Has This ever happened to you?

 

The Amazing Thing about Scripture is that it Is Timeless. It is accurate and relevant more than 2000 years after it was written.

There are times when reading the scriptures and the gospels that I stop and ask why that is happening this way. Has this ever happened to you? There are some things that the scholars are trying to explain but find it difficult if not impossible to explain and prove. Others are relatively simple to explain. Much of the New Testament is fairly cut and dried, or is it? The star of Bethlehem is a mystery and probably will always be so. There are many theories and suppositions as to what it could have been, none of which are proven or universally accepted.

For me there are many questions. Two of them are:

1. Why did Herod send troops to kill children from 2 years of age and younger if Jesus was in swaddling clothes?

2. Why is there no record of the deed in historical records?

Interesting enough the answer can be had by knowing the conditions and times that Jesus lived in. First of all is the slowness of transportation at the time, mostly by foot or camel. Until the wise men traveled to Israel, stopped and queried Herod of the birth of Jesus, found Jesus and left Israel without returning to tell Herod what they found and the time it took Herod to realized they would not return, it is most likely that the better part of two years had passed. Jesus could have been more than a year old when the slaughter of the children took place. As to why the deed is not in any records, Bethlehem was only a small village at the time comprising only a thousand or so inhabitants. unlike today, this was not an uncommon occurrence in ancient mid-eastern civilization. The deed would not necessarily have been taken note of for a small settlement such as Bethlehem in historical records. 

What is my point? Knowing some of the history and living conditions at the time of Jesus brings the reality of the life of Christ into vivid focus and brings better understanding of some of the things Jesus and the others mentioned in the bible said and did. It is not a lessening of the reality of Christ but an enrichment of it. It creates a feeling of being there. It gives an understanding of the conditions and what the purpose of the actions and words were at the time. For me it is astounding that to this day the words of Christ and God are still very much alive. By understanding the reality of the living conditions then it becomes even more wondrous.

(This is an old post corrected for errors and punctuation.)

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

Increased Love

 

You call me Master and Lord, and rightly; so I am.

Jn 13:13

The New Jerusalem Bible (New York: Doubleday, 1985)

How wonderful a Teacher we have! Sometimes we seek Him in the house, but He is not there. We go forth seeking Him and find Him perhaps in the wilderness or on a mountain praying, or leading some poor blind man by the hand, or eating with publicans or sinners, or asleep in a storm, or conversing with a Samaritan woman, or surrounded by wrathful men, or bearing a cross. It is not merely His words that instruct. His place, His occupation, His companions, His environment, His garment, His silence, His submission—all teem with instruction. And they that learn of Him are made like unto Him.

George Bowen

Samuel G. Hardman and Dwight Lyman Moody, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour (Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997)

How does God cause our love to “increase more and more”? By putting us into circumstances that force us to practice Christian love. Love is the “circulatory system” of the body of Christ, but if our spiritual muscles are not exercised, the circulation is impaired. The difficulties that we believers have with one another are opportunities for us to grow in our love. This explains why Christians who have had the most problems with each other often end up loving one another deeply, much to the amazement of the world.

Warren W. Wiersbe

 The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996)

The words of the Lord are life. He spoke them and there was life. If fact, He speaks today, and there is life. Live by that word and you live the eternal life.

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

Called to serve

 

At this, Yahweh turned to him and said, ‘Go in this strength of yours, and you will rescue Israel from the power of Midian. Am I not sending you myself?’ 

Judges 6:14

The New Jerusalem Bible (New York: Doubleday, 1985)

God never leaves His child to fail when in the path of obedience.

Theodore Cuyler

Samuel G. Hardman and Dwight Lyman Moody, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour (Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997).

As with Gideon, the Lord calls whom He wills to due His will before the world. The least of the least, the humblest of the humble, is often his chosen for His tasks. It is His to say "You have been chosen for this task." Be of steadfast heart for you are blessed to be His chosen one. Test to see if it is the Lord who calls, then hesitate not for He is your strength, your shield. You shall succeed with what you have been chosen to do.

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

Children of Light

 

For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true.

Eph. 5:8

The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition (Washington, DC: National Council of Churches of Christ, 1993)

We do not realize the importance of the unconscious part of our life ministry. It goes on continually. In every greeting we give to another on the street, in every moment’s conversation, in every letter we write, in every contact with other lives, there is a subtle influence that goes from us that often reaches further and leaves a deeper impression than the things themselves that we are doing at the time. It is not so much what we do in this world as what we are, that tells in spiritual results and impressions.

J. R. Miller

Samuel G. Hardman and Dwight Lyman Moody, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour (Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997)

In life there are always things that we do or don't do that makes a difference in the way we are perceived and, more importantly, how that perception changes the world around us. The life we live is the example of our faith in God and Christ. It has an effect that changes lives. We are called to be as perfect as we can be. That is not possible without the gift of grace from Christ, the Holy Spirit and God. As we surrender ourselves to Christ we change and become more like Him. In this way the example presented to the world also becomes real for those around us. 

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

Foundations

 

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it.

1 Co 3:10

The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition (Washington, DC: National Council of Churches of Christ, 1993)

Our business is not to build quickly, but to build upon a right foundation, and in a right spirit. Life is more than a mere competition as between man and man; it is not who can be done first, but who can work best; it is not who can rise highest in the shortest time, but who is working most patiently and lovingly in accordance with the designs of God.

Joseph Parker

Samuel G. Hardman and Dwight Lyman Moody, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour (Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997)

In this troubled, crazy world, it is not a time to be running here and there to follow the news of this or that happening. These things cannot be changed for they are part of what must happen. Instead, make the foundation of your belief solid and built on the rock of faith in Christ, God and the Holy Spirit. By doing so you become not of this world but of the next. Your spirit will no longer dwell in a world that is passing away but in heaven with Christ.

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details." 

Peace I Give To You

 

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

Jn 14:27

The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition (Washington, DC: National Council of Churches of Christ, 1993)

Dark hours come to us all; and if we have no clue to a peace that can pass unbroken through their murky gloom, we shall be in a state of continual dread. Any stone flung by a chance passer-by may break the crystal clearness of the Lake of Peace and send disturbing ripples across it, unless we have learned to trust in the perpetual presence of Him who can make and keep a “great calm” within the soul. Only let nothing come to you which you shall not instantly hand over to Him—all petty worries, all crushing difficulties, all inability to believe.

F. B. Meyer

Samuel G. Hardman and Dwight Lyman Moody, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour (Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997)

Peace is a gift that truly passes understanding. Our day6s, and our nights, are fraught with things from the past, present and future that cause turmoil in our hearts and minds. If we learn to pass these to our Lord immediately, leaving them with Him, we can find the peace that passes understanding. It is when we cling to our troubled thoughts and worries that peace eludes us all our days. 

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Dertails,"

Earthen Jars

But we hold this treasure in pots of earthenware, so that the immensity of the power is God’s and not our own. We are subjected to every kind of hardship, but never distressed; we see no way out but we never despair; we are pursued but never cut off; knocked down, but still have some life in us; always we carry with us in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus, too, may be visible in our body. Indeed, while we are still alive, we are continually being handed over to death, for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus, too, may be visible in our mortal flesh. In us, then, death is at work; in you, life. But as we have the same spirit of faith as is described in scripture—I believed and therefore I spoke  —we, too, believe and therefore we, too, speak, realising that he who raised up the Lord Jesus will raise us up with Jesus in our turn, and bring us to himself—and you as well. You see, everything is for your benefit, so that as grace spreads, so, to the glory of God, thanksgiving may also overflow among more and more people.

2 Corinthians 4:7-15

The New Jerusalem Bible (New York: Doubleday, 1985)

We are earthen vessels. We are fragile and flawed. That earthen vessel is not eternal. What it contains is of this world but not of this world, Our soul. The vessel will not survive beyond its appointed number of days, but the soul will. How we spend those days is the measure of the gift our Lord has graced us with. It is not our treasure but the Lord's. It is given to spread among the other earthen vessels for the glory of God. 

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

Compelled

As they went out, they came upon a man from Cyrene named Simon; they compelled this man to carry his cross.

Mt 27:32

The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition

Here is an individual who was chosen randomly to suffer the burden of Jesus' cross as He was taken to be crucified. I'm sure at the time he was unaware that this was not an ordinary man he was aiding. That act, though not voluntary, would earn him a place in history that spans more than 2000 years. The cross we carry in life as we walk with Christ may not be as heavy or dramatic as the one Simon bore that day nor be recalled 2000 years later but that does not make it any less important. Every breath we take, every step we take, everything we do changes the course of every other person on the planet even if we are unaware of it. That is reason enough to take note of the fact we are to be God's imagers on earth. The cross we bare is not only for Christ but for others and ourselves. It is a shared cross that makes the burdens for others more bearable. It is an example to others that the cross is not a burden but a gift. Be joyous in the burden we are asked to share for Christ's sake and for those who follow. Be the example of Christ and God on earth. 

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.    

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

Isaiah 6:5

 

Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!

 Is 6:5

The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition (Washington, DC: National Council of Churches of Christ, 1993)

The Lord Jesus did not come to heal the righteous but to save the sinner. The wonders He performed were to serve as proofs of God's existence and convert the hearts and souls of the sinner. In this manner He was the image of God in the flesh. He followed the directive of His father so perfectly that Father and son were one, even unto death on the cross and resurrection from the grave. Though I was not there at that time I believe in the existence of the Father, Son and holy spirit. 

May Christ bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

The calling

 David longed to build a temple for God’s service. Solomon reckoned it his glory to accomplish the work. But we, who have God made flesh dwelling in our tabernacles, ought to think no time, no zeal, no treasures too much to devote to the splendor and beauty of a Christian church. We are that church.

John Gilmary Shea, Pictorial Lives of the Saints (New York; Cincinnati; Chicago: Benziger Brothers, 1887), 429.

   I am not able to carry all this people alone, for they are too heavy for me.

        Num. 11:14

It is most needful for all servants of Christ to remember that whenever the Lord places a man in a position of responsibility, He will both fit him for it and maintain him in it.

It is, of course, another thing altogether if a man will rush unsent into any field of work, or any post of difficulty or danger. In such a case we may assuredly look for a thorough breakdown, sooner or later. But when God calls a man to a certain position, He will endow him with the needed grace to occupy it.

This holds good in every case. We can never fail if we only cling to the living God. We can never run dry if we are drawing from the fountain. Our tiny springs will soon dry up; but our Lord Jesus Christ declares, “He that believeth in me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

C. H. M.

Samuel G. Hardman and Dwight Lyman Moody, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour (Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997)

Every calling that is of the Lord will be fruitful. He provides our every need. Though the going may be hard at times, He will always be there and supportive of the journey.

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "always Love The Details."