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No Greater Joy

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We visited some of our family this weekend. I had some meeting responsibilities, but Phil (and I later) was able to see

  • one granddaughter play basketball – her team won
  • another granddaughter sing a solo in her Chorus Concert
  • a grandson play basketball – his team won
  • and twin grandsons play basketball – their team won

We were certainly pleased that they all did well and had fun. I am so thankful they are able to play and sing and that they have these opportunities.

BUT, later that day, before dinner, one granddaughter let me read her testimony of accepting Jesus as her savior. Now THAT was really exciting!

After completing her confirmation class, our children’s’ pastor asks each participant to write their testimony down and then bring it to a one-on-one meeting with the pastor. What a wonderful way to affirm their step of faith!’

Several of our grandchildren have made a commitment of faith in Jesus as their savior and have been baptized. There is no greater joy for me as a grandmother than to hear that one of there precious children has become a Child of God.

In III John 2-4, John is writing a letter to Gaius and the churches in Asia and says the following –

2 Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit. 

3 Some of the traveling teacher recently returned and made me very happy by telling me about your faithfulness and that you are living according to the truth. 

4 I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth. 

I agree with John – there is no greater joy!

My prayer is that each of these precious children continue to follow Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

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Exodus/Exit

On our father’s 90th birthday…May, 2014

Our Women’s Community Bible Study will be starting back this week. We will be studying the book of Exodus, so I have been doing a bit of background reading. Exodus is of course the story of  ancient Israel’s exodus from bondage in Egypt. It “reveals what is required of them in a relationship with God, but also what God had graciously done to make that relationship possible.” *

That is the question humans have asked since the beginning of time!

As the Living Word, the Bible tells not only the historical account of the Israeli exodus, but the parallel truth of our journey from the bondage of self and sin to the freedom of Christ’s redemption.

This will be a GOOD study!

I have also been thinking of the “exit” of my Mother to heaven three months ago. Throughout the holidays I thought of her often as memories of Christmas past were recalled. I made the caramel popcorn she always made from Grandma Barker’s recipe. I used her beautiful holly china and silverware that had been her wedding present. ( I left the table “set” for a month because it looked so pretty and reminded me of Mother.)

My brother Garry, (the middle of the three of us standing in the top picture) recently sent me the following thoughts –

“I was musing about the biblical injunction to “honor your father and mother”. When I was young I understood this to mean to obey.  Then when I had older children I saw how precious it was when they showed kindness to me and I tried to do that to mom and dad, thinking that the honoring stopped when they died.  Now I realize that one gives honor to your father and mother by living the way they taught, even when they are gone. May we cherish Christ as they did!”

What a meaningful expression of “honor”. My parents loved God and lived their lives to honor Jesus Christ. They were not perfect. Yet they loved each other, their children, and their wide circle of friends well. Mother’s notebook by her Bible had notes from the last sermon and Sunday School class she attended at College Church. At 90 she still knew she needed to remain in God’s Word and in fellowship.

I saw in my parent’s lives their pursuit of a meaningful relationship with God. I saw them struggle at times when circumstances like caring for aging parents and illness challenged their ability to “die to self”. I saw them seek God’s forgiveness and to walk in forgiveness to others.

As I study the book of Exodus, I know I will be reminded of the spiritual legacy my parents have left us. I also know I will be challenged to be set free from the bondage of sin and the idols that I allow to grab my attention. When God gave Moses the 10 commandments He said –

12 “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.              Exodus 20:12

May I honor the God of my father (and mother) by living the way they taught, by following God and being an example to future generations.

 

PS – If you are a women, and live in Jackson County, you are welcome to join our Bible study of the book of  Exodus. It is made up of women from about 15 different churches in our community. Just contact me for details.

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A Broken, Fallen World…Blessed.

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I talked on the phone to my daughter, Hannah, while I was working on this blog post. She shared with me something her pastor had shared in his sermon about the number of angels that appeared to the shepherds. 

8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,
    and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”   Luke 2:8-14


So just how many angels make up a “heavenly host”? I certainly don’t know. In Daniel 7:10, Daniel is revealing the prophetic vision he sees where God is enthroned and His power is demonstrated by the “ten thousand by ten thousand (who) rose up and stood before Him”, God’s heavenly host.

So, 10,000 times 10,000 is 100 million! (thank you, Phil)

In Daniel, God is demonstrating His strength as He defeats the beast.

I believe God was demonstrating His power to those shepherds, obviously, but one heavenly being was enough to “wow” the shepherds.

Who, then was this display of force and power for?

That multitude of the heavenly host – MILLIONS of the army of angelic beings – showed the powers of darkness that they were DEFEATED!

The appearance of the heavenly hosts, announcing Jesus birth, was a magnificent display of the awesome POWER of God. I don’t think they looked like the flying babies, or even innocuous pale, winged creatures that are portrayed in so many paintings of angels.

These angels were part of God’s army, dressed for battle, dressed in the full armor of God. It is also obvious that they were not armed for battle with the shepherds who they appeared before. They demonstrated God’s power to the powers of darkness by their overwhelming number and by their rejoicing at the birth of God’s Son. Their mighty presence was evidence of the divine nature and protection for the “helpless” baby – Jesus.

They were praising God because the day Jesus was born – the victory was won!

We recently completed a study at our Community Woman’s Bible Study in Ephesians on the Armor of God by Priscilla Shirer. When I read these verses from Luke today, which I have read so many. many times before, a new appreciation of the angels as part of the “heavenly host”, the angelic army of God, stirred in my heart.

I always appreciated the wonder of the angels announcement of Jesus birth, but now I realize those angels also announced the VICTORY that God has provided through the precious gift of His Son.

May we each rejoice in this victory as we celebrate Jesus birth.