Ponderings

Life has been good lately.

November is coming to a close, and December is upon us. I have much to be thankful for, and I do enjoy pondering over the month of November everything that I can count as a blessing. Some years I share publicly my thanks list, some years, like this year, I keep those ponderings and musings in my heart. Having a week off with children for the holiday truly gave me time to reflect on the past and the future.

December....my favorite month. My house has been decorated for over a week already. Trees are up, ornaments hung, stockings in place, nativity sets in place. A time for baking bread and cookies. Christmas programs, driving to see lights, some cold weather (somewhat cold), hot chocolate and marshmallows. But more importantly, the birth of Jesus.

Jesus. Emmanuel....

This name of Jesus has been with me lately. This past week I created a piece of artwork for our patio area with the names/attributes of God. Down the center, an offshoot of NOEL, I put EMMANUEL. And, there is the wonderful song Emmanuel by Amy Grant - which I LOVE hearing all through the holiday season. (song link)

[1]
From the Hebrew name עִמָּנוּאֵל ('Immanu'el) meaning "God is with us". This was the foretold name of the Messiah in the Old Testament. It has been used in England since the 16th century in the spellings Emmanuel and Immanuel.

God is with us. I get so much comfort from this.

Shootings in churches, earthquakes across the globe, children being killed, countries still unable to recover from hurricanes. I have known that the world is broken (i.e. sin), but, it actually feels broken now. And this has me longing for what is to come. I am ready for my Messiah, for the trumpet call. I am dismayed that so many will be left behind, I have prayed that as many will come to acceptance of Christ before it is too late, but still my heart longs.

Part of my waking thoughts is on what is to come, the 1,000 year reign, how those of us who will reign with Christ will do so and even what our appearance will look like. My mind goes to Moses when my thought goes to that part. How after 40 days in the presence of the LORD, his appearance was radiant, his face shined, so much so, he had to wear a veil.

Exodus 34: 27-35

27 And the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

The Shining Face of Moses
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. 30 Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. 32 Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he commanded them all that the Lord had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. 33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.

34 Whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, 35 the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Can you imagine what we will look like? If we have not died bodily when the trumpet is called, then we will get to spend 7 years in the presence of the LORD.

7 years! Can you imagine the shining? The light of our appearance? What about those who have been in heaven say 10 years, 100 years....the appearance of Paul, Peter, John, Luke, Matthew? What about the Old Testament saints?

It might seem trivial, and honestly I don't think I will worry about anything once the time comes, but I enjoy thinking about the future future. The future where the world is made right, and our only reason for existence is to worship the LORD, and live in the wold as He originally intended.

[1] https://www.behindthename.com/name/emmanuel

SERMON NOTES: Fighting the Odds & Being Thankful

Pastors Dr. Jon Redmond and Dr. Charles Redmond did a phenomenal job yesterday on preaching. And I feel the need to share the messages they gave out.

NOTES: When the Odds are Against You - II Chronicles 20: 1-30

Jon pulled his lesson together after the win of the Houston Astros, which was astounding considering the teams the beat: the Yankees and the Dodgers. It is a great feat, not to be undermined. But the odds were against the Astros, and so the underdogs won. Jon could have easily pulled the historical narratives of David & Goliath, Moses and the Plagues on Egypt, Abraham & Sarah having a child, Joseph sold into slavery. God's people have historically always fought against the odds. Our salvation tells us this. Against all odds, all logical, God loves us so much that He sent His only Son to die for us, so we can be with Him, worship and adore Him for all eternity.

But no, Jon did not pull from the well known stories of our history, he went to the story of Jehoshaphat, in II Chronicles 20:1-30.

• Jehoshaphat was a King of Judah
• A godly man, not perfect, but he did right in the eyes of God.
• And 3 armies joined forces and came against him and Isreal
• Moabites
• Ammonites
• Some of the Meunites (Syria)

So this massive combined army is coming against the kingdom, we learn this in verse 1 & 2. In verse 3 & 4 we see:

Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

Jehoshaphat did 3 things, and they brought about a victory in spite of the odds.

1. Turn to God
2. Wait on a word from God (receive)
3. Watch God work

Now Jon only focused on point 1 this Sunday, and he plans to expound on the other two points in the weeks to come.

So what does it mean to "Turn to God"?

First of all, you seek God, you pray, you fast. 

And when you pray, you praise God, acknowledge His:

• Power
• Provision
• Presence
• the Purpose He has given you.

II Chronicles 20: 5-9: 

And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?  And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying,  ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’

Then, in you prayer, our out your heart to God. Be honest with Him (He already knows your heart). Jehoshaphat did this very thing:

• Doesn't seem fair
• God could have stopped it (verse 10 & 11)
• And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy - behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit.
• Future is injeopardy
• Nothing we can do

Finally, decided to focus on God, verse 12, "O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

That needs to be our focus, with the battles all around, the tragedies, the deaths, the natural disasters. We need to have our eyes on the LORD.

NOTES: Two Powerful Words - Deuteronomy 6:10-12

Not from the sermon:

It is the month of November. During this month, your Facebook feed will probably be filled with daily "I am thankful for..." posts. I have done them in years past, and believe it is a good habit actually. I am going to work on my own list, privately this year, not publicly. But it is good to see people being thankful. 

Deuteronomy 6:10-12 (ESV)

“And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Pastor Charles believes, and I see where he is coming from, that society as a whole could be more thankful. There is power in two little words, "thank you." His focus was on the later part of verse 12. When we eat and are full, that is when we tend to neglect having a thankful heart. There is nothing wrong with food, and we should be thankful for our food. Millions go hungry daily in our world, and we in America really do not know this too well. There are those who go without, and that is a travesty. When we do get food, and are tummies are no longer crying out, we get content. When food easily comes, we don't stop to think about how lucky, how blessed we are to have it. 

Let us remember James 1:17.

Everything we have, every good gift (food, salvation, clothing, housing) comes from God. When was the last time you told God, "thank you"? We all, hopefully most of us, give a blessing before we eat. But, outside of that, do we say thank you to God for the food we have?

On your list, if you are making a November Thankful List, make sure to add food to that list, but also, that Christ is our righteousness:

2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV)

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

With the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 Thesis to the Catholic church door, we should all be eternally grateful and thankful that Christ is our righteousness.

I challenge you today to take time and tell God "thank you" for your food, His righteousness, and all that is put upon your heart.

Tragedy in Texas

Yesterday morning, while my family was at church, learning God's word, singing praises to His Holy name, a few hours away, another church, was devastated. As that church congregation gathered to do what I was doing with several hundred others, an evil man came in with a gun, and fired on that congregation.

Yesterday, 26 saints of God went to heaven. The youngest an 18 month old; 12 to 14 of the victims were children; and the pastor's own 14 year old daughter in that number. Roughly 20 others were injured, at least half of those are still in critical condition.

Friends, nothing is sacred, nothing is holy anymore. When I go to church, to worship, praise, and study the word of God, I leave the world behind. I do all I can to leave my worries at the door, at the cross, so I can focus on God. But last night, when I went to church, I was watchful, I was leery. The choir sang a phenomenal song, we have practiced it for weeks. But there was a weight on my heart, and I feel on the hearts of many because of the news we received after leaving church that morning.

I reference the Sandy Hook incident often in my writings, due to it happening right after the birth of my daughter Abigail. I was new to motherhood, and the flood of emotions of having a life to care for, to tend to, to protect...Sandy Hook stirred those even more. And I felt that the little bubble I had created at home with her was pricked when I finally turned on the news that December day. I was in a hormonal haze that had me thinking the world was perfect. I knew, and know, that the world is not perfect. But, there was an innocence to that chapter of my life, that abruptly ended with the devastation of that school shooting.

And yesterday...I feel we are in the last seconds of this current age, and I know things are ramping up as a woman in labor, but I was shocked by the events of yesterday. This isn't the first church shooting in recent years, and not the first shooting incident period. In the past few months there was Las Vegas, and even the terror in New York just a week or so ago. We barely have time to recover, reestablish a new sense of normal, and there is another incident, lives taken, communities shattered. Upon hearing about the death of the pastor's child, my heart just hurt. The entire event is a travesty, but lets think about that man and his life. He is a pastor, the shepherd to his flock. He needs to tend to them, the families that have lost loved ones. And he needs to do that all while he is in mourning, his baby was taken from him suddenly, and he wasn't there. It is almost too much to endure. I am praying for that poor man, that he will endure, he will have strength, and that he will live out a testimony for Christ, that even though he is dealing with a loss, he will still serve, be faithful, and help others.

I hugged my children a bit more yesterday, cuddled longer than normal, breathed them in. We are not promised tomorrow, and we do not know how our time will end. We need to do as much as we can each day we are blessed to have.  Let us remember this:

Psalm 34:18 (ESV)

 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted

and saves the crushed in spirit.

And this:

Right now we need to pray for those who lost loved ones, the pastor to have strength, the first responders to be brave and to recover, and that the light of Jesus will shine bright in this situation.

Culture of Idols

Our pastor previously has encouraged everyone to have a few verses that they call life verses. We were to memorize these verses, and have been encouraged to read them daily. I accepted this challenge. And one of my verses is:

In 2002, the show American Idol came out, and everyone I knew was watching it. But I recoiled at the name. I am confident I was saved a few years prior, and while my faith wasn't the strongest, I was trying to grow closer to the LORD. And I feel in my heart that the Holy Spirit put that recoil in my heart, so I would not watch that show.

My first stepfather used to call my Hollywood. I always wore sunglasses in the house, played dress up, and yeah, it was my nickname. He even called me it, after a decade of not seeing him, when my brother graduated high school. And I thought it was a cool pet name. I remember growing up, actors/actresses were Hollywood Stars. But as I grew up, that went away. Then in 2002 the show came out.

And in the years since, I have come to realize why God gave the first commandment, and the second:

Exodus 20 (ESV) - The Ten Commandments

And God spoke all these words, saying,

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

I have come to learn that the order God gives His words matter, how He starts His words and ends them matters too. All of God's words matter, but He puts an emphasis on certain parts, because we as humans fail, need extra direction and guidance.

God want's to be first in our life.

Matthew 6:33 (ESV)
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

These 4 verses are so important, and more than relevant these days.  John warned us to keep from idols. He did so, because, our hearts are deceptive and we easily go astray. Now, in his time, idols, the false gods, were little tokens, statues, etc. Man made items that could not talk/walk/think. And here we are around 2,000 years later, and not much has changed. We might not have blatant altars and statues. But we are surrounded by idols. Food, television, computers, smart phones, shopping, hobbies.

We put all of these things before God on a daily basis. And I am no better than anyone else. When you do not make time to pray and read your Bible daily because you are too busy, well...what do you have time for? How many times did you browse Facebook? Did you clean up your emails? Did you get your 3 mile run in? What did you listen to while driving your kids to school and yourself to work?

This past week was the World Series of Baseball. And our hometown team, the Houston Astros played. I am not a sports chick. I will go to games, watch occasionally on t.v., but I honestly don't care for any of it. My life is not made better by it, or worse, it has no impact on my life. Normally. This past week though, my Facebook feed was packed with orange. Everyone excited for the games, emotions running high and low, people decked out in the colors. I let my kids dress up for school once or twice, there is no harm in minor participation. Honestly, I only stayed up the last night, and even fell asleep before the game ended. Houston won! And the frenzy only increased. HISD closed down on Friday (it appeared to be for the parade, so students could go, but it was because the school buses could not transverse due to the parade). Oh and the parade. Parts of the city closed down, thousands of people in attendance, kids taken out of school, families in line for hours for merchandise, news coverage wall-to-wall.

Life is tough. Houston not even 2 1/2 months ago was devastated by Hurricane Harvey. Many people still have not recovered. This was a break and a relief. I an not against that. I have my luxuries, my little pleasures. And I pray that God would convict me if any of those started to consume my life. Because if they are consuming my life, they are coming before Him. It takes work to stay focused on God, and not let idols come before Him.

Now, lets go back to Hollywood and American Idol. I truly believe America is a land of idols, that we are putting everything before God. And God is starting to remove the scales from our eyes to see how destructive these idols WE make are to our lives. In the past week or so, it has come out that major producers and actors have abused power given to them to abuse, molest, and harm others. And horrific stories keep coming out about the different abuses. We, as society, have allowed these individuals to be paid ridiculous money,share their worldly opinions with all, and be an influence in our lives. And many of them apparently have been abused or been abusers. The appear to have everything: glitter, gold, friends, riches, glory. But it is all falling apart. And apparently this false world has existed for decades.

John was wise to end 1 John with his words, "Little children, keep yourself from idols." The offer no hope, no future, and pry our focus off of God. Who needs to be our first search, in all that we do. We need to focus on Him, put Him first in our lives. If we do that, He will work things out for us.

I recommend reading the Book of 1 John, it's theme is "-God is Love."