The God Who Calls Us Home – Right On Time

On October 17, 1651, after hearing of the death of his father, the brilliant mathematician, physicist, inventor and (whew!) philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote to his sister to comfort her in their grief. The letter itself is several pages in length due to Pascal’s uncanny ability to run on and on and on. For your benefit, the following is a brief excerpt of his note to his sister.

Here, Pascal reminds her that her ultimate consolation must come from God –

“. . .  we should seek consolation in our ills, not in ourselves, not in men, not in any thing that is created, but in God.”

Then in regards to the timing of their father’s death, Pascal comforts his sister with the consolation that their father has died . . . in the exact timing of God’s Providence –

” . . . [God’s] providence conceived from all eternity to be executed in the plenitude of its time in such a year, such a day, such an hour, such a place, such a manner; and, in short, that all that has happened has been from all time foreknown and foreordained. . . and in the inmost part of the will of God, in the justice of His decree, in the order of His providence. . . ” 

The bottom line is that Scripture confirms the reality that our lives are in the hands of our Sovereign Creator (thankfully). It was King David who wrote: “My times are in Your hands;” (Psalm 31:15a).  And again,“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed” (Psalm 139:16).

Knowing that the number of our days are marked out before we give our first cry at birth should give us every reason to consider the value of each day and the overall purpose of our lives. Will we live out what God has gifted us to accomplish before we die? Will we have brought the glory to God our creator, with the potential for which He has prewired us?

With the Psalmist we call out to God, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

May your days be met with a God-given sense of fullfillment and contentment in Him and to His Glory Alone!

God’s Best,

Dar

 

 

 

 

 

 

One Thing About Jesus . . .

“. . . you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

He is eternal and has always and will always exist. Through Him everything that exists has been made. Prophets for centuries foretold His appearing. When the time was perfect, He did come and was born to a young virgin named Mary in the town of Bethlehem and was laid in a manger. He became and will continue to be a fully real human in real human flesh. He has been and will continue to be fully God at the same time. He is uniquely unique. There is not now nor will there ever be another being like Him.

Again, when the time was right He was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. He immediately faced down and defeated the temptation of Satan in a desert wilderness, one on one. He then announced to all that He was in fact the One who had been prophesied to come in all the Old Testament Scriptures. He began to preach “Repent and believe the good news!”

As He spoke and taught, He was recognized to possess a wisdom, insight and authority in His speech and thoughts that had not been witnessed in the history of mankind, nor since that time. No other guru, teacher, prophet or wise man ever born, has spoken with His knowledge, wisdom and understanding. He confounded those who opposed Him. He left the worldly-wise dumbfounded and the masses and crowds were amazed and marveled at His ability to expound the greatest words ever spoken.

He demonstrated His absolute authority and complete control over every aspect of the natural world. He walked on water, He changed water into wine, He calmed the winds and the waves and He multiplied bread and fish to feed thousands who hungered.

He revealed an uncommon compassion and mercy on everyone He encountered. He healed the sick, cleansed lepers and made the crippled to be able to walk. He took away blindness from those born blind and restored the hearing to those who could not hear. He demonstrated a mastery over every disease and infirmary He came into contact with. He displayed His power over life and death by raising to life those who had died.

He dominated and ruled over every demon and devil. He liberated all who were possessed by evil spirits. The kingdom of darkness recognized Him, feared Him and submitted to Him.

He claimed that there was a way to peace with God but also the exclusivity of being the one and only way to God. There is no other path, person or philosophy that will lead to the Father in Heaven. He asserted  that He and the Father are in reality One.  He revealed that He was in fact, the Way and the Truth and the Life to a sick, sinful, deceived, hurting and lost world of people from every part of the planet.

He stated that He was the answer to the world’s greatest, deepest, strongest and oldest problem – sickness, bondage and evil of sin which separates all humanity from and causes an estrangement from a loving, patient and merciful God. He revealed that He had the desire to and power to forgive any and all sin.

He on the other hand stated that He was without any sin, challenged any to see any sin in Him and He demonstrated a life of pure sinless perfection in all His speech and actions. And because He was sinless and because He was indeed God in the flesh, and because He was filled with a generous grace and limitless mercy for those estranged from God, He would be the Answer.

He chose to take the place of punishment for our sin on a Roman cross outside the city of Jerusalem.  He became our substitute and took our place on that instrument of torture for the penalty of our sin. He endured the suffering and scouring and the stripes of abuse and pain for us. He took our sins to the cross.  He defeated sin, death and the devil for us on a bloody cross because we couldn’t. He set us free from the guilt, free from shame and free from the eternal separation we were facing as rebels of God and His ways. In real space and real-time He took our real sins and now gives to us (in an exchange that only He could do) a real righteousness (not our own, but His) with which we will be able to actually live eternally in the presence of a Holy, Righteous, Just, Forgiving and Loving God and Father.

After the death of our Redeemer and our Savior on the cross, He then was buried in an empty tomb. But the tomb could not hold Him and death could not defeat Him, so then on the third day He rose from the death that He had endured for us. He was and is alive forever. He overcame death for us. In His human resurrected body, He began to show Himself to different people, in different places and at different times. As He demonstrated His power over death, He proved that His words and promises could be trusted, and He gave a real and certain reason to have hope for the future.

After showing Himself to many and continuing to teach and train His disciples for forty days, He then ascended visibly in His human bodily form back into the heavens and back into the presence of God the Father and the legions of angels at His command.

Now He sits enthroned in heaven and intercedes for His redeemed people who have been bought with the price of His own blood which He  shed for them. He also now continues to rule and reign as the Sovereign King of all the created universe.

In the future, at a day and time no man knows, He promises to return again to the earth to bring all of history to a final close by judging the world of those who have chosen to follow their own paths in opposition to His gracious offers of mercy, grace and forgiveness. And at that time He will also reward those who have turned to Him in repentance and sought Him and Him alone in faith as their only hope of pardon, joy, and peace with God for eternity.

Until that time, He promises to never leave nor forsake His people. He gives us the gift of His Spirit. He goes with us through all the trials, tests, troubles and tribulations that this world has to offer. He, as the Good Shepherd of His Sheep, promises to guide, protect and bless His people until the day of His return.

He also leaves His followers (disciples), with instructions and guidance for how to live and how to be about His business until He returns as the Eternal King of the New Heavens and New Earth that He will establish. He calls us to be the kind of disciples who will continue to seek Him, learn from Him, follow Him, and model Him to a watching world. He also leaves us with the great privilege of being His personal ambassadors to take the amazing message of the Gospel to the ends of the earth  (every nation, language group, and ethnic group on the planet).

He is the LORD of All Creation, the Sovereign King of All the Earth and the Master of our very lives.

His offer to a desperately needy world is urgent, timely and merciful. He offer is valid and trustworthy, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).  Also, He announces, warns and commands, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel”(Mark 1:15).

Oh, by the way, one thing about Jesus  . . . He loves you!

God’s Best,

Dar

The God Who Is Sovereign Over The Kingdoms Of Men

” The Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men” (Daniel 5:21b).

Elections have come and gone again. The votes have been cast, the polls have closed and the votes have been tallied (at least for most states).  It has been another long season of political campaigning, pundit forecasting and expert analyzing, and now it is time consider where we are as a nation.

If my hopes and dreams for the future of this country and for my family are vested  in the promises and pledges of men and women, I missed a good opportunity to trust in the Real Rock of Security – God Himself.

It is God who desires that we trust in Him for our lives, our hopes and futures. He gives us earthly leaders to rule. He raises up men and women in places of responsibility for the benefit of others. We must remember that God’s plans for His people are for good and not for evil.

Even in the midst of difficult times Our God does not abandon us. He promises to never leave us nor abandon us – and He doesn’t.  Remember: we are not in the hands of the good hands people – we are in the hands of the Good Hands God!

After God revealed the mystery of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to him, Daniel praised God: “the name of God be praised forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding” (Daniel 2:20-21). Daniel clearly understood that there was nothing outside the governance of God’s gracious, almighty and eternal rule.

Even the King of Babylon came to the same conclusion: “After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven. My sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the Most High and honored the one who lives forever. His rule is everlasting, and His kingdom is eternal. All the people of the earth are nothing compared to Him. He has the power to do as He pleases among the angels of heaven and with those who live on earth. No one can stop Him or challenge Him, saying, ‘What do you mean by doing these things?’ (Daniel 4:34-35).

And so it is. Praise God that He is indeed the only Holy Sovereign King! Praise God that He is only good and not evil. Praise God that He actually cares for us and is thinking of us every moment of every day. Praise God that He not only has the power to do good, but He also continually does good – whether we are aware of it or not.

Totally Trusting The One Who Is Totally Trustworthy,

Dar