Mountain of Joy

My heart is filled with thanks to God for His great love and compassion.  He has blessed us in many ways.  He has given us so much - let us be thankful and receive His Kingdom that can not be shaken. 

The Mountain of Fear and the Mountain of Joy

 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm;  to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them,  because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”

 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly,  to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,  to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

  See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?

 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
    
 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,  for our “God is a consuming fire.”

^{Hebrews 12:18-29}

He HAS been there all along...

 

" 'if there is no God, who else is there?  He is our only hope.'  (a quote from one of the survivors of typhoon haiyan)   as we watched destruction unfold on the news, images similar to japan's triple disaster of 3/11/11 played out ... both were ruthless, leaving nothing in their paths. how does one continue believing that God is good and just? I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD; they are plans for peace, not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope. (jeremiah 29:11) jessie urged me to read night by elie wiesel, a personal recounting of holocaust horror. the forward was written by francois mauriac, winner of the nobel prize for literature. after meeting wiesel in person, mauriac wrote the following:  'what did i say to him (wiesel)? did i speak to him of that other Jew, this crucified brother who perhaps resembled him and whose cross conquered the world? did i explain to him that what had been a stumbling block for his faith had become a cornerstone for mine? and that the connection between the cross and human suffering remains, in my view, the key to the unfathomable mystery in which the faith of his childhood was lost? ... all is grace. if the almighty is the almighty, the last word for each of us belong to Him. that is what i should have said to the Jewish child. but all i could do was embrace him and weep.'  night echoes shusaku endo's silence, a narrative of the persecution and murder of Japanese Christians in the 1600s. where is God when those who love Him are being obliterated by those who hate Him? the answer that resounds throughout history and these tragedies is that He HAS been there all along and will continue to be that crucified brother who suffers next to us. He IS our only hope!"

By Carol Suzuki - our missionary in Japan  send's website:  www.send.org/suzuki

Witnesses

  So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.

 

 He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. 

 

To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:34-43, ESV)

Peace

The Lord is my shepherd,

 I lack nothing.      

He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,  

   he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.  

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows. 

 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Psalm 23 of David

To the Jew First and also to the Gentile

A healing was done at the temple in Jerusalem - it was on a man who was handicapped since birth.  Those looking on were astonished.  But, the man who helped him was named Peter, and he addressed the crowd in Jerusalem.


When Peter saw this, he said, “Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us? We haven’t made this man walk by our own power or godliness.  The God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has done this. He has brought glory to Jesus, who serves him. But you handed Jesus over to be killed. Pilate had decided to let him go. But you spoke against Jesus when he was in Pilate’s court.  You spoke against the Holy and Blameless One. You asked for a murderer to be set free instead.  You killed the one who gives life. But God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.  This man whom you see and know was made strong because of faith in Jesus’ name. Faith in Jesus has healed him completely. You can see it with your own eyes.
 
 “My friends, I know you didn’t realize what you were doing. Neither did your leaders.  But God had given a promise through all the prophets. And this is how he has made his promise come true. He said that his Christ would suffer.  So turn away from your sins. Turn to God. Then your sins will be wiped away. The time will come when the Lord will make everything new.  He will send the Christ. Jesus has been appointed as the Christ for you.  He must remain in heaven until the time when God makes everything new. He promised this long ago through his holy prophets.  Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me. He will be one of your own people. You must listen to everything he tells you.  Those who do not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.’ (Deuteronomy 18:15,18,19)
  
“Samuel and all the prophets after him spoke about this. They said these days would come.  What the prophets said was meant for you. The covenant God made with your people long ago is yours also. He said to Abraham, ‘All nations on earth will be blessed through your children.’ (Genesis 22:18; 26:4)  God raised up Jesus, who serves him. God sent him first to you. He did it to bless you. He wanted to turn each of you from your evil ways.”

Acts 3:12-26

It's a process...

A wonderful song was sent to me today as a reminder of the journey we are on with the Lord God.  Apply yourself to seeking after Him and everyday you will see an increase of faith and a peace that surpasses all understanding.

 Song by Josh Garrels "Farther Along"

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IctD9l4F-ag

“What no eye has seen,
    what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
    the things God has prepared for those who love him—

 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.  For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.  What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.  This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. ¹⁵ The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,  for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord
    so as to instruct him?”

But we have the mind of Christ."

 

1 Corinthians 2:9-16

Your Kingdom Come

The disciples of Jesus asked him for instruction on how to pray.

 "And he said to them, “When you pray, say:

 “Father, hallowed be your name. 

 Your kingdom come. 

 Give us each day our daily bread;

  and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. 

 And lead us not into temptation.”

In studying the book of Revelation, I came across a verse that made me think about the Kingdom to come.

  "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place  of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,  and God himself will be with them as their God."

Could it be that the Kingdom Jesus told his followers to keep in their prayers was the one that was coming down from heaven? The actual dwelling place of God with man? We know the will of the Father is to dwell with His people. And one day we will. IF that is the Kingdom Jesus wants us to focus our hearts and minds on while we pray, then it would be best to do so. He saw into the future like none of us can.  And he knew that we needed to have a heavenly mindset - so that we would not get entangled with trying to recreate heaven on earth. That's the Lord's role. But we are to walk in faith knowing that one day, God's Kingdom will come down from heaven and be on earth..as it is in Heaven.  And that day will be marvelous in our sight.  So, pray with a Kingdom focus and it will make whatever else we want to focus on pale by comparison.

Luke 11:1-2, Revelation 21:1-3