The night seems like day

I have never seen this street before; I have no idea where it is, but I have seen light just like this. When the moon is full on my way home from work sometimes I open the moon roof to see the full light it gives. Then, I look out the windows of the car at the countryside and sometimes it looks just like a sort of daytime, yet with an off white cast to it. The day can have the same effect too, for I remember working in my Father-in-Law's hay fields and thinking how much brighter the day was than normal. Isaiah says something like this in chapter 30.
Isa 30:18 Therefore Yahweh will wait, that he may be gracious to you; and therefore he will be exalted, that he may have mercy on you, for Yahweh is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for him.
Isa 30:19 For the people will dwell in Zion at Jerusalem. You will weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the voice of your cry. When he hears you, he will answer you.
Isa 30:20 Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your teachers won't be hidden anymore, but your eyes will see your teachers;
Isa 30:21 and when you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way. Walk in it."
Isa 30:22 You shall defile the overlaying of your engraved images of silver, and the plating of your molten images of gold. You shall cast them away as an unclean thing. You shall tell it, "Go away!"
Isa 30:23 He will give the rain for your seed, with which you will sow the ground; and bread of the increase of the ground will be rich and plentiful. In that day, your livestock will feed in large pastures.
Isa 30:24 The oxen likewise and the young donkeys that till the ground will eat savory provender, which has been winnowed with the shovel and with the fork.
Isa 30:25 There shall be brooks and streams of water on every lofty mountain and on every high hill in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.
Isa 30:26 Moreover the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, in the day that Yahweh binds up the fracture of his people, and heals the wound they were struck with.
Isa 30:27 Behold, the name of Yahweh comes from far away, burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke. His lips are full of indignation, and his tongue is as a devouring fire.
Isa 30:28 His breath is as an overflowing stream that reaches even to the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction; and a bridle that leads to ruin will be in the jaws of the peoples.
Isa 30:29 You will have a song, as in the night when a holy feast is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goes with a flute to come to Yahweh's mountain, to Israel's Rock.
World English Bible

If you ever have been in love, then you KNOW that there are days when everything just looks better, brighter, more wonderful regardless of your circumstances. Those who have turned to God, the ROCK of Israel, know where I am going. Even if the night seems like day or the day is unusual, it really doesn't matter for the light from heaven shines in your heart, making the bad day better and the better day great. I really like when Jesus calls himself the light of the world; it just ties it all together.

Beneath the surface

Remind you of anything? Does the name Titanic ring a bell? A few years ago (maybe more than a few) there was a blockbuster movie by the name of "Titanic". I liked it, but it just had too much sexual content. The one I really liked was the black and white version about thirty years prior. It told the same story, WITHOUT ALL THE SEX. Anyway, the photo was a reminder that it is what you do not know about that may kill you and for the crew and passengers of the Titanic not seeing what was beneath the surface was literally a killer. What Israel did not know was a big problem for them as well and this passage from the book of Hosea gives us a little insight.

Hos 4:1 Hear the word of Yahweh, you children of Israel; for Yahweh has a charge against the inhabitants of the land: "Indeed there is no truth, nor goodness, nor knowledge of God in the land.
Hos 4:2 There is cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break boundaries, and bloodshed causes bloodshed.
Hos 4:3 Therefore the land will mourn, and everyone who dwells therein will waste away. all living things in her, even the animals of the field and the birds of the sky; yes, the fish of the sea also die.
Hos 4:4 "Yet let no man bring a charge, neither let any man accuse; For your people are like those who bring charges against a priest.
Hos 4:5 You will stumble in the day, and the prophet will also stumble with you in the night; and I will destroy your mother.
Hos 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, that you may be no priest to me. Because you have forgotten your God's law, I will also forget your children.

World English Bible

Without the knowledge of God and his will for our lives, degeneration into a society of worthlessness is inevitable. Worthlessness degenerates into lawlessness and then into outright wickedness and from then on there is little hope that society will exist for long. God is necessary and his ways are the way to genuine happiness. But you have to look beneath the surface of things, straight into the human heart and ask yourself... does the warmth of God's love dwell there, or is there an iceberg hiding where people can not see?

HELP ME!

I marvel at this picture. If this is the groom, what is he doing? If this is the best man, what is he doing? It could be someone else, but what is he doing? More importantly, why? Marriage is like following Jesus, you need to put your whole heart into it, or you are just wasting your time. Consider this passage from Matthew.

Mat 6:24 "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can't serve both God and Mammon.

OK, I am not saying she will be his master, only that a commitment is involved. However, with God its a different situation; you just have to choose and that's that. "HELP ME!" really applies in the case of both the picture and the Christian commitment (discipleship) because both really need help. God will always be there to do just that, but I wonder if the bride will be.

Frustration

LET ME OUT! Could this baby be thinking anything else? Sometimes we are in situations where there is nothing we can do and we become frustrated. Frustration is not restricted to just babies; we all encounter it from time to time. But what about the frustration that just seems to never stop; you know, that one thing we wish would change but never does. Paul knew all about frustration as this passage from 2nd Corinthians illustrates.

2Co 12:7 By reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, that I should not be exalted excessively, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, that I should not be exalted excessively.
2Co 12:8 Concerning this thing, I begged the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
2Co 12:9 He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me.
2Co 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then am I strong.

Paul had a "thorn in the flesh" and with good reason: pride. Even though Paul asked for its removal, God said something like "no". How we handle a "no" really defines us as human beings. We can let it eat at us (like the baby in the picture) or accept our situation and "move on through it". Frustration can be channeled into greatness if we rely not on ourselves but on God for guidance. Allowing God to mold us turns prisons into palaces and softens our hearts as nothing else does. Besides, perhaps little Johnny really needed a nap anyway!!

A wing and a prayer

This picture was taken in January of 2009 in New York City. The people lived!!! The pilot was a hero and even "60 minutes" had an episode about the crash and rescue. What would it have been like to go through that experience and come away alive? I remember flying home to New Jersey from Florida right after 9-11-2001; the flight was very, very turbulent, so bad in fact that a stewardess lost her lunch. During the landing the plane bounced so high that one of the wings came within an inch or so from hitting the ground. God allows things to happen for a reason as this verse from 1st Samuel will illustrate.

1Sa 17:37 David said, Yahweh who delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. Saul said to David, Go, and Yahweh shall be with you.

World English Bible

David had seen What Yahweh can do and then had the confidence to face the nine foot tall Goliath. God allowed for danger to come into David's life (and to mine, by the way) to mold him into someone he could use. I know that David thanked God for his deliverance because it is in the book of Psalms and that is exactly what I did the moment we landed safely in Newark. Now, having said that, I wonder what the people on the wings of the plane were doing... ah, you know already!!!!!!

A darker side

New York City is a beautiful place; central park, the shopping, the business opportunities... wonderful. But the city has a darker side as well; crime, corruption, drugs, etc.. Some people are like that as well. God's first king, Saul, is an example. There are many passages in the old testament which show his darker side, but lets just look at one from the book of 1st Samuel.

1Sa 18:6 It happened as they came, when David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with instruments of music.
1Sa 18:7 The women sang one to another as they played, and said, Saul has slain his thousands, David his ten thousands.
1Sa 18:8 Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?
1Sa 18:9 Saul eyed David from that day and forward.
1Sa 18:10 It happened on the next day, that an evil spirit from God came mightily on Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand;
1Sa 18:11 and Saul cast the spear; for he said, I will strike David even to the wall. David avoided out of his presence twice.
1Sa 18:12 Saul was afraid of David, because Yahweh was with him, and was departed from Saul.

World English Bible

Saul was a large man, head and shoulders above all the people and God chose him to be king and annointed him through the prophet Samuel. But Saul was an insecure man, one who lacked the true faith in God to lead Israel successfully. When Saul realized David's greatness and his own failure, he tried to kill David. Not just one time, but many. When we take our attention from God and focus on ourselves and compare ourselves to others, we sin, plain and simple. The fact is that the assembly of God (the church) is made up of all different sorts of people doing a variety of tasks appointed to them by God and each one of us needs to accept this. Don't be like Saul, don't let your "dark side" rule; seek the insight which only God supplies and accept your appointed lot in life and glorify God.

The power of foolishness

Anyone who knows me well, knows I like lions, but you may not know why. Its easy to see why someone would like them, for they are noble beasts, but for me that's really not the reason. To me lions are a representation of the power of God, of Jesus, the lamb of God who is really The lion of the tribe of Judah. To many this may sound like foolishness, but consider the following passage from 1 Corinthians with one from the book of Revelation.

1Co 1:18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are saved it is the power of God.
1Co 1:19 For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, I will bring the discernment of the discerning to nothing."
1Co 1:20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the lawyer of this world? Hasn't God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
1Co 1:21 For seeing that in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom didn't know God, it was God's good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe.
1Co 1:22 For Jews ask for signs, Greeks seek after wisdom,
1Co 1:23 but we preach Christ crucified; a stumbling block to Jews, and foolishness to Greeks,
1Co 1:24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
1Co 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

and

Rev 5:1 I saw, in the right hand of him who sat on the throne, a book written inside and outside, sealed shut with seven seals.
Rev 5:2 I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the book, and to break its seals?"
Rev 5:3 No one in heaven above, or on the earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book, or to look in it.
Rev 5:4 And I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the book, or to look in it.
Rev 5:5 One of the elders said to me, "Don't weep. Behold, the Lion who is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome; he who opens the book and its seven seals."

Rev 5:6 I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.
Rev 5:7 Then he came, and he took it out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne.
Rev 5:8 Now when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Rev 5:9 They sang a new song, saying, "You are worthy to take the book, and to open its seals: for you were killed, and bought us for God with your blood, out of every tribe, language, people, and nation,

Even the foolishness of God is more powerful than the greatest strength in either Earth or heaven. Satan tricked man into sin; that one, and then Jesus was crucified and Satan said, "That's two", but God said: Jesus won. That's how a lamb becomes a lion and that's something to roar about.

Its real value

Money, deniero, gitas; whatever you call it, we need it. Although there are some people out there who actually barter instead of using it, most of us use it. What is its real value? Depends on who you talk to. A third world person, a Chinese citizen and Norwegian probably think differently about it. One thing is for certain, the love of it can cause a lot of trouble. Listen to what Paul has to say about it in 1st Timothy.

1Ti 6:1 Let as many as are bondservants under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, that the name of God and the doctrine not be blasphemed.
1Ti 6:2 Those who have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brothers, but rather let them serve them, because those who partake of the benefit are believing and beloved. Teach and exhort these things.
1Ti 6:3 If anyone teaches a different doctrine, and doesn't consent to sound words, the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness,
1Ti 6:4 he is conceited, knowing nothing, but obsessed with arguments, disputes, and word battles, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions,
1Ti 6:5 constant friction of people of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. Withdraw yourself from such.
1Ti 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
1Ti 6:7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we certainly can't carry anything out.
1Ti 6:8 But having food and clothing, we will be content with that.
1Ti 6:9 But those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction.
1Ti 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
1Ti 6:11 But you, man of God, flee these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.

Some things are more important than money; family, love, your next breath. Oh, yes, and how about your life eternal. Pretty important stuff, all. While looking at the picture of money might make you think about how nice it would be to have it, remember what happened in Germany prior to World War II; huge amounts of it were needed to buy even a loaf of bread. The value of the greenback can change just like the value of your 401K . Verse 11 is the safest path; it isn't a green one, but it will help enter the pearly gates.

Shadows and prunes

Three people just walking down the street in the morning; nothing special. They probably are just talking to one another as usual as they go down the street together. But look look at their shadows; how long they are. Our lives are like that you know; we affect others without even realizing it; we change their lives. I thought of a passage in 1st Corinthians when I saw this picture; see if it makes sense to you.

1Co 1:10 Now I beg you, brothers, through the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
1Co 1:11 For it has been reported to me concerning you, my brothers, by those who are from Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you.
1Co 1:12 Now I mean this, that each one of you says, "I follow Paul," "I follow Apollos," "I follow Cephas," and, "I follow Christ."
1Co 1:13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul?
1Co 1:14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, except Crispus and Gaius,
1Co 1:15 so that no one should say that I had baptized you into my own name.
1Co 1:16 (I also baptized the household of Stephanas; besides them, I don't know whether I baptized any other.)

World English Bible

The Corinthian church was a worldly lot, filled with many, many problems. Paul had spent some time with them and undoubtedly made a number of converts to the faith, but had done so much work that he didn't realize what he had done (vs 16). Our lives are like that too, we live day by day and really don't remember all we did last week; we affect the lives of others in ways that we probably don't even realize. This past week I had a birthday and what a birthday it was! I received many gifts, one even today from a good friend at work. However, the one that I think I will always remember was a simple yet important gift; a package of prunes from two of my grandchildren. Odd gift, right? Well, not at all. Some time ago I was doing a little bit of grandpa duty (babysitting) and we were all watching a movie; I was joking with the kids about the main character needing to lighten up a little and take some prunes. As time when on, I kept up the prune jokes. The kids loved it and couldn't stop laughing and so the prunes were a joke, but more than a joke, it meant they really listened. Without even realizing it, I had made an impression on them that lasted. I will never quite look at shadows and prunes the same ever again.

What's behind

Beautiful picture of a 1930 Model A Ford, isn't it? Interesting color; not for the faint of heart to be sure. I like the running boards, very quaint! I like everything about it except the carry along in the back. Please do no misunderstand, I think it is nostalgic and all that, but I would think this item would slow the car to a crawl. Some of us are like the picture; we are in perfect shape, ready for anything, but we have this BAGGAGE WE CARRY ALONG WITH US that slows our progress in the Christian life to a crawl. This baggage could be a lot of things, possessions, money, additions of all sorts and even sin. To progress in the Christian life we need to get rid of the excess baggage. Listen to what the Apostle Paul says in the book of Philippians.

Php 3:1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not tiresome, but for you it is safe.
Php 3:2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision.
Php 3:3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh;
Php 3:4 though I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If any other man thinks that he has confidence in the flesh, I yet more:
Php 3:5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee;
Php 3:6 concerning zeal, persecuting the assembly; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless.
Php 3:7 However, what things were gain to me, these have I counted loss for Christ.
Php 3:8 Yes most certainly, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and count them nothing but refuse, that I may gain Christ
Php 3:9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;
Php 3:10 that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed to his death;
Php 3:11 if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Php 3:12 Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect; but I press on, if it is so that I may take hold of that for which also I was taken hold of by Christ Jesus.
Php 3:13 Brothers, I don't regard myself as yet having taken hold, but one thing I do. Forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before,
Php 3:14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Paul was a very zealous Jew, but he had to put that behind him and move forward with Christ. One of the hardest things to do is to put past habits behind you. I remember when I quit smoking, I was a grouch for months, but I finally did it and am I glad I did! What happens though, is when you eliminate one thing that is wrong from your life, you notice others and begin to work on them as well. In a sense Christians are perfect, because they are going on towards perfection with Christ to help. Now, if I could just get rid of just one more thing...