Bids me come and Die
Remember that song “Oh the wonderful cross”?
The cross bids me to die. To die to who I was before I met Jesus. Sometimes the dying is painful. Sometimes it costs.
But the new after? Unimaginable!
Like a rose bush that has dead all over it. So you cut it right back to the ground. There may be a long time of the bush looking dead, then suddenly a new green shoot. Then another. Soon you are so amazed by the brilliant color and scent you forget the days of death.
When Jesus died the sky went dark. The earth cracked. All of Heaven mourned. There were three terrible days of sorrow and confusion as His body lie in the grave.
Then, day three had a surprise. An empty tomb. Not all realized what had happened. Several did not believe at first. But He was alive. He still is.
His death made a way for me. So I can shed my old self and become who He wants me to be.
They paint the road to Heaven in gold in pictures, but really, it’s painted red.
Jesus blood leads the way. By His blood only are we saved.
So? How about it? Are you ready to leave the old you behind at the foot of the cross?
Tag: following my savior
Psalms 33:18 NIV
[18] But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
God cares for His people.
Read that again.
We hear and repeat those words so often that we forget the meaning. God Himself, care for you.
He watches us and keeps us safe. Even in times of trouble and terror God has us in His hands. Our hope is in the fact that God loves us and will take care of our needs. In truth, and this is hard, God does not always care for our wants. Sometimes He gives us what we want as a gift of love from a Father to a child, but we often we lose faith in Him on the times when He does not give us our wants and we forget the times when He has provided our needs.
I was reminded recently that we can build an alter to God even in the valley. That was really encouraging because I have felt like I am in the valley for a few days now. It’s a “why God?” Instead of a, “but God!” Moment. Then a friend said how she was marking down her blessings because she had seen how much she has, this was after spending two days in emergency not able to get in. But she lives like that. No eyes on the dark clouds, only on the ways to dance in the rain. God has permitted her to go through so much and yet every morning she takes special time to praise Him. I lack so much compared to her. To feel blessed in the middle of your stress may sound like a bumper sticker but it’s a good way to live. God has got you! He has a plan! You may never know why you spent this time in the valley, but God has a reason.
Take away:
Just because you are down does not mean that God has left you. Look around, you will see Him there reaching out His hand. Sometimes God speaks in the sunshine on a day that was supposed to rain. Sometimes He speaks through the laughter, in a time that should have brought pain. Sometimes He speaks in the “caught it just in time,” when you would rather it had not happened at all.
Sometimes the blessings are wrapped like a sugar coating on a pill. Something sweet to take a sting out of the bitter. But God will remind you He is there, you just have to look around.
Feet part 6
Psalms 26:12 NIV
[12] My feet stand on level ground; in the great congregation I will praise the Lord.
Level ground is an interesting expression. It can mean that you stand in righteousness. It can mean you stand in safety. It can mean you stand in place of discernment.
I feel David meant that he stood in safety when he said he stood on level ground. It’s like hiking. During the summer my family and I went to Port Renfrew in BC. My dad, Phallen (my dog) and I hiked down to the beach there. And when I say hiked, I mean there were moments I wished for a guideline to help me get back up the mountain. Phallen was fine, he trudged along like a tropper. But I was bent over trying to keep my balance, the difference between two legs and four I guess. At one point the trail leveled off for a bit. It felt like I had taken lead weights out of my shoes when I hit that level path. I finally could catch my breath. That’s what standing on level ground feels like. Rest. Peace. A weight being lifted. When you stand on level ground you are stable. When Jesus puts you on level ground, you are safe.
And then to stand on that level ground and praise the Lord. You stand in the safety of His presence and have the privilege to praise Him. The Great Congregation sounds like Heaven to me. The congregation of Heavenly hosts singing praises to God, standing in safety in His presence. I love that a warrior like David was also someone who longed to stand and sing praises to God in a Heavenly choir. Not many warriors are depicted like that. Yet, I think of the old stories. Knights riding into battle with a herald going before them, sometimes singing songs of their victories. How would the song of Jesus’s victories have gone?
He evaded Herod’s seekers, men who sought His life.
His family fled in secret, hidden by the night.
He taught at twelve in the Temple and have His mom a fright.
But He knew He must be with His father, and of course He was right.
He called twelve men to join Him when He was fully grown. He was baptized by the baptist and a dove came down from Heaven’s throne.
He healed the sick and cast out demons, He even raised the dead. But the leaders feared His power so they called for His head.
He stood bold before Pilot, no shame was on His face. For He stood there not for His own deeds, but instead for my disgrace.
He was beaten and mocked by those He loved, they spit upon His face.
He carried His cross up the hill of the skull and died in my place.
Three days went by and the tomb stood shut, but there was work happening behind the scenes. Jesus took the keys of death and set the captives free.
Then He appeared before His friends and showed them His hands, feet and side. They were surprised but shouldn’t have been, He had told them He would rise.
Now He waits in Heaven’s throne, for the day He will bring us home.
For now we are His hands and feet, to show this world His love and carry on His deeds. We will preach His word! We will pray for those in need! We will walk in His foot steps! Because we follow where He leads.
I would say a list of accomplishments like that would send His enemies running. But it’s not just some story. He really did all those things and so many more. And He really is coming back for us some day. So for now, let us follow in His footsteps, until at last we see Him face to face again.
Have we missed it?
North America, have we missed the time of God’s coming?
Just as Jesus said to Jerusalem “If you had only known what would bring you peace, I can’t help but wonder if we have also become a nation that Jesus weeps over? But we have fallen so far and so hard. We celebrate sin and teach evil to our children, we turn our backs on what is right and say to Jesus that we don’t want Him to he our king we would rather be our own heros and masters. Just as Jesus said in His parable about the Minas (a parable we don’t tend to quote) “those who did nothing with what I gave them will have all taken from them, but those who rejected me as King, bring them before me and slay them at my feet.” (This is a bit of a paraphrase because the verse is long. See Luke 19: 11)
We hear too often the statement that real Christians don’t beat people down with the Bible but that we need to show love only. We are loving people right into he’ll by not teaching the truth. If people feel beaten by true Biblical teaching (not personal opinions) that means they have something in their lives that needs to change; in truth, we should all have sections of the Bible that make us feel like we are being accused, and that make us feel uncomfortable and unworthy, because we all have stuff in our lives that separates us from God, stuff we need to change. We are never going to be worthy of God, but that’s why Jesus had to sacrifice Himself, because we couldn’t make it on our own. That doesn’t mean that we can do whatever we want, we must grow and change as we draw closer to Him- we can’t simply accept the Minas and think that’s enough. When I was a kid we were always told, ‘read your Bible and pray everyday.’ It got to be a catch phrase. But that is how we grow what we have been given. Tithing and volunteer work. Mowing your neighbor’s lawn. Dedicating your life to missions. Little things for some of us and big things for others are ways to grow what we have been given. God gives much to those who are going to give out much, little to those who will give out little, nothing to those who give out nothing and to those who reject Him He will give death. This isn’t a cuddly, happy topic. But sometimes we need the tough stuff to be said because we need to get back on the right track. I don’t want to be a nation, a city or a person who Jesus weeps over. I want to be a good and faithful servant, though I know I’m not many days and that I fail often. The point is. Do you love Him enough to keep trying? Are you working at growing your relationship, your Minas? Or are you letting it sit and become stagnant as our world goes by having missed the coming of God to us?
Scripture:
As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” Luke 19
Beneath His feet
If I were the sandals beneath His feet.
If I were the sandals beneath His feet, oh the places I would go. I would step into the Temple and hear Him teach the crowd. I would walk along the Jordan and see fish fill a boat. I would come too close for comfort to lepers and not fear their disease. I would see the lame man walk and watch the blind man see. Would I undstand His parables? Would I question who He was? Or would I know just be being near Him that He was God’s only son? I would stand upon a hill top and see the devil face to face. I would hear Jesus refuse to bow to sin. I would be stained by the sweat of donkeys. I would taste the sweet dew of morning on garden grass. I would be made wet by His tears. I would hear Him pray for all of us left. I would stand on a platform and watch a crooked trial. I would be hit by His blood, and strain to hear His defense. I would weep when He said nothing to free Himself. I would be gambled for at the foot of a cross. I would be shaken as the Vail was torn. I would break deep down as I realized He was gone. Then I would be far away from Him. I would be stuck on the feet of a Roman soldier. Then I would spend a long night outside a tomb and be terrified as the big stone rolled away. I would cry for joy as I watched the feet I knew so well and loved so dear walk past me in a glow I could not explain. I would hear from the soldiers later that He had been seen around, appearing before those He loved. Then I would see Him no longer. But I had heard Him say that He would return someday. I long for that day. The day when at His feet I might remain.
If only I were the sandals beneath His feet.
Carried in the cross 