"...who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
Another day of asking, "God, why do these things have to happen? Why do earthquakes occur that take thousands of live, cause loss of homes and interrupt our lives of reasonable serenity?" Maybe the question contains the answer...maybe we are not supposed to have "lives of reasonable serenity" right now. Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Notice the imperative, "will" --- not "may", not "might", not "could" --- it's a given..."you will." This world, after the fall, was never designed for perfection...not in man and not in nature. Nature groans, just like we do, longing for things to be made right again. For just as man started the death process upon departure from Eden, the world did as well, for some inexplicable reason tied to the curse that sin brought. Creation became subject to change, change from perfection to ever increasing imperfection. The kind of imperfection that results in earthquakes, tsunamis, volcano eruptions, massive floods, and all the more as creation moves farther and farther away from it's original perfection, and along with man, longing for its restoration. Paul tells us in Romans 8:20-23, "For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies."
But Jesus came! He came "from the Father, full of grace and truth." Jesus came and He overcame this world...but wait a minute, we're still having troubles. What did He say, "Take heart!" (and yes, even though I'm an exclamation point kind of person, this one really is included in Scripture!) The King James says, "Be of good cheer!" (That sounds like something King James would say, doesn't it?) And we're back again to our verse...He "came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
Full of grace and truth...
Grace, "that which affords joy" --- Jesus brought to us the ability to have joy, even in this world of trouble, because we know that He is the overcomer...that He will bring all of nature under His rule, and we won't live in this state of imperfection when He comes again as King over all.
Truth, "what is true in any matter" --- Jesus brought with Him absolute and complete truth. Whatever we need to know, He is the answer, the true answer. He brought complete knowledge of the truth of God---"if you have seen Me, you have seen my Father." We can trust everything about Jesus and His message of hope and a future with Him.
My heart breaks for those who find their lives disrupted by destruction tonight, but it breaks even more for them if they do not know that there is One who came from God above bringing with him grace and truth, and a reason to "take heart!"
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Something so cool I just had to share!
I just saw on the status report on Blogger.com that someone in Iran is reading this blog!!!! Is that not just the coolest thing! WOW - to think that this tool could be used to encourage someone there is just mindboggling! THANK YOU LORD for modern technology when used for Your glory!!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Day 3 - Week 3 - "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
"We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only..."
Seems like many nights I sit down and think, "Now what in the world do I have to say about that?" And then I start researching the verse, and thoughts just start coming into my head and remembrances of other verses that tie to the verse we are memorizing come to mind and it just gets so exhilarating! As I told someone today, it is just so fun (yes, Bible study can be tons of fun!) when you mine a nugget out of the treasures of God's Word and have the ability to share your find! Don't you think God gets tremendous pleasure out of seeing us really enjoying His message to us? OK - none of this was connected with Scripture memorization, or our verse of the week, I just wanted to let you know that I'm having a blast doing this...what a great way to end the day!
So when did John see Christ's glory? And what about that experience convinced him that he had seen the One and Only (in the KJV, it read "the only begotten" and in other places same word denotes, "His only begotten son," i.e. John 3:16)? Remember when we determined that John wrote his gospel many, many years after Christ's ascension to heaven and he wrote it with a passion to convince his readers that Christ was God's Son sent to earth. Why did John have this passion? Why was he so convinced? Have you ever read the account of Christ's transfiguration which John witnessed?
Matthew 17 gives this remarkable account:
"After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters--one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be afraid." When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, "Don't tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."
Now, I ask you, if you experienced that, would you be convinced? John wanted us to be as strongly convinced as he was...are we? We may not have had the mountain top experience that John had, but we can "see" what he saw through his testimony, and with the gift of faith enabled by the Holy Spirit, we too can "see His glory" and we can hear Him say, "Get up, don't be afraid", look up and see nothing except Jesus, ready to travel with us, coming down from the mountain, down to our regular every day ho-hum kind of living, but not so ho-hum any more! We've got a story to tell, just like John does!
Seems like many nights I sit down and think, "Now what in the world do I have to say about that?" And then I start researching the verse, and thoughts just start coming into my head and remembrances of other verses that tie to the verse we are memorizing come to mind and it just gets so exhilarating! As I told someone today, it is just so fun (yes, Bible study can be tons of fun!) when you mine a nugget out of the treasures of God's Word and have the ability to share your find! Don't you think God gets tremendous pleasure out of seeing us really enjoying His message to us? OK - none of this was connected with Scripture memorization, or our verse of the week, I just wanted to let you know that I'm having a blast doing this...what a great way to end the day!
So when did John see Christ's glory? And what about that experience convinced him that he had seen the One and Only (in the KJV, it read "the only begotten" and in other places same word denotes, "His only begotten son," i.e. John 3:16)? Remember when we determined that John wrote his gospel many, many years after Christ's ascension to heaven and he wrote it with a passion to convince his readers that Christ was God's Son sent to earth. Why did John have this passion? Why was he so convinced? Have you ever read the account of Christ's transfiguration which John witnessed?
Matthew 17 gives this remarkable account:
"After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters--one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be afraid." When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, "Don't tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."
Now, I ask you, if you experienced that, would you be convinced? John wanted us to be as strongly convinced as he was...are we? We may not have had the mountain top experience that John had, but we can "see" what he saw through his testimony, and with the gift of faith enabled by the Holy Spirit, we too can "see His glory" and we can hear Him say, "Get up, don't be afraid", look up and see nothing except Jesus, ready to travel with us, coming down from the mountain, down to our regular every day ho-hum kind of living, but not so ho-hum any more! We've got a story to tell, just like John does!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Day 2 - Week 3 - John 1:14, ""The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
"The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us."
The word "dwelling" in this verse is translated from the Greek word "skeeno": "to fix one's tabernacle, have one's tabernacle, abide (or live) in a tabernacle (or tent), tabernacle"
...very similar to the Hebrew word "ohel": "tent, a nomad's tent, and thus symbolic of wilderness life, transience; dwelling, home, habitation; the sacred tent of Jehovah (the tabernacle)
In Exodus 33:7 we read, "And Moses took the tabernacle (ohel) and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation."
So just as God "dwelt" among His people in a tent, Jesus now came to dwell among us in a fleshly tent. Just as the tent of the tabernacle housed the sacredness of God, the tent of human flesh now housed the incarnation of God. But where the people of Israel could not approach the tabernacle without ritual (read Levitcus!), people now could approach Jesus without hesitation. He was available to them, he pitched His tent in the campground of humanity and became one of us...almost unimaginable, isn't it? Especially when you realize He left the grandour of heaven itself to go camping with a bunch of nomads who wouldn't even recognize His holiness. And He loved them! That's the crazy part! Loved them enough to die for them, and for all the rest of this "campground" that we call earth. All of us living in temporary tents, that will, because of Jesus, be transformed into glorified, eternal bodies...and we won't be camping anymore! That's when we'll abandon our tents for our permanent, established, forever home!
2 Corinthians 5: 1-5, "Now we know that if the earthly tent ("skenos" - same Greek root word as our verse today) we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."
WOW - God is really, really good to us, isn't He? Thank you Jesus for coming to us!
The word "dwelling" in this verse is translated from the Greek word "skeeno": "to fix one's tabernacle, have one's tabernacle, abide (or live) in a tabernacle (or tent), tabernacle"
...very similar to the Hebrew word "ohel": "tent, a nomad's tent, and thus symbolic of wilderness life, transience; dwelling, home, habitation; the sacred tent of Jehovah (the tabernacle)
In Exodus 33:7 we read, "And Moses took the tabernacle (ohel) and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation."
So just as God "dwelt" among His people in a tent, Jesus now came to dwell among us in a fleshly tent. Just as the tent of the tabernacle housed the sacredness of God, the tent of human flesh now housed the incarnation of God. But where the people of Israel could not approach the tabernacle without ritual (read Levitcus!), people now could approach Jesus without hesitation. He was available to them, he pitched His tent in the campground of humanity and became one of us...almost unimaginable, isn't it? Especially when you realize He left the grandour of heaven itself to go camping with a bunch of nomads who wouldn't even recognize His holiness. And He loved them! That's the crazy part! Loved them enough to die for them, and for all the rest of this "campground" that we call earth. All of us living in temporary tents, that will, because of Jesus, be transformed into glorified, eternal bodies...and we won't be camping anymore! That's when we'll abandon our tents for our permanent, established, forever home!
2 Corinthians 5: 1-5, "Now we know that if the earthly tent ("skenos" - same Greek root word as our verse today) we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."
WOW - God is really, really good to us, isn't He? Thank you Jesus for coming to us!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Day 1 - Week 3 - Verse #3!!!
Again, let's reinforce our first two verses into our brains so they can reside in our hearts:
Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
I have failed to mention that the first four verses we're memorizing are labled as the "Bible's Fantastic Four" in Robert Morgan's book. They are foundational verses to the Christian faith...verse #1 in establishing God as the creator of all things; verse #2 in establishing the eternal existence and the deity of Jesus Christ.
Now...here it comes...the third verse to add to our memory banks of Scripture treasures:
John 1:14, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
A familiar verse, but a longer verse! Our first multi-sentence verse! And the source isn't 1:1, so we've got another thing to remember. (If you'll notice, I've been placing the source at the beginning because I think it's important to memorize that as well. I'm notorious for saying, "I know there's a verse that says..." --- that's just not as convincing as when you say, "In John 1:14 we are told...." If I'm going to memorize Scripture, I'm going to memorize the source as well and have the full impact!)
So, a few hints on memorizing longer Scriptures..really understand the Scripture so it makes sense to you and the memorization will be easier. Then break it down into sections and get each section down, then add the next. For this verse, start with: "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us." Get that good and slolid in your head. Then add, "We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only"...and finally, "who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." Three easy segments to add on to the other.
This is a foundational verse that testifies to the fact that Jesus Christ, son of God, actually came and lived on earth. It is a very important verse to have in store when someone challenges the deity of Christ. We'll spend the week allowing this verse to become alive in our hearts....for tonight just hear the words and hear their truth.
Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
I have failed to mention that the first four verses we're memorizing are labled as the "Bible's Fantastic Four" in Robert Morgan's book. They are foundational verses to the Christian faith...verse #1 in establishing God as the creator of all things; verse #2 in establishing the eternal existence and the deity of Jesus Christ.
Now...here it comes...the third verse to add to our memory banks of Scripture treasures:
John 1:14, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
A familiar verse, but a longer verse! Our first multi-sentence verse! And the source isn't 1:1, so we've got another thing to remember. (If you'll notice, I've been placing the source at the beginning because I think it's important to memorize that as well. I'm notorious for saying, "I know there's a verse that says..." --- that's just not as convincing as when you say, "In John 1:14 we are told...." If I'm going to memorize Scripture, I'm going to memorize the source as well and have the full impact!)
So, a few hints on memorizing longer Scriptures..really understand the Scripture so it makes sense to you and the memorization will be easier. Then break it down into sections and get each section down, then add the next. For this verse, start with: "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us." Get that good and slolid in your head. Then add, "We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only"...and finally, "who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." Three easy segments to add on to the other.
This is a foundational verse that testifies to the fact that Jesus Christ, son of God, actually came and lived on earth. It is a very important verse to have in store when someone challenges the deity of Christ. We'll spend the week allowing this verse to become alive in our hearts....for tonight just hear the words and hear their truth.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Week 2 - Day 7 - John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
We've finished another week...let's recap and make sure we've got two verses now firmly embedded in our hearts before we add a third starting tomorrow:
Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
What are you feeling at this point? Have you added anything to your personal perception of God? Psalms 23:7 tells us that, "as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." I hope you're really contemplating the verses and allowing yourself to let them permeate into your thought processes, and in turn affect who you are. It's when we really let God's Word deep into our minds that the transformation that Romans 12:2 describes begins. "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Don't lose sight of why we started this exercise of Scripture memorization. It's not to prove anything to anyone (or ourselves)...it's not to earn a gold star, or a brand new red letter Bible (that's what we got when I was in 6th grade for Scripture memorization!)
As we begin to embed God's Word into our hearts, we have access to God's thoughts to guide us in our conscious decisions, but also in our subconscious...we start to transform our minds into minds more like God's because His words live there. And then we can know what God's will is for us. And that can only lead us to good decisions, good lives, and allow us to be good witnesses to His hand in our lives. That's the kind of life I want to lead from here forward and that's why I want to ensure that His words are with me, everywhere, all the time.
It's an exciting process and one that I hope you're starting to experience. Join me in prayer as we end this 2nd week....
Dear Father, bless your words that live within us! Thank You for giving us Your Word - both in the life of Jesus Your Son, and in the Holy Bible that breathes Your Spirit within us as we take in the words you gave so long ago. You have been so good to us in so many ways...help us to allow our minds to become more like Yours so that we can make choices in the way that You would choose, and so that our lives will bring you glory. Thank You for all good gifts, but especially for the greatest gift of all, our Savior, Lord Jesus...in His name..Amen!
Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
What are you feeling at this point? Have you added anything to your personal perception of God? Psalms 23:7 tells us that, "as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." I hope you're really contemplating the verses and allowing yourself to let them permeate into your thought processes, and in turn affect who you are. It's when we really let God's Word deep into our minds that the transformation that Romans 12:2 describes begins. "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Don't lose sight of why we started this exercise of Scripture memorization. It's not to prove anything to anyone (or ourselves)...it's not to earn a gold star, or a brand new red letter Bible (that's what we got when I was in 6th grade for Scripture memorization!)
As we begin to embed God's Word into our hearts, we have access to God's thoughts to guide us in our conscious decisions, but also in our subconscious...we start to transform our minds into minds more like God's because His words live there. And then we can know what God's will is for us. And that can only lead us to good decisions, good lives, and allow us to be good witnesses to His hand in our lives. That's the kind of life I want to lead from here forward and that's why I want to ensure that His words are with me, everywhere, all the time.
It's an exciting process and one that I hope you're starting to experience. Join me in prayer as we end this 2nd week....
Dear Father, bless your words that live within us! Thank You for giving us Your Word - both in the life of Jesus Your Son, and in the Holy Bible that breathes Your Spirit within us as we take in the words you gave so long ago. You have been so good to us in so many ways...help us to allow our minds to become more like Yours so that we can make choices in the way that You would choose, and so that our lives will bring you glory. Thank You for all good gifts, but especially for the greatest gift of all, our Savior, Lord Jesus...in His name..Amen!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Day 6 - Week 2 - John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
My mind tonight is resting in the fact that this verse does not only apply to "in the beginning", but also in the now. And in the now, life is blessed and good. I don't know about you, but I have so much to be thankful for in the now. In the now, my family is healthy. In the now, we are safe and well provided for. In the now, Robert and I enjoy our children, grandchildren, our brothers and sisters, my mother...our family is close and loving. And I understand that "in the future" all may not be like it is today.
But I do know that at all times, past, present and future, God is the One who holds all things together. And no matter the circumstances of life at any given time, I know that I can trust in God for my ultimate good.
In the beginning, in the now, in the future...at all times...God is on His throne. And how would we have ever had this knowledge had His Word not come to earth to let us know who He is and how much He loves us. Only through Jesus can I have all of the assurances that I have stated above.
When I get glimpses of the all encompassing plan of God that started "in the beginning" I am truly awestruck.
ALL PRAISE TO GOD THE FATHER, JESUS HIS SON, THE HOLY SPIRIT - THREE IN ONE - TRIUNE GOD!
But I do know that at all times, past, present and future, God is the One who holds all things together. And no matter the circumstances of life at any given time, I know that I can trust in God for my ultimate good.
In the beginning, in the now, in the future...at all times...God is on His throne. And how would we have ever had this knowledge had His Word not come to earth to let us know who He is and how much He loves us. Only through Jesus can I have all of the assurances that I have stated above.
When I get glimpses of the all encompassing plan of God that started "in the beginning" I am truly awestruck.
ALL PRAISE TO GOD THE FATHER, JESUS HIS SON, THE HOLY SPIRIT - THREE IN ONE - TRIUNE GOD!
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