The Encroaching Darkness

"So Moses stretched
His hand toward
 heaven,
and there was
thick
darkness in the
 land of Egypt
three days.
They did not see
one another; nor
 did anyone
rise from his place
 for three days. 
But all the children
 of Israel had light in their dwellings."

Exodus 10: 22-23








Can you sense the encroaching darkness? Can you tell that there is something terribly wrong with this world, things are not just going along like they always have?

If not, I hope you will believe me when I tell you things are not going to get better on this planet. Not until there is a drastic change, anyway. (As in the Lord coming back.) That change will not come about by any scheme of man. No amount of planning, persuading or patrolling people into what they call a "new world order" will make things any better.

Have you noticed the more we try to improve our race, the further downhill things go? Things we never dreamed of ten years ago are happening now. If you feel like you are perfectly at home on this planet, I ask you whether you are really being honest with yourself? Do you really think a new president of the United States can get us out of the mess we are in?

No other society has ever survived when it began to rot inwardly from corruption. Why do we think it will be different in our case?

I feel a heavy burden on me for the way things are. The way our children are being corrupted when they have barely even reached grade school. The way the traditional family has been torn apart, also. The way that nobody dares call "sin" sin anymore. I am no better than anyone else, but I sense real chaos in the making.

I have a million different choices today on how to spend my time. I can watch one a gazillion channels if I wish, or line up a huge playlist on Youtube. I can download, workout, zone out, or vent, but today I feel like I must cry out.

I must cry out to my Maker. Lord, we have fallen so far away from Your righteous standards. Many may scoff at that but I believe this land is mourning.

For the land is full of adulterers; For because of a curse the land mourns. The pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up. Their course of life is evil, And their might is not right." Jeremiah 23:10

They have made it desolate; Desolate, it mourns to Me; The whole land is made desolate, Because no one takes it to heart. Jeremiah 12:11

They sow the wind, And reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no bud; It shall never produce meal. If it should produce, Aliens would swallow it up." Hosea 8:7

We might ask, "What can one person do?" For me, it involves taking a long hard look at myself. Maybe I am part of the reason we are in such a mess today. But as long as there is still time, I can own up to my failures and have a fresh clean slate each day.

I could never deserve this fresh slate but it is given to  me courtesy of the Lord Jesus. He took on all the decrepit things I have said and done and paid for them completely.

O earth, earth, earth, Hear the word of the LORD! Jeremiah 22: 29

I don't have to stay in the darkness. Every moment that I breathe is an opportunity to turn around and come back to His light.

"Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool." Isaiah 1:18

Lord, let our answer be "yes" to Your question: ...Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"

(As I hit publish I realized this was my 200th posting on this blog site. To God be the glory!)

 

Well, blame it on God then!

             

But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.    I Cor. 11: 3

This morning I casually discussed what to do with our leftover chicken with my dearly beloved. I had a great plan, to add it to teriyaki vegetables and add quinoa to boost the protein for tonight's dinner. I invited him to partake of it with me.

 "Don't do that," my husband said. "We'll  just end up with leftovers that we will have to get rid of."

 I wanted to argue with him, and laughingly joked, "Well, its a good thing you are in charge   around here."

He brought me up short. "Well, argue with God then. He's the One who made it that way."

 I had to agree with him, that is if I claim to believe the Bible. The point was not whether I could make chicken teriyaki, but allowing the simple truth from God's Word  to bring peace to my situation.

It sounds pretty silly, I admit it. But this one little verse has been a real key to marital harmony in my home. It wasn't always that way, and I used to hate verses like this one. Now, I see they are really for my deliverance in time. God has spelled it out so clearly in the Word.

It is not that we are inferior to our husbands, not at all. But God has built into the man the authority to be the head of the home. God has worked in my husband without me reminding him that for him to be the head is an awesome responsibility before God. He is to lead and shepherd his family like Jesus is our Good shepherd.

 In a tiny example, the other day, hubby started getting rid of clothes he would never wear again. I wanted him to do that a long time ago but let myself not get upset about it when he didn't jump when I snapped my fingers.

I told him today how much that had inspired me also to get rid of stuff. He told me, "You know, I realize that I have to do my part in this de-cluttering thing and set a good example."

I didn't ask him to do that. God showed it to him as the head of our home.

Instead of worrying about my husband screwing things up, I can commit  issues I would tend to get anxious over to the Lord, asking Him to direct my husband's heart in wisdom. For it was God who has set my husband in authority, and made him the head of the house. I can then rely on Proverbs 21:1:

The kings heart is in the hand of the LORD. Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.

 I commit my prayer to God asking Him to direct my husband like the rivers of water. I then can have peace and not try to force my own wishes. The result is I have great peace in my marriage.

I admit I am glad my husband pulled me up short over my thoughtless complaint today. Do I really want to blame God for the Divine order of things?

...woman is the glory of man. For man is not from woman, but woman from man. Nor was man created for the woman, but the woman for the man. I Cor. 7b, 8-9  

 A godly mentor (Mrs. Judy Seligman) shared these Scriptures with me many years ago. It has been a real marriage saver. If a Christian woman reads this and doesn't like it (just like I didn't used to like it) well, I  say take it up with the Lord then. Look up the Scriptures and see if God doesn't have a better way than our schemes to get our  way in  marriage. If you trust God with this , you will find a better way. God promises it to the one who takes Him at His Word.

 I don't know why I wrote this today outside of the fact that if it helps even one marriage, it will have been worth it. Thanks for reading.

Always being led to Triumph

"For every beast of the forest is Mine,
And the cattle upon a thousand hills.
I know all the birds of the mountains,
And the wild beasts of the fields are Mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell
you; For the world is Mine, and
all its fullness...
Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver
you, and you shall glorify Me."

Psalm 50: 10-12, 15



Many years ago, a good friend  who faced a hard trial of faith shared with me a life-changing verse. For all who dare to believe it, it is tucked away in II Corinthians, chapter 2. If only we would believe it, life would be so much more pleasant, each moment an opportunity for happiness.

It simply says:

"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place."

To my doubting mind, I surely want to jump in there with some kind of reservation. "Always, Lord? But what about that time when....?"

This morning I read this verse again. In my Interlinear Greek-English New Testament (3rd edition, Jay P. Green, Sr., editor) the transliterated verse reads like this:

"But to God thanks the (One) always leading in triumph us in Christ, and the odor of the knowledge of Him revealing through us in every place."
(page 554)

I looked up the word always in Zodhiates' Complete Word Study Dictionary. It is the word pantote (#3842 in Strong's). The definition is: "Always, at all times, ever." This same word is also used in Matthew 26:11, Mark 14:7, Luke 15:31, Luke 18:1 and John 6:34.

No room for an exception there.

Then I looked up the word triumph. It is #2358 in Strong's and is the word thriambeuo and in this verse it means "to cause to triumph."

If we look with sight eyes, we ask God how ever in this world this verse could be true. There have been disappointments in my life, big ones, yet II Corinthians 2:14 says what it says. Moreover, it was written by the Apostle Paul, who went through a few things like being stoned to death, beaten with rods, shipwrecked and afflicted with a disease that God would not take away. Just little things like that.

I was talking to a friend the other day who expressed a disappointment in one way her life had turned out. I was stumped afterwards. How can we be disappointed with the way things turn out if we believe that He is always leading us to triumph?

Even in dark, difficult places, this verse is in the Word of God. It is Divinely inspired and written for our comfort and encouragement. If I accept this verse, I feel a heavy yoke of disappointment with my own life being traded for faith in an unchanging benevolent God who works all things (not some things) for my ultimate good.

I love how Kenneth Wuest translates Romans 8:28 in his expanded translation of the New Testament.

And we know with an absolute knowledge that for those who are loving God, all things are working together resulting in good, for those who are divinely summoned ones according to His purpose.  (page 366)

And in the Amplified Bible Romans 8:28 is translated this way:

We are assured and know that (God being a partner in their labor), all things work together and are (fitting into a plan) for good to those who love God and are called according to (His) design and purpose.

"For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Philippians 1:19-21

I am comforted in believing these promises, no matter what the enemy may whisper in my ear. It is time for me to put up my shield of faith! I implore you to do the same.

To the Praise of His Glory

"You visit the earth and cause it to overflow; You greatly enrich it; The stream of God is full of water; You prepare their grain, for thus You prepare the earth. You water its furrows abundantly, You soften it with showers, You bless its growth.
You have crowned the year with Your bounty, And Your paths drip with fatness. The pastures of the wilderness drip, And the hills gird themselves with rejoicing. The meadows are covered with flocks And the valleys are covered with grain; They shout for joy, yes, they sing.    Psalm 65:9-13


I love this time of year. I love it when the trees are still hinting at their greenery, not yet fully displayed. For with that hint, it reminds me of God's faithfulness. Even in nature we hear the Lord telling us that He loves us, cares for us, when we hear the beauty of the birds or see the violets bloom in all their regal splendor. He cared enough to make that birdsong for us, He cared enough to let our eyes feast on the beauteous colors displayed  through gentle blossoms every new spring.

I turned off the computer early last night. No rest or peace came through the worldwide web so I searched through some of the books in my library to aid me in Bible study. I happened upon one I bought years ago but never took the time to read.

This old volume was penned by Lewis Sperry Chafer, the founder of Dallas Theological Seminary, and entitled Major Bible Themes. First published in 1926, it contains chapters of all the basic tenets of our theology, followed with questions to sum up the points made in each chapter. Chafer reminded me that when things around me don't appear to make sense, I must trust beyond what I see with my physical eyes and see instead with the eyes of faith. My existence at this time of human history is not about me, what I can accomplish or even having a great family. We are all part of something much bigger than that. He writes what the purpose of the Bible is:

We understand from the written Word of God that there is one supreme purpose which actuates God in all that He has done or will do from the beginning of creation to the farthest reaches of eternity whether it is in Heaven or on earth. For this one purpose angels were created; so, also, the material universe and man, and though hidden behind an inscrutable mystery, we know that even sin was permitted and redemption was provided with a view to the realization of this supreme purpose. This supreme purpose is the Glory of God.

 Ahh, even the bad things will somehow be shown one day that they were allowed in a plan that would eventually end up redounding to His praise. For He even tells us in Psalm 76:10: "For the wrath of man shall praise You..." Unless I know the attributes of God, that nothing evil could ever come from Him, I know that I would stumble by reading this verse. How can He make even bad things work for His praise? Chafer continues:

That God should bring all things to pass that He might be glorified would seem self-seeking to an infinite degree, from a mere human viewpoint; but this theme cannot be limited to the range of human conceptions. In the light of Scripture revelation, we conclude that because God is infinite in His being, His perfections, and His blessedness He is worthy of infinite glory, and it would be an injustice of infinite proportions should His creation withhold from Him that honor and glory which are rightfully His.

(Quotes from Major Bible Themes, pages 15-16. Published 1926, 1953 by Dallas Theological Seminary, written by Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer.)

Knowing it is all about His glory alone gives me a reason to want to continue growing in His grace and in the knowledge of Him with the rest of the days allotted to me. None of us knows when God will call us home, but while I have my breath I can still pursue the knowledge of this wonderful, benevolent God who left the glory of heaven to redeem me to Himself. If I keep my heart fixed on that, life is bearable.  We can trust that God is still in control, even when it appears that things are out of His control.As the Apostle Paul tells us emphatically states:

Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable are His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:33-36)

 He will be glorified, whether I live agreeing with that or not, so why make it hard on myself? Today I agree with You God, You are worthy of my love and praise. You are the only One who brings my heart peace, and one day soon, all created beings, even Your enemies, will end up giving praise and glory to You, Amen.

 

Days of our Lives

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary and tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength: They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary."
Isaiah 40: 28-31

I recently traveled to the Midwest to visit with my relatives. I accompanied my elderly parents, riding  for two days straight both ways, with about 4 days for visiting. When I was a little girl, I made this trip many times during the summer with my parents and two sisters. We girls loved it as it always seemed an adventure, sitting on tractors, watching the cows and chasing the barn cats. This trip made me think about the quick passing of my life, and the benefits of having God for my strength for each day.

God faithfully bestowed safe travels and good times with our beloved relatives. Even though our legs cramped and backs ached, God renewed our strength. As I am in midlife now, I see things so much differently than way back then. Mainly, I have been thinking about the passing of time, and how quickly one red letter day fades into the next. We visited the graves of our departed relatives, who are only in our memories now.

It made me think about my own life. We talked about relatives that had passed away. What might people of what people  say of me when I pass away, what will I  be remembered for? Do I really believe that there is a day appointed for me to die as well as them? How then should I live today as if I might depart and go and be with the Lord tomorrow?

 God is always faithful on His part. I only hope and pray that He will find that I have been faithful unto Him as well. Each day His promises seem to grow more precious. Each day I must make choices each day on whether to spend time doing things that entertain me, or make deposits that end up with heavenly rewards.

While the world laughs and carries on as if there is no God, we who believe know that one day this life, this world of iniquity that we live in will be dissolved in an instant.  In yesterday's sermon, my Pastor Scott Warne reminded us that the time allotted us is given to help us gain momentum in our spiritual life. It comes from learning His Word and results in us being a blessing to others. There is a day approaching, even after being guaranteed my salvation through faith in Christ, I will give an account to the Lord for what I did with the time He gave me while I lived on Planet Earth.

Now is the time of opportunity. Tomorrow will be too late.

If you aren't sure you have eternal life, you can choose today to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that He died bearing your sins to the cross and that God the Father was satisfied with His payment so He rose Jesus up from the grave three days later. See John 3:16, and II Corinthians 5: 20-21. In believing this, you will receive eternal life as a totally free gift. It is the one crucial choice each human being must make, and to put it off means to say no to it.

Eternal life is waiting, will you answer the call?

And for those of us that believe,God will help us to learn the precious truths in His word while we have our life and vitality, if only we are willing.

The Dayspring from on High

                                       Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby
                                      the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give
                                      light to them that sit in darkness  and in the shadow
                                      of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
                                                                   Luke 1: 78-9

The other day, as I began reading the gospel of Luke again, I came across the words of Zacharias after his tongue was loosened again after the birth of his son, John the Baptist. He prophesied of
Jesus, calling Him the Dayspring from on high.What a beautiful name for Jesus, a combination of
two lovely words together which inspire our hearts to look ahead to the blessings and promises He '
gave us through His sacrificial death on Calvary's cross around 2,000 years ago. Think of it, two simple words joined together, day and spring. What lovely, choice combination words for the lover of men's souls.

Jesus represents "day" and all that entails. No one I know willingly prefers the darkness of night
over daytime. Just today it was gloomy and cold after several warm days and the house seemed so dark.  A couple of days like that, and I am feeling frumpy. I need light! Not only is Jesus the Light of the World, but the very fact that He is shows that goodness comes to us via light, not darkness. Have you ever been in pitch black darkness? Richard Wurmbrand was once left in solitary confinement underneath a dark prison in Romania for a number of years. Could you imagine how bright the light was after coming from the depths of the earth? The Bible says God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all, "No, not in any way," explains the Amplified Version in I John 1:5. Here are some other verses that refer to Jesus representing Day:

II Peter 2:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.

I Thessalonians 5:5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of the darkness.

John 9:14 I must work the works of Him while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

Song of Solomon 4:6 Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.

Then the second word is spring. I think of spring in two ways here. One is that Jesus is an everlasting fountain of water, a flowing stream which will never run dry. Verses that refer to the Lord being a life giving spring include:

Deuteronomy 8:7 For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land full of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills.

II Kings 2:21 And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.

Psalm 85:11 Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

Isaiah 43:19  Behold, I will do a new thing: now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 45:8 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth pour open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.

Isaiah 58:11 And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

Isaiah 61:11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

And  here are two verses  from Jesus about Him being the source of life giving water.

John 4 :10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

John 7:37-8 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst let him come to me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

The other thought is that Jesus is like the springtime, when the miracle of the plants and trees come alive again, just as Jesus did when God raised Him from the dead on the third day after lying dead for our sins and trespasses in the cold hard ground of earth.

This is what Easter is about. It is not about bunnies and eggs. It is every day, really, a finished work celebration. Jesus rose from the dead, and I can celebrate that 366 days this year. How about you?

Goodness and Mercy are Sure to Follow...

Jehovah is my shepherd, I do not lack,
In pastures of tender grass He causeth me to lie down, By quiet waters He doth lead me.
My soul He refresheth, He leadeth me in paths of righteousness, For His name's sake,
Also -- when I walk in a valley of death-shade, I fear no evil, for Thou art with me, Thy rod and Thy staff -- they comfort me.
Thou arrangest before me a table, Over-against my adversaries, Thou hast anointed with oil my head, My cup is full!
Only -- goodness and kindness pursue me, All the days of my life, And my dwelling is in the house of Jehovah, For a length of days!

Psalm 23~Young's Literal Translation

Another birthday approaches, another year of life, and today found me renewing my photo ID for my driver's license. I could not help but notice how much older I looked than the last picture. I am well into middle aged years. My life has been a journey for all these years, but one thing I know for sure, Jehovah is my Good Shepherd, and He is the One who keeps on leading my path.

He causes me to lie down and rest. I never would have found rest if it were not for learning His words, which grow dearer with each passing day. In a world where everything can change in a moment, one thing stays the same: God and His Words, which will never pass away. Everything else around me will pass away, but Jesus promised His Words would remain forever.

There have been dark times in my life. But He has always been there. It may have seemed that I was trudging along alone, but He silently walked along, keeping my feet from falling. The enemy of my soul likes to taunt with accusations constantly. But I keep eating from a table filled with goodness (for my needs) and mercy (for my sins), and the enemy has nothing he can say that can withstand it. The devil cannot deny the cross or that Christ rose again from the tomb so that I could be God's daughter. God's rod and staff kept me from falling off the cliff altogether, and even if I were that one sheep of the hundred who strayed from the flock, He would reach down with His shepherd's crook to get me.

I heard this week in a Bible teaching that we do not have to go running after happiness. If we follow the Lord, it only stands that happiness will find us. As we go about our days seeking first the Kingdom of God, David says that goodness and kindness pursue us.I just know that even though  the world demands that I grab "all the gusto," in Christ I am content with what He has given me, just where I am, just for today.

When I walk through my life's final valley, I need not be afraid of that either. Whether I die this year or go in the Rapture or have many years yet to live, I trust He will be there to walk it with me. C.H. Spurgeon, in The Treasury of David, says this of the death shadowed valley in Psalm 23:

"The dying saint is not in a flurry, he does not run as though he were alarmed, nor stand still as though he would go no further...Observe that it is not walking in  the valley, but through the valley...Death is not the house but the porch, not the goal but the passage to it...The storm breaks on the mountain, but the valley is a place of quietude, and thus full often the the last days of the Christian are the most peaceful in his whole career...And, then, it is not, "the valley of death," but the valley of the shadow of death," for death in its substance has been removed, and only the shadow of it remains...let us then rejoice that there is a light beyond. Nobody is afraid of a shadow, for a shadow cannot stop a man's pathway even for a moment. The shadow of a dog cannot bite, the shadow of a sword cannot kill...Let us not, therefore, be afraid."        Treasury of David Volume One by Charles H. Spurgeon, page 355.

So yes, I am getting older. But would I turn back to my youth if I had a chance? No! It has taken me some fifty odd years to come to this place of peace and reliance on God, and I am glad that each day given takes me one day closer to seeing Him face to face.

Thank You Lord, for Your goodness and mercy, all the days of my life.