“IN HIM WE LIVE AND BREATHE AND HAVE OUR BEING.”
Acts. 17:28
“AND WE ARE IN HIM WHO IS TRUE, IN HIS SON JESUS CHRIST. HE IS THE TRUE GOD AND ETERNAL LIFE.” 1 John 5:20
Dear Father, interweave between my human thoughts the truths and the authority of Your Word. I thank you and praise you that Your Words are Spirit and Life to me. In Jesus’ precious and powerful name Amen
Fran
What happens when the Little I Am (It’s About Me) meets THE GREAT I AM?
Armageddon! — The end of Me!
Imagine a man sitting on a park bench. God approaches and the man looks up at Him.
The effect is devastation.
A pile of dust begins to filter through the slats of the bench.
God is the only One left.
What would He then do? He could by His breath blow the dust away and be done with the simple creature who would never know what happened to him.
***********
Let’s picture a different God and Father who stoops to the ground, scoops a handful of dust, reforms it as a new creature, kisses it and breathes into it His Life, a Life that would never die.
The new creation is His plan for a new world— His eternal family and His kingdom of righteousness and holiness.
The new nature is the nature He reveals through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Our fallen nature that leads us to death is overcome by the power of His Spirit Who leads us and feeds us with His Word of Life forever.
This physical life will end in His timing, but God’s children will not die.
************ Christ abides in us forever. ************* We are kept in Christ and preserved for the inheritance He has prepared and promised to us.
Let us draw near in faith as we grasp this truth, reach out, touch Him —embrace Him as our Life —
********now and forever.********
He waits to be gracious to us.
**************
“He has made all things beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity in their hearts. Except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.” Ecc. 3:11
If you are unaware of the fellowship between God and His children and want to know more,CONTACT me.
“Jesus awakes, as a mighty man from his slumber, unwraps the napkin from His head and lays it by itself; unwinds the grave clothes in which love had wrapped Him and puts them by themselves; for He had abundant leisure; He was in no haste; He was not about to escape like a felon who bursts the prison, but like one whose time of jail-deliverance has come and lawfully and leisurely leaves his cell. He steps to the upper air, bright, shining, glorious, and fair. He lives! He died once, but He rose from the dead! There is no need for us to enlarge here. We only pause to remark that this is one of the most jubilant notes in the whole Gospel scale….Death is overcome! There is found a man Who by His own power was able to struggle with death and hurl him down. The grave is opened! There is found a man able to dash back its bolts and to rifle its treasures. And thus, brethren, having delivered Himself, He is able also to deliver others.”
Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892)
The context (John 12:23-33) from which Jesus’ words here are quoted was that which spoke of his impending crucifixion. “The hour has come” for Him “to be glorified.” That glorification awaited Him as He continued to follow the will of the Father; when He would be lifted up, and so draw unto Himself those that receive the truth of His word. These would die to themselves, take up their crosses and follow Him.
Jesus left in the borrowed tomb the seeds of new life for all those who belong to Him. He finished the planting that He came to do. He was raised and now waits and rejoices over every new plant. His Holy Spirit waters by the word of truth in each heart and brings to life what Jesus planted. Those seeds are eternal, continuing to bear fruit.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1
“So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
Isaiah 55:11
“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” John 15:16
Dear Father, today, please bring forth new plants for your joy; and water what you have planted within us by your Spirit. Let the word of Christ dwell in our hearts richly so as to bring forth the fruit of your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and temperance. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Recently I have added the name of a young man to my Prayer Roster. Joseph is a brilliant artist; one I hope the Lord will use in the ministry of His Kingdom.
He needs the power of the Lord’s Spirit within him to order and manage his life.
I relate well to this msn. My prayers for him include prayers for myself, especially in this latter stage of my life.
He, in his 30’s, and I in my 80’s, have much in common.
We have been given gifts from our heavenly Father, and we are both struggling to move forward with these gifts.
Beyond the fact that we see ourselves in a stronghold of the flesh, our procrastination keeps us bound to ourselves and limits the talents we are given – kept from God and hidden from others.
In Our Flesh
Our means of deliverance begins with understanding where we are in the flesh.
The apostle Paul speaks of man as ‘spirit, soul, and body.’ (1 Thess. 5:23)
The purpose of this post is not to start another book (which I might never finish) but to speak briefly about the work God calls us to and the work that He does in and through us.
Tendency to our Feelings
“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
These words from Simon Peter to the believers of his day are as true today as when he wrote them. He compares two natures in the beginning of his letter. Anyone who meditates on these words will come away with a new perspective of where we are, who we are, and why we are here in this present world.
Oppression, Suppression, and Depression
Born into this world of ‘corruption’ we are always under a state of oppression.
Without understanding this, and turning to God’s Word for the knowledge of ‘life and godliness’ (our only means for a fruitful life in this state) we suppress the truth that He gives us in HIs Word.
Without the truth revealed by God in His Word, we have nothing to hope in, stand on, or live for in this world.
We search, reach for, and hold on to whatever is close and, in the end, have nothing substantial or relative to true life – nothing of godliness, which is the life God produces within us.
Depression manifests itself in different forms seen from one level to another in different stages.
Depression becomes the stronghold of our spirit, soul, and body, keeping us immobile.
Depression keeps us down, captivated by self, to obey the flesh in its weakness in all areas of life.
Depression leaves us deflated with no room for what is good or godly.
Where is our Hope?
As ‘spirit, soul, and body’ I must relinquish all that I am to God, our heavenly Father, who, with His Son and Spirit gave me life through the first man “Adam” through all generations.
I must see and know the One whose ‘divine power’ gives us ‘all things pertaining to life and godliness.’
I must admit my weakness and my need for His wisdom and strength.
I must submit all I am to Him and His Son, Jesus Christ, who has brought us to our Father through His death and resurrection to receive the power of His life in us.
I must commit to His direction by His Holy Spirt through His Word.
From the stronghold of oppression, suppression, depression, and procrastination, He, by the penetration of His Word, permeates our minds with His truth, and perpetuates His love and the life of Christ in us and through us.
As ‘partakers of His divine nature’ He fills us, lifts us, moves us, keeps us on the right path. In our struggles, He reminds us of His ‘exceedingly great and precious promises.’
He inhabits our praises, so that we speak to Him of His truth, never losing sight of Him and knowing the power of His presence with us. He, with the gifts He has given us, works in and through us to accomplish all He wants to do — for His glory and our joy in Him.
.Gracious and loving Father, We praise you that you have made us your children, not by anything we could do, but by your planning and covenant made with your Son before the creation of anything. How blessed we are to know you and to live in fellowship with you and your eternal family. I praise you that you have called us and given us the gift of eternal life and individual gifts through which you are working to reveal the power of your presence in the world today. In Jesus’ name I pray, I thank you, and praise you. Amen
Life and death are the great forces in this world.
We may ask the question, then: Which of these two is the greatest?
It may seem, if we consider that all physical life ends in death, that death is the great force over all.
This may be true for the majority of those who are alive, physically.
And even though a minority of men and women would witness to the same, they are living as if there is no end.
As one of this minority, I have the witness within me of life beyond this physical existence. I wake in the morning with the assurance of life beyond this realm — spiritual life that knows no bounds.
Death has no hold on me. It is not something I have imagined and created on my own. It is no mere ideology – none of any man’s design.
Every person is born with the gift of life in this world. This heavenly life is an eternal gift – a gift of eternal life from the Creator of the heavens and the earth — a second birth.
The Heavens and the Earth
The force of death for mankind originated here on earth; the force of life in heaven.
Heaven is where God, our Creator, the Living God, lives and has power over all.
“His throne is set in the heavens and His kingdom rules over all.” – His kingdom of eternal Life. Ps. 103:19
It was there that He made an everlasting covenant with His Son, for us.
In Jesus’ prayer before Judas’ betrayal and His crucifixion, Jesus prayed these words,
“Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that your Son also may glorify you; as You have given Him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to as many as You have given me.” Jn. 17:1-2 (The time had come for Him to give His life that we who believe would have eternal life in Him.
“And now, O Father, glorify me together with Yourself with the glory I had with you before the world was.” Jn. 17:5
“…Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom you have given me that they may be one as we are.” 17:11
Jesus revealed in His prayer that before anything was created, God, the Father, and the Son were eternally One, and that through the Son, the world was created for the purpose of eternal life in His creatures. The prayer is a gift to us who believe God’s Word. In it we learn of these two forces and how Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of all the living, proves the greater power of life over death.
He has prepared the glory that the Father and the Son shared before Creation – the promised Messiah – who came to deliver us from the power of death. He is the Word of Life, who came from the Father with eternal life to all who believe, love, and follow Him.
The first man, Adam, was deceived, believed a lie, and received the penalty of death because of His disobedience to God’s Word. Through him we all became subject to this force of death as long as we are on this earth in this body of flesh.
“As You have given Me authority over all flesh” were the words Jesus spoke in His prayer to the Father. He was given all power over life and death on earth and in heaven.
We are created through Him — and we either live with the gift of eternal life, in repentance of our rebellion against Him, submitting our spirit, soul, and body to Him and obedience to His Word — or we are dead (to the Living God) even as we are in this body. We are only existing until the end of this life when we have no choice but to succumb to the power of death.
Death is a force given to God’s enemy and ours when he was ejected from his duty as God’s servant in heaven. He was rebellious then and leads the world in rebellion. He is the god of this world and rules with the force of death and darkness. (1Jn. 5:19)
God, our Father, began with one man and woman who obeyed the voice of the enemy – who brought them under his power of death.
God, our Father has given new life – eternal Life – to those who are drawn to His Son – who admit their sin and disobedience to His Word, submit to Him, and commit to His Word, the Life of His Spirit and His leading through the remainder of this physical life.
He came to “release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (See Hebrews 2:1-18)
“For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” 1 Jn. 3:8 (the works of the devil that brought man to disobey God and to our death.)
Jesus said to His disciples, “Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will never enter heaven.” Matt. 18:3 We are His children as we are born of His Spirit.
He will end life on this earth differently for us who give all that we are to Him. We will not fear whatever we encounter on this earth – no fear of man or circumstances because we have within us the life of Christ given through Him to us from our Father in heaven. It is a supernatural work – Christ’s life given by His Holy Spirit.
He loved us “before the world was.” He loves us now and forever. He sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins so that the first man’s death warrant is removed. Christ who is our life, lives in us and we live in Him now and forever – seeking His kingdom and His righteousness which His Spirit works in us, looking forward to a world of righteousness.
Saved Eternally in Christ
He promises to bring all things to an end in One Man, His Son, Jesus Christ, “that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.” Eph. 1:10
If Christ is in us – “Christ in me – the hope of glory” “our lives hidden in Christ,” we can live here on earth with assurance in the day we take our last breath that we will be with Him forever. Col. 1:27“For you died, (in submission and baptism) and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” Col. 3:3-4 (The remainder of Chapter 3 describes the fruit of our lives by His eternal life in us here on earth.)
(How well our heavenly Father teaches us this truth as we experience the trials of this life.
The original article with this title (below) was written while we were waiting for Jerry’s healing after the amputation of his leg (2006).
(It took 4 1/2 years and a third surgery before we had any hope of his using a prosthesis with even a walker.
~~~~~~~~~~ October 24, 2007
Today is exactly a year since Jerry’s amputation. He has been three weeks in rehab, wearing the prosthesis a couple of hours a day, more just for sitting and getting used to it, a few minutes of exercise to put weight on it, and a few minutes walking on it with a walker. Because of soreness he has not worn it the last two days. Monday the prosthetist put in a small pad to help buffer the sore area. It was feeling better, so he wore the prosthesis for about forty-five minutes this afternoon. When he took it off, his leg was bleeding. We have to wait again for healing before he can try the prosthesis again.
Sixty-eight years takes its toll on those who have not learned how to wait. By this time most think that they have arrived at the point of having all things under their control, getting things done when they want them done, settling down to the golden years, and being happy in all their progress.
This is not our case, but we can attest to something better.
How do you explain to those who are impatient that waiting is good for God’s people? Whether it is for a response to a letter, the arrival of a guest, a special event, for our children to grow up, or healing, the process of waiting is a part of life. True waiting is the essence of hope, and a means to the end of obtaining contentment in this life as we wait for glory.
Waiting is a natural trait for God, but not for man. Impatience was born in the Garden of Eden, and plays itself out in every person’s life, from the time of birth until death; except as we are given new hearts that know how to wait. We learn from experiences that as we wait we receive blessings we did not expect.
Why do we not want a baby to be born before its full term? It will not be fully developed, or, not live at all. Why do we not get a diploma until we have finished the required courses? Why do we not marry at the age of eight? Why do we not eat green bananas? Waiting is not only necessary for life, but, the means to attaining true life. It is not something we play at, or think about when we want to. It is not a game, but a reality, that when practiced enough will become the beauty of life, without wanting to be the winner.
Waiting is serious business, in the same family as endurance, the big brother of patience.
Waiting is the will of God for us, and serves His purposes. “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” (Hebrews 10:36)
Waiting gives Him time to accomplish His work in us to His glory. God waits for the precious fruit of His husbandry, and so must we. (James 5:17)
Hope, and quietly waiting for the salvation of the Lord is synonymous with patience, the characteristic of the saints mentioned in the Book of Revelation. (13:10, 14:12)
“I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on the LORD. Psalm 27:13-14
Waiting strengthens our faith, letting patience have its perfect work, that we may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. (James 1:4)
I praise the Father for teaching me to wait. It comes more naturally now. He is waiting with us, teaching us, loving us through it all. I thank Him for all of you who have waited with us. I pray for more patience, more strength, more faith, more grace for us all—for His glory and our joy.
“The LORD is good to them that wait for Him.” (Lamentations 3:25)
Fran 10/07
(Excerpt from In Prayer and In Touch~ Articles and Stories of Faith)
Music: Wait on the Lord Psalm 27:14
They That Wait Upon the Lord Isaiah 40:31
(After a feast with my daughter and her family today, I am reminded of a vision of a feast years ago.)
********2014
For some reason my mind has been on food these last few days, not just on one item and not just on one meal, and not just for a common occasion. My thoughts have been on a feast, in which I picture this long table that extends out of my sight, with so much food, and with such a variety, it is a smorgasbord that is more than you would ever have time to sample.
This sight affects all my senses. What I see is an arrangement of colors, textures, and designs. They all fit together so that we could not describe any one platter of such a banquet. It is a beautiful offering of a majestic kind, fit for a king and his court. The aromas capture my sense of smell, as I am drawn nearer to the table.
I am invited to come closer, to taste the delicacies spread before me. What do I sample first? It is all so magnificent, that I dare not spoil the display. It is too glorious even to touch, but I must. I am enthralled with the scene.
The questions come: “Who has prepared such a feast?”
“Where do such delicacies grow? Why have I not seen or tasted such as this before?”
“How is all this food prepared and preserved? Will it not spoil before it is eaten?”
“I cannot begin to partake of all this by myself. There is no one here but me. This is too much for me. I must go and find others with whom I can share this banquet. It is too wonderful!”
But, as I start to leave, a voice comes from the end of the table. “Before you go, taste for yourself, before you bring someone else. Without tasting you will not remember where you have been, nor will you want to come back.”
And so, humbly I approach the table. I see in the middle of all the other food, and my hand reaches for, a piece broken from a simple loaf of bread, the aroma of which I have never enjoyed before. Slowly, and gently the bread is lifted to my mouth and the sensation is indescribable. My eyes are opened to a throne at the end of the table where the King is seated. Gathered around Him and around the table are all these people who have come and tasted of the feast in the simplicity of Christ, His Son.
The feast is too rich for us now; our palate must be prepared for it. It is designed by the Father and revealed to us by His Holy Spirit who draws us to the center of the table—the bread oflife—Christ, Himself. For now the breadof heaven is enough. He is our sustenance for this earth and our taste of heaven. The Feast is for the Wedding and heavenly dining with the Father, and Son, in His great glory—for His glory and our joy.
“I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever…” John 6:51
“O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.” Psalm 34:8
I pray that today we might taste of His divine goodness and bring others to His table.
9/29/07 (from Waiting is Not a Game ~ Articles of Faith, written during the three years that we waited for the wound to heal from Jerry’s amputation.)
“IN HIM WE LIVE AND BREATHE AND HAVE OUR BEING.”
Acts. 17:28
“AND WE ARE IN HIM WHO IS TRUE, IN HIS SON JESUS CHRIST. HE IS THE TRUE GOD AND ETERNAL LIFE.” 1 John 5:20
Dear Father, interweave between my human thoughts the truths and the authority of Your Word. I thank you and praise you that Your Words are Spirit and Life to me. In Jesus’ precious and powerful name Amen
Fran
The Law of the Lord is Perfect is the text of Psalm 19:7-11, which speaks of the work of God’s Word in the life of the believer.
The Law of the Lord Is Perfect
The law of the Lord is perfect, Converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, Making wise the simple.
(refrain) More to be desired are they than gold. Yea, than much fine gold, Sweeter also than honey And the honeycomb.
The statutes of the Lord are right, Rejoicing the heart:
The commandment of the Lord is pure, Enlightening the eyes. (refrain)
The fear of the Lord is clean, Enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true
And righteous altogether. (refrain)
Music by Joanne Roberts Graham
Dear Father in heaven. Lead us to meditate on your law day and night. On this special day, enable your ministers to proclaim your Word in power as you open our hearts to hear and respond. Use your Word today for conversion, wisdom, rejoicing, and enlightenment for your glory. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Fran
This hymn was unknown to me until a few years ago when I purchased an album by the Cambridge Singers under the direction of John Rutter. This rendition sounds like the prelude to Jesus’ triumphant return in His great glory. The second is a quieter, more personal expression.
Between the two are the lyrics to this hymn written by John Cennick, Collection of Sacred Hymns 1752, republished & altered by Charles Wesley, 1758. The tune Helmsley is usually attributed to Thomas Olivers, a Welsh Methodist preacher and hymn-writer but this hymn is sung to other tunes, also. This has been my favorite and seems to fit the text better than others. (The first rendition uses first, second, and last verses.)
“Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him. Rev. 1:7
Lo! he comes, with clouds descending,
Once for favored sinners slain;
Thousand, thousand saints attending
Swell the triumph of his train:
Alleluia! alleluia! alleluia!
Christ the Lord appears on earth to reign.
Every eye shall now behold him,
Robed in dreadful majesty;
Those who set at nought and sold him,
Pierced, and nailed him to the tree,
Deeply wailing, deeply wailing, deeply wailing,
Shall the true Messiah see.
Every island, sea, and mountain,
Heav’n and earth, shall flee away;
All who hate him must, confounded
Hear the trump proclaim the day;
Come to judgment! Come to judgment!
Come, to judgment, come away!
Now redemption, long expected,
See in solemn pomp appear;
All his saints, by man rejected,
Now shall meet him in the air:
Alleluia! alleluia! alleluia!
See the day of God appear!
The dear tokens of His passion
Still His dazzling body bears;
Cause of endless exultation
To His ransomed worshippers;
With what rapture, with what rapture, with what rapture
Gaze we on those glorious scars!
Yea, amen! let all adore thee,
High on thine eternal throne;
Savior, take the power and glory;
Claim the kingdom for thine own:
O come quickly, O come quickly;
Alleluia! come, Lord, come.
John Cannick 1752
Republished and altered by Charles Wesley in 1758 Tune: Helmsly
“This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
Acts 1:11
GOD IS GREATER THAN
