God's Love

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     First  John 4:7-8 says, “ Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”

     How far does love go in a person’s life?  How much will you tolerate abuse without saying, “Enough is enough?”   Some people are easy to love as they don’t do anything that is against  you in any way while others always seem to be aggravating you at every opportunity.  At the end of the day, we sometimes find those who are easy to love and th ose that are hard to love.

     With God, love seems to always be present and it has no boundaries.  That is, it doesn’t stop because I mess up here and there, and I do mess up.  As you read through the Old Testament, you find so often a very large number of people who fall by the sword.  Thousands are put to death and it sometimes seems gruesome just to read of those who messed up and were put to death.  They are there in the Old Testament to remind us and to teach us of God’s justice and to see the differences in our relationship with God Himself.  While we are here on this earth, living and breathing and going about our business as usual, God loves us in a way that we cannot comprehend.  His love is the personification of love.  As John said, “God is love.”  If you want to see just what love is, you just need to look at God. So, we have our lifetime to decide whether to accept God’s type of love or to refuse it.  Sad to say, many do and will refuse it and that is where God says, “Enough is enough….Depart from Me, I never knew you;”  God has many attributes and while love is one of them, so is justice and righteousness.  While we have ample opportunity to settle with God, many just don’t as their thought is, “God could never send anyone to eternal punishment, so all will end up in heaven.”    Not even John 3 :16 says that.   God does not want us to perish but to have everlasting life.  He is willing that all should be saved and present in heaven but the Great White Throne judgment says that many will not accept God’s type of love and in so refusing it, will be ushered in eternal separation from God and from heaven and all of its blessing.  God has already made the supreme sacrifice in the sending of His Son to die on the cross and thereby making a complete payment for all of our sin and then to make us ready for our home in heaven.  To refuse God’s terms is to say that He is not just and so we can come up with our own plan and say to the world, “I’ll see you heaven.” when there is no hope of them being there as they refused God’s plan and sought their own method.  Praise God today for His plan of salvation and especially for His love.  God’s final call is coming soon.

The Way

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     John 14:5-6 says, “Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 

Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

     Can you trust your GPS to get you to your destination?  I was so lost one day as we took a GPS suggestion coming home from a trip.  It  had always suggested that I make a turn on a road that had the word “hollow” on the end of it.  This one day, I did and for the next half hour, traveled on roads not fit for motorized vehicles passing small houses with a variety of animals in the front yard, a bridge over a creek that was just a concrete slab in the water.  I finally gave up on the GPS and headed south according to the sun.  Eventually, I found a highway and resumed my trip home.

     In the above passage, Thomas is concerned about the place to which the Lord Jesus Christ indicated that He was going.  Thomas was concerned because he didn’t know the way.  Where was this strange new place?  He knew he wanted to be there with Christ, but he didn’t know how to get there.  Christ then gives not only Thomas, but the whole world, the way in which every soul can be with God in heaven.  He simply says, “I am the Way, the truth and the l ife…”  You will not be able to find directions from Herod, or from the Pharisees, or from the Roman guards.  You won’t be able to find me in the tomb, or in a castle or in a fort or in a market place.  You won’t be able to get there by doing good deeds or for completing a course of study or fulfilling a list of requirements.  You will find that it is a free gift according to Ephesians 2:8-10.  The plan is simple and profound at the same time.  It is simply, “believe.”  The world system thinks like Thomas.  We don't know the way.  How can we get there?  Some are just looking for a glass of iced tea on a cloud floating around in the sky.  Some are seeing themselves relaxing on a beach with the sound of the ocean in their ears.  Very few see themselves in a heavenly choir singing praise t o God in celestial music.  Very few see themselves casting crowns at the feet of the Lamb of God, Who is worthy.  We may not have the words to express our gratitude and perhaps our reply would be, “The man on the middle cross said I could come.”  Some people have a hard time reading an instruction manual but everyone had better read this one.  You should not miss one word of it as it shows each and everyone of us just how much God loves us.  Praise God today that He has shown us “The Way.”

Thus Saith the LORD

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Exodus 4:22 says, “ And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:”

     Part of my veteran’s care has a multitude of counselors of various types including nutrition, social workers and even a psychologist.  I get asked a lot of questions, most of them, similar as to if I want to hurt myself or others or “how does that make you feel?”  As they probe my brain and thinking process, they don’t offer too much advice but just ask more questions and then write short sentences down in a little notebook.  Little comments come now and then which seem to want to challenge my belief system by speaking of “higher criticism” and who wrote what and when as far as the Bible is concerned.  My thoughts are, “Been there.  Done that.”  

     The above quote is the first time that the phrase, “Thus saith the LORD:” appears in the Bible.  It is then found about four hundred and thirty times in the Scriptures in the King James Version.  In the above passage, God is giving Pharaoh a message and Moses and Aaron are quoting what God has promised.  As Paul said to the Corinthians, an unbeliever can’t understand spiritual things because they are not spiritual themselves and are looking at the same writings through unspiritual eyes.  It’s like trying to scratch an itch that a person can’t reach.  People today are not the first ones to try to discredit the Bible as it has been attempted for years but no one has succeeded.  The Word of God still stands as God’s letter to mankind.  If you want to know God, then look in the Bible.  If you want to know where you came from, look in the Bible.  If you want to know why you are here, look in the Bible.  If you want to know where you will spend eternity, look in the Bible.  If you want to know what God thinks about certain areas of our culture, just look and see what He says in the Bible after the words, “Thus saith the LORD.”  One of the difficulties for people is that there are few testimonies of what happens after death.  Those that do appear now and then are questionable so mankind is willing to take a chance that God will be letting everyone into heaven but that is not what “Thus saith the LORD” said in His Word.  Everlasting life, or eternal life as we might say it , is for believers and not for unbelievers.  You can see that in John 3:16.  There is a choice and I put my choice in the sixty six books of the Bible.  While many choose to gamble on eternity, I choose to go with the “sure thing;” the Word of God.  Praise God for the B I B L E!!

Due Credit

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Romans 1:24-25 says, “Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.”

     After you hear the news on the local TV stations, you come to the conclusion, “Wow.  The world is really in a mess.”  We often think, or at least I do, “What will it take to get things turned around?”  The only obvious answer is, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Those things that were illegal years ago, are now accepted as the normal thing in our culture.  Humanity has turned its back on God and have gone their own way.  Our inclination is that if it seems right and feels good, it must be okay and so we accept it as the way of thinking.  I was watching the “hallmark” channel on the TV recently and it had a wedding scene in it, only the couple that were getting married were two women.  We are supposed to accept that now because the government said so.  Well, I don’t think that is going to happen in my mind at all as it is contrary to the Bible says and it certainly is not anything new but has been around for many years.  The Apostle Paul  specifically shows us the problem in the above passage.  

     God has made some beautiful things in creation.  It is quite evident in the animal world and is in fact even in the plants that grow.  Some birds and fish are so colorful that we often remark that they are beautiful creations of God and only He could do such a wonderful work.  I like “Iris” flowers as they come in such a mixture of colors and to see them up close and to examine the delicate structure is amazing.  So, I enjoy God’s Flowers and His animals but I don’t make an idol out of them, carved in wood, stone or precious metal and then worship them.  Paul mentioned that our tendency is to worship the creation rather than the Creator.  Is that so hard to understand?  Since God seems to be so far from our presence, we ignore the fruit of His attributes almost entirely.  We focus on His Love, but ignore His justice and righteousness.  While God is being ignored by humanity, God is not ignoring humanity and judgment will be coming.  We often use a statement, “Give credit where credit is due.”  Mother Nature is fictitious and didn’t do a thing.  God did it all.  Evolution is man’s attempt to come up with worldly answers to how the animals came about including men and women, but God did it all.  Look around you today and notice the things that God has made and only He could have done it and then give Him the praise.  Give credit where credit is due.

Letter Fly

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Revelation 5:11-12 says, “And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

I have been involved with music most of my life and enjoy making different sounds on different instruments, the louder the better.  The human voice is a natural producer of different sounds, some good and some bad.  I once had the opportunity to sing with 4,000 men at Moody Bible Institute, Pastor’s Conference.  I always say that pastors sing by “letter.”  They open their mouths and let her fly.  The sound resounded throughout the building as we sant “And Can It Be” at the top of our voices.

     Four thousand voices is a drop in the bucket compared to the description of the choir in the above passage.  We sometimes hear the word, “myriad” which is a number like then thousand times ten thousand.  Revelation 4 and 5 comprise a celestial symphony with a theme and variations.  It  begins with a single trumpet blast and ends with a “coda” ending with the four living creatures as they say, “Amen.”  The symphony is directed towards the Lord Jesus Christ who is worthy to receive the blessings of the music.  It  is worship in its highest form, directed to the Son of God Who is indeed Worthy to receive all of the blessings mentioned.  Now, just think of that sound and what it is going to be like when you are present to hear the wonderful blessings of heaven itself.  Revelation 5:13 goes on to say that every living creature will join in that celestial symphony, singing praise to the Son of God.  Understand that it will be every living creature, not just a few, not just the church, not just the religious, not just the dead, but every living creature and God does mean every living creature will be offering praise to God with the full sound of their voices.  The final verses of chapter five, go on with the ending when the four living creatures say, “Amen.”  you may now say, “I can’t carry a tune in a bucket.”  Well, when the time comes, you will have a perfect voice with perfect pitch with perfect hearing and you won’t believe the harmony that will be produced.  Your praise will be directed towards the Son of God Who is worthy to receive praise, honor, glory and blessing due His name!  Praise God today for His greatest piece of music ever.

Our Great Guide

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Psalm 32:8 says, “ I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.”

     Yes, I am a veteran.  I served a number of years in the U. S. Navy and never really considered myself to be in “harms way.”  I even volunteered to go to sea for four months on a special cruise and was stationed on a “tin can” or a “destroyer.”  As a warship, Ihad a lot of faith in the structure of the ship;  At least, it floated, and I was confident it would get us to our destination and home again.  It was planned to take the shortcut around the tip of South Americas by traveling through the Straits of Magellan.  This would require a pilot from the Chilean Navy who knew where the channels were and the rocks also.  Many ships had tried unsuccessfully to navigate the treacherous passage without a pilot and their hulls could be seen rusting where they had hit a rock and sunk.  Sometimes, you just need a guide to get you through the passage unharmed.

     We soon realize that we are all in “harms way” so to speak everyday of our lives as we navigate treacherous passages in life.  There are all kinds of hidden rocks and other things that might hinder our progress would we fall prey to them.  The above passage reminds us of the fact that we do have a Guide in this life Who knows where the rocks are and Who knows the adversary  with whom we battle every day.  Without our Guide, Who is God Himself, we would find ourselves as a rusting hulk amid a sea of broken vessels.  God, however, is that God and in His omniscience, knows everything and there is nothing that is a surprise to Him.  He doesn’t have to say, “Now, turn right at the next corner and slow down as there are some rocks ahead.  He knows that and with His hand in ours, can guide us from one point to another and we don’t even notice the existing danger.   Our  ship moved slowly through the cold water, barely making a wake and we didn’t notice the rocks and dangers below the surface.  We, at the same time, are believers who don’t know the dangers from which God has protected us everyday of our  lives.  We should be constantly praising God ford the fact that He instructs us and guides us through the treacherous paths of life.

Vapors

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

      James 4:13-14 says, “  Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”    

     I used to carry a “Day Timer” calendar that had all of my days planned out, or at least, I thought I had them planned out.  Every now and then a few things would get changed by unforeseen events, or as some might call it, “interruptions.”  I have attempted to do these devotions for the past  year or more, only to find them often interrupted by various stays in the hospital.  The last stay was more than I thought it was going to be and resulted in going on hospice thinking the end was near and it probably could still be near.  Only God knows that date.  So far, so good, and thought I would try to get a few more devotions out.  

     James reminds us that we can often make plans for one thing or another but it is really God that knows if we have a tomorrow or if we don’t have a tomorrow, or where tomorrow will be spent.  James also describes our days as similar to a vapor.    A vapor is probably one of the shortest lasting items around since it is seen for just a moment and then disappears into the atmosphere almost instantly.  In regard to eternity, our lives on earth are short to put it mildly.  Am I against planning ahead for things?  Certainly not as planning is good.  I had a doctor recently ask me what my goals were for the next couple of months.  I guess he was trying to see if I had any purposes to try to fulfill.  I replied, “I want to finish well.”  That must have caught him by surprise as he then asked, “What do you mean by that?”  I mentioned the passage where Paul told Timothy that he as ending his race, so to speak and that he wanted to do what God had wanted him to do.  He had finished the course.  “I would like to finish the course well and to do what God has wanted me to do.  In trying to finish well, we should also be ready for an interruption or a change in plans here and there as God moves you from one place to another.  There might be someone He wants you to meet today.  Praise God for His directions in our lives.