watch

See, just as the LORD my God has charged me, I now teach you statutes and ordinances for you to observe in the land that you are about to enter and occupy. You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!” For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is whenever we call to him? And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today? But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children—how you once stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when the LORD said to me, “Assemble the people for me, and I will let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me as long as they live on the earth, and may teach their children so”; you approached and stood at the foot of the mountain while the mountain was blazing up to the very heavens, shrouded in dark clouds. Then the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. He declared to you his covenant, which he charged you to observe, that is, the ten commandments; and he wrote them on two stone tablets. And the LORD charged me at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances for you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy. Since you saw no form when the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire, take care and watch yourselves closely, so that you do not act corruptly by making an idol for yourselves, in the form of any figure—the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. And when you look up to the heavens and see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, do not be led astray and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples everywhere under heaven. But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron-smelter, out of Egypt, to become a people of his very own possession, as you are now. (Deuteronomy 4:5-20, NRSV)

I now teach… Moses is talking for the last time to the Israelites about their going into the promised. He is reminding them to remember everything they have been taught, so they will live the lives that God has set before them.

All of us are now in the same place Moses was. Reminding our sisters and brothers to watch themselves. To remember all they have been commanded. To teach our children and their children the ways of God so that we might live the lives He has set before us.

So watch yourself. And live the life God has set before you to live.

Who knows?

“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. (Matthew 24:36-44, NRSV)

But about the day or hour no ones knows!

The angels have not a clue.

The Son does not even know when it is going to happen.

So all of the searching of the pages of the Bible and looking at current and past events to figure out when the kingdom of God will be fully present with us here, only does one thing.

Make the one being that does know when it will happen, laugh.

Just like trying to tell the Father your plans.

Wanna make God laugh? Tell Him your plans or when the kingdom will come!

just wait

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’  And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. (Matthew 25:1-13, NRSV)

Have you ever waited on something?

I remember as we waited on our first child…

We prepared the house… We painted and got the nursery ready. We installed the child proof latches on cabinets, put plug covers on all the unused outlets,

We put the car seat in the car, and made sure it was in nice and tight…

we prepared. But were we ready? Were we really ready?

What is it to wait?

We are anxious and worried. We are stressed about what the outcome will be, what the news will be, what will happen…

It is hard to be in the in-between…

But Jesus tells us this that we have to wait and be prepared for the moment when it comes. As He waited for His death on the cross to come. He knows what it is to wait. So you are waiting in good company!

joy for sorrow

Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and will keep him as a shepherd a flock.”
For the LORD has ransomed Jacob,
and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD,
over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and over the young of the flock and the herd;
their life shall become like a watered garden,
and they shall never languish again.
Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
(Jeremiah 31:10-13, NRSV)

I read this passage and thought of the song by Darrel Evens Trading my Sorrow.

For His joy is going to be my strength and regardless of what I am going through He will be with me and will give me joy!

abundant

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ. (2 Corinthians 1:3-5, NRSV)

Our God is the Father of all mercies and all consolation.

He comforts us in our afflictions, and consoles us so that we may be His hands and feet and presence to this world for those who do not yet know Him.

We know the suffering of Christ by being His body in this world, and so God the Father consoles us so that we may be a consoling presence in the this world.

if

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”  (John 11:17-26, NRSV)

What is the difference really? I mean if Martha believes that Lazarus will rise again, then why does it matter if Jesus was there before he died?

If you had been here Jesus, none of this would have happened… But I know God will give you whatever you ask…

If this is true, then why does it matter if Jesus was there before he died?

You see, we say things, but do we believe them?

Do you believe what Jesus said?

“I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”

Death is something we all fear. It is an unknown, but it is not the end. Death is mearly a step in our lives with God. Death in a human sense is a step, and it is not the end. Do you believe the promise that Jesus gave to Martha, and to you?

If you do, then He is always here, and always present, and there is no if you would have been here…

So believe in the promise, and know He is with you.

Where I am going

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.” (John 14:1-4, NRSV)

Do not be troubled.

I have prepared a place for you!

I will come and get you and take you to myself. For I have prepared your place and will make sure you make.

Jesus has done it for us. He made a way, prepared the place, and when it is time, He assures us he will come and take us to where He has gone.

We will be with Him, and it is because of nothing we have done!

 

How many?

After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?” I said to him, “Sir, you are the one that knows.” Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:9-17, NRSV)

How many is a great multitude?

And what does the line “that no one could count” add to it?

There were a lot of people!

From every tribe, all nations, and peoples and languages!

They were all there, and so many of them we would not be able to count them!

They were all worshiping God, and they had washed their robes in the blood of the lamb!

They were not just standing there, but were there with a purpose!

children

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. (1 John 3:1-3, NRSV)

I don’t know about you, I worked hard as a young person to not be called a child. And now that I am an adult (by age alone!) I try to act like a child.

But really what is the most precious name in the world?

I would say it is child of God! And see what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God! You are God’s child!

And what you will be has not yet been revealed and does not matter, because God loves you and has claimed you and that my friend is the most precious name in the world!

So bear it proudly to the world!

Child of God!

Blessed…

For us in the United States, we are approaching the time we set aside to be thankful for all that we have been given, and all we have been blessed with in our lives. November is the time we seem to focus on what it means to be blessed and what God has given us in our lives.

Yet we are told by Jesus we are blessed when we are poor in spirit, when we mourn, when we are meek, hunger and thirst for righteousness, are merciful, pure in heart, make peace, and are persecuted.

Matthew starts the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes. Blessed are…

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:3-12, NRSV)

Not really what we think of when we think blessed! Blessed is happy, favored, fortunate, privileged. Being hungry and thirsty, meek, poor in spirit and persecuted does not sound like being privileged or fortunate to me.

But you see that is where our language falls short, or our understanding of the context is important. Our language falls short because we do not understand the honor-shame society in which Jesus speaks these words in the Gospel of Matthew. And we think of being blessed as an emotional state in which bliss and happiness rain down in our lives, and that is just not what Jesus means. It is not about us being happy, or having a good feeling about what we are doing or what is happening around us.

Another way to look at this would be to translate the word μακαροις (makarios), which we have as blessed, as “How honorable…”

Because when we get right down to it who among us would want to be poor in spirit, to mourn, to hunger and thirst, or be persecuted? None of us would seek to be these things, yet that is what we do as people of God. As His children, we seek not our own comforts or status, but look to the other. We seek to comfort the last, the lost, the least and the little, and by doing this we bring honor to God, and are blessed!

So take some time this month to count your blessings. Some of which are the fact we can worship God freely and openly, we are free to live because of the men and women who fought and fight for that freedom. Count the blessings of your friends, and family, and remember that God has blessed you with everything so that you may be a blessing to others. You are blessed to be a blessing!