And may I say to those of you who have bad experience with fathers...
I pray that you can take comfort in God being "our Father." I realize that many people have grave difficulty with this imagery, because they either had an abusive father, or no father at all. But God's love is perfect, and we should all get our ideas of what human fathers should be like from HIM, not the other way around.
Nevertheless, I do understand, and pray that God can break through any barriers that have been put up because of bad relationships.
Violence in Iran. In Tehran, police beat protesters and fired tear gas and water cannons at thousands who rallied Saturday against Iran's clerical government. Opposition presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi is urging his supporters to stage a national strike if he's arrested.
1 We thank you, God, we thank you� your Name is our favorite word;
your mighty works are all we talk about.
2-4 You say, "I'm calling this meeting to order,
I'm ready to set things right.
When the earth goes topsy-turvy
And nobody knows which end is up,
I nail it all down,
I put everything in place again.
I say to the smart alecks, 'That's enough,'
to the bullies, 'Not so fast.'"
5-6 Don't raise your fist against High God.
Don't raise your voice against Rock of Ages.
He's the One from east to west;
from desert to mountains, he's the One.
7-8 God rules: he brings this one down to his knees,
pulls that one up on her feet.
God has a cup in his hand,
a bowl of wine, full to the brim.
He draws from it and pours;
it's drained to the dregs.
Earth's wicked ones drink it all,
drink it down to the last bitter drop!
9-10 And I'm telling the story of God Eternal,
singing the praises of Jacob's God.
The fists of the wicked
are bloody stumps,
The arms of the righteous
are lofty green branches. (The Message)
"If, whenever we hear the wind blowing with any degree of violence, we are as much frightened as if we were stricken with a thunderbolt from heaven, such extreme readiness to be thrown into a state of consternation manifestly shows that we do not as yet thoroughly understand the nature of that government which God exercises over the world.
"But the man who believes it to be an established principle that God disposes of all men as seems good in his sight, and shapes to every man his condition in this world, will not stop at earthly means: he will look above and beyond these things to God. ...the godly should submit themselves wholly to God, and beware of being lifted up with vain confidence. When they see the impious waxin proud, let them not hesitate to despise their foolish and infatuated presumption."
Again, Calvin being verbose and difficult to comprehend. To summarize as best I can...if we are afraid of the weather, we really don't comprehend the whole sovereignty of God in this world. We need to be firmly in belief that God does whatever he pleases based on his good pleasure and that all that he does is just and good. However, it is God who defines "good," not us. So, if it seems "good" to God to blow my house away with a tornado, so be it. I'll admit that I will probably be afraid while it's happening. I am human, after all. However, I hope that, should such a thing happen, afterwards I will be still giving God praise and glory for his blessings in my life.
But you never know...I can't make promises of how I will react. None of us can. We can only know what the ideal is and try to be prepared for anything.
"Home to Glory"
Weekend Reading
"He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory." (1 Timothy 3:16)
These words were recorded by Paul and were probably either a confession of sorts that was often repeated by Christians, or part of a hymn.
The church calendar marks "Ascension Day" as May 21 this year. It traditionally falls 40 days after Easter. It is not Jesus's departure we celebrate, but his return to glory. The author this article is puzzled as to why we place so much importance on Christmas and Easter, but don't celebrate the ascension. Curious question. He surmises that it might be because the incarnation (Christmas) and the resurrection (Easter) both happened on earth. But you can be sure that there was a great celebration in heaven when the Son returned in glory!
I will interject, personally, that the possible reason for the lack of celebration for the ascension is that our faith and lifestyle as Christians do not hinge whatsoever on that event. We revel in the birth of Christ, because that is the beginning of our faith story (as far as tangible evidence goes), and we revel in the crucifixion and resurrection because that is, in a sense, the consummation of our faith, as Christ defeated death once for all. I daresay that the ascension, although important, does not hold nearly the important place in the story of our faith.
Nevertheless, when he returned Home, he was finished with his work. Mission accomplished. Really. When the troops of heaven hung a "mission accomplished" banner, it really was accomplished. Jesus sat down. And he is not only seated...he is seated on a throne! He is reigning. One of the major themes of Revelation is the victory of Christ and his reign.
"There are many Christians who believe it is their duty to fight to make the reign of Christ happen. We might as well be fighting so that the sun will rise tomorrow morning." Hahaha....I love that. And it's true! I have heard preachers and other people who believe that they have to fight for his reign. At the risk of offending...that is absurd. Jesus is reigning! We don't have to fight for that. However, we do need to pray and witness so that our neighbors would acknowledge that reign. "When Jesus returns He will not be coming to take the throne. His coming will prove His reign once and for all--that He is indeed the King."
But when he returned home, "He received a name that was above every name, and all of heaven rang with praise."
"...taken up in glory," said Paul.
Amen.
I pray this morning that I would be faithful in my life, no matter what kind of circumstances befall me. My faith has been tested many times during the struggles we have had with Stephanie. But we have not had any test such as loss of property or tragic loss of life (other than through mostly natural means). I guess what I'm saying, Lord, is that my desire is to be strong in the face of adversity. I don't want to fail you or turn my back on you just because something I perceive to be "bad" happens.
Finally, I thank you and praise you for the finished work of Christ, as he has sat down next to you in heaven. Let us consider the ascension of Jesus as an important event in history. It may never hold the place in our hearts that the birth, death and resurrection hold, but it is important and something that we should not ignore. Would that we could have witnessed the massive celebration that happened when Jesus "stepped" back into heaven and sat down on his throne.
Grace and peace, friends!