"Happy Are The People Whose God is the Lord" Jesus Christ

"Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing?  The kings of the earth set themselves...against the Lord and against His Anointed...He Who sits in the heavens shall laugh...." (Psalm 2:1, 4a)

I wish you and I could have the same "laughing" attitude about life.  The enemies of Jesus rage, but He and His purposes never change.  I say to the, "kings of the earth," You might as well rage on; you don't have much time left.  As for those of us who are Followers of Jesus, in the midst of intercession and concern for the lost of the world, there should be the "Divine Laughter."

I have always felt that there is a little of the Dad and child here, as in the child thinking he can do so much more than he is capable of, and a loving father's chuckle at the effort.  But there is also a taunt here.  Maybe some think this is not nice of the Living Triune God, but when men continue to refuse the reign of, "the Lord and of His Christ," there is nothing more to do than laugh at its futility.  You have heard the phrase, "That is laughable."

You and I serve Father and, "His Anointed," His Christ, Son Jesus.  There should be in us a joy-laughter, yes, even in the midst of great sorrow and the world descending more and more into The Abyss.  The kids Mom's funeral was this morning; it was indeed a sad affair.  I understand the "better place," and the "suffering is now over," etc.  But the sadness of the lost remains.  Yet as contradictory as it seems to those who know not Jesus, we laugh with the heart of those the Bible describes as, "Happy are the people whose God is the Lord Jesus Christ."

Father, in Jesus' Name, thank You that, "Happy are the people whose God is the Lord."  Amen.
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*    There are a couple of new articles at:    jhs58.blogspot.com
*    Please continue to pray about a possible date change for my participation in David's Tent       in DC.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

We Give To Be Faithful

"If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary, if I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless..., if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing, or the needy without garments,...if I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, 'You are my security, the fortune my hands had gained',...then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high."  (Job 31, NIV)

Notice, when we give we are not, "unfaithful to God on high."  Rather, we are, "[]faithful to God on high."  We give, not to "get," but to be faithful.

America is increasingly becoming, more and more, a selfish nation simply because Americans, "....trust in gold and said to pure gold, 'You are my security'...."  Most want; few give.  If your trust is in your possessions, then you have to protect them, because you believe it is your possessions which guarantee your security.  This is the reason so many are flocking to Trump.  I don't support him, but many do, especially of the "middle class," because they are fed up with politicians promising everything and producing nothing for them, while those who refuse to work just seem to get more and more.  There was an article I saw today which I posted to Facebook that reveals just how sick is the American culture.   This give-it-all-to-me-but-I-do-absolutely-nothing-for-it-and-couldn't-care-less-what-others-have attitude is pure evil.  Job knew it, and wanted to be no part of it.

Jesus commands us, "Sell your possessions and give to the poor.  Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys."  You and I as Followers of Jesus need to look at our giving, not just to the Church and Missions, but to those who are as Job described, and not through some 5013c to get a tax credit, but for the above reason Jesus gives us.  The last part of our text struck me today as a check for our giving.  Giving is just as much a mark of my faithfulness to our Lord Jesus Christ as is writing this devotional, going on missions, preaching and sharing Jesus with the lost, worshipping and praying.

Father, in Jesus' Name, I want to be thus faithful.  Amen.

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Please remember our Shelly in your prayer.  Recovery is not what she was expecting; hence, very frustrating at this time.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

"Let God Be True, Though...."

"Then Job replied, 'How you have helped the powerless!  How you have saved the arm that is feeble!  What advice you have offered to one without wisdom!  And what great insight you have displayed!  Who has helped you utter these words?  And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?'" (Job 26:1-4, NIV)

The "spiritual friends" of Job were of not help, absolutely no help.  Perhaps this would be good for all of us to ask of all of us, "Who has helped you utter these words?  And whose spirit spoke from your mouth."

Read the Psalms, the Prophets, the Pentateuch, the whole Bible, for that matter.  What we see is what Peter described as, "exceeding great and precious promises."  But then, look at the history of the Jews and the history of the Church of Jesus Christ, a history strewn with what seems to be unfulfilled promises.  There is a great command given us in the Book of James, "Indeed we count them blessed who endure.  You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord--- that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful."  This is truth; other "stuff" is not.

Psalm 91 declares, "If you say, 'The Lord is my refuge,' and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent."  Yet people pray for the sick; some are healed some are not.  People give tithes and offerings, "sow seed" and do not get those $1000.00 checks in the mail.  Now modern "faith" people do not deal with this stuff.  They just keep stringing people along, not concerned with the disappointment with the "reaping," or the tragedy of "untimely deaths."  It would be good, however, if the "disappointed" would start to think for themselves, would start to read the Bible, all of the Bible, "the whole truth and nothing but the truth."  Perhaps we would have less discouragement in the Church, less anger, less "burn out," less "Why does God do this to me," or, "allow this to happen to me?"  I have no doubt that the Lord Jesus took me completely through His Words in a very short time that summer of '70 for this very reason.  More "understanding" and "answers" to the above of life?  No, just, "More love to Thee, O Christ, More love to Thee."

I am nearly finished with a book entitled The Holocaust, written by a biographer of Winston Churchill.  I thought I knew of the suffering, the death camps, the crematoria, the families just like Andrew's, Shelly's, Jill's.  At my age, I would have gone straight to the gas chamber.  But the accounts and extent of the brutality, the fiendish delight in the German tormentors and torturers of the Jews as they bashed the heads of little "Lillians" against concrete walls, and not only the abuse of Jews, but also of Russian prisoners of war, the gypsies, Poles, etc., etc.  The extent of the German cruelty is beyond astounding.  Yet in the mist of unspeakable suffering, many Jews were praying, "the Words of God," Words which you and I read every day, promises which seemed to mock them.  And many of these same Jews were among the ones who still believed the promises, still believed in the face of all worldly contradiction that The Eternal One is true, "His mercies are new every morning."  And now?  Well now we have what Jesus promised; Jews back in the Land; Jews who have come out of hell, from the literal "four corners of the Earth" to the "Land of Promise."

I could have given up for the same reasons that many have given up over the centuries.  I could have become as cynical, disillusioned.  But by the mercies of Jesus I am still here.  Job's faith/obedience is an example to us all, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him."  There it is, my friend, a life modus operandi which will take you and me, "through the valley of the shadow of death"--------- to Glory.

Father, in Jesus' Name, "let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, 'that You may be justified in Your words, and prevail when You are judged.'" !!  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

"We (Too) Have Handled"

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched-- this we proclaim concerning the Word of life." (1 John 1:1, NIV)

Can we not say that we too, "have heard,..have seen.., have looked at and our hands have touched...?"

I know most of us are shackled by the, "Well, that's the physical," or, "That's the supernatural."  If I know my Biblical Theology correctly, that all disappeared in the resurrection of Jesus.  The Bible says, "Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh (by what he is in the flesh); even though we have known Christ according to the flesh (by what he is in the flesh), yet now we know Him in this way no longer."

So let's forget all that "What would Jesus do?" or, "What would it have been like to walk the shores of the Galilee with Him," etc.  We now have a "knowledge" of Jesus which far surpasses it all, "have heard (His Words),..seen,..looked at (as in, 'Looking unto Jesus') and our hands have touched."  Because of Jesus' Blood, Jesus' Death, Jesus' Resurrection, we now have Jesus within us.  We must never hear or say this casually.  This is reality; the rest has passed.  Now in Jesus Christ, you and I no longer have to long for anything else.  Jesus is here with/in me; Jesus is there with/in you.  Accept this/Him; walk in this/Him; rejoice in this/Him.

Yes, there is Heaven.  Yes there is His Second Appearing.  But in light of the reality of Eternity, in a very real sense we can say that we are now in Heaven.  As the song writer said, "Where Jesus is, 'tis Heaven there."  Yes, we can still sing, "What a day that will be".  But if we believe the reality of Eternity, the reality of The Eternal One, then it will not be better; it is better.  All of this is because Jesus broke Satan's power over humanity.  Jesus set us free from time-space limitation to the Eternal Life in Him.  It is now.  I am in Jesus now.  How does it get any better?  Be careful how you answer that.  It just may reveal that you are looking for something better than Jesus in us, "the hope of Glory"----- and there is not.

Father, in Jesus' Name, how I long to live more and more in the reality of ETERNAL Life.  Amen.
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Please pray for us here in Grand Rapids.  They are talking hours now.  I am trying to be whatever I can be to all.  May Jesus help us all.  Also, just about one week after we arrive home, I will be headed for the intense time of "David's Tent."  Appreciate any prayers.  

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2