“You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony…” Exodus 25:21-22 “My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the LORD.” Psalm 26:12 “…And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1John 2:1-2 The mercy-seat of God, the even place, and the propitiation speak of a one-and-the-same place. Here, all that hinders a face to face with God flies away. Things remaining, join us to Him. Sin and sin’s…
Healing at the Cross Posts
A football player rode the bench. He never played, never planned to play, he was third string. In this game the first stringer went down, broken leg. Bad for the team but no worries for our guy, second string went in. Before long this halfback twisted something. Oh no, the bench rider was up. “George, put on a helmet,” the coach shouted. “But coach, I can’t do it, I have never played.” “Just get in there, you’ll be fine.” “Can’t, sorry coach, I’m afraid.” Coach had to call for a time out, and then he spoke these words: “George, relax, you’re gonna be my secret weapon.” “Whatta ya mean coach?” “I’m gonna put the spirit of a great running back in you.” “How?” “Trust me.” “Who?” “Franco Harris” “Now get in the game.” The story makes us laugh. It’s a fairy story to a lot of us. Some vital points…
In Flanders Fields In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie, In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. John McCrae https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/in-flanders-field/ In 1915, inspired by the poem “In Flanders Fields,” Moina Michael replied with her own poem: We cherish too, the Poppy red That grows on fields where valor led, It seems to signal to the skies That blood of heroes never dies. She then conceived of an idea…
“Let your yea be yea and your nay be nay.” “But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead.” 2 Corinthians 1:9 “When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay? 2 Corinthians 1:17 What is lightness? (Hebrews. to stagger.) Websters defines “fickle” with “Wavering; inconstant; unstable; of a changeable mind; irresolute; not firm in opinion or purpose; capricious.” “Not fixed or firm; liable to change …” Matthew 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. Paul had conceded that he would die in verse 9 above. Indeed, there had been a self-verdict which conformed him to Christ’s death already.…
I spoke to young folks recently, high-schoolers. They cherish “friends,” popularity, and “feel good” relationships. In Prov 8:31 Wisdom’s “delight” centers on the sons of men. Logic concludes: “young people and wisdom connect.” Both want relationships. Youth need “cool” to hold friends. So, young vie for acceptance. Cool people have life by the tail, they build social skills. They can handle most any situation, but the problem nags; Where get we the love? Enter Wisdom’s plan: Tear down — Walls erected social-skill-wise, They are phony. Masks must melt off. Catchy phrases explode in face. All veneer goes ca-phooey. How done? God commences work, He specializes here. First, He teaches suffering’s true meanings. Christ became poor, that we, through His poverty might become rich. He became sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. He purchased salvation with His blood. Our suffering enables understanding of His suffering. Ours promotes meaningful relationships and identification…
Does time heal all wounds? Well, I tire easily reading psychology books that teach: “the interplay between suppressing and exposing a hurt will eventually bring healing.” “grieving losses will eventuate a return to “normalcy.” “re-integrate a victim into society, and again they will be adjusted. “ Sincere ideas which may contribute. Friends, my problem is this; “normal” for these guys, encompasses the old sin nature. They assume wrongly that a man is born free. They suppose that the whole head and the whole heart ain’t sick and faint. In stark contrast to their evaluation, “normal” equals “wounds, bruises and putrefying sores.” “My wound is incurable,” said Jeremiah. Way before time’s wounding event, man exists a ball of woundedness. God plans to exterminate all of it — every speck. Only a bloody cross, only a dying Savior can fix a man. Because man miscalculates, God’s solutions seem radical. Paul admitted, however, “in my…
I watched two moms, one my own, the other my wife. A third would be my wife’s mom. All these have a common thing – close ties with their offspring. The children love mom not because she is perfect or even for her giving, but this – she is always in their corner, no matter what. Moms forgive their children — at least the ones I have known. They so never lose hope that their son or daughter will be great or at least be OK. They pray for the kids and worry. Most worry is sin, but not for moms; it becomes sanctified worry. The kids know about this worry and it guides, even restrains them away from certain paths of sure destruction. In order for a kid to go wild he has to find a way around his mom. He has to disregard her. No matter, mom will visit sons in county jail, or…
Subjectivity is the lack of objectivity. Objectivity is the assertion that a thing IS that thing regardless of how it is perceived. Subjectivity is the assertion that what the thing IS is dependent on how it is perceived. The Objective view is that this is an elephant regardless how it is seen. The Subjective view is that each person is right. Melissa-Faith Webster, BA from CSUSB. Focused on Philosophy of Science and Epistemology. First the bad news: Subjectivity establishes: a mindset that is a direct result of Adam’s Fall. a preoccupation with self, evaluation of people, and situations evaluation of the Word of God according to relative righteousness The Subjective are: arrogant, which masks a poor self-image, often suspicious of people’s motives and even paranoid. Subjective people: are occupied with themselves, hide themselves from church, often become sarcastic in relationships with others, eventually, they want counseling, Subjective folks: are offended…
“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” Psalm 56:3 “But we often make choices that reveal what we really believe: that God cannot take care of what is unknown to us. We are not in control, and that breeds feelings of anxiety.” Dr.Carl Stevens “They believe in God, and they love Him with all their hearts, but they take on the identity of the tests they are going through rather than the purpose. They may take on the name of “pain” or “sickness” instead of “peace” or “long suffering.” And when they put a name to their pain, that is how the demons perceive the Christian. People take on all kinds of names in tests.” Dr.Carl Stevens “Deep anxiety comes from having put our trust in something that is ultimately untrustworthy. It comes from living a life for something which ultimately will not sustain life. —placing ultimate reliance on the conscious level,…
Not she with traitorous kiss her Master stung, Not she denied Him with unfaithful tongue; She, when Apostles fled, could dangers brave, Last at the Cross, and earliest at the grave. Author unknown …Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. …throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him, And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene… The bravest of all, Mary stayed, not caring for her life in garden, cross, and grave. THE RISEN ONE Until his final hour he had never refused her anything or turned away, lest she should turn their love to public praise. Now she sank down beside the cross, disguised, heavy with the largest stones of love like jewels in the cover of her pain. But later, when she came…