I'm gonna make this quick because I just got back from the Lipka Christmas Party and I'm BEAT. Lugging all those presents home for the boy is hard work :)
But wanted to mention a little something I saw today that was kinda cool. If you play Farmville you know what a wonderful day today is :-) Since I also handle Ethan's farm I opened up about 250 presents. And then someone else sends one every couple minutes after that so I have been inundated with presents all day!
Well, after my clicking frenzy to open up all those pixelated gifts, I read a verse that seemed very appropriate at that moment:
"We all live off of His generous bounty, gift after gift after gift." (John 1:16 The Message)
Ya, so a couple hundred gifts from Farmville on Christmas Eve is pretty nice - but take notice of all the gifts God gives every day - "gift after gift after gift". (try saying that 5 times fast, by the way).
My son woke up all nice and happy - Gift #1. In the dreadful heat that should be illegal on Christmas Eve I was able to crank on the air conditioning - Gift #2.
You get the idea. Merry Christmas and Thank God for His Unspeakable Gift (HUG - 2 Corinthians 9:15)
Good night!!!!
Ruthy H
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Some Thoughts At Christmas
Why is it so difficult to get at the people with the most power to help you in your time of need? You will not easily get into the presence of the President of the United States. Kings and queens down through the ages have been even less accessible. Esther feared for her life when she dared to come before the king - and he was her husband! Anyone who came before him had to be personally invited to do so or their lives were in serious risk. It was common for lowly subjects of old to never see their ruler at all or see him atop a balcony far away. Large gates and strong guards have kept the common man from his rulers for centuries.
But there is one with which this is not so. His palace is more glorious, his power stronger and his person more worshipful than any ruler who has ever lived. In fact, he is the King of all other kings. Where are the guards that forbid entrance into his presence? Some of his friends thought they may act as his guards and turned some children away who wanted to be near their King, but the King quickly relieved them of their self-appointed positions. Where are the gates that bar access to Him? Over His gates a banner flies with the call, “For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
Charles Spurgeon told a story about a hospitable neighbor in a village. He made it known through his village and others that all were welcome in his home. Any poor may come and be fed. Any hurt may come and be mended. But, this man had a yard full of vicious dogs. And they were all loose so that nobody was able to get near the house. So all of the help the man may have been able to give was no help to anyone.
But, as Spurgeon says so forcefully, “It is not so with our Master! Though he is greater than the greatest and higher than the highest, he has been pleased to put out of the way everything which might keep the sinner from entering into his halls of gracious entertainment. From his lips we hear no threatening against intrusion, but hundreds of invitations to the nearest and dearest intimacy.”
And though I did not mention any sleigh bells or reindeer, this is what Christmas is all about. Do not ever think you can get to God on your own. His mountain is too high for you to climb and his depths too deep for you to dive. His demands for holiness is far beyond your capabilities. You need a mediator - someone to stand between you and God. Jesus Christ did that. To be a mediator he had to put his hand upon both parties. “To be a perfect mediator between God, he must be able to come to God so near that God shall call him his fellow. And then he must approach to man so closely that he shall not be ashamed to call him brother. This is precisely the case with our Lord.”
Max Lucado has a Christmas book called “God Came Near”. Who would have thought you could summarize Christmas so perfectly in three little words! Yes, Jesus was born to die to save our souls and pay the price to ransom our freedom from the slavery of sin - but he came for much more, if you can imagine anything more! Jacob’s ladder reached to heaven but what if the ladder did not reach entirely to the ground and missed the bottom dozen steps. It would be no good to us. But no, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, came all the way down to us. David saw this great mercy of God before he saw its incarnation in Jesus, “Who is like the Lord our God, the one who sits enthroned on high? He who stoops to look down upon the heavens and the earth. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy out of the ash heep.”
There’s three more little words to describe Christmas, “He Who Stoops”. From his grand, holy, fleshless heaven God stooped down and was not content to see the poor in the dust, but with a human power he raised them from the dust. With human vocal cords he said, “Be clean!” and then with a human hand he touched an unclean man suffering with leprosy and healed him.
He came so that he could be approachable! He is not the philosopher who wrote above his door, “Let no one who is ignorant of geometry enter here.” No, our Lord has never refused a wayward seeker, a helpless child, a hopeless sinner or a trial-beaten saint. Because of his great mercy that caused him to come down and be born of a woman like every other human for ages, we can boldly come to God the Father.
Merry Christmas! And Joy to the World - our way to God has finally come!
- Ruthy H
Beginning was a rough paraphrase from "The Approachableness of Jesus" by Charles Spurgeon
But there is one with which this is not so. His palace is more glorious, his power stronger and his person more worshipful than any ruler who has ever lived. In fact, he is the King of all other kings. Where are the guards that forbid entrance into his presence? Some of his friends thought they may act as his guards and turned some children away who wanted to be near their King, but the King quickly relieved them of their self-appointed positions. Where are the gates that bar access to Him? Over His gates a banner flies with the call, “For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
Charles Spurgeon told a story about a hospitable neighbor in a village. He made it known through his village and others that all were welcome in his home. Any poor may come and be fed. Any hurt may come and be mended. But, this man had a yard full of vicious dogs. And they were all loose so that nobody was able to get near the house. So all of the help the man may have been able to give was no help to anyone.
But, as Spurgeon says so forcefully, “It is not so with our Master! Though he is greater than the greatest and higher than the highest, he has been pleased to put out of the way everything which might keep the sinner from entering into his halls of gracious entertainment. From his lips we hear no threatening against intrusion, but hundreds of invitations to the nearest and dearest intimacy.”
And though I did not mention any sleigh bells or reindeer, this is what Christmas is all about. Do not ever think you can get to God on your own. His mountain is too high for you to climb and his depths too deep for you to dive. His demands for holiness is far beyond your capabilities. You need a mediator - someone to stand between you and God. Jesus Christ did that. To be a mediator he had to put his hand upon both parties. “To be a perfect mediator between God, he must be able to come to God so near that God shall call him his fellow. And then he must approach to man so closely that he shall not be ashamed to call him brother. This is precisely the case with our Lord.”
Max Lucado has a Christmas book called “God Came Near”. Who would have thought you could summarize Christmas so perfectly in three little words! Yes, Jesus was born to die to save our souls and pay the price to ransom our freedom from the slavery of sin - but he came for much more, if you can imagine anything more! Jacob’s ladder reached to heaven but what if the ladder did not reach entirely to the ground and missed the bottom dozen steps. It would be no good to us. But no, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, came all the way down to us. David saw this great mercy of God before he saw its incarnation in Jesus, “Who is like the Lord our God, the one who sits enthroned on high? He who stoops to look down upon the heavens and the earth. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy out of the ash heep.”
There’s three more little words to describe Christmas, “He Who Stoops”. From his grand, holy, fleshless heaven God stooped down and was not content to see the poor in the dust, but with a human power he raised them from the dust. With human vocal cords he said, “Be clean!” and then with a human hand he touched an unclean man suffering with leprosy and healed him.
He came so that he could be approachable! He is not the philosopher who wrote above his door, “Let no one who is ignorant of geometry enter here.” No, our Lord has never refused a wayward seeker, a helpless child, a hopeless sinner or a trial-beaten saint. Because of his great mercy that caused him to come down and be born of a woman like every other human for ages, we can boldly come to God the Father.
"Because I cannot bear what in myself I see
How black, how vile I must look, most Holy God to Thee.
But since my Savior stands between in garments dyed in blood
‘Tis He instead of me that’s seen when I approach to God."
Merry Christmas! And Joy to the World - our way to God has finally come!
- Ruthy H
Beginning was a rough paraphrase from "The Approachableness of Jesus" by Charles Spurgeon
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Excerpt from Chapter 4
David had friends, armies, mighty men of valor, captains, generals, weapons, fortresses, horses, chariots, national allies and at times his own entire nation fighting on his behalf. But he knew his weapons were harmless against his enemies if not wielded by God: “I do not trust in my bow, my sword does not give me victory; but You give us victory over our enemies.” (44:6,7)
His shields would be flimsy defenses if God did not stand behind them: “You are a shield around me, O Lord.” (3:3) “My shield is God Most High.” (7:10)
His fortress would slide back like sand were not the Rock of Ages its foundation: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer.” (18:2)
And though there were many of his comrades who dearly loved him, David was aware that even their greatest intentions were shaky and undependable: “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in men.” (118:8)
“Through Thee we shall the victory gain,
Though hosts of hell oppose:
Thou art our God and Thou shalt reign
And conquer all our foes.
We trust not in our bow or sword:
For weakness is our power:
In Thee we trust, Almighty Lord,
Through every dangerous hour.”
We have seen in the previous chapter that God’s eye sees us, His ear hears us and now we see that his mighty arm saves us! No one and nothing else can but Him. Therefore, do not doubt that He alone can save! Let God be true and every man on earth a liar – He will fulfill His promises because He is the only one in existence who can.
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