me 5 handwritten pages of notes to record her words.]

Minnie told of two prayers she prayed to the Lord:
1. “Lord, give me your peace. And I said, ‘Lord, whatever happens, it’s OK. And I talked to my grandchildren on the phone and I said, ‘You know if I don’t come through this surgery or if I come through it and then the results are what happens with pancreatic cancer and I go home to be with the Lord, it’s OK.’ If they call you and tell you I’m dead, don’t believe it because I’ll be more alive then than I have ever been. I will be with the Lord.’”
“And I told the Lord the day I went into surgery, I said, ‘Lord, if you want to take me home, that’s OK. If you want to leave me here, that’s OK. I’m OK with that.”

God drove me to the scriptures over and over and over again. And everytime peace was mentioned, I also noticed that the way to have this peace, was through His Word, through His Word, through His promises!”

“So He drove me to His Word and I asked the Lord, I said, “Lord, I’ve prayed to you through these times. I have been thankful. Teach me now to be thankful through the hard times.” [And we all remember the thankful spirit she had during the entire three years, setting us a very strong example to follow.]

2. Minnie continued, “And I don’t like to be taken care of. I don’t want to be waited on. I like to take care of other people. So I knew I was going to have things to learn. And I asked the Lord, ‘Make me easy to be taken care of.’ And from the very time I got sick, never have I felt so much care and so much prayer from my brothers and sisters literally from all over the world. We got letters from Africa, from Belgium, from China, from Korea. People all over the world were saying, ‘I’m praying for you and I’m praying that God will be glorified. . . .’”

[God certainly answered that prayer, too, as I can testify since I was her primary care giver. She was a very easy, appreciative, cooperative patient and so very often thanked me or someone else even for the simple things, like getting her a glass of water or helping her to the bathroom. How difficult it was for her to watch her strength just ebb away. For awhile she was able to be a bit stronger in the mornings and then got so tired in the afternoon and evenings. But she did not complain. Through it all she was thankful to the Lord and we always found something every day to be thankful for. She told me so many times how God had given her His peace and that ruled in her heart.]
--Minnie Burnside (ed. Pastor Burnside)

Making All Things Right

“Making All Things Right”
What do you think of when you hear the words “judge, judgment, justice, judging”? You need to think of the context in which they are mentioned because they often mean different things. Usually we think of something “judicial,” a judgment of the court, but in the Old Testament “judging” often mean an executive function rather than a judicial (although of course it could mean either depending on the context.) The king was to bring “justice” and that meant not allowing the more powerful to use their authority or economic strength or position to oppress others. Abraham asked the rhetorical question, “shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Genesis 18:25 And of course He always does because justice and righteousness and holiness are His infinitely. And so is wisdom and patience and goodness and love and kindness.

We belong to God by right of creation and He takes care of His own. Psalms 9 and 10 cry out to God to “judge the world with righteousness” and “judge people with uprightness.” “The Lord sits enthroned forever; He has established His throne for justice.” 9:7-8

Aren’t you amazed and alarmed at the terrible things people do to each other? Don’t you want God to “intervene” and stop the violence and wickedness and cruelty? Doesn’t your heart cry out for justice and righteousness in the world? “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled” (or satisfied). Mt. 5:6 And that’s for us in the midst of this wicked and fallen world in which we live. And of course part of the problem is “us” because we, too, are “fallen creatures in a fallen world.”

And we look forward to the day when God will “judge the earth” and “make all things right.” In eternity future in heaven there will be no evil or lies or sexual immorality or pride and arrogance or oppression of anyone. Perfect righteousness as well as perfect love and complete satisfaction in fellowship with God and our brethren. And all who do not have eternal life in Christ because of their rebellion against Him will be cast into the lake of fire “which is the second death.” Rev. 21:8 The wickedness of this world will not be taken into heaven. It will be destroyed.

But what about “now”? The Psalmist cries out to God “to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.” 10:18 The wicked “say in his heart, ‘You will not “call to account,” “But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands. . . . you have been the helper of the fatherless.” Stop him, Lord! “Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none.” 10:15

God does intervene and protect and we pray for Him to do that, but when He allows the wicked to prevail (though He limits what they can do), God strengthens the person going through the trial: “O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart.” 10:17

One of the ways God limits the power of the wicked and the godless is through poetic justice: they fall into the net they themselves spread. “In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.” 10:2 “The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid their own foot has been caught.” 9:15

The wicked “sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless; he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net. The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might.” 10:8-10

Doesn’t your heart cry out to God when you hear of all the predators and the wickedness in this world, the clever schemes that they draw people into like a trap? Gambling, sex, drugs, covetousness, violence of all kinds. “Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before you! Put them in fear, O Lord! Let the nations know that they are but men!” 9:19-20

“For it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.’ So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.” Romans 14:11-12 “Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” and brings forgiveness to all who sincerely call upon Him in repentance and faith. The keynote is at the beginning of Psalm 9:1-2 ESV “I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.” –Pastor Burnside

"I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times." Psalm 77:5 We don't have to go quite that far back to remember the good Thanksgiving holidays God has given us in the past. God has made us in His image so we can transcend time and space in our minds and go back and remember so many of God's blessings from the past and the sweetness of fellowship with those we love and laugh together and enjoy each other's company. And do what you can to make the present pleasant and memorable in kindness and cheerfulness towards others. "We spend our years as a tale that is told" so, under God, let's make it a good story!

We are in a special season of thankfulness so thank God for who He is! 1) "For the Lord is good; 2) his mercy is everlasting; 3) and his truth endureth to all generations."--including this one! Psalm 100:5 Share with every generation whatever age God's goodness, His mercy, and His truth. "The counsel of the Lord stands for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations." Psalm 33:11

God was faithful in the past; He is faithful now in the present; and He will always be faithful for He changes not. "The contrast between being and becoming marks the difference between the Creator and the creature. Every creature is continually becoming. It is changeable, constantly striving, seeks rest and satisfaction, and finds this rest in God, in Him alone, for only He is pure being and no becoming. "You remain the same, and your years will never end." Heb. 1:12 Hence, in Scripture God is often called the Rock. . . ." (Herman Bavinck)

Acknowledging our dependence on God is one of the ways we glorify Him. "Be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me. For you are my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me." Psalm 31:2-3 We pray for God to be our Rock because He is our Rock and we look to Him for stability and strength--and then thank Him for His leading and guiding. Leading and guiding are almost the same. "We require double direction, for we are fools, and the way is rough. Lead me as a soldier, guide me as a traveller! lead me as a babe, guide me as a man. . . . lead me by thy hand, guide me by thy Word." and by thy Holy Spirit. (Spurgeon) " He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness." Psalm 23:2-3 --Pastor Burnside