Man Up

A month ago my son came to visit.  He had not been home for about 9 months.  He was such a sight for my sore eyes.  My anticipation was satisfied as he walked in the door.  I hugged him and was overcome with tears.  Tears of happiness at seeing him mingled with tears of sadness at missing my daughter.  It was a strange emotional dualism that took me by surprise.  I thought of God when that happened...

As you know the Bible stories are clues about God.  For example, the story of Abraham offering his son as a sacrifice is an allegory of God offering His only Son as our sacrifice.  Absalom's story is also an allegory.  His story is of the beautiful rebellious son who tried to kill his father.  Sounds just like the devil doesn't it?  Lucifer, most beautiful of all created beings, turning in treachery against his Creator.  Even Absalom's demise is like what awaits the devil.  "And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood..." (2 Samuel 18:17)  The comparison is easy.

Have you ever paid attention to what the story tells about God?  David the "type" is crushed by the news of His son's death.  Grief seizes Him and 2 Samuel 19:4 says, "But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son,  my son!"  In the mean time, the soldiers return expecting a heroes' welcome but instead they hear David wailing in his room.  Joab purveys the situation and tells David that expressing his love for Absalom when the army has just risked their lives for the kingdom is wrong.  For the sake of the beleaguered soldiers and the kingdom he essentially tells David to take it like a man and do the right thing.  "Then the king arose, and sat in the gate.  And they told unto all the people  saying, Behold, the king doth sit in the gate.  And all the people came before the king..." (2 Samuel 19:8)

Do you see it?  Do you see the Archetype, the son of David, at those pearly gates with all the people before Him?  Do you see His face illuminated with the joy of having His children safely home after their battles are over?  Do you also see His hidden sorrow?  Do you see the tears for millions of His lost children stifled inside His tender heart?  Do you see how He restrains Himself because He wants our homecoming to be happy?  When you look at David it is perfectly clear God's heart is joyous yet still breaking while we gaze with wonder at the marvels He has prepared.  But, for our sakes, He takes it like a man and we never see the hidden sorrow.

Oh, I pray that in that beautiful moment when I get to walk in those gates, that by God's grace I will remember my Saviors heart and give Him that "knowing" look that says, "thank You for all you have done, thank You for making this homecoming only joy.  I am sorry about the sorrow you carry."  I pray that His heart and His feelings will be more important to me than the beauties in view whether today or in the great tomorrow.

Imagine

Elijah slept with an angel at his side.  His exhaustion blurred the surprise of being touched by a holy hand, but that guardian angel did not leave his post because Elijah was unmindful.  No, God's mighty warrior watched Elijah like a mother watching her new born baby.

The man of God was cradled in the wilderness...

The elements swaddled him...

The angel sang lullabies...

Can you see it? 

I see it.  I see God and all eternity bending over the windows of heaven to measure Elijah's breathing...

I see Jesus' eyes filling with tears of wonder at the bedraggled man laying in the dirt.  "Poor thing," he says,  "He thinks he is a complete failure.  If he only knew.  He is so strong in his weakness; strong in my strength. Angel, go sooth my tired son." 

"He makes Himself real in the imagination." (DPW)

What else is it for, if not to see Jesus....

Use it today...

Unflinching

The deafening noise stopped.  The prophets of Baal had given all they had and still, no fire.  They were beaten and exhausted.  For hours they had danced and pleaded by their sacrifice.  They cut themselves and pulled their hair out.  They lay prostrate on the altar, as if they were living sacrifices, but to no avail.

Then it was the Lords turn.  Silently Elijah rebuilt God's altar.  There he bowed his head and prayed....

Wait!  Wait just one minute....  He bowed down in front of the Lords altar?

It is reasonable for the prophets of Baal to dance and cut themselves by their altar.  It is even acceptable for them to lay their bleeding bodies down like living sacrifices.  It is O.K. for them to do that because Baal is no god.  He will not answer by fire.  They cannot be burned near Baal's altar.  But the Lord, He is God and Elijah knowing that knelt down right in front of His altar.

Did Elijah stop to think about what God's fire did at Sodom?  Did he forget that the top of Mount Sinai was engulfed by God's fire and the people were terrified?  Maybe he thought the Lord would consume the sacrifice by lighting it with a stick, like was done for Gideon?  I dont know what Elijah thought about the fire, but I do know his main concern was glorifying God.  So quietly, he raised his hands toward heaven and asked the Lord to send fire.  It came.  Like atomic lasers, streams of lightning poured out from heaven eating up the sacrifice, the wood, the altar, the water and the earth underneath it; and all the while it was just inches from Elijah's face, yet he did not flinch!  With arms open toward heaven He trusted the God of the fire to protect him.

I pray for fire...you do too.  We ask God to cleanse our hearts. He does this with fire.  We beg for the wayward to repent.  They do because of the fire.  Every day we ask God to send us fire, but when it comes, we run.  We fear the intensity and turn from the heat.  We shield our eyes from the light and cower in its presence.

What if we simply yielded to the fire starter?  What if we stood in His presence and reveled in the cleansing stream?  What if we were more invested in God's glory than in our safety?  Then fire could rain all around us and we would not flinch.  Like Elijah we could breath deeply of the warmth and bask in its light and stand up after everything is consumed and praise God.

Health, Our High Priest, part four

One of my son's said, "Mom, it cost Jesus something to heal people. Matthew 8:16 shows the healing power of Jesus, "...and healed all that were sick" and verse 17 shows what it cost Him. "Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses."  The word bare means: to lift, to take up.  He not only took our sin but He took our sickness too."

• “Christ alone was able to bear the afflictions of the many. In all their affliction He was afflicted (Isaiah 63:9). He never bore disease in His own flesh but He carried the sickness of others. With tenderest sympathy He looked upon the suffering ones who pressed about Him. He groaned in spirit as He saw the work of Satan revealed in all their woe and He made every case of need and of sorrow His own. No multiplicity of numbers distracted Him, no anguish overwhelmed Him, with a power that never quailed he cast out the evil spirits that possessed mind and body while the pain of the sufferers thrilled through his whole being. The power of love was in all his healing, he identified his interests with suffering humanity…" (That I May Know Him pg. 48)
• "Christ feels the woes of every sufferer, when fever is burning up the life current He feels the agony." DA 823
• "And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years...touched His garment...And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up...And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that virtue had gone out of Him, turned Him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?" (Mark 5:25-30)

Question....  

Is it only sickness relieved by miraculous healing that Jesus bears?

Of course not; reason tells us that "He healeth all thy diseases". (Psalm 103:3)  But do we believe that when the household pandemic, rhinovirus,  steals our rest?  Do we praise God because Jesus feels our suffering when we cant breathe and our joints are throbbing? Are we confident He is bearing our sickness when about to fall asleep and are suddenly choked awake by a coughing fit?  Where is health then?  Is it something we wait for while our white blood cell count returns to normal? 

I propose that Health is with us, feeling the pain of our little annoyance, (because after all a cold is just a small thing).  But He is with us, groaning in spirit as He sees the work sickness reveals in our bodies.  He says, "I am right here, and I will heal you."  Whether in an instant, or over the course of a week, health is a miracle paid for by Christ's sacrifice.  

"Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.  For we have not an high priest which canot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities..."  Hebrews 4:14, 15  

Afterglow, Our High Priest, part three

af-ter-glow

noun

The atmospheric glow that remains for a short time after sunset.

Yes, the wonderful lingering glow of speaking with my daughter yesterday (see Every Page, part two) lighted the night and remains today.  The joy was actually a physical phenomenon.  My chest seemed filled with electricity that wanted to shine out of my skin, just like the apostles walking the Emmaus road, "did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way?" (Luke 24:32)

Last night, as I bowed my head in gratitude, a question popped into my head. "Do you think God feels the same way when He gets to communicate with you?" 

Wow!  New thought...Does God's heart burn within Him when I spend time communicating with Him?  The logical answer is yes, but, think about it... 

Creator of the universe, King of glory, General of legions of mighty angels responds to me talking with Him by His eyes filling with happy tears and His heart feeling like it will burst with joy.  He rehearses the things I say with the angels around the throne.  And they in turn gather around the "computer screen" watching as the conversation progresses.  And the next day as I wake up, His big heart still carries the embers of our conversation. 

Another new thought...Wouldn't it be great to purposely make God's great heart sing with joy every day? To kindle the cinders in His heart and know that radiant supernova's will spring from His joy?  To watch as the light waves illuminate the darkness in this world. Oh, amazing, that we have power to touch the heart of God!  But it is reasonable, "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with...feeling..." (Hebrews 4:15)

Every Page, (part two)

"God’s holy, educating Spirit is in His word. A light, a new and precious light, shines forth from every page. Truth is there revealed, and words and sentences are made bright and appropriate for the occasion, as the voice of God speaking to the soul." Ellen G White – {COL 132.2}

In my first post entitled Every Page  I shared from my journal, how God uses the Bible to candidly speak to us about our personal lives.  Today, I will share a situation that occurred earlier today.Now, just to let you know how the Lord speaks to my soul, each morning after prayer I write in my journal and unburden my heart before my Father.  Afterwards I go to my regularly scheduled Bible Study.  I ask Him to bring to light what He wishes to communicate to me in the scheduled reading.  This is what happened yesterday.

I should preface this by saying that my daughter is in Southeast Asia. This is her first time away from home.  On her way there communication was sketchy, she ended up having to sleep overnight in the Bankok airport, and once she arrived at her destination we received news she was safe, but not from her.  A couple of days later, we got two cryptic emails from her that there were problems with internet. It was not until 8 days after leaving her at Chicago, Ohare Airport, that I was confident she was safe and that was only when we were able to speak on Face Time.  At that time we made an appointment to speak on Face Time for this morning.

Needless to say: this "Helicopter" Mom was on hyper-alert during the first week she was away and I spoke to God about that this morning.

September 16, 2012
Before I read in the Bible Lord, I thank you for showing me how "hyper-vigilant" I was when I could not be in touch with Nikki...I suspect that I will be put to the test today if she does not call on Face Time.  I ask for a lovely, meek and trusting heart....

I did not even finish the sentence when the Face Time tone rang... Joy filled me at the thought of seeing my little girl on line!  But the connection would not work.  We tried for 30 minutes.  Then she had to stop trying.  I do not know what the "rules" about internet access are where she is, but she could not chat on her email and was only able to send a note saying that we would have to try later and that her heart was sorrowing.  The sound of her heart cry broke my heart...it still does' but I took her tears and my own to the Lord.

Back to my journal:

...So quickly the test came for her and me...The wifi connection failed.  Her email breaks my heart.  Please come very close to her and comfort her.  Especially as she goes to bed.  Let your light fill her room.  I know that in time she will be all right and I thank you for that.

1 Kings 17:18 "And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God?  Art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and slay my son?"
This poor woman lost all contact with her child, even though she had been God's obedient servant; but You dear Father restored that connection. I thank you for my daughters small trial, it will strengthen her. Let large and plenteous fruit grow from this experience.  Develop all that is possible from this disappointment and comfort her, just as you have comforted me. Play songs of gratitude in her heart and help her catch the strain of the melodies.
1 Kings 17:19 "And he said unto her, Give me thy son...And he took him out of her bosom.."
This is the only way to get our children "back"; to yield them up to You without reservation.  Please speak to her as clearly as You are speaking to me.  Will you please do that?  Today?  You are a FAther who loves communion with His children...I thank you.  I know you will be with her.
1 Kings 17:21 "O Lord my God, I pray Thee, let this child's soul come into him again."
I pray for Your Holy Spirit to come into her and keep her.  Elijah begged this three times and then the answer came.  I already sense Your comfort through these verses.  Is there more I need to ask for her?
1 Kings 17:24 "Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth."
I ask that through this situation she know that Your words are true, and that she will not only find comfort but a clearer knowledge of Your presence.

Gentle Reader, what is God waiting to communicate with you on Every Page?

We spoke with Nikki at 7:30 pm and all our hearts are filled with filial love.

Reality Check, Our High Priest, part two

"Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.  And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life..." (1 Kings 19: 2,3)

Elijah ran, not because of Jezebel's threat, for she was a beaten foe.  He ran because he was discouraged and beaten in his mind.  Reality said, victory; but Elijah's thoughts said, defeat. And even though Elijah had distorted thinking God sent help.  Not help to bring Elijah back to the battle, rather He sent an angel to sustain Elijah as he ran away from duty.  That seems counter intuitive. But God does not deal in human logic or intuition.  God deals with the heart and Elijah's heart said, danger.

As Elijah ran he prayed, "It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life...." (1 Kings 19:4)
The Bible says, "And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God." (1Kings 19:7, 8)  God knew that Elijah's feelings were real, He knew the situation was too much for him and he could not see past the danger. So the angel gave him heavenly food that sustained him for forty days and nights  What is interesting is that God did not even try to change Elijah's distorted thinking, instead He spent over six weeks with Elijah strengthening him, blessing him, and loving him.

James 5:17 says "Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are..."  That tells me what I already know, that you and I are both plagued by distorted thinking.  Sometimes in victory our minds say defeat.  But the Lord identifies with our thoughts and feelings, whether real or fiction.  He may not encourge distorted thinking, but He understands it. He yearns to free us from it, but does not condemn us for it, because He is a man and knows what is common to mankind.  "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."  (Hebrews 4:15)