The Open Secret

 

1 Chronicles 29:11 (ESV)  Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.

Dear Friends, lately it has occurred to me that our Christian world's focus seems to be on what God will or can do for me.  But when I think about it, I seem to be drawn to discussions on the Majesty of God, so I've spent many hours pouring through this book with my Bible and notepad.  The book - The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer.  

In this chapter I focused on one thing particularly that the author reminds us of.  He states that, if we are to live as God's  people in this world, we must “Acquaint ourselves with God.”   We must get to know Him as He is, not as we’d like Him to be.  

Mr. Tozer says, “God is not a utilitarian God . . ..  whose chief claim to men’s attention is His ability to bring them success in their various undertakings and who for that reason is being cajoled and flattered by everyone who wants a favor.”

He goes on to say that “The God we must learn to know is the Majesty in the heavens, God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, the Only Wise God, our Savior.”  Tozer almost shouts about the power, the works and the wisdom of God.

He mentions a few things that we can work on in order to “Acquaint ourselves with God.”  Here is one that I want more in my life.  That suggestion is to invest a great deal of time meditating on God as He is - on the majesty of God as our KING. 
 

There is a King of this world, and it is NOT me, NOT my family, Not my country, NOT this earth, NOT science, intelligence or knowledge, NOT strength and NOT my local congregation, a hero or a group.

God the creator is KING, and to truly know Him, I must worship, I must bow, and I must make sure I’m submitting to Him, His will and His truth.

There are no words that can sufficiently describe the Majesty of God, simply because He is not simple.  He is so complex and unknowable that we can only just TRY to know Him better. 
 

Many of us know the truth that God loves us, and that Jesus came and paid an unbelievable price for our eternal salvation.  We’ve been assured that God listens to us as our Father.  All those things we can understand in some way, but His Holiness, His Omnipresence (always, everywhere), His Transcendence (superior, beyond anything we can see or imagine) are somewhat beyond anything we can wrap our minds around, aren’t they?

So my wish is that I can begin to understand a little more, and worship a lot more – that I can rest in His promise that He loves and forgives me, and yet be forever acutely aware of His Majesty.

Love, Diane

 

Wait and Rest

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
  for my hope is from him.  
He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; 

I shall not be shaken. 
On God rests my salvation and my glory;

 my mighty rock, my refuge is God.  
Psalm 62:5-7 (ESV)

I speak to my God as I lie here awake
in the silence, my heart knows He hears.

I speak, and I wait for a word from my Lord, 

trusting He knows all my burdens and  fears.

Soon my God will release a vast vapor of love

that will send all my worries to flight.

No clouds will obstruct the view of His care

as I wait in the still of the night. 

My soul,

it will wait for my God to come near

for He is my shelter from harm.

My soul,

it will wait for His answer tonight.

He’ll give me sweet peace in this storm.

In this world He is steadfast - 

my trustworthy Friend. 

I cannot be lost from his sight.

So I wait for a whisper

from His Spirit of calm

as I silently watch in the night.

Fidelity

Recently we heard a podcast featuring a social movement begun by Dr. Robert P. George, McCormick Prof. of Jurisprudence, Princeton University.  The following is a short synopsis of what he is calling Fidelity Month.

Dr. George writes, "You may have read about the rather disturbing recent WSJ poll indicating a precipitous decline in our fellow Americans’ belief in the importance of such values as patriotism, religion, family, and community—the values that used to unite Americans despite our many differences. There are a million things we can and should do to restore the faith of our people, and begin to heal the dreadful division in our country, but I would like you to join in one small one."

Dr George goes on to explain the steps a person, a church, or a group can take to espouse fidelity to our God, to our families and our country.  I believe that this could be a movement which may change the way we look at our lives, our politics and other people.

Fidelity means: faithfulness to a person, cause, or belief, demonstrated by continuing loyalty and support and allegiance.
 
In a biblical context, fidelity means unwavering faithfulness and loyalty, especially towards God, one's spouse, and within the Christian community. It's about being true to promises, commitments, and duties, reflecting God's own character and the importance of covenant relationships.  This faithfulness is something that I believe is important for us to focus on.

From the Fidelity Month website - "The official symbol for Fidelity Month is a wreath, particularly a myrtle wreath, representing God, His eternal nature, and family unity. The wreath is designed with specific elements: the open top symbolizes divine embrace, the branches and leaves signify family dependence on and union with God, and the star and stripe at the bottom represent America's union. The color gold in the logo symbolizes generosity and compassion, while blue (background) symbolizes truth, loyalty, responsibility, and peace."

Thanks for reading through this. 
I hope it gives us all some food for thought.

Love, Diane 

Love from the Throne

 John 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Beautiful words from someone who had been face to face with Jesus.  They were written by a man who was so overwhelmed with his knowledge of Jesus that he continually rehearsed in his mind the fact that Jesus could love even him.

He often referred to himself as “the disciple that Jesus loved.”

I truly believe that it was John’s humility that created those thoughts and words. 

John sees Christ in a special way. John’s words speak of Jesus as “the One who made all things” and “the light of all mankind.” He speaks of Jesus as “the light that shines in the darkness” and cannot be overcome by that darkness.

Can you imagine the way John's heart would pound when he saw our Savior face to face - as he watched Jesus' actions of love for needy people each day?   Can your mind picture his confusion and concentration as he heard the words of God from the mouth of this perfect one?

And finally, can you imagine how he must have felt when Jesus gave him the responsibility to take care of Jesus’ mother – words from the cross?

John spoke of Jesus as the one
who brought the world to life.
He spoke of what he’d seen and knew.
He spoke of Christ who loved him too.

He spoke of Jesus Christ, “The Light”
whose love shown through the darkest night.

His name!
“Immanuel” “God’s Son” “The King”

His purpose!
“Ransom Payer” “Go-between.”

His Gift!
Eternal life for those who bring
a humble faith in offering. 

If I see John, “the one Christ loved”
as a man who looks like me,
a sinful one in need of love, I cannot help but see
a trait that I must strive to have -
it’s deep humility.

If I see me, in Jesus eyes, as I look to heaven above,
then I can say with John today,
“I’m the one that Jesus loved.”

Emotions

Using social media we’ve begun to stress emotions through emojis - hearts, smiles, thumbs up, tears, and several pages of little “meaningful” pictures. They truly are a lot of fun, but are they real?  Do they picture our true emotions?

When we spend time listening to people, I mean really listening to them, we can truly read their heart’s emotions.  And only then might we get an idea of just how we can be a real friend to them.

I heard your heart today my friend

as I listened to the story’s end.

I heard the sorrow in your life and felt the awful pain

that you’ve endured through failing health
or acts you won’t or can’t explain.

I heard your tears, 

they fell 

despite the way you tried

to keep them to yourself – to hide.

Those deep emotions left inside
your broken heart 

held only fears.

I heard your pain. 
I heard the fear.

But friend, I cannot know

enough to help you on my own

or tell you where to Go.

Except
to trust the One who does -

the One who’s always there, 

the One who holds you in His hand

and hears each hurting prayer.

My friends, I pray that I can always be a real friend to you.

Love, Diane

Blessings

 

We pray, "God, thank you for our blessings.”  I wonder what we really consider as blessings when we say those words.

Sometimes we see them as “blessings” only if they are wrapped in pretty paper, or resulting in things we've wished for, or maybe only if they are clear and definite "yes" answers to our wants. 

The word “Raindrops” sound beautiful, soft and lovely. But when we use the word “Rain” it has a different sound to us. Like something a little harsh, like a trial. Let’s explore that a little.

Do you remember reading the book of Job? Job was a good guy. He did what God wanted him to do. He lived a pretty blameless life.  But there was more to the story.  Blessings?

Job lost everything. His children and servants were killed, and he lost all his riches. Soon he was afflicted with sores over his whole body.

Job laid out his complaints to God. But he also asked God to show him where he had fallen short.  He spoke of God’s goodness, and yet complained about the state he was in. He felt that God wasn’t listening to him - sometimes we feel the same way.  Job just didn’t understand – and that’s the crux of the matter. 

God’s answer set Job back a bit. In Job 38, we read.” Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. . . In the storm He showed Job that God was God, and Job was not.

God was laying out for Job a picture of just who he was complaining to, and then God asked Job to answer Him.

Job didn’t know that God was so sure of Job’s love that He would allow him to go through these troubles for another reason. Job didn’t know what blessing was going to be his. He didn’t know that God was showing Job how to trust Him.The storm helped him grow, and because of it, Job learned more and more about God and learned that no matter where Job found himself, in the sunshine or the rain, God can be trusted. 

Job's blessings came through raindrops. This time the rain was a real gully washer, tearing through Job’s life was a real storm. The rain in Job’s life was a blessing, even though at the it didn’t feel like it.

A little aside -- Job’s “blessing” is really a blessing to us. It helps us to know God better. It speaks of an almighty God, a God we don’t always understand.  It also shows that man can have a conversation with God – not a “formal” talk, but a real conversation.  For although God basically scolded Job for his attitude, He continued to talk with him.  He didn’t shut Job out.  And in the end, God demonstrated His love for Job in a very tangible way. We may, in our rainstorm, hear a gentle word from our Savior saying, may this trial be a way for you to understand Me more.

Oh yes, sometimes in our storms we wonder if He’s listening - but the Bible tells us that God always hears His children.  Yes, sometimes our blessings come through raindrops. 

These were just my thoughts after I listened to this beautiful song.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKPeoPiK9XE

 

Pride - it's a Virus

Proverbs 11:2  
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.

Pride’s a lethal virus that affects each living man, and in fact, man doesn't see how deep the evil in it stands.

We oft’ don’t know that pride is there within our human heart, unless we look beyond ourselves and take our thoughts apart.

        Possibly we’ll find it tucked within our halo’d hair,

preparing to reveal itself, when least expected there.

Pride masquerades as many things.
Pride’s costumes are so fine,

that we may sometimes see it as
"humility divine."

 

Pride’s a lethal virus that affects our walk as well.

We stumble on the “I” and “me” in the stories that we tell.

In tales of glory, we’re the ones that win the big grand prize

for deeds we’ve done, and races run; our works are supersized.

 

Pride enters through a mirror that reflects a wish to shine,

and to hear the words that puff us up; those words we underline.

 

You see –

When pride builds me and lessens you,

sin shows his ugly head - it’s true.

Whether searching for the spotlight, or looking in the glass,

If I am first, that pushes you

to second

or to last.

 

So, don’t be proud of your beauty,

or your talents

or your stuff.

Those gifts and possessions are

yours for today,

but in eternity -
not enough.

They may pass in a moment

since it’s not up to you

how the world sees your worth

and the things that you do.

Instead,

bow to the One who is perfect and wise,

to the God who will hear when His humble child cries.

On her knees,

and with tears,

see the love on God’s face.

Hear His promised forgiveness.  Know the gift of His grace.