Twila Paris - Where He Leads Me

Walk On

What path does God have you on?  Are you moving forward on that path?  Are you at a standstill?  Are you going back down the path that you have come so far on?  If you are finding yourself  inadvertently falling backward, willingly leaping backward, or cautiously inching backward, Stop!  Turn yourself back around and WALK ON!

Philippians 3:12-21 (The Message)

Focused on the Goal

 ^12-14I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.  ^15-16So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it.
 ^17-19Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I've warned you of them many times; sadly, I'm having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ's Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites.
 ^20-21But there's far more to life for us. We're citizens of high heaven! We're waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He'll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him.

Dear Lord,  Help us to walk on with You through difficulties, distress, troubles, and joy.  Help us to NOT want the easy street;  help us to want Your street, whatever that is, wherever that may lead us. Give us the endurance we need to press on toward the goal of Your upward calling in Christ Jesus.

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What is Concealed is Just...

That in the Mingled Web of Human Affairs God’s Judgment is Present, Though It Cannot Be Discerned.
In this present time we learn to bear with equanimity the ills to which even good men are subject, and to hold cheap the blessings which even the wicked enjoy. And consequently, even in those conditions of life in which the justice of God is not apparent, His teaching is salutary. For we do not know by what judgment of God this good man is poor and that bad man rich; why he who, in our opinion, ought to suffer acutely for his abandoned life enjoys himself, while sorrow pursues him whose praiseworthy life leads us to suppose he should be happy; why the innocent man is dismissed from the bar not only unavenged, but even condemned, being either wronged by the iniquity of the judge, or overwhelmed by false evidence, while his guilty adversary, on the other hand, is not only discharged with impunity, but even has his claims admitted; why the ungodly enjoys good health, while the godly pines in sickness; why ruffians are of the soundest constitution, while they who could not hurt any one even with a word are from infancy afflicted with complicated disorders; why he who is useful to society is cut off by premature death, while those who, as it might seem, ought never to have been so much as born have lives of unusual length; why he who is full of crimes is crowned with honors, while the blameless man is buried in the darkness of neglect. But who can collect or enumerate all the contrasts of this kind? But if this anomalous state of things were uniform in this life, in which, as the sacred Psalmist says, “Man is like to vanity, his days as a shadow that passeth away,” -so uniform that none but wicked men won the transitory prosperity of earth, while only the good suffered its ills,-this could be referred to the just and even benign judgment of God. We might suppose that they who were not destined to obtain those everlasting benefits which constitute human blessedness were either deluded by transitory blessings as the just reward of their wickedness, or were, in God’s mercy, consoled them, and that they who were not destined to suffer eternal torments were afflicted with temporal chastisement for their sins, or were stimulated to greater attainment in virtue. But now, as it is, since we not only see good men involved in the ills of life, and bad men enjoying the good of it, which seems unjust, but also that evil often overtakes evil men, and good surprises the good, the rather on this account are God’s judgments unsearchable, and His ways past finding out. Although, therefore, we do not know by what judgment these things are done or permitted to be done by God, with whom is the highest virtue, the highest wisdom, the highest justice, no infirmity, no rashness, no unrighteousness, yet it is salutary for us to learn to hold cheap such things, be they good or evil, as attach indifferently to good men and bad, and to covet those good things which belong only to good men, and flee those evils which belong only to evil men. But when we shall have come to that judgment, the date of which is called peculiarly the day of judgment, and sometimes the day of the Lord, we shall then recognize the justice of all God’s judgments, not only of such as shall then be pronounced, but, of all which take effect from the beginning, or may take effect before that time. And in that day we shall also recognize with what justice so many, or almost all, the just judgments of God in the present life defy the scrutiny of human sense or insight, though in this matter it is not concealed from pious minds that what is concealed is just.

St. Augustine

Dear Lord,  I pray that we would know the wonder of Thy ways but more that we would trust the wonder of Thy ways.

Have a wonderful weekend!

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4Him - Where There Is Faith

Shekinah Glory

The term "Shekinah Glory" is one that I haven't thought about in 20 or more years. The term popped into my head while I was at a funeral a few weeks ago.  And it has continued coming to mind over the last several days.  I thought, Perhaps this is something that the Lord wants me to write about on my blog...The only problem was that I couldn't remember what it meant.  I decided that I should do some research on it since I felt sure that the Lord had been bringing it to my mind.

Skekinah Glory is the Hebrew term for God and His abiding presence!  It isn't found in scripture but is found in other outside Hebrew documents.  There is a derivative of it in the Old Testament though which translates "to dwell".    Just like God, Himself, dwelt in the pillar of fire by night and the pillar of clouds by day,  His glory dwells in His Son, Jesus Christ.  As it says in John 1:1 and 14, " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" and "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (NIV)

"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,  and in Christ you have been brought to fullness.  He is the head over every power and authority."  Colossians 2:9-10 (NIV)

"At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. "  Luke 21:27 (NIV)

"I'm praying not only for them but also for those who will believe in me because of them and their witness about me.  The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, so they might be one heart and mind with us.   Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.  The same glory you gave me, I gave them, so they'll be as unified and together as we are—I in them and you in me.   Then they'll be mature in this oneness, and give the godless world evidence that you've sent me and loved them in the same way you've loved me.  Father, I want those you gave me to be with me, right where I am, so they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me, having loved me long before there ever was a world.  Righteous Father, the world has never known you, but I have known you, and these disciples know that you sent me on this mission.  I have made your very being known to them—Who you are and what you do—And continue to make it known, so that your love for me might be in them exactly as I am in them."  John 17:20-26 (The Message)

The funny question is, why am I thinking about it now?  Why did it keep popping into my head even when I didn't remember what it meant?  Do you think He wants us to remember that He is with us,  that He is present and always in control even when we don't see it or feel it?  And that most of all, He, Himself, dwells in His Son, and in us through His Holy Spirit? Amen!

Dear Lord,  Thank you for Your abiding presence.  Help us to remember that you are always with us even when we don't see you or feel you. Thank you that You dwell among us and that we have beheld Your glory, glory as of the only begotten.

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Stand Firm

2 Thessalonians 2

The Man of Lawlessness

 ¹ Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, ² not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. ³ Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. ⁴ He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.  ⁵ Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? ⁶ And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. ⁷ For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. ⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. ⁹ The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, ¹⁰ and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. ¹¹ For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie ¹² and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

Stand Firm

 ¹³ But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. ¹⁴ He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.  ¹⁵ So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
 ¹⁶ May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, ¹⁷ encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.  (NIV)

How great thou art

To Know Him Personally

I'm off to Scrapbook for the entire weekend!  Have a great weekend!

Philippians 3:1-11

To Know Him Personally

 ¹ And that's about it, friends. Be glad in God! I don't mind repeating what I have written in earlier letters, and I hope you don't mind hearing it again. Better safe than sorry—so here goes.  ^2-6Steer clear of the barking dogs, those religious busybodies, all bark and no bite. All they're interested in is appearances—knife-happy circumcisers, I call them. The real believers are the ones the Spirit of God leads to work away at this ministry, filling the air with Christ's praise as we do it. We couldn't carry this off by our own efforts, and we know it—even though we can list what many might think are impressive credentials. You know my pedigree: a legitimate birth, circumcised on the eighth day; an Israelite from the elite tribe of Benjamin; a strict and devout adherent to God's law; a fiery defender of the purity of my religion, even to the point of persecuting the church; a meticulous observer of everything set down in God's law Book.
 ^7-9The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I'm tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God's righteousness.
 ^10-11I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.  (The Message)

Brandon Heath - Your Love - Lyrics

There is No Other

Isaiah 46 (NIV)

Gods of Babylon

¹ Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low;
   their idols are borne by beasts of burden.
The images that are carried about are burdensome,
   a burden for the weary.
² They stoop and bow down together;
   unable to rescue the burden,
   they themselves go off into captivity.
³ “Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob,
   all the remnant of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,
   and have carried since you were born.
⁴ Even to your old age and gray hairs
   I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
   I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
⁵ “With whom will you compare me or count me equal?
   To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?
⁶ Some pour out gold from their bags
   and weigh out silver on the scales;
they hire a goldsmith to make it into a god,
   and they bow down and worship it.
⁷ They lift it to their shoulders and carry it;
   they set it up in its place, and there it stands.
   From that spot it cannot move.
Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;
   it cannot save them from their troubles.
⁸ “Remember this, keep it in mind,
   take it to heart, you rebels.
⁹ Remember the former things, those of long ago;
   I am God, and there is no other;
   I am God, and there is none like me.
¹⁰ I make known the end from the beginning,
   from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
   and I will do all that I please.’
¹¹ From the east I summon a bird of prey;
   from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
   what I have planned, that I will do.
¹² Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted,
   you who are now far from my righteousness.
¹³ I am bringing my righteousness near,
   it is not far away;
   and my salvation will not be delayed.
I will grant salvation to Zion,
   my splendor to Israel.

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The Love of God

Bitter or Better?

You've heard it said, "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger".  What about these difficult and many times tragic situations that we continually endure?  What is it doing to our hearts?  What is it doing to your heart?  Is life making you bitter or better?  The thing about this life is this-it's not easy and it is never going to be.  We are born, we live, and we die, with all manner of hardships, tragedy, sorrow, illness, and loss.  We are mistaken if we think that our lives are harder than everyone else's.  Life is hard, period.  This is not paradise.  But the good news is that we are on our way home and along the way, hopefully, we will learn a few things about God and how to be like Him.  We have a choice, to become bitter or better...

How do we avoid becoming bitter?  "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God."  Colossians 3:1-3 (NIV)  Set your hearts and minds on the things above.   Die to your self.   Let your life be hidden with Christ in God.  Take your eyes off of yourself and place them firmly and deliberately on the King of Glory, daily!

In 1 Peter Chapter 1:3-25,  we are given a "living" hope.  We could also call that "hope" for living.

Born Again to a Living Hope

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.  Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.  It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

Called to Be Holy

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy, in all your conduct, since it is written,"You shall be holy, for I am holy." And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,  since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for  "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass.  The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever."

And this word is the good news that was preached to you.  (ESV)

We must keep these things in mind:

1.     We are born again to a "living" hope.
2.     We are tested and the result should be praise and glory and honor at
        the revelation of Jesus Christ.
3.     We should not serve ourselves but others.
4.     We should be prepared for action setting our hope fully on the grace
        that will be given to us.
5.     We should be obedient being conformed to His holiness.
6.     Our conduct should be as those ransomed by the precious blood of
        Christ.
7.     Our faith and hope are only in God.
8.     We should purify our souls by our obedience to the truth.
9.     We should love one another earnestly from a pure heart.
10.   We have been born again of the imperishable, through the living,
        abiding Word of God.

If we set our hope and minds on these things, we will be prepared when difficult times come.  Some people ask, "How can you be so calm in the midst of these things?"  The answer is this, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee."  Isaiah 26:3 (KJV)

So the choice is yours today, bitter or better?

Dear Lord,  Thank you for the precious blood of your Son who offered us the grace which we can set our hope and minds on.  Please let us conduct ourselves as those ransomed by that precious blood.

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Michael W. Smith - I Surrender All (Featuring Coalo Zamorano) (Live)

Michael W. Smith - I'll Lead You Home

The Secret Plan of God

Ephesians Chapter 3 (The Message)

 ^1-3This is why I, Paul, am in jail for Christ, having taken up the cause of you outsiders, so-called. I take it that you're familiar with the part I was given in God's plan for including everybody. I got the inside story on this from God himself, as I just wrote you in brief.  ^4-6As you read over what I have written to you, you'll be able to see for yourselves into the mystery of Christ. None of our ancestors understood this. Only in our time has it been made clear by God's Spirit through his holy apostles and prophets of this new order. The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I've been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board.
 ^7-8This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God's way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities.
 ^8-10And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels!
 ^11-13All this is proceeding along lines planned all along by God and then executed in Christ Jesus. When we trust in him, we're free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go. So don't let my present trouble on your behalf get you down. Be proud!
 ^14-19My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.
 ^20-21God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

   Glory to God in the church!
   Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
   Glory down all the generations!
   Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

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Seek

"Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, have never abandoned anyone who searches for you." Psalm 9:10 (NLT) 

We are all seeking for something.  For some it is happiness.  For some, peace.  For some, fortune or fame, recognition for who we are, someone special, someone unique.  We all want to be important.  We all want our lives to mean something.  Many don't even care what it means as long as they don't fade into oblivion.  They act out, show off, cave in, or give up.  Some strike out and do horrible things.  For their five seconds of fame...

This world is a mixed up self centered place for most people.  They have no purpose or direction, no reason for their existence, no peace.  There is a saying that most of you have heard or seen on a bumper sticker.  "No Jesus, No Peace.  Know Jesus, Know Peace."

Jesus came to seek and save the lost.  That is all of us.  Without Him, we don't know what to do when something tragic occurs.  Without Him, we struggle and grasp and try to cope with all of the cruelty, injustice, violence, and sadness in the world. Without Him, we become depressed, confused, hopeless, useless.

Through Jesus, we have everything!  Without Him, nothing.  No matter how little or much you have, you have nothing without Him.  No matter how little or much you do, you have nothing without Him.  We won't find real happiness, true peace, new hope, or our life's meaning without Him.   We need to stop looking in all the wrong places for the answers to the questions that we have.  We need to seek answers from the only source of truth, and love, and peace, and hope that really exists in the world.

"Everything was created through him; nothing—not one thing!— came into being without him. What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn't put it out."  John 1:3 (The Message)

"I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.  When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen. When you come looking for me, you'll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed."  Jeremiah 29:11-13 (The Message)

"My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live Him. You're deeply rooted in Him. You're well constructed upon Him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that's not the way of Christ. Everything of God gets expressed in Him, so you can see and hear Him clearly. You don't need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without Him. When you come to Him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything."  Colossians 2:7-9 (The Message)

"Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: 'For your sake we face death all day long;  we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.'  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,  neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Romans 8:34-39 (NIV)

Dear Lord,  Thank you for what You have done for us.  Thank you that nothing shall ever separate us from Your love.

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Sanctus Real - Lead Me (Slideshow With Lyrics)

Beyond December

As I sit here with boxes of decorations piled high all around me, a dead Christmas tree in the corner waiting to be taken outside, I think of how quickly the Celebration of Christmas comes and goes, and how quickly it comes around again.  The older I  get the shorter the years seem to be.  I used to wait forever for it to arrive and now it seems to come almost before I get all of the previous year's decorations put away!  (Those of you who know me will say, "What!  There are some decorations you never take down!" and you would be correct.)

I tried to find a recording or video of this song for you but could not.  Here are the words to a beautiful song about making our celebration of Christ's birth last beyond December.  I think you can google it and hear it but perhaps not by First Call.

After December Slips Away - First Call (Bonnie Keen/Lowell Alexander)

The season comes

But once a year
A gift of precious wonder
For all who hold it dear
But past the sights
And colored lights
Lord, far beyond December
I will remember

After the carols fade away
After the yule fire dies down
When there are no longer dreams
To open and see
Because You are hope
And joy and peace
Because You're the only gift I need
In my heart the season will remain
After December slips away

Years ago beneath a tree
Fell the drops of crimson
That set the faithful free
The gift was life sent in love
Lord, far beyond December
I will remember

After the carols fade away
After the yule fire dies down
When there are no longer
Dreams to open and see
Because You are hope
And joy and peace
Because You're the only gift I need
In my heart the season will remain
After December slips away

No matter how bright
The glitter shines
No matter how many hopes come true
I know that all I have
Begins and ends with You

The season comes

But once a year
A gift of precious wonder
For all who hold it dear
But past the sights
And colored lights
Lord, far beyond December
I will remember

After the carols fade away
After the yule fire dies down
When there are no longer dreams
To open and see
Because You are hope
And joy and peace
Because You're the only gift I need
In my heart the season will remain
After December slips away

Have a wonderful weekend!

Send "After December Slips Away" Ringtone to your Cell

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The Days of our Lives...

Psalm 139

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. ¹ You have searched me, LORD,
   and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
   you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
   you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
   you, LORD, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
   and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
   too lofty for me to attain.
 ⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
   Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
   if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
   if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
   your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
   and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
   the night will shine like the day,
   for darkness is as light to you.
 ¹³ For you created my inmost being;
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
   your works are wonderful,
   I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
   when I was made in the secret place,
   when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
   all the days ordained for me were written in your book
   before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts,^[a] God!
   How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
   they would outnumber the grains of sand—
   when I awake, I am still with you.
 ¹⁹ If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
   Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
²⁰ They speak of you with evil intent;
   your adversaries misuse your name.
²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD,
   and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
²² I have nothing but hatred for them;
   I count them my enemies.
²³ Search me, God, and know my heart;
   test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,
   and lead me in the way everlasting. (NIV)

There is No Night There (Revisited)

I am revisiting this here today because the man that a dear friend was planning to marry passed away suddenly of a heart attack a few days before Christmas.  That morning he was here and then he was there in the land of fadeless day, walking with the King of Glory.  My brother also went on to be with the Lord last July 17th.

There is No Night There 

I received some sad news today. My brother who has been battling breast cancer for over 2 years has taken a turn for the worse. My father passed away in the early 90's and I spoke at his funeral about what heaven is like according to God's word. It comes to mind now and although I didn't keep a copy of what I said, I remember clearly the description according to Revelation 21 and 22.

Revelation 21:1-7 "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying or pain; for the first things have passed away.'

And He who sits on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.' And He said, 'Write, for these words are faithful and true.'

And He said to me, 'It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.'"

Revelation 22:1-7 "And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. And on either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

And there shall no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and the Lamb shall be in it, and His bond-servants shall serve Him; and they shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.

And there shall no longer be any night and they shall not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall illumine them; and they shall reign forever and ever.

And he said to me, 'These words are faithful and true'; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must shortly take place.

'And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.'"

And the words to an old hymn, "There is No Night There," by John R. Clements c. 1899 are comforting:

In the land of fadeless day
Lies the city foursquare;
It shall never pass away,
And there is no night there.
Refrain
God shall wipe away all tears,
There's no death, no pain, nor fears,
And they count not time by years,
For there is no night there.

All the gates of pearl are made,
In the city foursquare;
All the streets with gold are laid,
And there is no night there.

All the gates shall never close
To the city foursquare;
There life's crystal river flows,
And there is no night there.

There they need no sunshine bright,
In that city foursquare;
For the Lamb is all the light,
And there is no night there.

"If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God." Colossians 3:1-3

Dear Lord, Thank you that when I don't know what to say, Your word will say it for me.

Originally posted April 14, 2010.

Image courtesy of Photobucket.com.

Grace Like Rain

In The First Light

Are You Flabby?

At this time of year, we often take stock of our lives; we think of how the past year has gone and if we are at peace with it or if there are things we should have done differently.  We make resolutions to try harder, to be better, to get into shape.  What if our New Year's resolution was to get into spiritual shape?  What if we recognized our spiritual flabbiness the way we so easily notice the pounds we have accumulated during the holiday season?  What if our resolution was to hear the voice of God in our lives this year, to learn what He requires of us?

"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."  Micah 6:8  (NIV)

He requires three seemingly simple things of us:  To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God.  If we could but do these three things and do them well, we would be pleasing God with our lives but there are a few things we need to think about before we can do these three things.   These three things are a personal matter that each sinner must consider.

To Act Justly:  We cannot act justly or "do justly" if we are not right with God having been justified by faith.  In Psalm 32:1-2 (NIV) it says, "Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.  Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit."

And in Romans 4:1-8 (The Message) it says, "So how do we fit what we know of Abraham, our first father in the faith, into this new way of looking at things? If Abraham, by what he did for God, got God to approve him, he could certainly have taken credit for it. But the story we're given is a God-story, not an Abraham-story. What we read in Scripture is, 'Abraham entered into what God was doing for him, and that was the turning point. He trusted God to set him right instead of trying to be right on his own.'   If you're a hard worker and do a good job, you deserve your pay; we don't call your wages a gift. But if you see that the job is too big for you, that it's something only God can do, and you trust him to do it—you could never do it for yourself no matter how hard and long you worked—well, that trusting-him-to-do-it is what gets you set right with God, by God. Sheer gift.  David confirms this way of looking at it, saying that the one who trusts God to do the putting-everything-right without insisting on having a say in it is one fortunate man:  Fortunate those whose crimes are carted off, whose sins are wiped clean from the slate.   Fortunate the person against whom the Lord does not keep score.  Do you think for a minute that this blessing is only pronounced over those of us who keep our religious ways and are circumcised? Or do you think it possible that the blessing could be given to those who never even heard of our ways, who were never brought up in the disciplines of God? We all agree, don't we, that it was by embracing what God did for him that Abraham was declared fit before God?"  Abraham's trust in God was reckoned to him as righteousness.

To Love Mercy:  In order to "love mercy", we must have personally experienced God's mercy.  In Ephesians 2:1-10 (The Message) it says,  "It wasn't so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn't know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It's a wonder God didn't lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.  Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing."

And in Titus 3:5 (NIV) it says,  "Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good,  to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.  At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.  But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,  he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.  This is a trustworthy saying.  And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone."  

To Walk Humbly with Your God:  We cannot walk humbly with our God until we have humbled ourselves before Him confessing our sins and accepting His gift of eternal life through the power of the blood of His precious Son.  "For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”  Luke 14:11 (NIV) 

And in James 4:10 (The Message) it says, "So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious.  Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet."

We need to not make promises we don't intend to keep.  We need to make resolutions and keep them.  We need to seek Him and see ourselves as He sees us, broken sinners in need of His salvation, His mercy, and His humility.  "The only people God can save are lost people; the only people God can forgive are guilty people.  If we see ourselves as God sees us, then we can by faith become what He wants us to become."  (W. Wiersbe)

Dear Lord,  Help us to become who You want us to be.  Let us learn to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with You...