"The Happiest Day of my life" rings the words from the mouth of the twins in Life with Father...

It was the day of their baptism. Infant baptism, no doubt and the commitment to raise a godly seed, in the fear of the Lord. Verbalized and exemplified in their baptism. When I pass the little church around the corner, I see Mr. Day, as big as life and hear the words of that mother. I do hope his soul became as clean as his steps were. I do hope that those words penned by his children were not an endictment against his lost estate. As though a man could live so close to the things of God and miss them entirely. When can I get baptised mother? I hear from my sweet and littlest soul. I do not want to quench the flickering young flame of faith that is calling out to allign itself with the only tool on earth with the right directional signals, the Church of Christ. My children love me and are showing me {the elder ones} that their faith is their own business. Perhaps my judgment for making them wait and wait, until we see signs that they are mature enough to know what that commitment means. I know that the root of the matter is most important and the fruit of allegiance to Christ is the utmost importance. But, as a mother, the "happiest day of my life" is the day that I know that their hand is firmly in Christ's hand. Baptism {infant or believer} notwithstanding, I pray that the steps that they clean first will be the steps of faith and truth and that their souls would be firmly emplanted in Christ as new creatures. If I live to see them baptised, all or not. Christ hold them firmly. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Only Jesus paid it all for the sins of those who come to God, through Him.

Jeremiah 48: 29, 30 We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud ) his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart. I know his wrath, saith the LORD; but it shall not be so; his lies shall not so effect it. Thus far is the Judgment of Moab. Jeremiah was the spiritual accountant, as it were. The cultural sins and manefest and calculated to cost this much. He lays it out deliberately and clearly. No one is exempt. We can see that our paganism costs. The image of God is in the nations as well as the individuals that God has made. I always imagine Daniel reading this passage and wondering why are the people of God enduring the judgment that is meant for Moab? His prayers never seemed to reflect a comparison of the endurance that God’s people were enduring through that period of history. I find it amazing that Daniel didn’t say, Lord, these people are not even considering Your law and You are afflicting Your people? Their judgment was eternal and Daniel was very aware of that. God’s presence in the suffering was enough for Him. The ultimate judgment for the sins of Moab was coming in Christ. He who knew no sin, became sin on our behalf. The judgment of Moab is purchased in Christ. His blood has satisfied our corporate sin and our personal sins. We don’t have that which to pay for the image of God that was marred in us and our cultures. We have only to search for the robe of righteousness from our Savior and the image of God in the intentions of the cultures as He saves them. God has a greater intention for us individually than we can know. God in Ruth’s redemption showed us that He is not so repudiated with the nations that, if we reach out for Him, we cannot be redeemed. He saves to the utmost. But, we must know that we deserved to drink that cup of wrath of Moab and all of the nations’ cups in our melting pot. We deserved every dreg of wrath that was purchased by our Savior. He has redeemed us from that wrath. Daniel knew every word of Jeremiah, would be seen true, even if it seemed reversed, in his day. The heathen were empowered and standing above God’s people. God is greater. Christ is the fulfillment of God’s mercy to us and the completion of our redemption, that we should live in gratitude and solace that we deserved that wrath and we, in Christ are a new creation. Halleluia, what a Savior!

Why do we praise God in suffering?

Why should we worship God in untoward circumstances? We do know why we worship God in the gracious provisions and happy times of our lives, but why would or should we worship in our confusion about the will of God? {Trusting God, Jerry Bridges is the resource for this subject and many many sermons have been preached by many people} It seems to me, just to boil down my own miniscule experience of worship, since becoming a Christian that the word of God directs us to focus on God being just and the justifier of them that come to God through Christ. That is the warfare on this earth as expressed in Scripture. If we justify God in our lack of understanding, He promises to justify us and our situation, eternally. We really do deserve Hell, but Christ has paid our ransome. It is so easy to forget this as we live in the lavish mercy of God that He extends to us so liberally. The first thing that we say in suffering is "Where is God?" "How could He love me and let me go through this or that thing?" It is not fun to suffer and it is not fun to worship in suffering. But when we do, we experience God's perspective of being seated in "heavenly places" together with Christ in viewing the losses and difficulties. God will show us His reasoning, by and by, but for now to express verbally, that He is worthy of worship regardless of my situation is a reminder of His supremacy in the world.

Lord of the flies, vs. Lord Sabaoth? God is greater, than any problem I have.

James 5 vs. 3-8 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.

“ All one body, we. One in faith and doctrine, one in charity…”

God warns us for our own good, about the day of prosperity. Know why you’re given the day of prosperity that you are given. Know that God is weighing the usefulness and the circumspec t way that you are using your resources. Are you wanton? Are you concerned about the wastefulness of the day in which you live? Are you thrifty and looking for where better use can be made of your riches?

This passage, almost above all other passages makes me think of why RL Stevenson wrote Kidnapped. He said, as it were, “I have been in complete need and predisposed to a wasteful uncle and I have seen poverty sit, on the bay waiting for the benevolent hand of the rich person to share and make use of his riches and he sat inside afraid to interact and afraid to create an economy of life-giving for his world and curses came upon him of great proportion, pray his soul was spared, in eternity. But what good uncle could have done?”paraphrase is mine, of course.

God promises in James to make those curses come to fruition when a person of means hides his wealth in the attic. I could see the dance of the dry bones at the bottom of the fall from the stairs, which signifies the power that wealth has to {even, as it were} breathe life into the dry bones of spiritual death. He didn't fall into the valley of dry bones, but imagined that if he had fallen into the valley of dry bones, God would have breathed upon him. It was an allegory. The power of wealth can be used to pick us up, as a culture or judge us. The last days that James is speaking of, seems to be the day when there is Christian wealth makers and givers. Seems a fearful thing, but could it be that a Christian could be rich? James doesn't seem to say this. God can redeem that day.

When the principles of Christianity and wealth come together and RL Stevenson who has seen the woman cursing on the other side of the moat of need holds the reigns of society and not the foolish uncle, what would he do? This to me is the picture of Clarence Day Sr. They showed, he hired people to do everything for him. One servant cleaned the stairs and one servant opened the door for people and one servant cared for the cooking, etc. Down to even his spiritual life, it even seemed that his soul was bartered out to his wife, as it were. He seemed to say, my soul’s business is my wife’s affairs. She is hired to get me to heaven. An amazing thought that culture had been so affected by Stevenson that a seeming rank sinner, raised with no real fear of God would have been so touched by common grace to think in such a way.

I certainly seems to show that you are what you eat. God will judge us by what we feed our children. If we feed them Lord of the Flies, God will become the Lord of the Flies to us. If we feed them Kidnapped, the sinners will become David Balfour. We judge ourselves on this manner. What calls the wrath of God upon our culture, James tells us in James 5. The world is not much different from Elijah’s day, is it? James says. God will be entreated for the earth, as he was with Noah and Elijah prayed for his nation and God was well entreated. How much the more, when the reigns of society are given to the godly, or godfearing man, what a force for good that can be in the world; imagine. Thank God, He has given us all things for life and godliness and even resources to teach us to flee our own wastefulness. Amen.

Kidnapped, online resource I am afraid, Lord. Your Word has found me out. How do I know you will have mercy upon me? Christ alone has paid it all. Is my trust in Him? Cursed is the arm of flesh. If my trust is in my own works, they will fail me. If my trust is in another they will forget me. If my trust is in Christ, He will own me for the sake of His glory. I have nothing to merit salvation on my own merit. I have forsaken my own way. I must repent and forsake the sins of my past and flee to Christ daily and solely for salvation or my trust is futile. I will arise and go to Jesus, He will embrace me in His arms!...Embrace me with Your Grace and Mercy, Dear Jesus and then, make me an agent of blessing on the earth for Your Glory and not for my own glory. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Psalm 42... He is the Health of my Countenance?

When I can't see the purposes of God in my situation it clearly causes fear and sadness. David, seemed to be expressing this feeling in his lament and calling unto God. I want to see what is making me so sad, seemed the call from the depths of soul. In some seasons I seem aware that God is with me though the darkness of the situation might be deep and then, at other times I can't see His presence. I can't see His favor toward me; I can't see how this would or could be His will and He still love me;etc. When the clouds roll away from my eyes and I see His "face", as it were I am helped. His visage is the encouragement of my soul. Amen, Oh I want to see Him!