Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Words - the wonder of words...

Some while back, I wrote in my journal about words. When I came across the entry recently, thought it something I would like to share:
Words. Yes, Abba Father, I do enjoy words: what they mean, how to use them in speaking and writing. As I was pondering about that just now, it occurred to me that the reason I like words and feel they are important is because - YOU used words; YOU spoke them forth, and all was created...and Jesus is called the Word of God.
Yes, words ARE important, and words are meaningful...and words are special. I know that they can be used to deceive, to destroy, but...they are significant, and powerful for good, as well, for they relate to You.
Also, "...in Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." The Greek word for treasure is "thesaurus" - and a thesaurus is a book of synonyms - words. Jesus is THE Word, and we are all variations (synonyms) of that Word.
Wow, what a thought.

A couple of words that have meanings that are interesting:
...The Greek for "religion" is - dread-speak. Surely it is!
...Amen. The root of "amen", "It is done, finished," is "trust". So when we say the word, Amen, we are saying, "It is done; trust Me."

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Facts

The other day, as was reading a writing about the subject of facts, and that God has placed thousands of facts in His scriptures, realized that such a definition of His words IS true. Not all things called "facts" are such, i.e, there was the time when it wss believed as a fact, that the earth was flat. In time, that "fact" was disproved. But when there is a fact in scripture, it IS a fact. No doubt about it. And what a joy to know that:
FACT - I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh (this body)I live by the faith OF Christ, who is loving me, and gave Himself for me. Oh my - what a fact! Gal. 2:20
FACT - I am a saint! Eph. 1:1, where that fact is declared.
FACT - I am justified! Rom. 5:1.
FACT - Christ IS my peace! Eph. 2:14
FACT - I have died to sin! Rom. 6:2
FACT - The love of God has been poured out (one translation says, "torrented out") within our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us. Rom.5:5
FACT - In everything (!) I am enriched in Him. 1 Cor. 1:5
FACT - In Christ Jesus, I have become the wisdom of God, and the righteousness of God, and I have been sanctified and redeemed in/through Christ. 1 Cor. 1:30
Surely such facts are almost too glorious for us to fully comprehend - but, PTL, they are TRUE!! And these are just the beginning...
Oh, the unfathomed love of God...and not just for me, but for ALL His creation!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

We shine with His light...

What an exciting revelation this writing is - it would seem that John 1:4 is true, "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." And so, today, we are that "light". How great, glorious, majestic, and wondrous is our God!

"The human body glows with visible light
The human body literally glows, emitting a visible light in extremely small quantities at levels that rise and fall with the day, scientists now reveal.
Maybe its not just symbolism that famous religious leaders and saints are drawn with a glow of light around their body.
Past research has shown that the body emits visible light, 1,000 times less intense than the levels to which our naked eyes are sensitive. In fact, virtually all living creatures emit very weak light, which is thought to be a byproduct of biochemical reactions involving free radicals. [Perhaps it is the light of Christ in each one?]
(This visible light differs from the infrared radiation - an invisible form of light - that comes from body heat.)
To learn more about this faint visible light, scientists in Japan employed extraordinarily sensitive cameras capable of detecting single photons. Five healthy male volunteers in their 20s were placed bare-chested in front of the cameras in complete darkness in light-tight rooms for 20 minutes every three hours from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. for three days.
The researchers found the body glow rose and fell over the day, with its lowest point at 10 a.m. and its peak at 4 p.m., dropping gradually after that. These findings suggest there is light emission linked to our body clocks, most likely due to how our metabolic rhythms fluctuate over the course of the day.
Faces glowed more than the rest of the body. This might be because faces are more tanned than the rest of the body, since they get more exposure to sunlight - the pigment behind skin color, melanin, has fluorescent components that could enhance the body's miniscule light production.
Since this faint light is linked with the body's metabolism, this finding suggests cameras that can spot the weak emissions could help spot medical conditions, said researcher Hitoshi Okamura, a circadian biologist at Kyoto University in Japan.
"If you can see the glimmer from the body's surface, you could see the whole body condition," said researcher Masaki Kobayashi, a biomedical photonics specialist at the Tohoku Institute of Technology in Sendai, Japan.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/liv...
http://www.livescience.com/...
(For illustrations, check out these web sites.)
Schematic illustration of experimental setup that found the human body, especially the face, emits visible light in small quantities that vary during the day.

And a friend sent along something that opens up even more of the wonders of our body and what it speaks to us of marvels of our God's creation:
"That's awesome and also confirms something else I had read which is that every atom emits an electrical charge. I also read that when the sperm penetrates the egg, there is an electrical sprark generated..."
Yes, truly, as He IS (now) so ARE we (now) in this world! Seed of His seed!




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Thursday, August 20, 2009

The Gift of Wonder

Wonder - the gift of our Abba Father. As this gentleman from a bygone era so beautifully puts it, it is a gift he ardently desired...and so it is with me. Ah, He has given me the "gift of wonder" - surely there is always more, for there is no end to His universe filled with an infinite number of things to "surprise me, amaze me, awe me...")
Yes, my prayer is that of Joshua Abraham Heschel...
The Grace of Wonder
Joshua Abraham Heschel
Dear Lord, grant me the grace of wonder. Surprise me, amaze me, awe me in every crevice of your universe. Delight me to see how your Christ plays in ten thousand places. . .to the Father through the features of men's faces. Each day enrapture me with your marvelous things without number. I do not ask to see the reason for it all; I ask only to share the wonder of it all.
Amen!

Saturday, August 1, 2009

From wondering to wonder...

The Concordance gives the following for "wonder": to show Self wonderful (God), a wonder, singular thing, miracle, astonishment, amazement, great astonishement, startling.
The thesaurus adds: awe, marvel, marvelous, reverence, stare open-mouthed...and more. The gist is, to wonder, or feel wonder, causes...wonder. Surely it is one of those words that is felt, experienced, and difficult to explain. Anyway, there have been some "wonders" that Father has impressed on me to note, to notice, and truly, they ARE wonderful [full of wonder].
Ah, the wonder of it, that my total history has been REwritten in Christ.
Ah, the wonder of it, that there was One who was willing to die for me, and for ALL men, Jesus Christ.
Ah, the wonder of it, that all - ALL - sin was removed, forgiven, on the cross of Christ. He is the Lamb who took away the sin of the world.
Ah, the wonder of it, that God, who is Love, loves all - those who love Him, those who do not love Him, those who do not believe in Him, those who hate Him. Yes, the wonder, almost unbelievable wonder, of such love, of such a God and Father. Just think, His love is unfailing, never ends, ageless, ceaseless, ever endures (in other words, it never gives up).
Ah, the wonder of it, that we "live, and move, and have our being in Him." And just think, that was addressed to the unbelieving Greeks!
Ah, the wonder of it, that I am being conformed to the image of Christ.
Ah, the wonder of it - just think, that "as He IS (now), so AM I in the world." Oh my, can we even begin to grasp such a wonder.
Ah, the wonder of it, that we have been (past tense!) blessed with EVERY spiritual blessing in the heavenlies (the highest) in Christ.
Ah, the wonder of it, that we are (NOW) the temple of His Spirit. So when I read "How beautiful are Your dwelling places, O God," I rejoice with overflowing praise and thanksgiving that I am His dwelling place.
Ah, the wonder of it, that "I was crucified with Christ...and the life I now live in this flesh (body), it live by the faith of Christ..." By His faith!
Ah, the wonder of it, that we did not choose Him, but HE chose us - before the creation of the world, even of the universe. Therefore, I am His chosen one, His ordained one (not by man, but by God).
Ah, the wonder of it, that He has reconciled ALL to Himself in/through Christ. Hallelujah, we serve a gloriously victorious Saviour, who will have ALL saved (He is NOT a "wannabe" Saviour, who tried and failed because of the vaunted "free will" of man. NO, He will have HIS way. Amen).
Ah, the wonder of it - the marvels of the human body and how intricately and wondrously it is made. The more we learn, the more we stand in awe.
Ah, the wonder of it, that You are giving me eyes to see as You see.
Ah, the wonder of it, that the love of God has been "torrented" in our hearts by the holy Spirit. Poured out, like Niagara Falls!
Ah, the wonder of it, that we are enriched in every way, in Christ. EVERY way (our Father enriches us holistically!)
Ah, the wonder of it, that you call me Your beloved. Your love of/for me and Your choice of me constitute my worth, my identity. Oh my...
Ah, the wonder of it, that I actually DO have the mind of Christ.
Ah, the wonder of it, that in Christ, by His Spirit, I am His witness.
Ah, the wonder of it, that Christ IS my peace.
Ah, the wonder of it, that His perfect love casts out all my fear.
The list is, in one way, never-ending. I shall stop now, for the nonce, yet I am sure there will be more wonders to cause awe, amazement, reverence, astonishment, and...joy (not mentioned as a definition of wonder, but surely joy is entwined in the wonder we feel).
Praise You, Lord, and thank You for the gift of wonder, seeing all as in Christ.
Hallelujah.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Wondering

A question arose in my mind about John 15:5-7, which reads, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, will bear abundant fruit, for without Me you can do nothing. Unless a man abides in Me, he will be cast aside like a branch which is withered, which they pick up and throw into the fire to be burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, whatever you ask shall be done for you..."
Abide has, to me, a sense of being able to move in and out (and that is one of its meanings). In Gal. 2:20, it reads, "I was crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ LIVES IN me..." If Christ is IN me, and we are ONE, then...there is no "moving in and out."
So, my thought is that the verse in John is "pre-Cross", while in Gal. 2:20 is "post-Cross". You can cut off a branch of a vine, but you don't cut a "limb" off of a body.
Also there, in John, Jesus says that "without Him we can do nothing," while in Christ, we are told that we can "do all things through Christ who strengthens us."
I know that the scripture in John is very precious to many Christians, and so any thoughts contrary to the standard understanding/belief are suspect. That is the wonderful thing about a blog - you can express your thoughts without people decrying your "spirituality".
Also, since it is Israel who is called the vine all through the OT, and the Christian is not so named, have long thought that this is specifically referring to Israel.
God knows, and so I rest in knowing that He will show me what is true.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Alleluia, Christ has risen!

Yesterday, April 12, was the day that was chosen (by whom?) to be the day, in this year of 2009, to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. The cry goes out, "Alleluia, Christ is risen. He is risen indeed!"
As a matter of fact, He HAS risen, for which I give thanks and much praise.
As a joyous message, I sent that word (along with a beautiful picture, which I cannot add here) to many dear ones, along with the thought, "What more is there to say?" A friend (Eulene Moores - surely one who has the mind of Christ and is used by Him in so many ways) sent me a reminder that there IS more to say, and I have since appended it to my email: "He has raised us up (also), and made us sit together (in / with) Him in the Heavenlies in Christ Jesus....."
What an important word! YES, that is what makes His resurrection so wonderful, meaningful, joyous, and glorious to each one of us. In Him, WE have been raised up with/in Christ, and He has made us to sit with Him in the heavenly realm. Today! Not in some future "heaven", but NOW.
So I thank my dear friend for those words, words which lift us up, and resonate in our spirit!
I do love Jesus Christ! Amen.

Monday, March 23, 2009

The 23rd Psalm

The other morning, Father took me to this psalm - so very familiar, and thus there was the temptation to think it had nothing new to say to me. Ah, the foolishness of such thinking...
The LORD is my Shepherd - and so HE is ALL that I need or want.
HE makes me to lie down in green pastures - green, full of life, food.
HE leads me beside still waters - peace, rest, quiet.
HE restores my soul - makes me whole, restored to/in HIM.
HE leads me in the paths of righteousness for HIS name's sake (not mine) - HE is my righteousness, so I am His gift to Himself.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear not (fear NO evil), for HE IS WITH ME in it all. We walk as one, He in me, and I in Him. Shadows are not reality (no matter how real they seem), and evil is swallowed up in His perfect love.
HIS rod and staff comfort me - NOT for punishment, but to guard me (the rod) and to protect me (the staff).
HE prepares a table for me in the presence of my enemies - in HIM, there is no need to fear any enemies; there is peace, and rest, and pleasure because I am being fed by
HIM.
HE anoints my head with oil - the Holy Spirit is poured over me and into me, and over my mind...and my cup runs over - a picture of the baptism in and fullness of the Spirit.
SURELY (NO doubt) goodness and mercy (love and grace) follow (pursue) me ALL my days
AND
I dwell even NOW in the house of the Lord (whose house I am - HIS temple) always...for the eons.
The glorious word that came through this to me - ALL IS OF GOD!!!
Hallelujah...

Sunday, February 15, 2009

ALL is of God!

Another experience this past week is yet one more reminder of the fact - FACT - that truly ALL is of God. Ray Prinzing's devotion for this date makes it wonderfully succinct:
FEBRUARY 15
THIS IS NO ACCIDENT
"Even though at present you are temporarily harassed by all kinds of trials and temptations. This is no accident it happens to prove your faith, which is infinitely more valuable than gold, and gold, as you know, even though it is ultimately perishable, must be purified by fire. This proving of your faith is planned to result in praise and honour and glory in the day when Jesus Christ reveals Himself."
(I Peter 1:6-7, Phillips)
This is no accident. It is a HAPPENING that is PLANNED to prove your faith! The responsibility is Gods, according to His plan and purpose being wrought out in us, that we might be found to His praise. Let us not be so quick to look for secondary causes, and forget that God is working out all things after the counsel of His own will. Nor did He just allow it, nay, HE PLANNED IT. We need to know wherein we stand, and in Whom we believe, else we shall not be able to stand in the evil day. But knowing that whatever shall touch our lives in the days, months, years to come, is in the purpose of God, under His sovereign control, and that IT IS NO ACCIDENT, then we can rest in His power and sufficiency to bring us through victoriously. All our circumstances are not just casually permitted; they are planned in His love.
No wonder it is written, neither give place to the devil, (Eph. 3:27). You cannot be GOD-CONSCIOUS and devil-conscious at the same time. Since God is working in His elect to bring them to that place where the prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me, (John 14:30), it is obvious that all the place in our minds where we have given room to the negative must be purged, and Christ totally enthroned, so that He alone fills our being with His consciousness.
Predetermined counsel working, Tis the Fathers will for thee,
And no accident can happen, what He planned is what you see.
From our God all things receiving, single eye, in faith to stand,
Strengthened with the blest assurance, none can pluck us from His hand.

Once again, a word from this precious saint (now gone) gave a needed reminder of what is true - God is in control of ALL...
Our daughter-in-law,Amy, being a Chinese born in Malaysia, carries a Malaysian passport; every year she must file with U.S. Immigration for a re-entry permit, to keep her Green Card valid. A new ruling - she must now submit a biometric "exam"; unfortunately, she was notified of this 3 days after she and family returned to Malaysia last July. If she cannot get it done at a U.S. embassy in Kuala Lumpur, or some other country, she must travel back to the U.S. to have it done - a long and expensive trip. It cannot be done in KL, but is possible in Bangkok...
The source of my experience of travail was - she was sent papers, with a very important envelope (had a scanner tab, so would go to the right individual).
she must mail the biometric in that envelope! I could scan the papers, but not the scanner tab. So, needed to send that. The problem? For some reason, in recent years, mail to their address is very "iffy". I could send it Fed Ex (through the p.o., and would be guaranteed overnight), or Priority Mail, which was to take 4-6 days. I chose the latter, because of the $25 difference (Priority Mail was $27). Yes, money was the criterion; the inner conflict was, the it was U. S. mail, and so would pass into the hands of the Malaysian postal system. However, I trusted Abba Father, and knew HE was bigger than all parties involved.
However (and thus came the "glitch" in my mind), time passed, and no word from Amy that the envelope had arrived. I knew it would be no simple matter to have Immigration send along another one. I prayed, and Father said, "Be still, let go, and know that I am God. I am in control of everything." Sounds positive enough, but...I truly wanted a more "definite" word (although surely that was very "positive".) Anyway, days passed, and I would cry out - this wasn't a matter of something hurting me; rather, it involved another person.
Yesterday morning, early, thought to send a "mea culpa" email to Amy, but would wait until Father gave me the words. And, PTL, after several different writings from others, and words, there was peace. Yes, I KNEW He was/is in control - that was never in doubt; but...alas, for that "but". Anyway, every Saturday evening, I call the family in KL, and talk to the boys. After, I asked to speak to Amy. Started out by saying I was so sorry to be causing her trouble. When she asked why, I said that the envelope had not arrived. "Ah, Mom, it has - I received it yesterday and was going to send you an email." Well, I exploded with shouts of praise and thanksgiving; and yes, truly "everlasting JOY" was upon my head, so thankful for His faithfulness...and (as He has reminded me) He is never early, AND He is never late. Also, my loving Abba Father simply loved me through it all - no recriminations, or telling me how faithless I was. Incredible love.
Then this word from Ray Prinzing this morning, a timely reminder of what I knew/know to be true. Father even brought Job to mind. Although we know that the Adversary is the one God used to deal out the woes, Job only saw God in it all. Amen.
GOD IS IN CONTROL OF ALL.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

A thought or two

Often, when something unpleasant happens to a friend, or neighbour, the common response is that God "allowed it." Norman Grubb once wrote: "If and when disturbing things come to us or our neighbours, and we only say God 'allowed' it, we seem to imply a weakness in God, as if He is sorry about such things, but He cannot help it. NO! God causes; He ordains; He intends, but NOT He 'allows'".
Decided one day to check in the concordance to see if Norman were correct. "Allow" is used many times for man, but not for God. The only time there is something close is in Heb. 6:3, where it says, "And this we will do, if God permit." "Permit" sounds something like "allow", but has a different nuance. If you want to add a room to your home, the city will "allow" you to do it; but if you want to go through with it, you must obtain a "permit".
We do not have to apologize for God, or make excuses for Him. He has very definitely taken all responsibility for what has happened to His creation [after all, HE planned it all]. One place where we see this made clear, that God takes responsibility, is Romans 8:20, "For the creature [creation] was made subject to vanity [decay, futility, imperfection],not willingly [not by its own choice], but by reason of Him who has subjected the same in hope." Ah yes, all is of God, but always IN HOPE (expectation).
Hallelujah!
Something that happened to me a few days ago was an instance, to me, that ALL IS OF GOD. I was going out of the garage, using the back door [intending to feed the birds], when a gust of wind slammed the door on the middle finger of my left hand [PTL it was not the right hand). It hurt!!! I cannot describe the pain; I thanked God (yes, we are to thank Him IN all things, and FOR all things), crying at the same time because of the excruciating pain. As I walked to the bird feeder, a thought came to me (from my Abba Father, who is Love, Who gives me His thoughts) - it was a reminder that those who are being persecuted and tortured for Christ, experience such pain, over and over again. I was hit only once, not several times with rods, whips, chains, nor were my fingernails pulled out...or worse. Ah, it gave me a fresh, a real, understanding of what these people are put through. I volunteer at Voice of the Martyrs, and so hear of horrific things all the time; but may I say this severe blow to that small part of my body gave me a perspective, an awareness, I had not really known before.
God did NOT allow that - He did it. After all, is it not He who controls the "stormy winds"? Ps. 148:8 They "fulfill His will!" The pain eventually subsided, the finger was not broken (did turn a beautiful colour of purple), and I can use it, kind of (if am careful). Better every day...
Yes, it is an episode I would rather not repeat, but how thankful I am to know that there was a purpose in it all - a loving purpose.
Amen.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Words of Jesus

Some years ago, I purchased a Lamsa translation of the Bible, based on the original Aramaic Peshitta. In it, Jesus' words on the cross, in Matt. 27:46 and Mark 15:34, are: "My God, My God, for this I was spared." (Luke makes no mention of these words of Jesus on the cross), rather than what is written in most other translations, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
Lamsa writes that Jesus, in John 8:29, indicates His confidence that His Father would never leave Him alone: "And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him." Again, in John 16:32, it is written, "Indeed,the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own place, and yet, I am NOT alone because the Father is with Me."
In Ps. 22:1 (which He is said to be quoting), in Lamsa we read, My God, My God, why hast Thou let Me to live?" (To fulfill His purpose in coming?)
It seems to me that there is some merit in the Lamsa translation, for Jesus knew His purpose in coming, and knew He had fulfilled all His Father had sent Him to do.
It has always been a provocative point for me (as are a number of those things we find written in scripture)...and so, it is included here.