GOD, A COVENANT AND A PEOPLE

A commentator asks, “Why do they hate Israel so much? It is just a tiny little country, situated on a small strip of land, surrounded by huge Muslim countries.  So, why not leave them alone?”

Sir, there is this one book that explains it all; I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of this book we call the Bible.  You can start in Genesis, where the war began; in a garden.  Then move on to Abraham and a Covenant with God.

 Continue reading until you come to

Isaiah 9:6 “Unto us a child is born; unto us a Son is given and the government shall be upon His shoulders.  And He will be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace THERE SHALL BE NO END.” 

Move on until you see the verse from Isaiah fulfilled and then the Crucifixion.  Are you beginning to get the picture? 

Satan couldn’t destroy God’s creation in the Garden, so he began to war against the plan of God.  After Abraham, there are 3 main figures in every scenario…God, Satan and God’s chosen people; Israel; the Jews.

So it isn’t really about a tiny little country or a war of flesh and blood or even between the “Sons of Abraham”; Isaac and Ishmael.  It is a Spiritual War between God, Satan and God’s Covenant of Faith; a war between good and evil; Satan’s one last chance to overthrow God.

Move to the last set of chapters in that book you are holding; THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST. 

Revelation 21:1-3 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.

Do you see what is missing?  Yep, you got it…Satan.  God is still in the picture, there is a new Jerusalem; His people are still present…evil lost; GOD IS VICTORIOUS.

WITH JOY

Isaiah 12:3 Therefore with joy you will draw water from the Wells of Salvation.

If you have known me for a long time or even followed me on Facebook, it will come as no surprise that a lot of my thinking is done in song.  I usually wake with a song going through my head and throughout the day a song will come to mind as an encouragement, material for a blog or as a compliment to various situations.

After living so many years, I am convinced that I have forgotten more songs than I can remember.  Actually, they are not forgotten, but catalogued into folders, filed in my brain, just waiting for the perfect time to pop into my “mental jukebox.”

This morning the old hymn that popped into my mind, begins like this,

♪♪ “Oh the joy of sins forgiven, oh the bliss the blood-washed know.” ♪♪

Isn’t that a beautiful thought?  Ok, I know it isn’t “OCEANS” or “THE KING OF THE WORLD,” or any of the current Praise and Worship songs topping the charts but when you know that your sins have been forgiven, OH THE JOY!!!

So now I’m singing…

♪♪ “Cleansed from every sin and stain, whiter than the driven snow,

Now I sing my sweet refrain, where the healing waters flow.”

“Where the Healing Waters flow, where the joys celestial glow,

Oh there’s peace and rest and love,

Where the Healing Waters flow.” ♪♪

I KNOW; I KNOW….it was written by H. H. Heimer and published in 1951, before most of us were born but life hasn’t really changed since that time.  We still need to have our Sins Forgiven, we still crave Peace and Rest and Love and the “Healing Waters” still flow from the foot of the Cross. So sing with me…

♪♪ “Oh this precious perfect love!

How it keeps the heart aglow.

Streaming from the fount above,

Where the Healing Waters flow.” ♪♪

IT WILL BE DIFFERENT

The predawn hours of Christmas…all is calm; all is quiet before the chaos of grandkids tearing open beautifully wrapped gifts, mom and dad directing picture taking and grandma overseeing cleanup.  Lying in bed, my mind drifts to past Christmas mornings, when 2 excited little boys ran down the stairs to the brightly lit tree, surrounded by presents, their faces aglow with anticipation…BUT it’s different now… the boys are the dads and the glowing faces are grandkids…Grandma sits by enjoying the drama of Christmas with the grandbabies in key roles and the parents, the directors…YES, it’s different now.

EVERYTHING CHANGES…but does it really?  The strains of an old song run through my mind as I consider that Christmas long ago…

♪♪ “It’ll be different the next time you come, wait and see.

You’ve got a lot of lonely children and one of them is me.

You know we want to see you; we’re never really at home

So if you’re waiting to be invited, Lord Jesus please come.” ♪♪

“But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son…”

It was the RIGHT TIME, Galatians 4:4 declares on that day; that year, the “FULLNESS OF TIME” occurred. 

It may have been an INCONVENIENT TIME according to Mary and Joseph, they had plans and a “premature” baby just didn’t fit…but God sent Gabriel to announce the news because it was the “FULLNESS OF TIME.” 

It wasn’t the RIGHT TIME to the Innkeeper…How do you tell an VERY PREGNANT woman, she has to spend the night in the barn because you do not have any space, let alone an empty bed to offer…but the LAMB OF GOD would be born in a stable and laid in a manger because it was the “FULLNESS OF TIME.”

It was the WORST OF TIMES for King Herod, who suddenly felt threatened by a small child; a small child that Wise Men from the East were seeking and calling King of the Jews. Herod was the King of the Jews and no one, especially some baby born to a peasant mother and carpenter father from Bethlehem would ever be allowed to come close to overthrowing his throne…but God said it was the “FULLNESS OF TIME.”

Yes, it would seem that it was not the RIGHT TIME according to “man’s standards.” Jesus was not welcomed into a safe, embracing world.  The world, to which He was born, was engulfed in political chaos, burdened by high taxes, ruled by an insecure despot and threatened by unknown dangers.  BUT IT WILL BE DIFFERENT THE NEXT TIME YOU COME, WAIT AND SEE…

SO, WOULD IT BE THE RIGHT TIME IF JESUS WERE BORN TODAY?

Would we find His appearance just a bit INCONVENIENT; a disruption to our important plans for the next year?  Could we find a little space in our cluttered, chaotic life to allow Him to “birth” something of monumental spiritual importance in us?  Does His “Call to Service” threaten our little kingdom; would we be willing to step down from our throne to give Jesus His rightful place? 

WHAT IF GOD DECLARED IT TO BE THE “FULLNESS OF TIME” AND GABRIEL WAS SENT TO ANNOUNCE HIS ARRIVAL?

Jesus would find that the world ISN’T SO DIFFERENT this “next time” either.  He would find a world engulfed in political chaos, burdened by high taxes, ruled by insecure despots and threatened by unknown dangers…BUT WAIT….

THERE IS ONE BIG DIFFERENCE…

There is a PEOPLE; a LOT OF LONELY CHILDREN; a CHURCH THAT IS CALLED BY HIS NAME waiting and longing to welcome His return.  They’ve been living in a “strange land,” preparing themselves to answer the call, spreading the news and excited about a home, He is preparing, just for them.  They have a PROMISE; they have a HOPE and some day…

IT WILL BE DIFFERENT!

Are you one of His lonely children, just waiting for Jesus?  I am and you can be too...

IT CAN BE DIFFERENT THIS TIME!!!

WHAT CONDESCENSION

Philippians 2:5-7 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but MADE HIMSELF of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men.

During morning devotions, the words of this beloved hymn began to play over and over in my mind…Down From His Glory by William Booth-Cliborn.

♪♪♪ “What CONDESCENSION, bringing us redemption,

That in the dead of night, not one faint hope in sight.

God, gracious, tender, laid aside His splendor

Stooping to woo, to win, to save my soul.” ♪♪

CONDESCENSION, that word???  I had to think about it; investigate it.  Now many of the old hymns have words and phrases that are particular to the era in which they were written and no longer hold the same deep meanings for worshippers in the 21^st century. 

For instance, the song, “Royal Telephone,” which contains the line, “Central’s never busy, always on the line.”  Now that everyone carries their own personal device in their pocket and most of us do not even have land lines, who even knows what “CENTRAL” means?  If you are under 50, you probably don’t have a clue. 

Or this song written in 1911, which says, ♪♪“Sometimes I wonder why I must suffer, go in the rain, the cold and the snow, when there are many living in comfort, giving no heed to all I can do.  Farther along, we’ll know all about it.  Farther along, we’ll understand why.  CHEER UP, my brother, live in the sunshine.  We’ll understand it all by and by.”♪♪ Can you imagine a more depressing song, telling us to “CHEER UP?”  Talk about singing the blues…you’ll understand it all by and by.

We have all met “Condescending” people.  People who, as defined in the dictionary, “believe they are more intelligent and far superior than you.”  Sometimes they “condescend” to offer you advice or shake your hand or even offer a “bless you” before they ascend to sit with their equals.  So why use this word in a timeless hymn about Jesus?

My meditation and search continued to the next and then the next definition…

Condescension –Voluntary assumption of equality with a person regarded inferior

NOW I WORSHIP…To think the GREAT GOD OF HEAVEN; the ONE WHO COULD FIND NO ONE GREATER TO SWEAR BY, SO HE SWORE BY HIMSELF; the CREATOR OF THE WORLD would CONDESCEND to become one with His creation.  He came, not just to give advice, shake our hand or bless “inferior” mankind before moving on to His equal but became one of us so we could HAVE HOPE; so the RELATIONSHIP destroyed by sin could be RESTORED; so we could receive SALVATION. 

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His Glory, the Glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Yes, He lived with mankind for a short time; became the Sacrificial Lamb for sin and ascended back to the splendor of the Heavens but He did not leave us alone to blindly walk this new path.  You see God had a second part to His plan…HIS OWN SPIRIT! 

So GOD GAVE…GAVE His Only Begotten Son to satisfy the penalty for sin, then GAVE His Holy Spirit to give us comfort, direction and the power to live above sin.

Tears of wonder flow as I sing…

♪♪ “Oh how I love Him

How I adore Him

My breath, my sunshine, my all in all

The Great Creator became my Savior

And all God’s fullness dwelleth in Him.” ♪♪

CHRISTMAS GIFTS

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that HE GAVE His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life.

TIS THE SEASON…The malls are full, the billboards inviting and every television commercial is designed to increase our desire for things we cannot afford, don’t really need and in some instances should absolutely  run to avoid succumbing to the enslaving tentacles. 

Lust for things that are beyond our reach or were never meant for a child of God is nothing new.  The enticements are just packaged in brighter, more attractive presentations.

So when did this insatiable thirst for the forbidden begin?

SATAN desired something that was not his.  He attempted to elevate himself and steal what belonged only to God.

ADAM AND EVE desired something that was not theirs.  They ate of the forbidden fruit to acquire what belonged only to God.

AND it doesn’t end there…

KING DAVID lusted for a woman that was not his.  She became pregnant with his child and David made sure her husband died.  He took a life that belonged only to God.

THE STORY continues…Even children desire what they cannot have.  Try this…. Set a figurine on a table, tell a toddler, “NO,” and walk away.  The first thing that child will do is reach for the figurine.  There may be a dozen other toys in the room but the child desires that which he cannot have.

DURING THIS SEASON, let us not focus on the things we cannot or should not obtain but the GOOD THING, which God has provided for His children.

BUT GOD GAVE!!!

Because ALL THINGS belong to Him, He gives REDEMPTION without restrictions and invites WHOSOEVER WILL to partake freely.  Then He asks you to spread the Word; to share the message of His gift so that all can become partakers. 

2 Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift

 Have a blessed Christmas and enjoy the “GIFTS OF CHRISTMAS,” as described in this old hymn…

Down from His Glory, ever living story

My God and Savior came and Jesus was His name.

Born in a manger, to His own a stranger

A man of sorrows, tears and agony.

Oh how I love Him, how I adore Him

My breath, my sunshine, my all in all.

The Great Creator became my Savior

And all God’s fullness dwelleth in Him.

What condescension, bringing us redemption,
That in the dead of night, not one faint hope in sight.
God, gracious, tender, laid aside His splendor,
Stooping to woo, to win to save my soul.

Without reluctance, flesh and blood His substance,
He took the form of man, revealed the hidden plan.
Oh glorious mystery, sacrifice of Calvary,
And now I know thou art the "Great I am."

THE GIVER AND INTERPRETER

Daniel 2:20 Daniel answered and said, “Blessed be the Name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His.

During the holidays, I receive several emails every day, showcasing the “perfect” gift, dream vacation, “best” deal of the year and other amazing offers designed to separate me from my husband’s hard earned money.  My favorite computer key has become the “DELETE” button and my “TRASH” file has become full.  This morning, I routinely began to “scan” and “delete,” when the Holy Spirit impressed me to “go back to the trash file.”  The particular email that caught my eye offered a book on “Dream Interpretation,” from an author celebrating “10 years of dream interpretation.”

Now WHY would the Holy Spirit direct me to this email?  I don’t even remember having a dream last night.  And HOW could a book, first written 10 years ago, tell me and thousands of other readers the meaning of a dream?  EXACTLY!!! Then the Holy Spirit began to whisper to my heart… 

“I am the GIVER of the dream and if you will seek me, I will be the INTERPRETER of the dream.”

Now before you begin to quote scripture and give Biblical examples of Dream Interpretation, I will give them to you.  God used “Dream Interpretation” to free Joseph from prison and elevate him to a place of leadership in Egypt and ultimately save his family…of course it was because of his “Dream Interpretation Bragging” that led to his eventual imprisonment; but that is a lesson for another day.

 God used a dream interpretation to encourage Gideon to lead the Israelite army to victory against the Midianites.  And of course, during this Christmas season, we remember that another Joseph was assured that it was okay to take a pregnant Mary to be his wife.  A couple of years later, Joseph was warned in a dream of impending danger and told to flee to Egypt.  As we search the Word of God, we find many other instances in which God spoke to people through dreams with warnings, assurances and direction. 

Daniel 2:28 But there is a God in Heaven who reveals secrets…

Perhaps one of the more famous Dream Interpreters is Daniel.  Daniel was a Hebrew taken into captivity in Babylon, where he continued to serve God.  Because of Daniel’s faithfulness, God gave him “understanding in all visions and dreams.” Daniel 1:17.  King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that troubled him greatly.  He called for his magicians, astrologers and sorcerers and asked; not only for the interpretation but that they also tell him the dream.  I guess that would weed out all the false prophets.  Of course they all failed and a decree was issued to begin killing all the “wise” men, one of which was Daniel.  Though it may have been the decree of the king, it was not the decree of God, so Daniel asked to be taken to the king, where he would not only interpret the dream but reveal the dream itself.

Yes, God speaks through dreams and God uses people to interpret and deliver a prophetic word, but…His desire is to speak DIRECTLY; one on one to the person with which He has a personal relationship.  Can a book really reveal the deep spiritual truths that God desires to share with MY heart?  Do I really desire to read the words on the sterile pages of a generic book instead of spending times in the warm embrace of my Father and feel the breath of His Holy Spirit as He whispers the interpretation of His dreams for me?

I am reminded of this quote by my nephew, Jonathan Sanders, “To those on a constant search for a prophetic word or sign…Try finding the direction in prayer and the Word of God.  God doesn’t have to put your mail in somebody else’s mailbox, if you check yours every day.”

Have you checked your “Mailbox” today?  God has the answer waiting for you, if you will take the time to “sort the mail.”  By the way, He also has several “love letters” waiting for you that you definitely do not want to miss.

Have a Blessed Day as you spend time with the GIVER AND INTERPRETER OF YOUR DREAMS!

WAR ON CHRISTMAS; AGAIN!!!

Wars are created when we are threatened; to conquer and eliminate the enemy.

Tis The Season and the “War on Christmas” rears its ugly head.  Now, you won’t see the “War on Ramadan,” or the “War on Kwanzaa,” or the “War on Festivus,” or even the “War on Hanukkah.” Well maybe Hanukkah, in some circles, since it is also about God sending a miraculous event.

Matthew 2:1-3 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the Days of Herod the King, behold wise men from the east came to Jerusalem saying, where is he who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him.  When Herod the King heard this, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him.

Don’t get all bent out of shape over the War and its Warriors; the battle has been raging for more than 2,000 years.  Its first human leader was a King named Herod.  Herod was threatened by a tiny baby that seekers were proclaiming “KING OF THE JEWS.” So the War began and Herod set out to eliminate and conquer the enemy.  GOOD NEWS; Herod lost the battle.

Mark 15:11-13 But the Chief Priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them.  Pilate answered and said to them again, “What then do you want me to do with him whom you call “King of the Jews?”  So they cried out again, “Crucify Him!”

Fast forward 30 years and the War on Christmas had a new general…the Jewish Religious Leaders.  Jesus threatened their position, power and authority, so a new battle line formed.  I’m sure a celebration was held in the Temple as the ring of the hammer sounded throughout the land…that is until the earthquake shook the foundation and the veil was torn in half.  GOOD NEWS; the High Priest thought he was leading the battle, but it was actually God’s plan from the “Foundation of the World.” Three days later, Jesus arose and the Jewish Religious Leaders lost the battle.

American Atheists – “Make Christmas Great Again…Skip Church.”

2016…and the War on Christmas continues with new champions, new slogans and new battles.  Familiar Christmas hymns are eliminated from school “Holiday” programs, nativity scenes no longer grace public squares and cheerful greetings of “Merry Christmas” threaten “safe spaces.”  Coffee shops no longer celebrate with traditional “Christmas” paper cups and bill boards pop up informing readers to “Make Christmas Great Again…Skip Church.” 

So should we get angry, feel threatened and outraged?  NO WAY!!!  I don’t have the energy to waste on fighting a war.  I’m too busy singing along to my favorite Christmas Carol, wrapping gifts for friends and loved ones, and once again reading the beautiful story that started the war.  Oh yeah….I’m doing this while drinking my delicious, home-brewed coffee from my bright red, “Christmas at our house” coffee mug. WAR????? WHAT WAR????  I refuse to participate.

Jude 1:14-15 “Behold the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

The battles and the skirmishes will continue because Jesus threatens our flesh, our carnal thinking, our lusts and Satan’s mission.  So keep on smiling, put on that bright red sweater, tell someone Merry Christmas, drop some money in the kettle of that faithful bell ringer, enjoy watching three little Wise men fight their way up the aisle and Mary burp Baby Jesus, sing your favorite Christmas tunes at the top of your lungs because ONE DAY the final battle in the “War on Christmas” will be fought and won by the very One who started it all…

JESUS CHRIST WILL FINALLY WIN THE WAR ON CHRISTMAS!