Making Choices

We all make choices everyday of our lives. Some can be as simple as choosing a color to paint the trim boards on our houses or as complex as what to do about an unplanned pregnancy. The ability to choose is what makes us different from all other life on earth. Choice is a measuring stick that demonstrates to God what things are really important to us. All God really wanted from the very beginning was to have a loving relationship with us where we would choose to love Him. He never wanted pre-programmed robots who submitted to His authority because of a particular line of code that was written into their programs.

Thus God provided two trees in the garden that were different from all the rest; the Tree of Life and the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil. God had instructed Adam not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and that death would be the ultimate result. On the seventh day of creation God rested from all His work not because He was exhausted but rather His creation was complete and perfect (Gen 2:2,3). He blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it. It was almost like God took a deep breath and sighed, a dramatic pause or like the calm before a huge approaching storm. But for now, man is still innocent, everything is working the way it should and there is fellowship between man and God as they walked together in the Garden of Eden.

The Hebrew word translated “serpent” in Genesis 3:1 could also be translated “shinning one”. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians he writes “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14) also in the book of Revelation we read “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Rev. 12:9).

Satan’s plan from the beginning has been to cast doubt on what God has instructed us to do. His main weapon is his ability to muddy the waters, to blend white and black pigments thus blurring the lines between what is good and evil.  His battle plan is to discourage us at every turn and get us to doubt our faith in God and His Divine provisions for our lives. If we would all just have the strength David had as he writes in the 23^rd psalm “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4) It’s in those truly dark times in our lives that God is really working on developing our character. Buts it’s up to us to surrender our wills and choose to obey Him.

It’s interesting that Satan was one of God’s most beautiful cherubs ever created. And through his own pride he desired to be like “The Most High”. God casts him out of heaven to the earth where in the garden he begins to influence Adam and Eve. When we fail to follow God’s instructions, we sin or fall short of His perfect plan for our lives. There is always a cost associated with making incorrect decisions. And we ultimately reap what we have sown in our lives which usually results in some sort of catastrophe.

There is much responsibility that goes along with choice and having “Freewill”. When confronted by God after disobeying, both Adam and Eve shucked off their responsibility for their sin. It is of the utmost importance that we all take full responsibility for our actions and decisions in our lives. If you find yourself blaming God for your situation in life, don’t! Instead, seek Him through His word to find the answers. He loves us all so very much that He provided a plan of redemption before the creation of the world. At every turn He has tried to save us from our own wicked hearts, thoughts and desires.

So the first step in our journey to walk with God is to first acknowledge Him as the almighty Creator that He is. We also need to communicate with Him through prayer and begin to choose to make good decisions based on the truths found in His living word, the bible. As a result of Adam and Eve’s disobedience, death became a frightening reality to these eternal beings who were once allowed to eat freely from the Tree of Life. God, the Father, in His perfect wisdom places cherubim and a flaming sword to guard the way to the Tree of Life.  As we are already beginning to see the extent of God’s grace and mercy as He introduces death into this new fallen world. Because without death, all humanity would have been condemned to live forever, eternally in a state of sin, separated from a loving God. I hope you will continue to follow along with us as we discover the depth of God’s love for us as He willing pays our debt through His one and only Son, Jesus Christ!

Memories of Mom!

Mother’s Day is right around the corner and just where we would be without our mothers?  Mine is no longer here on the earth with me but I can still remember her pleasant voice, fragrant perfume and her warm, wonderful smile. It’s funny how even just the slightest stimulus can trigger a memory of mom. For me it’s the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, as air currents carry their inviting smell from cooling rack to the screen door welcoming me home again. It’s also the smell of laundry, freshly pressed, folded and neatly laid on my bed. Our dresser drawers were always full of clean socks paired up and tucked in upon themselves waiting for two young feet to slip in. Moms are really quite amazing and indispensible.

One day a year to celebrate Mom is not a fine enough tribute to the one who brought us into this world under great pain and duress. She never abandoned us for another, forgot our birthday or failed to mail us a card when we got older and moved away. Mom was a fine woman with a lovely knitted sweater that felt as soft as rabbit fur. And even when we stayed out too late in the rain and caught cold, she was always there with a soft Kleenex, ready to wipe our runny noses. It was like our moms could see into the future.  When something unforeseen would happen, there she would be waiting with a dry shirt, shoes and pants and of course a smile. She always traveled with a very large bag which was completely stocked up prepared for anything that life could throw at her. She was a rare cross between Mary Poppins, Chuck Norris and a pit bull.  God help the poor soul who managed to get between her and the little ones!

Twelve red roses arranged in a vase is not a great enough sentiment for the woman who lived to grab our hand and pull us out of harm’s way. Mom would always go to bat for us in a pinch even if it meant a trip to the principals’ office; she always had our backs and never gave up! When tragedy struck our favorite pet and he had to be put to sleep, mom bravely found the leash and carried him to the already running car. Afterwards, we could always cry on her shoulder. She would wipe away the tears and hustle back home in time to prepare dinner for our fathers. She was an incredibly driven soul who kept the house clean even when she should have been in bed from a bad case of the flu. She always clipped coupons before shopping for the groceries and cooked mash potatoes, gravy and fried chicken every Friday night.

There’s no medal of honor that is priceless enough to be pinned on the chests of our mothers who fed us and nourished us in the first few months of life. Her shoulder became our head rest as she paced back and forth night after night when we were sick. Mom barely slept; it was as if she was a watchman always alert and on guard waiting for our enemies. Just the slightest squeak, muffled cry or even a peep from our cribs would bring her up bounding up out of a dead night sleep. She always had an extra identical binky in her purse. Oh yea, moms are great warriors too and I wouldn’t hesitate to fight back to back with any mom at any time. Marines only wish they had the endurance our mothers had.

A cheap, drug store bought card hastily filled out would bring tears to her eyes. Slowly reading every printed word she would cherish them as if we had thoughtfully penned every line ourselves. When falsely accused, it was our moms who became advocates. And when we were not within her reach, our mother’s faithful prayers would continually rise up to God’s throne room. She made sure her faithful petitions for our well being and safety found their way into the Lord’s presence. In fact, not a night would go by when we were not reminded by our mothers to say our prayers before we went to bed. When our first day of school came, it was mom who encouraged us to take a step of faith and get into the huge, bright yellow school bus. And when it turned out to be the worst day of our lives, it was mom who had fresh cookies and milk waiting for us when we came home. Nothing melted our countenance quicker than her homemade cookies and ice cold milk.

 All the gold in the world would not come close to covering the worth of our moms. Later on, mom took on an additional roll as our children’s grandmother and faithfully managed to show our kids the exact same kindness she showed to us. It’s a mystery of the universe how God made moms so sweet, kind and caring and so very full of love. I know for certain there is a special place in heaven for moms, a place where they will be rewarded for all the good they did in their lives and just maybe when their children arrive to be with her, then the family will once again be reunited to sing her praise.

There really are no presents precious enough for our moms. Not enough gold or silver anywhere in the universe, but you know she would be happy just to get a hug from us, to see us smile as we left the house or even just to get a phone call when we moved far away. We were her treasure, the one she so lovingly poured her life into and raised us to adulthood. Thank you God for every mother you created. Happy Mother’s Day!

The Bride of Christ

It’s interesting to see how all 66 books of the bible fit together into a single perfect picture. If studied carefully the bible reveals itself to be a love story of redemption which started in a garden east of Eden and ends on a wooden cross on Calvary. It is a story that was written before the foundations of time were laid. If the bible is a love story then there has to be a bride, bridegroom and a wedding ceremony.  So let’s put some pieces on the table and see what we can put together.   

 In the New Testament letter written to the Ephesians’ church (5:22), Paul explains how a healthy union between married couples is suppose to function. He uses the believer’s relationship with Christ to illustrate this. Paul tells us that just as Christ is the head of the church and the savior of the body so the man must protect and care for his wife. In (5:25) he writes that Christ loved the church enough to give His life for her.   

Let’s take a look back to the point where the church becomes “the bride” of Christ. In Matthew (26:29), we get a glimpse at the  last supper where Jesus takes a cup filled with red wine, gives thanks and  tells His apostles “Drink from it all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” Jesus went on to say, “ But I say to you, I will not of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”  

We know from scripture that the apostles didn’t fully understand the events of that night let alone the symbolism that Jesus introduced at the last supper with the bread and wine. They couldn’t see Him literally becoming their Passover Lamb that night. And they were certainly not ready to see their Messiah be brutally treated and put to death on a Roman cross. And it’s probably safe to say, many of us do not fully understand what we are doing when we drink from a communion cup. The first step to a better understanding is to see why the “church” is called “The Bride of Christ”. 

 To see this truth more clearly we need to look at the customs of an ancient Hebrew wedding ceremony around the time of Jesus.  These early Hebrew wedding customs reveal significant truths that will help us to be prepared for our bridegroom’s future return. In ancient times, it was customary for the bridegroom to visit the father of the bride and ask permission to marry his daughter. The conversation would also include the bridegroom’s plans of how he would provide a secure and happy life for his daughter. If both the bride and her father agreed to his terms then the bridegroom would pour a cup of wine and offer it first to the bride, then to the father.  They were making a covenant or contract.  

At this point the bridegroom leaves his bride and returns to his father’s house where he prepares a home for his bride to live in. This process could take anywhere from a few months to several years to complete. Meanwhile, it was customary for the bride to give herself a “mitzvah” or ritual bath and spend her remaining time faithfully waiting for the bridegroom to return for her.  While she waited, she would continue the process of purification which consisted of inward renewal and outward cleansing.  She wanted to look incredibly beautiful for her bridegroom when he returned. 

Then when the Father of the bridegroom saw that everything was ready and in place he would tell his son to go and get his bride. This usually happened in the dark of night clothed in an element of surprise.  It was a very joyous, festive occasion where the entire clan and village got into the act. The bridegroom and his friends with torches in hand would usually be joined with the bridesmaids who had their lamps full of oil as they waited for the bridegroom’s arrival. He was supposed to surprise the bride and find her eagerly waiting for him, cleansed and being faithful.

So when we, as the “bride of Christ”, drink from the cup we are saying to Jesus that we agree with His proposal and we receive His terms. We pledge to live our lives in a way that is pleasing to Him by not defiling our bodies with the dirt of this world. Let’s look back at the same passage in Ephesians (5:26) “Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of the water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”

In much the same way Jesus came to our home, the earth, and bought us with a price.  He poured wine at the last supper and invited each of the apostles to share the cup. And each time that we do this we are to remember the new covenant that Jesus was making with us, that His shed blood was for the remission of our sins. Matthew (26:27-29). 

In the gospel of John (14:2-4) Jesus tell us that He is going away to prepare a place for us and that he will return someday for us. So as His bride we are to occupy here on earth eagerly awaiting the surprise return of our bridegroom. Jesus cleanses us by the washing through reading and studying of His word. One day Jesus will return for us and take us back to the home He has been preparing. In the book of John, chapter 14, verse 3 Jesus says “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” Keep in mind that Jesus has been preparing this home for you and me for the past 2000 years. 

In closing let’s take a quick look at the book of Revelation (19:7). The passage describes an event yet future where Jesus “The Lamb of God” is the bridegroom at His wedding feast. “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”  It goes on to say in verse 9 “Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!”  Will you be one of “those’ who will sit at His table on that day or have yet to receive the free gift of salvation that God has provided for you?