"Just because" note

From time to time my daughter reaches out with a "just because" love note. This one came a few days back when I was under the weather, calling to my remembrance Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live but Christ in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave His life for me." Old man dead. Christ in me. Wow! Thank you, Jesus!

One way. Hurray!

Satan, the accuser, is frantically active these days as the return of Christ draws closer.
There is pressure, even in the Christian church, to believe the lie.

One of those lies is this. Satan charges: “What!? Only one way to Heaven?! Surely a god of love will welcome all, no matter what path they have chosen to take to the next life.”

But Jesus Himself said: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me.”

If I was in a burning building and someone called me to the one way out of the building and sure death, would I complain that there were no OTHER exits to safety? That's ridiculous.

Here is the truth. God created us in His own image, setting us apart from all other creatures. He invited us to walk and talk with Him … but He gave us the choice to deny that invitation.

Adam and Eve chose to believe Satan’s lie and defy God’s will. Since that time all people, we are told in the Bible, have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

But in His grace, God offered a way to once again walk and talk with Him as He intended from the beginning … and The Way includes the promise of life eternal with him.

Jesus Christ is indeed the only way. Is that reason to question God?! To offer an enlightened alternative?! Of course not.

Jesus is the Good News … the AMAZING news. He is THE way unto the Father, and for that we must all be grateful.

Thank you, Father, for your invitation to relationship. You are light, perfection … and cannot abide the darkness of sin … but in Your Son, our Redeemer King, you have provided a way … THE WAY … to forgiveness and the promise that though our sins be like scarlet, they will be washed white as snow.

We thank you Jesus, the perfect Lamb, for taking on our sins, and for the promise of your return to gather your sheep.

Not goodbye, but see you soon!

How wonderful it is to be in the company of fellow believers following the death of a brother or sister in Christ. Mourning is part of God's plan, to be sure, but we ultimately celebrate the blessed assurance that our loved one is in God's presence immediately, all tears and pain gone for eternity. I took this photograph last week as a few dozen of us gathered at the graveside of a dear brother, joining hands as the service opened with prayer. I recall often the words my uncle said at my father's graveside: "This is not goodbye, but see you soon!" Thank you, LORD, for your saving grace!
    2 Corinthians 5:8: "... we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord."

'Falling into place!"

At a time when I find myself trying to run away from national and international news headlines, I took comfort this morning in the words I heard from Anne Graham Lotz on the "Understanding the Times" radio program hosted by Jan Markel. Lotz said, "The world is not falling apart. It is actually falling into place. God is in control. He is in charge. The events that you are witnessing and experiencing have been foretold in Scripture." It's time for me to seek again the encouragement of the Book of Revelation:  "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bondservants, the things which must soon take place..." and the unique blessing: "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near." And this promise: "Behold, He (Jesus) is coming in the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen."