Christmas But Not Yet (Part 2)

As I was saying in my last post Jesus will soon come to take His faithful people home. CHRISTMAS!!! As a result of His request in John 17:24 the marriage will be consummated. PRAISE THE LORD. The scripture records: 'And they that were ready went in with Him to the marriage and the door was shut'. HALLELUJAH!!! There is a sense of security because the saints have been shut in with with Jesus.

So here we are...down to the final ministration when the great work for man's salvation will be finished. According to Daniel 12:1-3 Michael stands up to go for His children. For the space of half an hour heaven is silent as Jesus approaches Planet Earth with His retinue of angels. CHRISTMAS!!! His children are heard saying in the words of Isaiah 25:9: 'Lo this is our God we have waited for Him and He will save us: this is the Lord we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation'. CHRISTMAS (not x-mas) is in the air. Christmas is a-coming and the grapes are already fat.

Good news, my friends, all are invited and all may attend. See (Matt.22:4, Luke 14:16-17 and Rev.22:17). Jesus has promised to gird Himself and serve us. The wedding supper of the Lamb will be served. Oh what a joy! Christmas at last! I can hear the ransomed choir start to sing 'Amazing Grace'. It will be a grand celebration, friends. Signs of the time signal that the Christian Christmas will soon be here. Jesus will come to serve at the banqueting table. My friends are you ready to celebrate? Will you be made ready? Accept Jesus today. By God's grace let us meet at the banqueting table.


Love you all but Jesus loves you better. Reach out in faith today and be touched by God's grace.

Christmas-But Not Yet- Part 1

We are about a month away from what the world now dubs as Christmas Day and folks are getting excited. Yet, in all the general pandemonium that takes place supposedly in His honour, very little is seen of this Jesus- man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Somehow He is strangely absent from the feasting and pleasure seeking masses which are held. Sad to say, many Christians are being swept away on the high tides of commercialism, sensuality and gluttony that sweeps over communities at this time of the year.

The life of Christ refutes the idea of Christmas celebration as we know it today. While on earth Christ lived a life of self sacrifice. Reveling, feasting and merriment were not to be His lot. Christ lived in the shadow of the cross and yet very few people recognized it. I can well imagine the intensity of emotions which many Jews experienced when they heard that Jesus was born. The thought of liberation from the Jewish yoke would have been uppermost in their minds. This would have been reason enough to celebrate. Christ, the Liberator, had come on the scene. "Christmas!" But not yet.

First the cross... but the Jews couldn't understand it. They failed to understand Christ's mission. Could it be that we are still misunderstanding even today? Interestingly, even the disciples failed to understand Christ's mission and looked for 'Christmas' prematurely. The sons of Zebedee were ready for 'Christmas'. They even desired to have the best seats at the gala. Judas too wanted 'Christmas' prematurely. His desire led to the betrayal of Jesus. Today we too want 'Christmas' prematurely.

The crucifixion of Christ was a crushing blow to His disciples. Today, persons are crushed when they face the startling fact that there must be a crucifixion of self before there can be a 'Christmas celebration'. Yet 'Christmas' is a-coming. Soon Christ will come for His people in fulfilment of His promise in St. John 14:1-3. (To be continued)

Praise The Lord!!!

Am I the only one noticing how rapidly the days are passing? It seems like the years just roll in and out like the waves of the sea. Well, once more we are on the brink of a new year. The challenges, we must admit, have been many. There were times when we felt we could not nave made it so far into 2008. We were buffeted by the powers of darkness and at times it seemed as if the mountains were extremely difficult to climb.

For many of us there were mountains of debt we couldn't clamber over, mountains of poor health, economic instability, family disputes, misunderstandings, and even mountains of spiritual maladies/inadequacies. Yet as Ruth says there is much to praise God for. Tonight I want to praise the Lord for the following blessings:

1) The blessing of present life which according to His promise will one day blossom into life eternal. I look forward with a sense of anticipation to that day.

2) The blessing of health

3) The blessing of family and friends who support and encourage

4) The blessing of the students I teach- indeed despite the challenges they present their love and affection is genuine- I am rejuvenated just by being with them- they help to keep me young. :)

5) The blessing of a fruitful land to live in

6) The blessing of a church family by which my spiritual life is enriched

7) The blessing of comparative comfort of home- it still needs working on- but I feel extra blessed when I remember that the Son of Man had no place to call home

8) The blessing of the Internet which brings programmes which present deep spiritual truths that I'm enriched by

9) The blessing of sight, hearing, speech, smell and feeling- can't imagine how it feels to be deprived of one's senses

10) Last, but perhaps most significant, the blessing of trials and problems which serves to keep me focused and on my knees.

Hi

I intended to post tonight but I'm deadbeat. I've been marking papers and recording grades from the moment I got home. I will try to post tomorrow

Have a blessed night.

Making the Moments Count

As we look around us each day we see the baleful effects of sin on planet earth. Each day makes it increasingly clearer that signs of the times are appearing in rapid succession as prophecies reach their fulfilment. Today we live in a world where men's heart are indeed failing them for fear. Crime has escalated to alarming proportions and even babies are being brutally abused and slain. Yet we are assured that our present state of existence will not continue forever.

According to the Scriptures our Lord shall come and will not keep silence. For the Christian, 'we have this hope that burns within our hearts, hope in the coming of the Lord'. We can fully concur with Wayne Hooper that 'the time is here when the nations far and near shall awake and shout and sing Hallelujah Christ is King!' I believe with all my heart that some day soon our Lord will put in His appearance to eradicate sin from planet earth. Indeed our time here is short. There's no getting around that.

So how do we make the moments count? May I humbly make a few suggestions here? I do not count myself an authority on such matters so feel free to share your suggestions as well. Here goes:


1) Love God above all else.

2) Love all men- even the unlovable.

3) Give willingly- it will return to you full measure, pressed down and running over.

4) Be kindhearted to all regardless of class, colour or gender.

5) Be an intercessor- pray earnestly for others, even for your enemies.

6) Be temperate in all things- moderation is an excellent guide.

7) Maintain a healthy diet

8) Exercise daily

9) Take time for family and recreation

10) Be an effective witness- let your life be an open book which all men can read.

I'm sure there are several other ways of making the moments count. How about sharing some you have thought about with me. Remember, today take time to stop and smell the roses, you'll last longer my friend. :)

The Need for Light

In every situation there is a lesson to be learned. The truth of this hit me like a hammer this morning as I prepared for church. A few days ago I told you about the unfortunate situation in which a gentleman found himself. I remember telling you that I giggled uncontrollably. Interestingly, I wasn't giggling this morning. Can you guess why? Of course you can! The laugh was on me!

I'll tell you what happened. I was all dressed for church when I decided that I needed a little listerine to make sure that my mouth was smelling extra fresh for the day at church. However, mine was finished. I asked my mom to let me have some of hers. We share the same house. She tossed me her key and I hastened to her room. By this time everyone was in the car waiting for me because we were already late.

Well my dear friends, I was in her room with a hop, skip and a bounce. In my haste I didn't bother to turn on the light even though with all the windows tightly locked the room was dark. I just bounded to her dressing table and picked up the bottle of listerine and poured some into my mouth so I could proceed with my gargling. To my consternation the strong scent of dettol assailed me. I had poured DETTOL into my mouth.

I hastened outside to spew it out. I was nauseated and gagged helplessly. Everyone hurried out of the car and tried to determine the cause of my discomfiture and to assist. When I could eventually speak my daughter began giggling uncontrollably. It was so funny now that she phoned my sister to ensure that she had a good laugh too. Needless to say I was not myself for the entire morning. You may be laughing now because I am quite okay and none the worse for the experience. What is the lesson here though?

Mankind needs light. When we walk in darkness we stumble and sometimes fall. Jesus declares 'I am the light of the world'. If I had taken the time to turn on the light I would have seen that the bottle contained Dettol. We cannot safely traverse this earth without the light of Jesus to guide our steps. The word of God, the Bible, is designed to flood our lives with heavenly rays of light. We need to take the time to open its pages and allow the rays of God's light to permeate our very being.

Turn on the light. It is your guarantee of spiritual safety. It will prevent you from imbibing poisonous doctrines. Be blessed and stay blessed. Love you all.

Amusing but Serious

Yesterday I had a really interesting experience which I found amusing. My husband and I sat in a line of traffic which was moving slowly as a result of some road work being done. A man alighted from a car just in front of ours with two hefty pieces of luggage. These he placed in the trunk of a waiting taxi. Having secured his luggage he opened the door of the car he intended entering.

It was at this point that the plot thickened. As that poor man stood poised to enter; the car took off at a most surprising speed almost sending him sprawling. The man stared, mouth agape as his luggage disappeared around the bend. I giggled uncontrollably. However, there's a lesson to be learned.

The panic flight by the driver was caused simply because he was driving an illegal taxi and the transport authority turned up. Could we be in such a situation where we engage in forbidden activities and are forced to flee when we finally realize that God is right on spot observing us? That man who was left standing, bereft of his luggage was adversely affected by the driver's callous and inconsiderate behaviour. He could have been seriously injured. Where am I going with this line of argument? Our actions, believe it or not, impact on others. When we get caught in these dilemmas, those around us are left to stare in wide eyed astonishment. As a result, they sometimes stumble and fall.

Let us therefore strive to obey the law of God so we have no fear of being condemned by it.

Love will make a Difference.

Milepost

Those of you who read yesterday's post will realize that today is a significant milepost in my life. I reflect on the past as I realize that, I, albeit undeservedly, have had 20 years of extended life. Twenty years seems to be a long, long time. Yet, it pales into insignificance when compared to eternity.

Extended life in the here and now is good. Nevertheless I look forward to that day when time shall be changed into eternity. Death will have lost its sting and the grave its victory. You may have lost a loved one to the grave. Take heart. A day is coming when according to the promise 'there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be anymore pain for the former things are passed away'.

I've learned to smile in adversity because I'm assured that joy comes in the morning.

Blessings

I am Blessed

Today I am feeling abundantly blessed. You may wonder why. It is with a sense of awe and humility that I share a tiny portion of my life with you. The year was 1988- twenty years ago to be exact.

I was poised precariously between life and death. I can even now remember the cardiologists hovering around me trying to hear my faint heartbeat which was somehow being silenced by the heartbeat of the baby I was carrying. The lines of concentration and care showed clearly in their faces. I struggled to remain calm although their serious expressions indicated that I was in a crisis. I was experiencing difficulty with my breathing and as the doctors prodded and poked at my swollen body I had a premonition that things were worse than I supposed.

It did not take long for my deepest fears to be confirmed. My condition was critical and I had to sign forms so that the doctors could perform the surgery to remove the baby the very next day. I was now 8 months pregnant and had been hospitalized for at least five months with only occasional weekends at home. Twice I had faded away into heart failure. Now the doctors were adamant that to keep me in that condition any longer was to sign my death warrant. Even now I can remember the fear that clutched at my heart as I overheard one of the cardiologists saying, "Sister, can't you see we are losing this patient?"

I painfully signed the forms then placed a call to my mother to let her know that I would be being operated on the next day. She was going to prayer meeting that night so she assured me that the brethren there would be petitioning God's throne on my behalf. I was somewhat comforted but could not stop the tears from rolling down my cheek.

I prayed and somehow slept that night. The next morning I was prepared for theatre and by midmorning the porters came for me. Once more tears rolled down my cheeks as the realization dawned on me that there was a possibility that even if the baby lived I might not make it out alive. Nevertheless, I placed my trust in God and made the decision that whatever the outcome I just wanted Him to save me by his matchless grace.

At 2:08 p.m on November 8, 1988, the doctors removed Roxanne from my womb and ushered her into the world. According to the records she gave a lusty cry. Her little lungs were strong, despite her mother's weakness. What of her mother? According to my doctors I was dead to the world. I could not be awakened. I was placed in the intensive care unit but as night approached I slept on. One doctor said he was convinced that they were losing me as it seemed that I would just slip quietly into that sleep of death.

It is good to place one's confidence in God. The Creator is indeed the Sustainer of all. This is what happened: I felt a slap on my thigh. I awakened to the cries of, 'Thank you Jesus'. As I looked across the ward I saw a nurse on the other side staring at me as if she was in a state of shock. By this time I discovered that I was the one shouting 'thank you Jesus'. As the nurse rushed over to my side I tried to control the emotions that flooded over my entire being. With much effort I quietened as the nurse tenderly administered to my needs. I had been touched from heaven's throne room. My God delivered when it seemed there was no hope. What a God to serve, to love, and pant after!!!

He delivered me and I am still alive 20 years after. Today as I re-live that experience I am blessed. He can deliver you, my friends. Only trust Him, serve Him fully, then experience His blessings.

Love you all.

Rainy Weather

November is here and it seems to be bringing us some well needed rain. For many of us the change in weather conditions is a welcome one. Others bewail the wetness and the mud. I love the rain because it brings lushness to the crops in the field. My daughter is not very thrilled about the rain as her new room was flooded and she had to move into her original room. I suspect we have some fixing to do to cope with this rainy season. Nevertheless, there is much to thank God for.

He has been wonderful and gracious to us. It is not too early to start counting our blessings and naming them one by one. I know we will be just overwhelmed to see what the Lord has done for us throughout this year. I have been studying the atonement of Christ at my church and I am just tickled pink to think that God would give his only beloved son to die in my place. He died in your place too. Oh, what a love!!!

I hope you will all plan to give Jesus your heart. That is the best New Year's resolution you could ever make. Love you all.