Tuesday, Dec 01, 2009

12-01 The Mystery Angels Desire to Look Into

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Ho, ho, ho, I’m a demolition Santa. You heard me right. Yesterday I went DOWN the chimney… literally, one brick at a time. Larry and I tore down an abandoned brick chimney starting from the top, down to the basement. Surprisingly it only took us three hours to remove the whole thing! Almost half of the bricks and mortar were so baked and crumbly that they were loose. We just picked them off the stack. The other half came easily with a few taps of the hammer. Now… no chimney… no way for Santa to get into that house… if you believe in the fat old guy in red velvet.

Today's Scripture reading is 2 Chronicles 20; Jeremiah 6; Romans 5
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com
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Today’s thought comes from 1 Peter 1:10-12 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.

Twelve miles south of Lake Titicaca (Bolivia) the mystery ruins of the ancient city of Tiahuanaco speak in eloquent silence. The city was originally constructed a few thousand years or so before Christ was born. Its massive stone docks are ringed with millions of ocean fossils. The city was a seaport. Yet, it rests today, on an Andean Plateau, 12,500 feet above sea level miles from water, let alone the sea! Archaeologists wonder how and why the city, with its huge 400-ton dressed stones, was built at this elevation and how the ocean could have lapped against its docks! The city of Tiahuanaco is one of the great mysteries of the world that mocks the academic community. It is another testament to a worldwide flood, and another one of the many mysteries of our world. An even greater mystery to the prophets of old was the time and circumstances of the coming of the Savior. Salvation of mankind by the grace of God through faith is such an enigma that even the angels inquisitively probe its mysteries. Grace runs counter to our human grain. We yearn to do something tangible that would save our soul. We imagine that it must be something ponderous, legendary or noble that will make us worthy, bursting with pride when we stand before God. Instead God does the noble deed by sending a Savior who dies to save us, a helpless people. We can do nothing at all to save ourselves, but simply to trust in Him. The prophets of old also looked into this mystery. Enquiring minds want to know. Here is the process they followed to uncover the mystery. A) They inquired. They asked the questions and made requests of God to discover Grace’s answers. B) They searched carefully. Like a hound sniffing out a coon, they did the sleuthing necessary to discover what The Word said about the coming Messiah. C) They prophesied of grace. God gave them further revelation. Piece by piece the puzzle began to come together. D) That led to further searching of the mysteries revealed of the suffering messiah and the glorious kingdom that would follow. E) They reported their findings to those who would listen. They were so convinced of the overwhelming story of grace that they spoke, taught, preached, ministered and said whatever they could to motivate their listeners to seek this jewel. The mystery of the gemstone Grace has been revealed. Take its riches freely. It is a gift. We stand on the shoulders of prophetic giants who have done the hard work for us so that we can see what they saw, and more. May their work not be in vain.
Dear Father, I think you for the prophets who came before us, who were seeking You. Thanks for revealing your truth to them that I can see it. Thanks also for the subject of their enquiry: Jesus Christ the Savior. I trust him by Grace, through faith, without any dependence on my own merit. Thanks for Your son!

"And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God."

Posted by Dennis Kreiss at 10:31 AM |  MAKE A COMMENT  

Monday, Nov 30, 2009

11-30 What about the Deaf, Mute, Blind, Lame Man?

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Saturday we did the wreath making thing… and a great big “thanks” to all who participated. We had less folks than we hoped for, and then the Ingram clan showed up! What a difference that made! Thanks so much. The roofers were on the roof fixing our leak, hallelujah! They came down to join us for a delicious lunch made by Sonja! The youth did a fabulous job as did Mike and Laura. The funds go to our youth group for various youth outings and outreach. Pray that we are effective in seeing them grow to love Jesus.

Today's Scripture reading is 2 Chronicles 19; Jeremiah 5; Romans 4
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com
to subscribe go to http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com/rss.xml

Today’s thought comes from 1 Peter 1:10-12 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.

“What about the villagers, cut off from the rest of humanity, who live their entire lives without hearing about Jesus Christ? Will they be held accountable for not knowing and not believing?” It was Reese. It is one of the typical questions folks ask, and it is one of the most difficult to answer unless you factor in God’s Almighty Power and Love. As long as we only look at it from a human viewpoint it seems grossly unfair. These people have never heard. There were no missionaries to spare. Thousands? Millions? Billions? All who have died without so much as even knowing that there even was a Jesus. All going to Hell. How is that right? “Excuse me! Hello! Yes, over here! That’s right. Did you forget about ME? Do you really think that I’m that UNLOVING? …and that I’m that INCOMPETENT and that INCAPABLE of doing my job as God?” If you really want to understand the problem, you must look beneath the surface and understand the divine rules of the universe and acknowledge the character and function of God Almighty, the prime mover and shaker of the times. Fact #1. What can be known about God is so elementary every man, woman and child instinctively knows it. “There is a God!” It’s something written on every man’s heart. We are all born with an innate knowledge that God exists and that we should seek Him out. Fact #2. What can be known about God is clearly revealed in nature. Creation clearly points to a creator. Sure people try to deny it. Sure we try to educate it out of ourselves, but when we look at nature we all still know that the heavens declare the glory of God. When you and I stand before God, no one is going to be able to refute these facts even if they are mute, deaf or blind. Fact #3. God is almighty. “If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me!” (Jeremiah 29:13). There are no obstacles to God. He does the most difficult of acts with pure ease. Postulate: If there were a deaf, mute, blind, lame villager, trapped in the dark maze of a deep, hidden underground labyrinth, isolated from humanity by an impenetrable landslide which neither man nor machinery could possibly breach, and he only had minutes left to live, only seconds… and this villager cried out and decided to “seek God with all his heart,” the God of the universe is so powerful that it is nothing for him to reveal the way, the truth and the life to the dying, deaf, mute, blind, lame lost man in seconds and save him. It is a cause and effect axiom and biblical truth, “IF you seek God with all your heart, THEN He will be found by you!” Of this Salvation the prophets enquired and searched carefully. Have you? Have you received the grace of God revealed to you?

Dear Almighty God. Help me to look at life from the divine perspective and not the human. When I see it without your power and love, I become incensed at the injustice of millions who have no chance to trust you. But when I see it from your vantage point, I realize that You are taking care of every person in the world and that You have ensured that everyone has the opportunity to know about You. I want to join you in the great work of spreading the good news!

"A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps."

Posted by Dennis Kreiss at 10:16 AM |  MAKE A COMMENT