matthew 2:12

". . . and they departed for their own country by another way."

the magi who followed the star to bethlehem

found Jesus.

there in a lowly stable, they knelt before the king of all kings

and worshiped Him.

when they left His presence,

they could not go back the same way they came.

they went another way . . . a new way.

it is the same for anyone who encounters Jesus today.

when we "see" Him . . .

when we meet Him and know Him

we can never go back from where we came.

everything is new.

we are born again

and we go a new way.

gold, frankincense and myrrh

i was wondering today . . .

could the ages of the earth be defined by the gifts of the magi?

by gold, frankincense and myrrh?

i think that the gold would represent the time that Jesus walked on earth

among men . . . in the form of a man.

God among men!

it was time when people could see Him, audibly hear Him

and touch Him!

frankincense . . . that would represent the time after

Jesus' death on the cross, until today.

it is the age we live in now.

it is the time when the fragrance of Jesus

makes His existence plain to all who have the heart to see.

it is the fragrance of God's word and the Holy Spirit that

gives us true life.

and myrrh.

perhaps this is the age that is still to come

when the true church, that has worshiped God in spirit and in truth, has been raptured

and when the mighty God pours out His wrath upon the earth and on mankind.

myrrh . . . could it represent the burial spice that will prepare a world saturated with sin for it's fiery death, as predicted in scripture?

gold, frankincense and myrrh . . .

then and now.

love . . . in action

joseph was divinely chosen by God . . . as much as mary, Jesus' mother, was.

God saw something different in the heart of this man.

joseph truly was righteous and devout - but not religious in heart.

when he found out that mary was with child, he had every religious and moral right, under the law, to have her stoned - put to death.

but joseph's heart was not driven by the law, but by love.

so he sought to put her away privately, so she would not suffer the consequences that the law demanded.

love enthroned joseph's heart.

Lord, may that same kind of love capture me!

"above all else," You said, "put on love."

Lord, bridle my tongue, harness my thoughts, and submit my carnal nature to Yours.

may Your love reign in my heart.

only You can make this happen. it is not within my power.

make me to walk in love.

please . . . hear my prayer, o Lord.

prayer . . .

i do not serve God or pray, just so that i can see "results."

i do not serve God with conditions. God is not a "means to an end."

He is alpha and omega . . . He is my all in all.

i follow Him unconditionally, purposefully and intentionally

with commitment and determination . . . as He gives me strength.

i do this because HE IS . . . and for no other reason.

Jesus is above all that i love and all that i hold dear.

my prayer is, and always will be, to be found faithful.

may i have the faith of abraham, who honoured God even above the love he had for his child.

i want to possess the same kind of faith job had - whose determination and commitment enabled him to see God in all circumstances . . . and to not only see God, but to trust His will for his life.

may i always trust and praise You in all circumstances.

may i seek, pray for, and sincerely accept Your will in my life . . . for all of my days.

my desire . . .

speak of the Lord . . .

speak to the Lord . . .

day by day . . . moment by moment.

see Jesus in everything.

make Him part of every thought, every deed, every purpose.

think of Him when i open my eyes in the morning.

meditate on His word.

ask for His will every day.

think of Him when i close my eyes at night.

meditate on His word.

thank Him.

worship Him.

that is my desire.

the unseen . . .

"no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived

what God has prepared for those who love him"

1 corinthians 2:9

how finite our minds are . . .
how little we understand the works of God . . .
how small we are.

God's ways are so much higher than our ways . . .
God's purposes are unfathomable . . .

Lord, i trust in what i cannot see . . .
i don't need to see
you know it all . . .
you know the beginning and the end
my faith is in you.

i am yours . . .

i read psalm 138:3, 7-8 today

and my online devotional this morning

i read . . .

"Jesus, you’re my protector, and i believe you rule over the events of my life . . .

if anything happens to me, it’s only because you allowed it

and i trust your purpose in doing it.

help me understand the lesson you want me to learn from it

if I walk in righteousness and have your joy in my heart

then my living and dying will bring glory to you

i trust that you may have some prepared glory

some eternal purpose

that my finite mind doesn’t understand . . .

but either way

i’ll say, ‘Jesus, whether i live or die . . .

i am yours!’”

yes . . . lord Jesus . . . i am yours . . .

small house . . . big home

not so long ago . . .

families lived with so much less than we have today.

they lived in small houses, often less than 1000 square feet,

with maybe 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom.

no family room, no ensuite, no recroom.

they may have had one radio - and later, one t.v.

but no computer. no email. no facebook. no online banking.

no "time-saving" machines, like dishwashers, microwaves, freezers, front-loading washers & dryers, breadmakers, coffeemakers . . . on and on the list could go.

they may have had one family car.

mom would typically stay at home while dad went off to work.

dad provided.

mom managed the home and kids.

a complementary team.

today . . . we have so much more . . . or, do we?

two incomes . . . but more debt.

two, or more vehicles . . . all going in different directions.

bigger homes . . . fewer kids.

time-saving devices . . . that rob us of quality time together.

our life-styles today are richer, but only in "things."

really, we have been robbed of time.

we have less time to reflect, relax, have meal times around the table . . .

less quality time for friends and for family.

we have less time for God. less time for His word. less time to pray.

simple things that were part of everyday life in the past have been lost.

so . . . i don't know what to think of "progress."

i'm not convinced it could all be called progress.

oh, i know there are many good things . . . like medical advances . . . and more

and i do appreciate them.

but, i wonder if living in this age of instant information and instant gratification

has really made us better in character and better in relationships

. . . in the things that count.

even though everything is bigger, faster and more available, is it really better?

big deal . . . we know more.

yes, we can find anything out and are "smarter" than ever before

but are we really?

i don't know if all of it is worth trading in the simple things of yesterday.

safety . . .

i love God's Word
it's trustworthy
it's comforting
it's inspiring
i love the psalms of king david
and today
i especially love psalm 91

"the person who rests in the shadow of the most high God

will be kept safe by the mighty one
i will say about the Lord
'he is my place of safety
he is like a fort to me
he is my God and i trust in him'
he will certainly save you from hidden traps
and from deadly sickness
he will cover you with his wings
under the feathers of his wings you will find safety
he is faithful and he will keep you safe like a shield or a tower
you won't have to be afraid of the terrors that come during the night
you won't have to fear the arrows that come at you during the day
you won't have to be afraid of the sickness that attacks in the darkness
you won't have to fear the plague that destroys at noon
a thousand may fall dead at your side
ten thousand may fall near your right hand
but no harm will come to you
you will see with your own eyes
how God punishes sinful people
the Lord is the one who keeps you safe
so let the most high God be like a home to you
then no harm will come to you
no terrible plague will come near your tent
the Lord will command his angels
to take good care of you
they will lift you up in their hands
then you won't trip over a stone
you will walk all over lions and cobras
you will crush mighty lions and poisonous snakes
the Lord says, 'i will save the one who loves me
i will keep him safe because he trusts in me
he will call out to me and I will answer him
i will be with him in times of trouble
i will save him and honour him
i will give him a long and full life
i will save him'"

amen
so be it Lord . . .
i ask you . . . who could add to that?
i have no more to say
God's Word said it all . . . perfectly!

revelation 12:11

"And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb,
and by the word of their testimony . . ."

on monday evening, may 4th, i will be sharing my testimony
with our ladies group at church
i promised the Lord a long time ago
that i would always say 'yes' when asked to speak
and to share what He has done in my life
God is my all in all
my saviour
my lord
my teacher
my comforter
my inspiration
my hope
my love
i'm praying that Jesus will be glorified
in all that i share
and that what He has done for me
will be a help and encouragement for others
thank you, Jesus

saying goodbye to the meaningless

"yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done

and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun"
Ecclesiastes 2:11

i was thinking today

about how much of our lives and time is taken up with what i call maintenance
maintenance . . . meaningless stuff that takes up time
lots of time . . .
buying stuff
food
clothes
houses
and stuff to fill them up
more stuff than we need
then, more maintenance
pay for it all
work
make money
drive here and there
manage finances
manage the house
manage the dog
manage the kids
whew . . .
i've seen and experienced something different
and i often long for that simplicity
it's purpose
it's focus
i'm thinking change has to be on the horizon . . .

so . . . it turns out i'm not the only one . . .

one of the men of God that i most trust to bring a true word said this in his march 27th devotional . . .

"Any message about death bothers us. We try to ignore even thinking about it. We suspect those who talk about it of being morbid. Occasionally we will talk about what heaven must be like, but most of the time the subject of death is taboo.

How different the first Christians were! Paul spoke much about death. In fact, our resurrection from the dead is referred to in the New Testament as our “blessed hope.” But nowadays, death is considered an intruder that cuts us off from the good life we have been accustomed to. We have so cluttered our lives with material things that we are bogged down with life. The world has trapped us with materialism. We can no longer bear the thought of leaving our beautiful homes, our lovely things, our charming sweethearts. We seem to be thinking, “To die now would be too great a loss. I love the Lord, but I need time to enjoy my real estate. I’m married. I’ve yet to prove my oxen. I need more time.”

Have you noticed there is very little talk, nowadays, about heaven or about leaving this old world behind? Instead, we are bombarded with messages on how to use our faith to acquire more things. What a stunted concept of God’s eternal purposes! No wonder so many Christians are frightened by the thought of death. The truth is, we are far from understanding Christ’s call to forsake the world and all its entanglements. He calls us to come and die, to die without building memorials to ourselves, to die without worrying how we should be remembered. Jesus left no autobiography, no headquarters complex, no university or Bible college. He left nothing to perpetuate his memory, but the bread and the wine."

thank God for His message spoken forthrightly in truth!

thank God for messengers who never white-wash the truth

who preach the whole truth - and nothing but the truth

servants who are unafraid to speak out those "unpopular" truths.

you know, the ones that might "rock the spiritual boat"

the ones that might make people "uncomfortable."

i mean, how many messages have you heard that mention the actual words

sin

hell

death

not many!

those words are white-washed, and may be casually mentioned as

sin?

let's call it "our faults" ... "our failures" ... or "our mistakes"

hell?

don't even go there!

death?

hey, keep focused on the positive

tell people about the "benefits they will gain" if they "choose God"

no need to warn them (as Jesus blatantly did by the way) of an impending eternity in hell, if they don't "repent"

our politically correct society has made the gospel message palatable for our generation

i don't want a palatable, watered-down version . . .

"Lord, thank You for truth!

may i always want the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth!"

change . . .

i'm a hopeless planner, a dedicated scheduler, a date-book lover. if plan a doesn't gel, i leave it behind and move on to plans b, c, d, e . . . on and on it goes.
but i'm learning that the closer i walk with God, the less my life can be planned out. nothing is sure on my agenda.
the Lord is weaving a tapestry of days for me.
days to make a difference.
days to praise Him.
days to seek and know Him.
days for others.
days to be alone.
days to grow.
days to change.
i want to please God in what i do and in choices i make.
i want to trust in him alone.
i want to live as a pilgrim here.
i want to be a good and faithful servant.
and so, when things change . . . again . . . i plant my feet firmly on my solid rock - Jesus - and stand firm knowing that
he never changes.
he never fails.
he never leaves me.
he never stops loving.
i will fix my eyes on Jesus. he is the author and the finisher of my faith.

today i found out that my pastor is leaving. his messages have watered my thirst. the word has rescued me from mediocrity. he speaks sincerely. he preaches the whole truth and nothing but the truth. i sense the Lord's deep love for him. i will miss him.

in times of change ...

"let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith ..."

Hebrews 12:2

i wrote these lyrics for a song waiting for music . . .
a song about things that are certain and things that are not . . .

nothing in life is sure
even my next breath not a guarantee
only one thing will endure
the Lord, my God will always be
the great I AM, my solid rock
the beginning and the end
there for me as I seek and knock
the great I AM, my faithful friend
riches come
riches go
cheer one day
next day woe
now a friend
now a foe
people come
people go
i am a pilgrim stamped in dust
with numbered days to live and love
my light, the word i read and trust
my home, with God in heaven above

death

death
it has saturated my life
it has made me who i am
it is something i think about almost every day
ecclesiastes 7:2
"it is better to go to a house of mourning than a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart"
thinking about death doesn't make you gloomy, or morbid, or melancholy
it makes you wise
it makes you a thinker
it makes you a visionary
it makes you full of thought
it makes you eternity-conscious
death doesn't have to be fearful
death doesn't have to be the unknown
death is a door
a door to eternity
eternity in heaven . . . with God
or
eternity in hell . . . separated from Him
think about death
think about your choice