We all know the awesome experience of seeing something that is pristine, new. It evokes the senses, draws out the appreciation in us, fires the feelings. However, the phenomena of this “new” experience dwindles quickly as “new” becomes “old” in a short amount of time. We know the pattern instinctively. We expect it. Newness in our spiritual life bows a knee to the falling mental mechanism, as butter surely melts. Yes, cars will rust, food will spoil. Even our chewing gum loses it’s kick as digestive juices absorb the first-flavor. The time monster devours new stuff as quickly and systematically as a garbage disposal. As the song says, “It’s just the way it is.” So, how do we grasp the concept of “new” as in “all things are made new” from the Bible? “Old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new.” Right now, so says 2Corinthians 5:17.…
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Matthew Henry teaches us, “The way to preserve peace among relations and neighbors is to make the best of every thing, not to tell others what has been said or done against them when it is not at all necessary to their safety, nor to take notice of what has been said or done against them when it is not at all necessary to their safety, nor to take notice of what has been said or done against ourselves, but to excuse both, and put the best construction upon them.” He continues: It was an oversight; therefore overlook it. It was done through forgetfulness; therefore forget it. It perhaps made nothing of you; do you make nothing of it?” The ripping up of faults is the ripping out of love. “ …and nothing tends more to the separating of friends, and setting them at variance, than the repeating of matters…
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” John 15:4-5 “In his book “The Latent Power of the Soul’ Nee quotes G.H. Pember who quotes “Wild’s Spiritual Dynamics.” “‘An adept can consciously see the minds of others. He can act by his soul force on external spirits, he can accelerate the growth of plants and quench fire. …subdue ferocious wild beasts .” ” He can send his soul at a distance, and there not only read the thoughts of others, but speak to and touch those distant objects…” While none of us ponder the possibilities of Astral travel, creating…
Are we having fun yet? In the generation in which we find ourselves living, wholesome fun seems to have been given a secondary role. Indeed, serious issues dominate our headlines — no one says that they are not. However, at what point is fun to be shelved and straight facedness to be donned permanently? If gone, will fun ever return or has it seen it’s final quash? Is fun done? These questions must find their answers in the nature of God Himself, His creation of Men in His likeness, and also in His redemption of our fallen human race. Websters on Fun : 1 what provides amusement or enjoyment — specifically: playful often boisterous action or speech 2: a mood for finding or making amusement. 3a: AMUSEMENT, ENJOYMENT On “joy” “The validation of earthly joys and the grateful acceptance of them is grounded in the Biblical doctrine we affirm in the “Creed” when we…
“. Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.” Psalm 3:1-3 Many say, “there is no help in God?” Then where? First thought — we need help. Help Lord! Long ago we have realized impotence, powerlessness in the fight for our think-ability. Our vulnerability apparent, our value diminished, our head bowed, we have battled on the opponent’s home field. In that venue, one where will power and natural strength matter most, we fight a losing battle. The common phrase war of attrition refers to a sustained effort to steadily wear down the defenses of an opponent, with the result that they are rendered weaker and less effective. From this sense…
Because our God authored Mercy, He has the authority to visit individuals, regardless of their dire circumstances or foolish actions. Mercy in the courtroom equals a judgment of pardon. As a policy however, mercy allows such a freedom of action that it beckons a person to the very seat of God, to surrender to mercy’s reality, in spite of shame or guilt, in order to commune with Him, face to face. “there is a God, there always has been. I see him here, in the eyes of the people in this hospital corridor of desperation. This is the real house of God, this is where those who have lost God will find Him… there is a God, there has to be, and now I will pray, I will pray that He will forgive that I have neglected Him all of these years, forgive that I have betrayed, lied, and sinned…
2Thessalonians 3:13 exhorts, ” But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.”. So also Galatians 6:9 “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. ” Weariness, frankly, comes under the category of “be not.” We should never allow weariness to eliminate our well doing. Why? Fyodor Dostoyevsky describes the practice of weariness in his famous work “The Brothers Karamazov.” In the chapter on “The Grand Inquisitor” Jesus Himself appears in 15th century Spain — a time when heretics were being burned at the stake. A small coffin is placed before Him, and a cry of parents to raise a child who had died. Jesus complies and the child comes back to life. However strangely, The Christ is arrested and incarcerated. As the story goes and I add my own interpretation, the appearance of the Christ and the resurgence of life-…
“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:” Matthew 6:9-13 Vital to our lives brothers and sisters, we must pray for God’s will to be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Where to be found, this will? Matthew 7:25 explains: “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: Others built on sand. In each case, “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house.” The rock foundation stood but the sandy one fell.…
A story recalled from Bergen-Belsen — a prisoner “strikes up a friendship with a doctor named Marie. The two are talking one day when a Polish prisoner comes to Marie for help. She is not sick — she is about to give birth. At first Fania and Marie panic, but then they collect themselves and have the woman lie down on a table. Silence is imperative, so the woman, ‘teeth clenched,’ uttered not a word. She knew the fate of children at the hands of the SS. Fortunately, the child arrives quickly, There are no scissors, Marie cuts the cord with her teeth. There is no water, Fania rips the lining out of her coat, fashions a crude version of swaddling clothes, and wraps up the baby, still covered with blood. The woman, who has not yet said a word” — dresses, puts on her shoes, and takes her child…
“And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets. And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not. So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof. But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may…