Grateful for 31 years of marriage. Thank you God

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~My times are in Thy hand;~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My God, I wish them there; My life, my friends, my soul I leave Entirely to Thy care. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My times are in Thy hand; Whatever they may be, In joy or pain; 'tho dark or bright, As best may seem to Thee. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My times are in Thy hand; Why should I doubt or fear? My Father's hand will never cause His child a needless tear. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My times are in Thy hand; Jesus, the Crucified; Those hands my cruel sins had pierced Are now my guard and guide. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My times are in Thy hand; I'll always trust in Thee; And, after death, at Thy right hand I shall forever be.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you ever leave me, Hugh, you will make me wonder why I ever had children? why did you have them, then? says Hugh.

Few things are more painfully rewarding than the having of children. One is the letting of them go from level to level. My baby graduates 5th grade and it is a birth, of sorts. All of the mothering scenes come into mind and I can't ever live up to the majesty that the screen has paid to motherhood in my favorite movies and I really don't have to. God will bless the memory to my own children, for his glory. I just have to be there. So off I go. Contractions at bay. these sweet contractions are those of faith to faith.

Directive 1 Will we indeed go supperless to bed?

Directive 1

After the directive and the sweet encouragements are identified, it is easily anticipated that our dear Pastor friend would direct us not to shoot until we see the whites of their eyes.

Who are we fighting? What are his ambitions? How does he assail us?

Can we fight unless we know with whom we are fighting?

We do indeed not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and wickedness in high places. But not usually the highplaces of the world in this era, the high places of our hearts. Our appetites and desires wage war against us constantly. The peace and the healing and the comfort that are the meat of faith and life are stolen by this deadly foe.

What a great thing that our friend points out to us that the devil himself it is who steals these foods from us and sends us “supperless to bed”.

Directive 1, Pastor Gurnall

Direction First, Says Gurnall, after the Sweet Encouragements

Chapter 2

Let us get down to brass tacks! Which Way Do We Go? Isn’t that the question.

In the era that we are living in, what is the battle? So many are fighting wars from the Middle Ages, when we are in a new Millenium. Wrack our minds into a pulp and here we are gathering around old scrolls, sometimes to worship the worth of them. We beat ourselves, as it were with feathers and us the weapons of our warfare to sit on instead of to protect ourselves. Shame on us.

Where are we, today? What is the battle that we are engaged in? Perilous times are different for us than they were for Gurnall, but the question is the same. We must engage our youthful efforts in rightly diagnosing the problem and early equipping our young to take authority over the principalities that they are facing.

Having Done all to Stand? Don’t we love to sing about standing? What do you do? I sing myself to sleep, sometimes, when I should be fighting. My shame. You don’t JUST Stand. You stand, therefore, having… Definitely, if you just stand there unequipped for the battle you will be defeated as if you try to fight the battle on your own. You are a part of a mighty army of God.

You have equipment given to you from God to defend yourself

You must stand if your are equipped, sometimes we put the cart before the horse and think by our believing and just standing we are ready for the warfare. I have indeed been sadly mistaken. Stand, after you have put on the whole armor.

The Christian in Complete Armor, by William Gurnall Introduction and Chapter One- a link

Mr. Gurnall so diligently has studied those great passages on the Christian’s warfare. The first thing that he tells us is the importance of seeing the Christian life in the light of the warfare that we are engaged in. Ephesians 6 is an every part of life necessity. Paul was in bonds when he wrote it and we, who live in these current days are sometimes lulled to sleep, not recognizing the severity of the Christians position and condition in the world. Paul could see the evil day, in his time. But, how are our days evil?

Why should we be thusly engaged{to use the old writers dialect}? Why should we be awake and putting on armor, when we live in such a progressive and opulent society?

In his introduction, Gurnall senses that argument. He defends the importance of the relevance of the passage, even in days that may not seem evil.

What war are we fighting? What spiritual principalities are at stake? What are the rewards of the diligence? What are the losses that we incur? All of these are questions that the Apostle in the scriptures takes on directly and our much studied, old Gurnall brings them more to relevance in the day in which he lived.

The part First, A Sweet and Powerful Encouragement to the War is entitled and truly draws us in to study these truths, which we often take for granted at a much more disciplined level.

I think that he may have had the old hymn in mind, when he was writing, “ How Sweet and Awful is the Place with Christ within the doors…” A sweet home seems an apt metaphor, but a sweet encouragement to war? Truly oxymoronic, at best.

The Treatise, William Gurnall

Thoughts from Psalm 22 inspired by the sermons on Sunday

Psalm 22:27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. Psalm 22:28 For the kingdom is the LORD'S: and he is the governor among the nations. Jn 13:1 Rev 1:5 HEb 12:2

“The joy that was set before Him” was in Psalm 22:27 Jesus paid it all for particular salvation of individuals and for the “nations” to have their eyes opened to the need of real communion with God. These concepts were shrouded in mystical lies and fierce superstitions. God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world.

I have to say that to myself. What about this or that suffering that is observable in the world? What about that? How can you say that is not condemnation? Redemptive suffering? Suffering that is redemptive knows that it cannot save itself. No amount of suffering endured can cleanse from sin, intrinsically. Christ’s suffering was the only suffering that can save even one soul. It is the only suffering out of all of the sufferings of the world added up that has access to God in it. None of the other sufferings have any weight in and of themselves.

Paul the apostle started us all thinking about “The fellowship of His sufferings” , in the New Testament era. What a knife to cut through the lie of self flagellation and of superstitions of gentiles of varied forms and fashions; which is the essence of the idolatry of gentile pagan faith. We are dead in sin, blind by birth and blind by cultural mores. NO inheritance of faith and life to lighten our path. Jesus saw the depth of blindness that was outside of even the sphere of His earthly ministry. Nations remote need to have access to the Father, Lord! That was in Psalm 22 and Jesus was suffering this and praying for us on the cross. Amazing Grace!

We are a part of the condemnation, in our sin and Christ covers that sin with His perfect life and cleanses and brings the dead soul to life and had us in His mind in Psalm 22 that it would be thus. “There are barbarians in the uttermost, Lord" was in that prayer; “ They can’t see unless I go to the cross.” The Father and the Son were in eternal fellowship in those sufferings. Prayer on our behalf begun by our "advocate with the Father"

God stuck Psalm 22, as it were, into the “Nevertheless” of "not my will but thine be done." in the Garden of Gethsemane, Prayer of our Lord. Let me show You the reality of what you are doing, Psalm 22 was the walk through of the nations coming to Christ through the suffering. He despised the cross and endured the pain that now in Christ our sufferings can and should allow us to see the greatness of the love that He had. Sanctified by faith.

When we are struggling with a persistent and “darling” or coddled sin {sins that we excuse and make provisions for and cover in ourselves, that’s not what we are supposed to do}, we are supposed to see Christ cleansing it. We are supposed to see Christ’s sacrifice and healing for us, bought and purchased at eternal costs. We are supposed to know victory over some sins in this flesh and struggle with some of them until we get to Heaven casting our burdens and griefs upon Him at the victories and the losses. That is the power of the Cross.

Thank you Lord, for redemption and healing for the nations, bought by the blood of Jesus! Amen.

Remembering Helen Keller 46 years after her passing/ Finally, By Gary Chapman

I wish my mind wouldn't argue with my heart It splits the day apart Into time well spent and time just thrown away I wish my heart would please make up my mind I'm wasting so much time Gotta catch a glimpse of how it's gonna be

CHORUS: When finally I look inside your eyes and see Reflections of yourself in me The way you always said it would be When finally I'm loving you like you love me It happened oh so easily I looked at you and it came to me Finally

The day to day just keeps on spinning round But this one thing I have found I can close my eyes and be there in your arms You take me to a place that's safe and warm You're my harbor in the storm Wanna lose myself in being there with you

(REPEAT CHORUS)

When finally I look inside your eyes and see Reflections of yourself in me The way you always said it would be When finally I'm loving you like you love me It happened oh so easily I looked at you and the love in your heart Cut right through to me And my eyes can see Finally