Are You Fearful or Faithful?

The detours of the Holy Spirit have returned me to chapter eight in the gospel of Matthew.  This chapter has many miracles performed by Jesus.  Of particular interest at this time are the verses of twenty-three thru twenty-seven where the waters and wind were calmed by Jesus.

The disciples were afraid for their lives so they turned to Jesus for help.  Jesus asked them, ""Why are you fearful, O ye of little faith (v.26)?  The portion of "O ye of little faith" reminds me of a friend of mine who often said before passing away that she was not afraid of dying, but she expressed concern about what was going to happen while she lived until the time of her death.

During a visit with my friend while she was in the hospital, our conversation turned toward the struggles that come along with the Christian walk.  "O ye of little faith" were words she uttered to steer her back to faith to get through those tough times of her Christian walk.  Each time I come across those words in searching the scriptures, I am reminded of my friend's testimony of the Lord.   How powerful those words of Jesus are to move me to supplication for an increase in faith.

Jesus gives the directive to have faith in God in the eleventh chapter of Mark verse twenty-two.  There is a hymn by B.B. McKinney with the title of Jesus' words that you may find encouraging.  God is with you every step of the way!  Here are the words of the hymn:

Have faith in God when your pathway is lonely, He sees and knows all the way you have trod; Never alone are the least of His children; Have faith in God, have faith in God.

Have faith in God when your pray'rs are unanswered, Your earnest plea He will never forget; Wait on the Lord, trust His Word and be patient, Have faith in God, He'll answer yet. 

Have faith in God in your pain and your sorrow, His heart is touched with your grief and despair; Cast all your cares and your burdens upon Him, And leave them there, oh, leave them there.

Have faith in God tho all else fail about you; Have faith in God, He provides for His own; He cannot fail tho all kingdoms shall perish, He rules, He reigns upon His throne.

Refrain

Have faith in God, He's on His throne; Have faith in God, He watches o'er His own; He cannot fail, He must prevail; Have faith in God, have faith in God.

Death Swallowed in Victory--1 Corinthians 15:54

A coworker of mine shared the following hymn with me a number of years ago.  It was special to her for she had sung it at the funeral of a family member.  For this Easter holiday, I thought I would share it with you.  The title is "Thine is the Glory".  The words are by Edmund L. Budry and the music is by George Frederick Handel :

Thine is the Glory

Thine is the glory, Risen, conqu'ring Son; Endless is the vict'ry Thou o'er death hast won.  Angels in bright raiment Rolled the stone away, Kept the folded grave-clothes Where Thy body lay.

Lo! Jesus meets us, Risen, from the tomb; Lovingly He greets us, Scatters fear and gloom; Let His church with gladness Hymns of triumph sing, For her Lord now liveth; Death hath lost its sting. 

No more we doubt Thee, Glorious Prince of Life! Life is naught without Thee; Aid us in our strife; Make us more than conqu'rors, Through Thy death-less love; Bring us safe through Jordan With Thy power and love.

Refrain

Thine is the glory, Risen, conqu'ring Son; Endless is the vict'ry Thou o'er death hast won.  Amen.

God's Presence/God's Consuming Fire

In addition to His Holy Word, God still speaks to us through writings, songs and experiences of others.  One such person through whom God has spoken is Nicolas Herman also known as Brother Lawrence.  Brother Lawrence's writings date back to the seventeenth century and can be found in the book called Practice of the Presence of God which was rewritten by Harold J. Chadwick.

In Psalms 16:11, David said in reference to the Lord, "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."  Similarly, when Brother Lawrence's soul was firmly fixed upon God, "[i]t is then his soul's joy is full--what he calls the actual presence of God..." (p. 132).  "The presence of God is thus the life and nourishment of the soul" (p. 133).

Clearly the Comforter abided with Brother Lawrence (John 14:16).  It was through love that the Lord manifested Himself.  Love toward the Son resulted in love received from the Father and Son (John 14:21).  Brother Lawrence said, "...God's love is truly a consuming fire, burning to ashes all that is contrary to His will.  The soul that is thus kindled cannot live except in the presence of God.  This presence also works within the heart a consecrated zeal, a holy ardor, a violent passion to see this God become known and loved and served and worshiped by all His creatures" (p. 135).

The Christian music group Third Day relates to the experience of the presence of the Lord in their song "Consuming Fire" with music and lyrics written by band member Mac Powell.  Amen!  Here are the words to their song:

Set this place on fire
Send Your Spirit, Savior
Rescue from the mire
Show Your servant favor

Yesterday was the day that I was alone
Now I'm in the presence of Almighty God

And yes, our God, He is a consuming fire
And the flames burn down deep in my soul
Yes, our God, He is a consuming fire
He reaches inside and He melts down this cold heart of stone

Set this place on fire
Send Your Spirit, Savior
Rescue from the mire
Show Your servant favor

Yesterday was the day that I was alone
Now I'm in the presence of Almight God

Did you realize that inside of you there is a flame?
Did you ever try to let it burn, let it burn, let it burn?

Sacred Presence

From my previous post, you know that it is by God's grace that I have my current job which is a blessing indeed!  Prior to my current employment, God permitted evil to come into my life for His good reasons.  This has been hard for me to accept and understand, but I would not be where I am today had God not permitted it.  With this said, I am brought back to write about my current work.

 There is certainly nothing glamorous about my work.  You can imagine--I work in the soil department in the textile industry.  Let me tell you, though, God can be found in the most unexpected places.  Like Brother Lawrence in the book  The Practice of the Presence of God which was rewritten by Harold J. Chadwick "...[my] soul has been filled with joys so continual, and sometimes so great, that [I am] forced to use means to moderate them, and to hinder their appearing outwardly" (p. 73).  I know that my management and coworkers have seen my smiling expression and wondered what was up.  If so, they have done so without passing judgment.  As a matter-of-fact, a coworker recently said that I always come in the morning with a smile.  This smile is the joy of the Lord coming with me in the morning!

More closely to the point that I am trying to make is that I am blessed with the Presence of God in my work as well as wonderful management and coworkers.  For these reasons, I find my job one of the best! You can make your job one of the best also by inviting God's presence.  Listen closely to the words of the song above called "In the Presence of Jehovah".  Glory to God!

Much Ado about Grace

God continues to have me search for the treasures in the book of Ruth.  One of the treasures found is that of grace.  Ruth finds grace in the eyes of Boaz.  Ruth asked Boaz, "Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me seeing I am a stranger?" (v. 10).  It turns out that Boaz was kin to Ruth.

I can closely relate to Ruth because of the grace I found in my temporary employer's eyes I was led to my current permanent employer.  Even while I worked as a temporary employee, there was something about the work environment that made me feel a sense of kinship.  A sense of family.  A sense of belonging.  I was so thankful to become a permanent employee.  The only thing I can attribute it to is grace.  God's amazing grace in action!  Amen.  This calls for Chris Tomlin's version of Amazing Grace above!

The Words of Ruth to Naomi in Song

Here are the words of Ruth to Naomi in song plus additional sentiments.
   

Ruth Respects the Living and the Deceased

The book of Ruth speaks to the family condition in relation to the respect shown for the living and for the deceased family members.  Naomi had lost her husband and two sons. Orpah and Ruth had been the wives of Naomi's sons.  The time came when Naomi wanted to return to her homeland of Bethlehem, Judah and tried to part ways with Orpah and Ruth.  Orpah decided to return to her people and her gods (Ruth 1:15).  Ruth, however, wanted to remain with Naomi.  Ruth said, "Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me and more also, if ought but death part thee and me." (vs. 16,17).  Naomi acquiesced to Ruth's wishes and the two traveled to Bethlehem.

Ultimately, Ruth and Naomi were blessed.  Ruth remarried their next of kin named Boaz.  It was through this marriage that Ruth became a part of Christ's family tree with their son Obed.  For Naomi, who was bitter when she first returned to Bethlehem, Obed would be a restorer of life and nourish her old age for she would be his nurse (Ruth 4:15,16).