Fairest Lord Jesus - Maranatha Celtic

"From Days of Eternity"

"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.  His goings forth are from the days of eternity."  (Micah 5:2, NASB)

The moment you and I stepped into Jesus Christ, at that same moment Jesus stepped into you and me.  And, what took place in that great "transaction" was that we stepped into Eternity in Jesus, Who Is, "from the days of eternity."

We tend to speak of "before" we surrendered our lives to Jesus and "after" we surrendered our lives to Jesus.  In Jesus Christ, however, there is no before or after.  The Bible calls it, "Eternal Life," as in what the Interlinear Bible tells us, "God love the world this way: He gave [Himself in] His only Son...," and, "whoever believes in (surrenders their life to Jesus) has (right at that moment, not in some future sense, not "shall have" but) "I have, I hold, I possess eternal life."  Yes! we do. 

There is a very real sense in which our King and Savior, Jesus Christ, the Only One, "from days of eternity," in and through Jesus' shed Blood, His death and resurrection, "grafted" you and me into, "from days of eternity."  Remember that the Bible tells us about what happened at our New Birth.  You are not today where the Enemy may be attempting to tell you.  Rather, Father, "raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." 

Yes, and glory to the Living Triune God, when we think of our lives, the pain and pleasure, the sadness and rejoicing, "God-Breathed," Reality declares to us that right now, whatever we may be going through, you and I are literally above the clamor of the world, above the trials.  We are right now, "in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus."  Join the heavenly chorus.

Father, in Jesus' Name, thank You for the overcoming victory of This.  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.'"

Hebrews 12:2

Remember: It's Not Dreary Christ--It's Merry Christmas

"....Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  For there is born to you this day in the city of David, a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord."  (Luke 2:10, 11)

The tree is lit; one of my favorite Christmas Carols is playing, "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen;" it's snowing here, as in, "just like the ones I used to know," and all accompanied by some great memories of childhood Christmases.  There was that year I got a Lionel Steam Locomotive, then the year I got the Bee Bee gun, and another year of that glorious Flexible Flyer sled, which, by the way, could get up to delightful speeds.  And, O, the great Christmas Day traditional dinner at Grandpa and Grandma Barnette's house.  As we would drive up to the house, that turkey smell would come out and drag you in.  But it's really about even more than this, right?

So now what?  I pray that you have such great memories, and not dwell on any which may not be so pleasant.  It was just a couple of days after Christmas, 1969, that we discovered something was wrong with Stephen.  You know the rest of the story.  The, "Now what?" for me is that I want to encourage any who have difficulty at this time of year, a time which is supposed to be full of, "love and joy come to you," but they don't.  Do not allow the Enemy of our souls to defeat you in sorrow, grief, resentment, sadness.  Our Lord Jesus Christ Who appeared in that Bethlehem stable will again appear.  As the Scripture tells us, "so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him."

The, "Salvation," spoken of in this Hebrews 9:28 passage is the deliverance from, "this present world," system.  It is destined to be the deliverance from suffering, pain, despair, sorrow, as in, "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.  There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."  This is nothing other than the, "salvation to those who are waiting for Jesus."  What you and I are now living is, "....the former things...."  Keep pressing on and in, my friend.  The glorious "latter things" are coming.

Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You for what David thanked You for, "Who am I, O Lord God?  And what is my house, that You have brought me this far?"  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.'"

Hebrews 12:2

Correction

He is 33 years old!

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.'"

Hebrews 12:2