security…

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 ESV)

We are not to worry about the times on anything.  We do not need to worry ourselves with this. The times that God has planned for things is under His control and will be done according to His plan.

Plus the verses above say that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night when we are saying “there is peace and security.” Well the way my life is now, this day will never come! I can hardly image a day of peace and security. Not that my life is hard or at war. I have a very blessed existence compared to a lot of people in the world, but there is unrest and uneasiness in my life…

So maybe we are looking at this wrong…

Maybe our peace and security are not things we can see and feel. They are not attributes that we control. The peace and security that will bring the day of the Lord is when we all are resting in the peace and security offered to us by God. You see even in the face of uneasiness, and unrest, God is still with us and He is guiding us and walking with us as we journey.

So know that you can not know when the day will come or when things will happen, but rest assured that you have peace and security in the arms of a creator that loves you more than you deserve.

Take heart

“I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father.  In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf;  for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”  His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?  Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.  I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:25-33 ESV)

Have you ever read the Bible and not understood what it is you think you’re supposed to get from this?

I think all of us have at one time or another thought we read something and  understood what it said but then when we actually went back and re-thought about what it was we were thinking, we knew that what we were thinking couldn’t possibly be what was actually being told to us by what we read.

But you see this isn’t anything new the disciples didn’t understand Jesus when He talked to them so who are we to think that will understand everything that we read or everything that we hear from Jesus?  But in our reading Jesus tells us plainly and it’s told to the disciples plainly that we will get to talk to God not to Jesus and have Jesus intercede for us but we as children of God get a direct line to talk to Him about what we need and if we ask for it in Jesus’ name and if it’s in God’s will it will be given to us. So go forth and live in this world where Jesus tells us here plainly we will have tribulation. But rest assured that God is always with us and no matter what darkness we face or Valley we walk through He is there walking with us and guiding our steps each and every moment of our lives.

So go and live in the uncertainty. Go and live in the tribulation. Go and walk in the darkness of this life. But take heart and know that Jesus is always with you.

the kingdom…

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.” Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. (Revelation 11:15-19 ESV)

We talk about the kingdom of God as a place we will go. It is a place away from here and now. But if you actually read Revelation it says that the kingdom of God comes to us!

This set of verses starts with “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” The kingdom here and now has become the kingdom of God with the seventh trumpet blast! God’s kingdom is here, it will be here.We are not going to be caught up in the clouds and whisked off to some other place. God is going to make this His home with us…

He is already here with us and now we see in the mirror dimly, but then we will see face to face. Yes it will be much different, but it will be here…

So get ready for the kingdom of God to come to us, and spread the love He has given to you.

Who can stand?

But you, you are to be feared! Who can stand before you when once your anger is roused? From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still, when God arose to establish judgment, to save all the humble of the earth. (Psalm 76:7-9 ESV)

When God’s anger is roused who among us can stand before Him?

Will we not all fall to our faces in humble subjection?

We will want to hide our faces from Him, like a child who knows they are in trouble. We all know when we have done something wrong, and we know when we are going to be punished. And the scary part to that is we all deserve to be punished for the things we have done. We all deserve eternal separation from God because we are all sinners and can not be in His presence. So when Hid anger is roused we had all better duck and run for cover. (as if that would help!)

But even in the few verses of this psalm there is grace, that God’s judgment was established to save all the humble of the earth. So all of the humble if the earth are saved. But that still does not keep them from fearing.

Fear is not a bad thing it keeps us from doing things we are afraid of, and sometimes it pushes us to do something to experience the rush…

Live in the awe inspiring fear of the Lord, knowing that He could judge you and separate you from Him, but trusting in His grace to keep you ever so close to Him. So fear with humbleness so you might be saved.

everlasting…

The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting. The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring. Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the LORD on high is mighty! Your decrees are very trustworthy; holiness befits your house, O LORD, forevermore. (Psalm 93 ESV)

When you think of everlasting what do you think of?

God comes to mind, but I have to admit one of the first things I think of is Willy Wonka and the everlasting gobstopper… “One is all you will ever need!” Can you image a candy you can suck and suck and it never get any smaller? That would be a wonderful invention but it would be the downfall of the candy industry. I mean people would only ever need one piece of candy. The sales would not be good, oh they would be great for a while, but then they would be nothing. Or you add one here and there for the new people born, but not like gobstoppers now, where I buy a bag and they are gone in 10 minutes and I need another bag, and another, and another…

But God is truly everlasting, He will never run out, go away, leave us alone. He will always be with us, and never forsake us. As Revelation 1:4 says God is “him who is and who was and who is to come”. We read this statement and think of Jesus, but Jesus is mentioned in verse 5, so here in verse 4 this is about God the Father. HE is always with us and is truly everlasting!

who receives the testimony?

He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (John 3:31-36 ESV)

He who comes from Heaven is above all and He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. Whoever receives His testimony sets His seal to this, that God is true… Wait a minute. Didn’t John say that Jesus bears witness to everything He knows, yet no one receives the testimony, yet those who receive the testimony set the seal that God is truth. So does anyone get the testimony or not? First he says no one receives it, but then says what happens when someone does…

I’m a little confused, of course it is not the first time or the last time I will be confused by John, that is one reason I love the book, because it always keeps you on your toes and thinking. It seems clear cut, and then you read it again and something pops up you hadn’t seen or heard quite that way before and it shakes things loose and you wonder what he means.

It is like our faith. We get set in and think we have it all figured out, then something happens that shakes us and makes us rethink somethings. We have not lost our faith, but we wonder about somethings and how they impact our lives, and the way we saw things is not the same. This is not bad, it helps our faith to grow and surround us and envelope all of our lives. It makes us deepen those roots that are in Christ and to cling to Him all the more. For whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure, so believe in the son and the one who sent Him. The promise is real and you will have eternal life and abundance of love. You will be sheltered in your doubt and questioning by a love that will grow stronger and roots that will go deeper.

Live in your faith and doubt it, allowing God to nurture ad water you in the process as you grow closer to Him.

Rise of the Guardians…

Today my 10 year old and I went on a date. She wanted to see a movie and it was between Wreck it Ralph which looks cute and all or Rise of the Guardians. Timing worked out for us to see Rise of the Guardians…

I thought the previews looked pretty good, and it would be a great flick. And I was not disappointed. The company first of all was fantastic, and my daughter loved it. There was a lot in it for her and she had a great time and it is always fun to go out with one of my girls…

The movie was very interesting. It is a movie really about hope, and finding out who you are. Jack Frost is the main character of sorts and he finds out who he is, and why he is a guardian…

It is a movie filled with action, love, hope, darkness, and faith. I would put it up there with the original Tinker Bell movie of films that help us realize we are all made special and have a gift to bring.

I’m still not sure how I feel about a Santa who yields swords. My daughter was a little taken aback by the tattoos on Santa as well, I thought they were pretty cool! And I’m not sure about the Easter Bunny that uses boomerangs… But it was a great movie and very family friendly. A wonderful film about who we are and hope… And who among us doesn’t need more hope?

Restoration

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:20-28 ESV)

Have you ever restored something? I have not, but I have seen things restored and it usually requires a lot of work, and stripping away of things that should not have been there.

I am reminded as I think of restoration of the last time I visited Gettysburg PA, and some organization was restoring the landscape to what it was when the battle of Gettysburg occurred. They had removed a lot of trees and the Peach orchard to replant the trees the way they would have been during the battle. Well some of the trees that were removed were very old and a lot of people were very upset by the removal of these trees. However to restore the landscape, stripping away has to be done…

Which probably has you asking, what does restoration and the lesson from 1 Corinthians above have in common… I’m glad you asked. The reading for today says, “For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” I asked myself as I read this what does this mean? That He, meaning Jesus, must reign until all his enemies have been put under His feet? That He must be standing on all who oppose Him? Probably not, but then that begs the question who opposes Him, because He did tell the disciples, whoever is not against us is for us, so then it would have to be someone in complete opposition to Jesus, and who is that?

I wonder if it does not have something to do with a post I put on Facebook a few days back. “Muslims and Jews both say I promised Jerusalem to them. Never occurs to them I might want them to coexist peacefully. @almightygod” Maybe Jesus is reigning until we all learn to get along, and He actually is king of all creation and everyone and thing is “under His feet” as in He has control. Jesus has to reign until restoration has happened with the human race. Just as death came through one man and we are separated  now restoration comes through one man, Jesus teaching us all to play nice and get along… And just as restoration of a landscape needs some ripping out and removal of items, and restoration of an antique piece of furniture needs stripping away of layers that do not belong, so must we strip away and remove all the unnecessary garbage out of our lives and communities and be restored to the relationship we had with God in the garden, until then Jesus must reign. So hunker in and get ready to be restored and be not surprised when a layer you thought was necessary goes away, because He is the master carpenter and He absolutely knows what he is doing!

 

Thankful!

The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting. The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring. Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the LORD on high is mighty! Your decrees are very trustworthy; holiness befits your house, O LORD, forevermore. (Psalm 93 ESV)

The Lord God reigns and rules over everything! No matter what in life is happening, whether it be good, or bad, nasty, or great God is in control. That does not mean that God causes the things to happen in your life, but it does mean that He is with you in the midst of whatever it is that you are going through. God is in control and will not let the flood waters over take you. He is mightier than the thundering seas, and anything you can come up with.

On this day of Thanksgiving be thankful for a creator who loves you enough to walk with you through the valleys and peaks of your life. He is with you and will give you strength. For this be thankful! And tell others of the wonderful love He has given you!