All Roads…

All roads, when walked with Jesus, should lead us to the true heart of God.

If we can begin our journey there, and walk backwards, we can see the purpose of the law, and what it was meant to show us & accomplish. We can see more clearly why the Law was made a tutor to lead us to Jesus Christ, so that Jesus could then reconcile us to the Father (Galatians 3:23-24). It was because the Father’s heart love for us was so strong, that He passionately needed us to be reconciled to Himself.

Because His love for us was so strong, because He knew the consequences of not being reconciled, His desire to bring us back home was all the more powerful.

You’ve heard that expression about operating from a position of strength, not weakness…I suggest we remember to operate from a position of “Beloved…keep yourselves in the love of God…” (Jude 21)

ΑΩ

The Eternal Father Prepared for ‘Christmas’, Too

We have entered into  this Christmas season, hoping for better times ahead & perhaps more ‘normal’ festivities this holiday than last.  It has been brought to my attention that there was another time of Christmas anticipation, in eons past, like none before it, nor since.

I was standing at my kitchen sink, washing a coffee mug. No big deal, not doing anything special. ‘Do You Hear What I Hear?’ had been running through my mind recently, and so it was again. I began to sing the first verse.

Just like that – in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye! – it was as though I was THERE. I don’t mean I was actually looking down from high above in the night sky, witnessing the actual birth of the baby Jesus. It was better than that…I was experiencing those moments right before – finally – the Savior of the world would be born. How it felt in heaven, in the hosts of heaven, and to all those who had known it was coming, known how much & how long the Father had been preparing for this night. And what this night, this birth set in motion…

Maybe I was given a glimpse into the heart of the Father Himself.

‘

“…on Earth as it is in Heaven…”

As darkness seems to ever increase in this world, and everywhere we look we see more tragedy, need, hate…despite these things, there needs to be hope. We must have that glimmer of light. There has to be a tear in the veil, a chink in the brick wall, a sliver of sunshine breaking through a crack in the prison door. We cannot endure life without hope, without the possibility of escape from pain & hardship.

I think we have to go through whatever we have to go through that will lead us to Jesus.

~~~

 

There are endless temporary fixes. They help, I don’t discount them. Life in these bodies in this world requires comfort, alleviation of stress. So the pain may subside…and that is good…but it will often come back. What caused it in the first place? Whatever we think may be the reason, there’s a good chance it’s something else.

Love never fails, Scripture tells us. Love covers, we are also told.

The opposition, rather, accuses.

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…Jesus is the Door, the only Way. He is God, and God is love.

Any other way to achieve whatever it is you’re trying to achieve will rob you of His best, and may in the process, depending on how much & how often you’re robbed, cause greater problems. Because you’ll become locked into some process that is NOT Light, Love and full of grace & Truth.

You may think you don’t want to become ‘locked into’ Jesus, but He is the only safe place. I promise you that.

The love with which He loves us, His great joy in us, His generosity!! goes so often unrecognized. It is so easy for the thorns & thistles of this world to constrict & choke out such awareness, it seems. The Way He wants to deal with us…and DOES deal with us…is not something to dread. And when the moment arrives in your life that you truly begin to understand that His Way is THE Way, not only for redemption eternal but the solution to so many of our problems & conflicts in this life…well, that is cause for rejoicing eternal.

I think that if you truly desire to see things the way Jesus sees them, He’ll help you with that.

You may have to be willing not to place blame. You may find that you don’t want to anymore, because He has increased your love for the ones you want to keep blaming. (Believe me, you are coming out the winner in this contest!)

When you want Jesus to be seen & known, your goals change.

More often, you willingly look for His goals. You willingly take on His yoke.

…and it becomes more deeply true for you, every day, that your desire, too, is “…Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

 

~~~

 

 

 

 

 

…about that Christmas Tree…

Author’s note:  As I see Christmas Day bearing down on me, and wanting to eliminate any stress that I can!, I’m not attempting a special post for this December 25th.  Rather, I am reblogging again one from 2011. 

But I do want to make a very somber and serious observation on our times, one which I had been hearing about for a few years now, but wasn’t aware of in my own areas of life.  Franklin Graham hit the nail on the head in his article “The War on Christmas.”  By endorsing Rev. Graham’s thoughts on the ‘sacred nature of Christmas’ I might seem to be contradicting my own, expressed in the following post.  Not my intention at all!  Rather, the removal of God in Christ from any aspect of our society will leave us an emptiness & lack of joy that will only get worse.  I have never been so aware of hearing “Happy Holidays”, and not one “Merry Christmas.”  Twice, I wished cashiers “Merry Christmas” recently, and they seemed caught off-guard, flustered. I felt a little bit sad.  I had not realized how far along spiritual changes had progressed.

Even so, we who still believe, (regardless of how we do or don’t celebrate Christmas) keep on keeping on, looking within our own hearts & spirits, where Christ dwells, and shines.  And the darkness overcomes it not. 

ΑΩ

 

 

All around the world, people are preparing to celebrate that Holiday of all holidays, Christmas.  Like the siren call of myth, the lure of yuletide activity is almost impossible to resist.  Even the Scrooges I’ve known, still, amidst their bah humbugs! usually join in the celebrations, one way or another.  Just about everyone finds him or her self sitting around a Christmas tree, sharing food and exchanging gifts amidst garland, glitter and goodwill.  And those who aren’t able to, wish they were.

What is it about that Christmas tree?  I’ve been working on mine for awhile now, off & on, taking my time and ensuring that it is just right!  Why do almost all of us do it?

My money is on hope and expectation.

We think we’re ‘decorating a Christmas tree’, but the roots go much deeper than that.  People are looking for something better.  We want the comfort & contentment of security.  We want the release of joy.  I believe the decorated Christmas tree stands as a symbol & token of such things.   For myself, I find an almost inviolable sense of peace, of serenity as I gaze upon my own tree, with its twinkling lights and its sparkling elegance.  It is a silent and immoveable testimony to enduring abundance.

“I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”   (John 10:10)

~~~

Springing up around the centuries-old tradition of decorating a live evergreen tree at Christmas time are several different stories pointing to its origin.  Reading these accounts,  I learned that it was possible that Martin Luther himself had set this practice in motion…or St. Boniface…and the tradition began in Germany…no, wait, it was France…I’ve seen Egypt mentioned…well, actually, it looks like ancient Rome was where the practice first surfaced…

And speaking of the ancient Romans, their trees were just pieces of evergreen shrubs decorated with bits of metal, celebrating a winter festival (that ended on December 25) in honor of their god of agriculture, Saturnus.   The pagan god Bacchus was honored in a similar fashion as well.  And the prophet Jeremiah wrote of the cutting down & adorning of trees, declaring it a vain, heathen custom  (Jeremiah 10: 2–4).  So it does seem that what eventually became the symbol of the birth of the Saviour of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ, had its roots in pagan practices.

 I find it so amazing, then, that the ultimate outcome of God-less ritual became this universally recognized symbol of  true Life, eternal Life.  Talk about transformation!  Talk about restoration!  Talk about mortality being swallowed up of Life!  In fact, turning it inside out, who is to say that this very outcome was not the original intention of a  seed constrained within an outward expression of another sort.    Certain types of men “..hold the truth in unrighteousness.” (Romans 1:18) 

But the truth is still there.  When Ecclesiastes 3:11 speaks of God placing the world in their heart (the hearts of human beings), it is important to know that the more literal meaning of ‘world’ connotes a sense of eternity, and that which is concealed (Strong’s Concordance, Hebrew #5769, #5956.)  This awareness is placed within us all.  That is a good thing.  Those invisible things are understood by the visible, created things…such as a tree…but ‘vain imaginations’ (Romans 1:21)  darken hearts, and what is produced misses the mark. 

You end up with a raggedy shrub wearing scraps of metal.

How triumphant, then, is the glorious Christmas tree of today! 

 “…The evergreen theme continues to weave its way through the history of Christmas trees as a symbol of the promise of life to come…” (link)  While this statement refers to the warmth of spring after a cold, hard winter, there is another Parallel here.  The truth of eternal Life in Christ, who has abolished death!  bears witness of Itself throughout this same history.

~~~  

      

Guard Your Heart…but not from Jesus

Is God real to you?  How about His love?

I have believed that Jesus is Lord, and Savior of the world, approaching 40 years now. In a heartbeat, I can look to Him, and He is there.  But yet…for me, a more conscious apprehension of His love, and especially His love for me, has remained elusive.  Sure, there are moments…but something has been missing.  I questioned if I really was one of those included in the Scripture “God causes all things to work together for good to them who love Him…”  I knew I needed God, but I wasn’t at all sure that I loved Him.  Because I wasn’t at all able to have a sense of God as love.  Though the Scriptures make that clear, for me it seemed a void.

I don’t see a final, permanent solution to anything outside of God’s love, which engenders His promises.  I have concluded that if you can’t trust in His love…for you…you won’t be able to consistently believe His promises.  This inability to believe leaves an open door for doubt & fear to enter, to gnaw away at your peace and make you sick.

Ours essential battles are not against flesh & blood, but powers & principalities which deal in fear.  At root, the issue isn’t that money is tight and costs prohibitive to even survival. The issue is fear.  The issue is, do you really trust in God?  If we really trust God, we will not fear.  And I have yet to guarantee an easy way to trust somehow you don’t know.  Perhaps some can, but with God. who is invisible, it might take some effort for others of us.

I have had to work at it. I have had to really think about certain Scriptures, and make decisions – repeatedly, over the past few years.  And I am telling you, though you may struggle a lifetime, when the love of God arises like the day-star in your heart and all around, every wall falls down, and every strong hold is broken.  You KNOW.  You know He is the Mighty God, King of the Universe, Who alone is good and will always do what He promises.  In Him, you stand in power and truth, and you KNOW it.

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When this Light ,which is God, causes there to be no place found for darkness, the alacrity of His faithfulness becomes astonishingly apparent.  It is mind-blowing.  It is real and true.  If you are not in that place yet, be absolutely assured that it is there.  It exists.  Keep fighting your particular good fight, and stay the course. As difficult as it may seem to do so, there comes a point when it is the only recourse left to you.  Like those final throes of a woman in labor, give it your one final push.  Make the decision to forge ahead, in Christ, for all you’re worth, not looking back.  At this point, for you, His kingdom is very close.

~~~