He Has Purposed

For some reason, I've been drawn to the book of Isaiah in recent days, to remind myself of the sovereignty of God in all things. Can I share this passage with you, a favorite of mine for many years? Just posting it as a reminder, folks. And a comfort.

The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders. This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? Isaiah 14:24-27

Priorities

Jesus loves me, this I know,

For the Bible tells me so;

Little ones to him belong,

They are weak but he is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

The Bible tells me so.

~ Anna B. Warner

Miss Warner is another of my "inspirations" in life. For those of you who know me well, this should not be surprising. Why? Because so many of the people, past and present, who fall into that category are people who loved children and and placed a high regard on teaching them spiritual truths. If you'd like to be blessed, read about the lives of Anna and her sister Susan. You will be struck by the riches of lives such as theirs.

Stories abound about this hymn. You'd be surprised at the number of adults for whom it remained a favorite, such as Francis Schaeffer. The most enthusiastic singing comes at our church's nursing home ministry when this song is sung. As Mr. Schaeffer has said, while people need intellectual answers to their questions, they also need a direct message to their heart. "Jesus Loves Me" does that. It speaks directly to the hearts of young people, but also to all of us of all ages.

I firmly believe, as did the Warner sisters no doubt, that what we learn as children is best learned. While salvation is from God, and cannot be passed on by us, the truths that lead to a person's conversion can be firmly implanted in childhood and who knows when and how God will use them. That's why writing for children is still a priority for me. It's a priority, yes, but I've been neglecting it. This is not a resolution or anything like that, but my blogging and Facebook have got to take more of a back seat in coming days. Writing for precious young souls is burning at my heart again. There are several projects which got started and then, you know how it goes, things got off track.

I still want to visit friends and all that, but I am really going to try to limit my writing here to quotes, verses, poetry, notes about sermons, and things of that sort, which was my original intent. Unless some original thoughts do inspire the old brain and I can do it quickly!

Just thought I'd let you know what's going on. I'll be over to see you when I can!

New Year Wishes

I asked the New Year for some motto sweet,
Some rule of life by which to guide my feet.
I asked and paused; it answered soft and low,
"God's will to know."
`Unknown

I wish this for you and me, dear friends. I appreciate each and every one who stops by to visit. Your comments and encouragements have meant more than you can know. Blessings for the year 2009 and beyond. Signing off with words from one of my favorite hymns for the new year:

O Jesus, I have promised to serve Thee to the end;
Be Thou forever near me, my Master and my Friend:
I shall not fear the battle if Thou art by my side,
Nor Wander from the pathway if Thou wilt be my guide.

~ John E. Bode

The Usurper

Today's Sunday school class was quite interesting to say the least. Every two years or so I teach this same particular lesson to a different group of third and fourth graders and each time it comes out differently. You may know the story: It's the one about the little boy Joash who became king at the age of seven. You know, the one whose grandmother killed all of her other grandchildren when her son, the king, was murdered by Jehu. Quite an involved and complicated family situation as everyone would agree after reading it in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. I even made up a chart for each of the kids, drawing a bunch of little stick figures, some with crowns on their heads; some with skirts, some on the northern kingdom side of the page and the rest on the southern side; some with frowns on their faces to show they were evil, etc. etc. Well, let me say that by the end of the lesson, I think my young group was more than a little confused about what they had just learned and I'm not so sure whether my little "chart" was a help or hindrance! At any rate, I decided to extend this lesson for another week as there are some important applications that are yet to be made, particularly concerning Joash who only followed the Lord as long as his uncle, Jehoida the priest, was alive. After his uncle died, his true "colors" became evident and we see that He did not love God for himself. You can imagine where I'm going with that.

For some weird (perhaps twisted) reason, I always have been captivated by this story, particularly byAthaliah, the grandmother. Now that I'm a nanna, the fact that any woman who holds such a status could do any kind of harm to such beloved ones so that she could gain the crown really boggles my mind. But obviously, in her case, they were not beloved. And also obviously, there was nothing or no one more important to her than that crown. But this time, I thought about something else concerning Athaliah: she was a usurper. You see, God had intended that only David's descendants would rule in the southern kingdom. Athaliah was a foreigner, not of the royal line of David. I think the fact that for the seven years that she reigned, Judah had a monarch who was a ursurper really hit me. Perhaps it's because of some issues going on right now in our own country with respect to the constitution and the presidency, that I thought about this. THAT I will not discuss here; you may or may not know about it, but it did make me think about that. Wow. Judah had this usurper on the throne, but the best part of the story is that eventually she was dethroned and a legal king was crowned.

SO, the key to that is there were a handful of people who kept the faith and purposed to do what was right. And one little girl in the class salvaged this weeks lesson with her closing prayer. In her prayer she told God that even though different people may be reigning at different times, HE is the one who is really on the throne! Now, is that ever a wealth of truth coming from the mouth of a nine year old! So it was a good lesson after all!

Christmas Blessings

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

I pray that you know Him this holiday season. Christmas blessings are wished for you from my house to yours.

Thou Didst Reign on High

This Christmas song says it all. It tells of the great humility of our King who reigned on high, yet willingly adorned Himself in human flesh and humbled Himself to not only be born in the poorest of circumstances, but to live a lowly life, and die the cruel death at Calvary's cross. It also tells of a victorious conqueror who has returned to His throne on high but will return again to claim His own. Do we not have a Savior worthy of praise? Can we not sing these wonderful words with thankfulness? All may be crumbling around us, but can we not know the truth of the lyrics penned by Emily Elliott over a century ago and know they are just as applicable today?

Emily was a woman after my own heart because of her love for children and teaching them the truths of Scripture. I read that her life was filled with benevolent activities in rescue missions and in the Sunday school movement of her time. Now that's a life worth living! Teach this precious hymn to your children and grandchildren, dear ones. I intend to.

Thou dost reign on high with a kingly crown,
Yet thou camest to earth for me,
And in Bethlehem's home was there found no room
For thy holy nativity:
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for thee.

Heaven's arches rang when the angels sang,
Proclaiming thy royal degree;
But of lowly birth didst thou come to earth,
And in great humility:
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for thee.

The foxes found rest, and the birds their nest,
In the shade of the forest tree;
But thy couch was the sod,
O thou Son of God, in the deserts of Galilee:
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for thee.

Thou camest, O Lord, with the living word
That should set thy people free;
But with mocking scorn, and with crown of thorn,
They bore thee to Calvary:
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
Thy cross is my only plea.

When heav'n's arches shall ring,
And her choirs shall sing,
At thy coming to victory,
Let thy voice call me home,
Saying, "Yet there is room,
There is room at my side for thee."
And my heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus,
When thou comest and callest for me.

~Emily E.S. Elliott

He Became Poor

For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9

For the season that's suddenly come upon us, I thought I'd use my lack of time to make some posts that don't require a lot of thought or preparation. Also, I see everyone decorating their blogs for the holidays, while I don't have time for that either. So, I've decided that I'll be posting my favorite verses and carols which have to do with our Savior's first coming to this sinful world, with a smattering of Christmas images to decorate my blog.

The verse posted here is my favorite; I think I write it on cards and in holiday reflections more than any other. It goes with the hymn/carol that I'm posting next. Can anyone guess which one that will be? Of all the beautiful aspects of the incarnation, this one touches me most: God the Son left all of the riches that were His in glory, to become as one of us, clothed in human flesh, born in the humblest of circumstances. What a Savior.

And My Portion

Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. Psalm 73:25-26.

Oh how I love these two verses of Scripture. They have been a balm to me for many a year. I have to say that in the world of uncertainty that we find ourselves, these words drive me on. Indeed, that which pertains to this person who is me, will fail, but in the midst of failure, pain, sorrow, confusion, and all else that has or will come to this frail being, He is my strong tower and my portion. Someone else said it so much better than I ever could:

. . .God is not only my rock to defend me from those tempests which assault me, and, thereby, my freedom from evil; but he is also my portion, to supply my necessities, and to give me the fruition of all good. Others, indeed, have their parts on this side the land of promise, but the author of all portions is the matter of my portion. My portion doth not lie in the rubbish and lumber, as theirs doth whose portion is in this life, be they never so large; but my portion containeth him whom the heavens, and heaven of heavens, can never contain. God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever; not for a year, or an age, or a million of ages, but for eternity. . . Without alteration, this God will be my God for ever and ever, my guide and aid unto death; nay, death, which dissolves so many bonds, and unties such close knots, shall never part me and my portion, but give me a perfect and everlasting possession of it. ~ George Swinnock.

A Charge Given to Us

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. I Timothy 2: 1-2.

"A charge given to Christians to pray for all men in general, and particularly for all in authority. Paul does not send them any prescribed form of prayer. Paul thought it enough to give them general heads; they, having the scripture to direct them in prayer and the Spirit of prayer poured out upon them, needed not any further directions. The disciples of Christ must be praying people. There must be prayers for ourselves in the first place; this is implied here. We must also pray for all men. See how far the Christian religion was from being a sect, when it taught men this diffusive charity, to pray for all men. Pray for kings (v.2); though the kings at this time were heathens, yet they must pray for them. For kings, and all that are in authority. We must give thanks for them, pray for their welfare and for the welfare of their kingdoms, that in the peace thereof we may have peace. He does not say, "That we may get preferments under them, grow rich, and be in honour and power under them"; no, the summit of the ambition of a good Christian is to lead a quiet and peaceable life. . . Christians are to be men much given to prayer. In our prayers we are to have a generous concern for others as well as for ourselves; we are to pray for all men, and to give thanks for all men. Kings themselves, and those who are in authority, are to be prayed for. They want our prayers, for they have many difficulties to encounter, many snares to which their exalted stations expose them." ~ Matthew Henry

Thank you, Mr. Henry. Thank you for reminding me of a solemn duty which I have as a child of God. It's the desire of my heart that I and my children and their children may lead a quiet and peaceable life. May it be so, Lord Jesus.

Vote and Pray

We have the wonderful privilege extended to us once again to vote. Please do so, praying all the while. And when it's all said and done, the political hoopla behind us, we'll keep on trusting in our Savior.

"Almighty God, Who has given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech Thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of Thy favor and glad to do Thy will. Bless our land with honorable ministry, sound learning, and pure manners...

"In Time of prosperity fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in Thee to fail; all of which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." ~ Thomas Jefferson