Remember the Apostle Paul

This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. 1 Timothy 1:15

From time to time, as many of you know, I feel constrained to write a post about those of Christ's church who are persecuted for their faith. But a post that Stacy Harp made yesterday at the persecution blog made me think. I don't pray enough for the persecutors. If you can, read Stacy's post--it's real food for thought.

I know it may be difficult to hear about some of the horrible atrocities that are committed against Christians and then turn around and pray for God's mercy and grace towards the perpetrators, but I do agree that the Apostle Paul, former persecutor and blasphemer, is a reminder that there is no category of man which is outside of the grace of our God.

Do you pray for the persecutor as well as the persecuted? My confession: I don't. At least not often enough. So as Stacy is reminding us, Paul teaches us a lesson about this.

Great Gain in Great Loss

Jesus, my all in all thou art;

My rest in toil, my ease in pain,

The medicine of my broken heart,

In war my peace, in loss my gain...

~~Charles Wesley

I looked back and couldn't believe my last Aunt Jane's Hero post was on November 8th. Imagine that. To think that last July I had grand intentions that this would be a weekly series on this blog, one I even thought could be finished by now. I hate to say this, but sometimes I have expectations which come far short of reality. Well, enough of that--I've beaten up on myself sufficiently. I go forward with new resolve to be more diligent, even if I don't meet my initial goals. Now for Chapter 5 . . .

". . .The Young Men's Christian Association opened its arms to him; he became interested in the once-despised Mission School, and once or twice his voice was heard at the weekly prayer-meeting which he never used to attend. He felt, at times, that he had gained through loss; that he was a happier, better man; and yet a voice often whispered in his ear; that next to the love of God he needed the love of a Christian woman."

Horace? Is this speaking of Horace? Yes, a different Horace as you can clearly see. These final lines of the chapter are evidence that the most wonderful thing that could possibly happen to any wandering young man had occurred--he had been brought back to his God. In Horace's case, it had happened as a result of the heavy hand of divine providence. The episode is a stirring account of how our young hero, in the midst of great loss, came into possession of great gain, even Christ. We stand in awe, as if this fictional character were someone we knew.

Last night, during prayer time at our church, someone asked prayer for their wayward son. At that point I took a mental excursion around the room and counted four families who have either a son or a daughter who has strayed. As I thought about them, I thought of Horace and what happened to him in this chapter. I don't wish on any of these young people that they'd experience a loss such as the one Horace endured; but, oh, I pray they'll lay hold of his gain. Then, my thoughts went even further to ponder whether any of these parents would just as soon see God have hard dealings with their wandering ones if it's the only way. It's a tough call--to an area of prayer where any parent would tread with trepidation.

Note: I've intentionally not mentioned what Horace's great loss was. Remember, these posts are little prods to get you to read the book!

Sunday Snippet - The Greatest Wonder

I am rejoicing in the mercies of my God today. His kindnesses to this poor weary saint have been manifold. A good study with my Sunday school children this morning, two good sermons today, wonderful hymns at each service,the Lord's Supper, and a precious time of prayer tonight have left me ready to face another week. We heard about the "Seven Wonders of God" tonight as Pastor R. finished off with the greatest wonder of all: That God loves us. For those of us who have come to Him through His Son, we can be assured that He loves us. That indeed is a wonder and wonderful. The final words of the sermon:

I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how He could love me,
A sinner, condemned, unclean.

Wishing God's blessings to all my fellow pilgrims throughout this week.

Treasured Moments

"Up, Nanna," says my little toddler granddaughter as she lifts up her arms for me to pick her up. These are moments that I treasure here on this side of glory. There is no amount of money that anyone could give me in return for them. I had small children once, as many of you have now, so I know how special it is to have any of our sons or daughters (of any age, really) hold out their arms to be held in ours. But I tell you, there is something indescribable about being reached for by a grandchild. You grandparents can identify.

I need to think more about the preciousness of such moments when my heart is feeling a bit low. I need to reach up to my God at those times. He loves me even more than I love that sweet little girl, so I would imagine it would give Him pleasure. I need to regress from self-pity and gloominess and have Him lift me up. This, I'm sorry to say, is not what I do often enough. I'll try to let Selena remind me of that the next time I hear her say those wonderful words, "Up, Nanna."

Are You Rich?

Every day you hear and read of more Christians who are persecuted. Anytime you want to feel sorry for yourself and get anxious about the cares and worries of this life, just pop over to the Voice of the Martyrs site and read about what's going on around the world. Many dear saints live in huts and have to work hard in fields from morning until night for a meal of rice and beans. Some struggle with disease, tumults, and calamities. If anytime you stress over some lack or wish for something that you can't afford of this world's many goods, or struggle with a broken appliance or a physical affirmity or some petty grievance, try looking around the World Vision site for awhile. Some of us are, indeed, going through extremely difficult circumstances or life threatening illnesses ourselves. For all Christians here and abroad, under whatever condition of life, and without regard to their financial situation, I would say that if they are true saints, they are rich. This is a quote that I wish I could give to every suffering saint in the world to remind them of their true state of wealth:

When can it be said of a man, that he is rich towards God? Never till he is rich in grace, and rich in faith, and rich in good works! Never till he has applied to Jesus Christ, and bought of him gold tried in the fire. (Rev. 3:18) Never till he has a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens! Never till he has a name inscribed in the book of life, and is an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ! Such a man is truly rich. His teasure is incorruptible. His bank never breaks. His inheritance fadeth not away. Man cannot deprive him of it. Death cannot snatch it out of his hands. All things are his already,--life, death, things present, and things to come. (I Cor. 3:23) And best of all, what he has now is nothing to what he will have hereafter. ~ J.C. Ryle

Any sinner who repents and believes the gospel, trusting the Lord Jesus as Savior, can have these riches. So, are you rich?

Right Paths

Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil. Proverbs 4:25-27

This picture brought these verses to my mind. These are verses that I've often written on the greeting cards of young people, especially when they graduate from high school. Have you ever noticed how many times the words "path" or "pathway" appear in the book of Proverbs? Today I counted at least eighteen, all in the first eight chapters. And that's not counting the verses that speak about "walking in the way." Another verse many of us love is the one that says "the path of the just is like the shining sun."

But then there are the warnings. One of the devotionals in my Bright Gems book is devoted to these warnings. I called it "Turn From Evil" and in it I try to explain to children what the Bible means in Proverbs 4:14-19 when Solomon speaks to the young about not entering the "path of the wicked." In the day in which we're living, I'm sure that you'll agree with me that we should be lovingly exhorting our children about these things, especially our teens. And there are so many applications--movies, friendships, TV, books, music, etc.

But we always have to make sure we bring them to the only way that there is to walk in the way of righteousness and avoid the path of evil. It's only through and by Jesus. If we lead our children to Him, He'll lead them in the right paths by and by. Thank God for that.

Sunday Snippet - The Christian Family

"God honors not those who cling to their 'rights', but those who choose freely to obey Him."

This bit of truth is a quote out of a book that has been beloved in our house since early in our marriage. We have a different cover than the one shown here, but of all the books I've read on the family, this one by Larry Christenson has impacted me the most. Others of you may have a different favorite, but this one has always been mine. Believe me, it's worth having on your shelf as a reference. I love the five chapters from Part One, "God's Order for the Family" :


CHAPTER ONE: God's Order for Mates
CHAPTER TWO: God's Order for Wives
CHAPTER THREE: God's Order for Children
CHAPTER FOUR: God's Order for Parents
CHAPTER FIVE: God's Order for Husbands

I have received more help from Chapter Four than any other book I've ever read on the subject, except for a short book by J.C. Ryle, which I may talk about another time. The above quote, however, is from Chapter Two. Think about how it might be applied there, ladies.

I had a nice Lord's Day. Hope you did too.

New Year Greetings

Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting You are God.

A blessed and happy New Year to all of you who visit. We've begun another calendar year and there will be many changes in the coming 366 days, as there have been in the 365 that we just completed. But it's good to comfort ourselves in the knowledge of our God who has been changeless from one generation to another. I hope that 2008 will draw you and me closer to Him. I'll slowly be making my rounds to my friends to give holiday greetings.

I haven't done well catching up on my writing during the break, so blogging will be sparse. Keep me in prayer as I get back to donning the various headgear that we moms need to wear, and PLEASE pray that the projects can get moving. Too much activity over the holidays!! Now maybe some time to breathe!

Our Jesus, Our Emmanuel

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet , saying, Behold a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Matthew 1: 21-23

The baby born that night was called "Jesus." That was His mission; that's why He came. To save a people unto Himself. To bear their sins and give them a place in heaven. To cleanse them by His own blood. This name of Jesus is a precious name to all of us who know Him as our own. It is our only hope in a weary, sin-cursed world.

The baby born that night was to be called "Emmanuel." That was His Person; He's God with us. He is God in the flesh, a union of two natures, divine and human. He is perfect God and perfect man. He had a nature like our own, yet without sin. He can identify with our pain and sorrows. But then again, He is Almighty God. He has all power in heaven and earth and no one can pluck us out of His hand.

In the words of my dear "friend", J.C. Ryle: "This is glad tidings. This is indeed good news. Let us feed on these truths in our hearts by faith with thanksgiving." Amen.

From my house to yours this Christmas season:

Rejoice with me in the first coming of the Lord Jesus, our Savior, Our Emmanuel. May you and yours be blessed by Him this season.

With love and best wishes,

Maxine

I Need a Break!

Hi Friends! I've decided to take a short break. I need to for more reasons than one. The number one reason is that the wireless connection on my laptop is acting up and trying to drive me insane. I will not go into all the gory details partly because I am sick of thinking about it. For another thing, the desktop in the kitchen is having issues of its own too. Then, I have so many writing projects at different stages which I am not getting to because I am too busy on the internet, or TRYING to get on! So......I think the Lord is telling me to take a break. For the next week or more I plan to work on the editing and writing that should be taking my attention at this point. AND finish with some Christmas shopping and wrapping.

So if you don't hear from me you know where I am!