The Three O's

     Early in our marriage, we made a trip to Washington D.C. with another couple to see all the sights.  One stop has remained in my memory to this day because it so impressed me as a relatively new Christian.     We made a trip to the National Cathedral (the second largest cathedral in the U.S. and the sixth largest in the world).  We took our time walking through this magnificent gothic style cathedral, and marveled at its beauty.  As we walked around the backside of the building, we looked up and inscribed on the exterior high up were the words "omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent".  How fitting a tribute to our Lord.  In fact, it made me think of Mary's prayer.

     In Luke 1:46-55, Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ our Lord, praised God for the gift of the Messiah.  Her prayer centered on magnifying the Lord whom she called her Savior.  She called Him holy, merciful to those who fear Him, strong and able to bring down the mighty/proud, feeding the hungry and a help to Israel.  Such a song of praise glorified God and His attributes.

     As Mary pointed out in her song of praise, God is, indeed, omnipotent.  He has all power and ability.  There is nothing that is able to over come His rule and reign.  Mary put it this way:  "He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; He has brought down the mighty from their thrones...(vs.51b-52a)."  We know from the Apostle Paul's writings that God puts leaders into their positions and removes them just the same (Romans 13:1).  We may think it is the will of the people, but behind all that happens, our omnipotent God reigns sovereign over all the affairs of men.  While His hand is unseen, we can rest in the knowledge that we serve an all powerful king who made us, sustains us and loves us.

     God is also omniscient.  He knows all things past, present and future.  For Him, there is no time for He is a Spirit and is not bound, as we are, to an hour by hour day.  I am still astonished when I think that God knew me before the foundation of the world and had a detailed plan for my life.  In the New Living Bible, it says:  "Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes."  This was true of Mary.  He knew the entire plan of salvation before the world was formed and His timing was perfect when He sent Jesus into the world.  This should make us all pause to consider how awesome is the God that we serve.

     Lastly, God is omnipresent.  He is everywhere at the same time.  Having been a mother of four, there were times when I sincerely wished I could have been everywhere at once.  However, because we are limited by our human body, we know it is impossible for us to be in two places at the same time.  Yet this is not true of our heavenly Father.    Knowing that God is omnipresent should give us peace for He is ever able to be with us wherever we go.   Only when God came as the Son did He experience the limitations that a physical body has in this world.  For us, it is a mystery that Jesus was fully divine and fully human at the same time.  Yet God sent Him to suffer and die as an atonement for our sins so that we might become the righteousness of Christ by trusting in Him.  

     All three of these big  "O" words are hard for us to comprehend because God is not like man.  We are made in His image, but we are not like Him as a pure spirit being.  His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).  With that said, consider what a miracle Christmas really is for us.  To think that the God and Creator of the universe stepped into our world as a tiny baby born in Bethlehem should make us rejoice as Mary did in her beautiful song of prayer.  Perhaps that is why when I saw those words inscribed so high upon the National Cathedral, it made me pause to reflect on the wonder of our heavenly God and Father.  Reflect on the fact that God stepped into time to redeem us and provide for us a way to have relationship with Him....the Creator of the universe!  Selah

Have a very Merry Christmas from our home to yours.

Storing up Treasures in our Heart

      Growing up on a farm in Northwestern Ohio, I have many fond memories of our Christmas celebrations.  Of course, living in the snow belt, we usually were treated to icy but beautiful white holiday scenes.  Sitting by our fireplace on cold nights, drinking hot cocoa, caroling with my youth group and enjoying family get togethers were all a part of those happy days.  In fact, I can even say that I had a ride in a one horse open sleigh thanks to my Grandfather Hess who took me and my cousin for a ride when we were very small.  We cuddled under a bear skin rug and flew down our rural county road that was covered with snow.  There are so many wonderful memories of those days gone by, but one of the most important ones was sitting down and reading the Bible together on Christmas Eve.  Hearing the story about the babe born in a manger is a memory that never grows old.  We cannot hear it enough because it is the greatest gift we could ever receive from God.

     Our favorite passage to read came from Luke 2:1-38.  One verse always stands out to me in this story of His miraculous entrance into the world.  Verse 19 tells us:  "But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart."  Just as I can recall the precious times with my family, Mary took in all the things that God had told her.  She believed the Lord when He sent the angel to her to announce this coming child.  She made herself the handmaiden of God and brought forth this child.  However, I am certain she had no idea what all of this would mean or how everything would come about; yet she trusted in God.

     One of the songs that touches my heart during this season is "Mary Did You Know?"  The song recounts the many miracles that Jesus would do during His work on earth.  Could Mary have known all that would happen? One line of the song goes: "When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?"  It gives me chills when I think of that picture in my mind.  God became man that He might fulfill all righteousness in order to provide the very sacrifice for our sins that would satisfy His holiness.  Jesus was not just Mary's baby boy.  He was also her Savior as the Word proclaims.

     As we continue in this passage of Luke, we see Mary and Joseph taking the baby to the Temple for their purification according to the Law of Moses.  When they arrived, two people met them in separate encounters.  One was Simeon who had prayed that he might live to see the Messiah. He took the child in his arms and blessed God.  Both Joseph and Mary were surprised by this (vs. 33), but Simeon went on to tell them, "Behold this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also, so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed." What a telling prophecy!  Again, Mary would remember these words as she watched Jesus go to the cross.  Then, Anna, a prophetess, came to see this child and praised God giving thanks for this blessed gift from God.

     Mary treasured all of these things in her heart and stored up these memories.  I can only imagine how both Joseph and Mary felt as they watched this tiny baby who was both fully man and fully God.  Of all the gifts or memories we can have at Christmas, this is the reason behind our celebration.  Jesus came as the Bible tells us "at just the right time" (Galatians 4:4-5) according to the timetable of God.  He came to set us free from the bondage of our sinful natures (Romans 5:6-8).  This is the greatest gift we could ever receive!

     Certainly, we all have many wonderful memories of Christmas past and are looking forward to this year's celebration.  However, my prayer is that we will take time to look with wonder as Mary did and treasure in our hearts the wonderful gift of salvation that comes from a regenerated heart made new by Christ.  This year read the Christmas story again and meditate on what the Lord has done for us!   Selah!

Who Do You Trust?

     Believe it or not, there was once a game show entitled "Who Do You Trust" hosted by the late, great Johnny Carson.  In the game, a couple would be introduced to a category and have to decide who would answer the question.  It came down to whether one member of the couple trusted the other to answer the question correctly.  With a cash award for the right answer, this was something each couple had to think about.  However, this was only a game show, so the decision was not a matter of life and death.  

     By contrast, in our present day circumstances, this is a question of some importance.  We seek out doctors who are experts in their field so we can be confident that we will receive the best care.  Likewise, we have all become more cautious before we believe stories in the news, and ask ourselves if the source is trustworthy.  Then, we are wary when it comes to trusting government, politicians, or others in leadership. As the days become more evil, we are right to seek out the truth.

 

   Jesus demonstrated wisdom that we also need to consider when it comes to putting our faith in people rather than in God.  John 2:23-25 says:  "Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs that He was doing.  But Jesus on His part did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for He Himself knew what was in man."  Our Lord knew all about our sin nature and how easily we vacillate in our opinions.  He was correct in not trusting men.

     Even the prophet Jeremiah weighed in on the danger of trusting men.  In chapter 17:5, 7, 9:  "Thus says the Lord:  'Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD....Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD...'"  Then, in verse 9, we see why we should not put our trust in man:  "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"  Just as Jesus was betrayed by one of His own disciples, so many of us may have had the experience of having someone let us down.  Even our loving spouses can disappoint us at times. So why is it that we can trust God?  All we have to do is turn to the Bible for the answers.

     Numbers 23:19 says:  "God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind.  Has He said, and will He not do it?  Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?"  Unlike fallen man, the Lord is steadfast, truthful and does all according to His will.  In addition, God has promised to never leave us nor forsake us.  Hebrews 13:5 says:  "Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have for He has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'"  This is a promise that we can count on without concern.  I know in my own life that God brought me through Polio, carried me through the deaths of my mother, father and grandson, and has provided for us through fifty years of marriage.  In fact David witnessed to the faithfulness of God in Psalm 37:25 when he writes:  "I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread."  We serve a trustworthy God on whom we can depend to meet our needs.

     When thinking about God's trustworthiness, we only have to look at the fact that He loved the world so much that He sent His Son to atone for our sins and make a way for salvation.  Paul says it well in Romans 5:7-10:  "For one will scarcely die for a righteous person - though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die, but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God.  For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled shall we be saved by His life."  God's New Covenant made in the blood of Jesus Christ makes clear that He alone can be trusted.

     This old world is passing away, and daily, we see evidence of the decay of morals, government, and relationships.  Putting our trust in anything but God will lead to disappointment.  Now, is the time for each of us to take stock of where we are laying up our treasure.  Is it here on earth where moth and rust can consume it, as Jesus said (Matthew 6:19-21)?  Or are we laying up our treasure in heaven by trusting in God?  We have a choice to make.  In whom do you trust today?  God alone is our refuge and strength!  Selah!