A Word to the Wise

Even a day after Christmas, I begin looking forward to a new year. Most folks who have known me for any amount of time know I like to have a guiding verse from Scripture for a new year. I don't discount the rest of the Bible but like having a verse I can memorize and bring to recall whenever I want. A verse recently presented itself in one of our Sunday school lessons. I know in time past, I've read it but it never gripped me like that day teaching the lesson.

One of the items on King David's “bucket list” was to see to the building of God's temple. However, that was not to be. Because of critical sin in David's life, he not only lived through the death of his baby son Bathsheba had given birth to, but David was also deprived of the privilege of building the temple. Such crushing blows in his life didn't deter him from his love for God or his renewed fervor for maintaining a close relationship with his Heavenly Father. Many people would have turned from God for less, but David, the man after God's own heart, didn't lose faith in God or for His continued will in David's life. It pleased David to know that his son, Solomon, would be not only king but the builder of that wonderful place of worship for God's people.

In I Chronicles, toward the end of David's life, we read how active he was in organizing what he could toward the building of the temple. He kept the people informed and excited about the erecting of that magnificent edifice. Solomon had not yet acceded to the throne when David sat down with his son to share with his son words of encouragement.

I must interject here how I came across one of the verses from Scripture I have underlined and just about have memorized. They aren't just words to a son from his father King but they speak to my heart every time I look at them. This verse was foreign to me mostly because of where it is located. There are so many gems in Scripture tucked away in some Old Testament books, books we rarely venture into. It was such a privilege for me recently to be able to hold my computer in my lap and be a part of the live broadcast of the funeral of Cliff Barrows, the long time music director for Billy Graham. They had worked together from the beginning along with George Beverly Shea and others. I believe all of the team has gone to Heaven now leaving Billy Graham here with us for a time.

One of the speakers spoke at great length of Mr. Barrows deep love and dedication to the Scriptures. In final days, he was either blind or close to it but had memorized so much Scripture, he could speak it freely. One of his favorite verses, the gentleman said, was the verse I share with you...words from a loving father...words of wisdom to the soon to be seated King, David's son Solomon who would come to be known as the wisest man on earth. Picture two men sitting together...one an older man, King of Israel for 40 years...the other younger with his kingdom yet ahead of him.

And David said to Solomon His son,
Be strong and of good courage,
and do it:
fear not, nor be dismayed:
for the Lord God, even my God,
will be with thee;
he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee,
until thou hast finished all the work
for the service of the house of the Lord.
I Chronicles 28:16

As I read this verse that is now heavily underlined in my Bible, I still get goose bumps as I read how clearly God spoke through that father to his son. The thrill for me is in the fact that I felt the Holy Spirit giving me the same words of encouragement.

David knew his son would need great courage and strength and I love how David added like any father might “and do it.” David knew days of discouragement would come but God's presence would be ever with Solomon in all he had to accomplish. David promised as he himself had come to know that God wouldn't fail or forsake Solomon with all he had ahead of him in finishing this special work for the Lord.

Guess what?...this isn't the first place we read in Scripture about the constant presence of God with us. His promise to never leave or forsake us is as true today as it was in David's day. With whatever God has called me to do, I need to be strong and of good courage and so do you. By now, we should know from the very depths of our beings that God is faithful by his presence and power to see us through those tasks he has called us to no matter how small or large. No, we aren't called to build huge buildings such as Solomon's Temple, but perhaps we're called to have a part in building lives...lives of families, church members, businesses...all to be done to God's glory.

Cuddle up sometime in these busy holiday times with this verse, take it in, let it sink into your spirit and claim those blessed words for your own. They can be of great encouragement as we stand at the brink of a new year. We don't know what this year holds, but we do know Who holds it in the palm of His hand. As I can recall someone saying to me...”A word to the wise is sufficient.”

Thank You Father, for Your precious promises in our Bibles meant for us on an everyday basis. Help us to take them personally and apply them to our lives. May we cling to such precious promises of Your constant presence with us. Thank You for the strength and encouragement You pour into our lives. In Jesus' precious name....Amen

O COME LET US ADORE HIM

O Lord, thou art my God;
I will exalt thee, I will praise
thy name; for thou hat done
wonderful things; thy counsels
of old are faithfulness and truth.
Isaiah 25:1

This carol, “O Come All Ye Faithful” has always been one of my favorites even from childhood. The chorus of this Christmas hymn (as I love to call Christmas carols spiritual in nature) was very easy for a child to learn. Let's face it...it wasn't hard to repeat the one phrase three times ending with “Christ the Lord.” Perhaps that was the inspiration for today's 7/11 choruses...seven words sung 11 times. However, I don't believe that was the intent of this favorite carol. We have sung this carol over and over, but I wonder if we pay any attention to the words we sing. Let's just think about the first verse.

O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL – This is obviously a song of invitation. We're asked to “come.” Who is invited? God's faithful are invited...ALL of them, not just whoever feels like it.

JOYFUL AND TRIUMPHANT - How are we to come? We are to approach Him with the greatest of joy knowing we are triumphant because of THE One we are coming to adore.

O COME YE, O COME YE. - The invitation is not only repeated, but stressed with the used of repeated phrasing. It should give us a sense of urgency.

TO BETHLEHEM – My Bethlehem right now is my own heart. It's where Jesus lives through His Holy Spirit. The fact is that I can come to Him any hour of the day, day of the year to worship and adore Him, not just during the Christmas season.

COME AND ADORE HIM – All of that cantata's, gifts, parties, family gatherings, parades and decorations are wonderful, but that's not the purpose of this season. We are to approach Him with hearts full of adoration. The dictionary defines “adore” as deeply loving, respecting and even worshiping another. Is that who we are as opposed to all of the holiday trappings?

BORN THE KING OF ANGELS – What an odd phrase this is in this beautiful carol. However, a reference to the pre-incarnate Christ was a necessary bit of information. Long before Jesus' appearing on earth, He always WAS in Heaven. Angels bowed before Him. Even Lucifer did for a time before his fall from Heaven.

O COME LET US ADORE HIM – There is that invitation again. The verse has given us information that should cause us to come to this point. The chorus repeats this invitation two more times, almost building with a determined, knowing proclamation...

CHRIST THE LORD – It's Him...the long awaited One spoken of throughout the Old Testament Scriptures. He was promised down through those hundreds of years. Perhaps some had almost given up hope, but He was still destined to join us in this sinful world...perfection taking on human form in a sinful, lost, dusty world. He did it for you and He did it for me.

When He came, angels sang His praises. Shepherds (who lived with the worst of reputations for just being shepherds) left their flocks to find that little one Who would come to be known as the Good Shepherd. Even educated men in the science of the stars made a trip that took several months to find that special child.

Is it asking too much of us to “Come let us adore Him?” We have come to know not just a baby in a manger, but we have more importantly come to know Him as Savior. We appreciate the baby, but that baby grew up to be a Man, a Man who chose to die for you and me. It's fine to sing of our adoration for baby Jesus, but our song should rise with great triumphant adoration we feel for Jesus, our Savior and King.

                                   O COME LET US ADORE HIM,

                                   CHRIST...THE LORD!

We love You Jesus and are sorry for being remiss in expressing our love and appreciation for all You have done for us and all You continue to do for us even down to each breath we take. Thank You for leaving Your throne and coming to earth for us. We love you, and yes, we adore you. In Your precious name...Amen

JUST GIVE ME JESUS

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those
things which are above, where Christ
sitteth on the right hand of God.
Set your affection on things above,
not on things on the earth.
Colossians 3:11

Today is one of those emotional days when things just crowd in and squeeze me til I squeak. With the national park roads fully open now, Brian and I took a ride from our place to the nearby town of Gatlinburg. It's a dull and cloudy day which only adds to the gloom of the moment. We drove many of the streets where the forest fire did the most damage. Many of those streets our family has been on through the years but not recognizable right now. For instance, if anyone has been to downtown Gatlinburg and looked up to the nearby mountain that is easily seen, for years there has been a big, beautiful mountain home sitting about halfway up the mountain. I looked for it today and it is mere sticks and rubble now.

We drove some of the streets where the most damage was done. I sat in stunned silence looking at all of the burned out cars...homes and cabins burned to the ground. It was interesting to see some homes destroyed while there was an untouched cabin or house nearby. It probably has smoke damage but it looked untouched by the fire. For us today, it was seeing history erased in large measure from a place millions of Americans have come to know with great fondness.

We drove along narrow winding mountain roads where houses sat in their ruins (one still with slight smoldering) and I couldn't help but wonder how the death toll was so low. Two weeks ago today, fire was blazing on both sides of those roads while people were trying to get down and up the mountain at the same time. Many it would seem had no notice of the extent of the fire. As we drove, there are already builders meeting with owners and Gatlinburg is filled with large trucks from home restoration companies.

A dear lady, who has lost all was interviewed on television. She is one of many who got out with only the clothes on her back and maybe her purse in hand. She is so grateful that her family is alive and well but knows with the others that all worldly goods are gone, never to be completely replaced. I thought of her as I silently looked out the car window at destruction that seemed to zoom by. I recalled a song I once heard that I loved...can't remember the title or all of the words but the last phrase says: “You can have all this world, just give me Jesus.” I wondered about myself, if under the very worst of circumstances if that could be some guiding words in my own life.

We are told that we came into this world with nothing and will leave it with nothing as well. Meanwhile though, we get pretty attached to our “things.” I lean more toward sentimental things that really cannot be replaced....wedding album, my Mother's desk, children's and grand children's pictures, Bibles, some jewelry. They are all apart of this world though, my world and I don't want to lose them. Those folks lost like things and even more. Some children lost pets, a man lost his wife and two daughters, some tourists lost their lives and it goes on and on.

I pray on my own behalf that no matter what my circumstances ever come to be, that my focus will be on what is important...really important. The day will come when I leave all of those things of the world behind anyway. The question for me: “Is Jesus enough?” Even as I type that question, I feel a conviction in my own spirit. Perhaps that's what is left over from this knot in my stomach having seeing so much devastation.

I was blessed as we passed by a stone church. If you have ever driven behind Gatlinburg on the Roaring Fork River Motor Trail, as you exit it and drive a little down the road into town, you come to a church on the left side of the road. It is a stone church, a Baptist church that has stood there for as long as I can remember. It is in shambles and that grieved me even more. Wondering how they were doing, I saw contractors in the parking lot talking to what could be the pastor. I then saw a sign....”While rebuilding, we will meet at Camp Smoky.” That cheered me. Despite the fire, the work is going on even if it must be in a different location for awhile. It is always good to see that God's work doesn't stop. His people see to that. Again I was convicted of the times I didn't feel well and didn't fulfill a responsibility at church. I could have gone and done the task, but in many cases, it was probably laziness on my part.

Take a look at where you live right now and picture it in ashes. Perhaps your house burned while you were at work or at the grocery store. Picture it and your car smoldering. All you have is clothes you are wearing and a wallet or purse. It's hard to imagine, isn't it? That could never happen to us, right? A lady in Dallas I once knew had a gorgeous home in North Dallas that burned to the ground. I talked to her to assure her of my prayers. She said, “Glendarae, a burned down house with everything gone is as close to a death in the family as one can come.”

So I ask us all, would be ready for what these dear folks have experienced? Leaving all the things of the world dear and precious to us....would Jesus be enough? That's what He wants. He doesn't want there to be anything or anyone that comes before Him. He's asks that we forsake all and rely solely on Him for everything. May our honest desire be:

JUST GIVE ME JESUS

Father, I can't relate to these hurting people who have lost so much. Some have no house to go home to, folks have lost their businesses, some have physical needs while others are planning funerals for loved ones. Pour extra mercy and grace into the lives of these precious mountain folks. If any don't know you as Savior, may this be the time they turn to You. In Jesus' precious, saving name....Amen

Beauty for Ashes

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me;
because the Lord hath anointed me to
preach good tidings unto the meek; He
hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to
proclaim liberty to the captives, and opening
of the prison to them that are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
and the day of vengeance of our God; to
comfort all that mourn
Isaiah 61:1,2

In this area where I live, I have learned that with fire, comes an unbelievable growth in nature. When we first moved here, I was greatly disturbed to see all of the fires that were deliberately set in Cades Cove by the park service. I even stopped at the ranger station and asked a ranger about what looked like total destruction to me. Not satisfied with her answer, I contacted the park service office and by e-mail was told how wonderfully I would be surprised if I watched those fields, especially come spring how lush the fields would be with plant life and beautiful flowers. They assured me that strong healthy trees are seldom destroyed and they too flourish like never before. Sure enough, come spring, the information was totally correct. I saw in reality how beauty came from ashes in those blackened fields.

The book of Isaiah is full of prophecies having to do with the coming of the Messiah, Jesus to the earth. Many theologians feel the first few verses of this chapter in Isaiah especially, gives a kind of job description regarding Jesus' coming. In fact, after Jesus' experience of being tempted by Satan in the wilderness, He returned to his childhood synagogue on the sabbath day, sat down and taught the people from these verses. It would appear that in this, He was introducing His ministry. Just look at some of the goals He had in His ministry. He would preach the good news, see to the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom to captives, even opening prison doors to the bound. He would also comfort those who mourn. I don't know about you but He's done all of that in my life. We've all been captive to something at one time or another perhaps even to the point of feeling imprisoned by habits or other things. He's been with me when I've been brokenhearted...He's been all of those things for me and probably for you as well.

The next two verses are such a blessing to me in these days and probably to many who live in our area. You will see what I mean as we look at verses 3,4 of the same chapter:

To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give
unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for
mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of
heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified.
And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up
the former desolations, and they shall repair the
waste cities, the desolations of many
generations.

I realize verses three and four are often thought to pertain to Jesus' second coming after the earth had been decimated by events of the tribulation. He would bring His people back to the earth for the millennial reign, but a lot would have to be restored and built back up after all of the destruction. Those of us who are born again Christians have benefited much from the events described in the first two verses of this chapter.

Those next two verses I can understand are significant for future events. I'm seeing those two verses being played out in our area right now in so many ways. For instance, there are many around our area who are mourning...death and destruction are all around. As hard as it may seem right, our area will be rebuilt, trees and plant life will grow again, new houses and businesses will reappear as life goes on. I have found people especially in east Tennessee to be strong people. Historically, they and their families have endured much. They've faced wilderness existences, coming of a national park that took many from their homes, financial hardship and other things other Americans face. However, I've found more of a real almost family caring among a majority who aren't even related. There's a willingness to jump in and do for others that may not be as evident in other areas of our country.

Any of us can look at our lives, some devastating life experiences and saw and felt all was lost and in our own ways, we mourned. I have seen, however, in my own experience how through such experiences I grew in the Lord and even flourished in Him like never before. It was those times in the fire of life that I wasn't destroyed, but grew by leaps and bounds. I can see now how God brought His kind of beauty in my life from what looked like the ashes that may have even smoldered for awhile.

God did everything in my life mentioned in verse 3. He gave me a new joy to replace my mourning, a spirit of praise in the heaviest of days, a strength I could never have had on my own. The health of my spiritual life was renewed hopefully that God would be glorified. He built new, exciting things in my walk with Him. All of this has happened whenever I've been led to walk a very difficult path. Any of us can choose bitterness, refusing God's direction and even love. That only prolongs the misery we feel. He wants to bring beauty from the ashes of those burning times we go through. At the time, we feel such burnings will destroy us but come God's springtime in our lives, after perhaps a time of rest, He goes to work bringing a beauty in our lives that we may not see, but that is a blessing in the lives of others.

All of this is my prayer for my neighbors who live across the valley from me that in all of the destruction and heartache, they will come to experience the beauty that can come from their ashes. For those who don't know Jesus as Savior, I'm praying this will be their time to accept Him. I want them to know His comfort, joy and yes, restoration where needed. Please pray with me for those dear folks who have lost so much, but who can know God will bring beauty from their ashes.

Heavenly Father, thank You for who You are. I've come to know your power in my life but appreciate even more Your love and how at various times, You've brought beauty from some ashy times in my life. Thank You for it all. In Jesus' precious name....Amen