A Mighty Fortress

 "He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me." Psalm 18: 16-19

    When our daughters were little, it was a delight to see how they believed in us as parents. It made David and I feel invincible! They came to us with their needs and we did our best to fix things. One instance in particular I recall with joy, when Hannah brought a broken balloon to her dad for repair. Dave hated to let her down.

    Of course, as time and change brought disrepair into their lives, it became evident just how fallible their parents were. The foes changed from a broken balloon to a broken heart, cracked dreams and dashed hopes that proved too strong for Daddy, too strong for Mom.

    Have you ever felt that a powerful enemy has you by the coattails? Though you may put on a brave face, you are overcome by something stronger than you? There is a spiritual battle going on for the hearts and souls of people; you are under attack. Satan wants to set up house within you, and he arrives fully armed, prepared to blow your doors off like the big, bad wolf.

    But you are not without hope!

    There is Someone stronger, Someone who is able to overpower the enemy and throw him out onto the street. He is Jesus Christ; there is no other Savior. "And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." (Colossians 2:15) Won't you invite Jesus to be the Lord and Savior of your soul?

    Sometimes I long to be a kid again, to return to that place of security where Mother tucked me in and Father made sure the front door was locked at night. With Jesus in my heart, life is like this - only better. Jesus repaired all my brokenness and promised to never leave me nor forsake me, and no one can snatch me out of His hand! I am safe for all eternity no matter what.

A mighty fortress is our God, a trusty shield and weapon.

He helps us free from every need that hath us now o'ertaken.

The old evil Foe, now means deadly woe.

Deep guile and great might are his dread arms in fight;

On earth is not his equal.

Tho' devils all the world should fill, all eager to devour us,

We tremble not, we fear no ill; they shall not overpower us!

This world's prince may still scowl fierce as he will;

He can harm us none. He's judged, the deed is done.

One little word can fell him.*

"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins." Colossians 1: 13-14

*A Mighty Fortress is our God, Martin Luther

      

Love That Endures Forever

"For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." Psalm 100:5 

    While packing away my Christmas decorations, I retained some of the red objects as decor for Valentine's Day. How appropriately this day of love follows on the heels of Christmas: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16, the heart of the gospel.)

    Recently I watched a documentary entitled "Universe Designed." Interviews with scientists were expertly woven with spectacular images from creation as the viewer struggled to comprehend the vastness of God. As the program progressed, the emphasis was gradually brought down, down, down to the very heart of mankind, to the place hidden in each of us created in the image of God, the place where God wishes to dwell. 

    How can I describe the way I felt but to say it was like the awesomeness of God had been poured into a colossal funnel directed into my heart and soul? On the shoreline of God's love, it was one grain of sand toward comprehending just "how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge." (Ephesians 3: 18-19) 

    Why did God create us? Why does He love us so? To bring it home: How can I ever love Him enough in return? While in this body where my sinful nature battles with my Christian self, where my finite mind wanders into unproductive wastelands and where I see as if peering into a poor reflection, is it possible to love Him unreservedly, unabashedly and with all abandon?

    I will sure try with all that I have to love the Lord my God with all my heart, with all my soul and with all my strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5)

"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you should care for them? You made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor." Psalm 8: 3-5

    

A Divine Appointment

 "All your works praise you, Lord; your faithful people extol you. They tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, so that all people may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom." Psalm 145: 11-12

    It began as a typical snowy, gray day, one on which the Light of God would shine brightly, altering it for His glory.

    I had accompanied my husband to his medical appointment. Dave had worn his ballcap with the cross of Christ on it, formed by three nails. As we entered the waiting room, doffing our wintry garments, a man commented, "Nice hat." On a curved couch sat a man and his wife, holding hands. We sat opposite them and Christ became the Chief Cornerstone of that medical building as our conversation centered 'round the cross. 

    The woman soon brought her testimony to light. Twenty-two years ago, she had broken her back and died on the operating table. Tears flowed, causing her to pause and wipe her eyes. It was clear that the memory of that day was as vivid as if it had just happened yesterday.

    "I was in a tunnel when I saw Him," she began. "He wasn't dark or light in complexion, but tan with curly, shoulder-length hair." Her voice became ragged with emotion. "Oh, He was beautiful, just beautiful!"

    The words of the hymn, "Beautiful Savior" came to my mind:

"Beautiful Savior, King of creation,

Son of God and Son of Man;

Truly I love Thee, truly I serve Thee,

Light of my soul, my joy, my crown."

    I almost began to sing in spontaneous worship, so enraptured was I by her testimony. After all, across from me sat an eyewitness to the Face of Christ. How awesome is that?

    My thoughts were interrupted by her continuation. "As much as I didn't want to leave, He was telling me it wasn't yet my time. I must return. The next thing I heard was a nurse yelling at me to breathe as she frantically worked on my chest."

    With a broad smile, she concluded, "If anyone ever doubts the reality of a Living Jesus, I tell them, 'I have seen the Lord!'" We parted with a hug and a promise to look for each other at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

    We never know what a day will bring, but when we bring Christ to the center stage, we know it's going to be a glorious day!

"When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. Then He placed His right hand on me and said, 'Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One. I was dead and now look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.'" Revelation 1: 17-18

Just As We'd Been Told

 "The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told." Luke 2:20

    When pondering the Christmas account of the Bethlehem shepherds found in Luke's gospel, I thought about them hurrying off to check on the validity of the angel's heavenly message. 

    The angel had said, "This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby..." Sure enough, "they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby who was lying in a manger." (Luke 2: 15-16, emphasis mine) This was cause for praise when they found things were " just as they had been told."

    This brought to mind similar occasions in scripture. 

    When the disciples asked Jesus where they should prepare their celebration of Passover, Jesus sent two of them saying, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. Say to the owner of the house he enters, 'The Teacher asks, "Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?" He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there." Guess what? "The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them." (Mark 14: 13-15, emphasis mine)

    Again, as Jesus approached Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, He sent two of his disciples ahead saying, "Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here." Is it any surprise when "those who were sent ahead went and found it just as He had told them."? (Luke 19: 29-32, emphasis mine)

    Ribbons of prophecies and their fulfillments are woven throughout scripture, from the virgin birth to the betrayal of Jesus and more. These came true just as we had been told. God speaks with faithful precision; no purpose of his will ever be thwarted. On that, we can hang our hats.

    Apply this truth to the prophecies yet to be fulfilled and ask yourself, "Will this really come to pass?"

Here are three examples to ponder:

• "Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. On that day, his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west...The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day, there will be one Lord, and his name the only name." (Zechariah 14: 3, 4, 9)
• "'Men of Galilee,' they (the angels) said, 'why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.'" (Acts 1:11)
• "Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other." (Matthew 24: 30-31)

    I think the rest of the story goes like this: And we will find it just as we'd been told. Do you agree?

Truly Wise Men

 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you...The one who seeks finds." Matthew 7: 7-8

"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, 'Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.'" Matthew 2: 1-2

    Our pastor's wife asked me if I would be a Wise Man in the Christmas pageant this year. In preparation for my role, I have pondered the account of the wise men as told in Matthew's gospel. 

    They were a rather mysterious group, weren't they? Also known as the Magi, perhaps their study of the Scriptures combined with astrology propelled them to drop everything and follow "his" star, the star that led the way to the Light of the World. 

    What if they had chosen the comforts of home instead of traversing for miles in search of the King of the Jews? But no, these truly wise men packed up their treasures and went to find the Pearl of great price. (Matthew 13:46)

    I noticed in this story that faith involves action. They asked, they sought and they found. The same holds true throughout the Bible.

    For example, consider the wee tax collector, Zacchaeus. Wanting to see who Jesus was, he sought the best vantage point provided by a sycamore-fig tree, and he was not disappointed when Jesus called him by name. "So he came down and welcomed Him gladly." (Luke 19:6)

    Or how about the actions of the unnamed woman who touched the hem of His garment, seeking healing? "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed," she thought. (Mark 5: 27-28) Immediately it was so.

   Then there were the friends of the paralyzed man whose efforts to take him to Jesus were bogged down by the crowd. Undeterred, they came up with Plan B and lowered the man through the roof. (Luke 5:19) Seeing their faith, Jesus healed this man, too.

    The Bible says when we seek, we shall find. What are we looking for? 

    As the angel told the shepherds who were keeping watch over their flocks by night: "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." The angel went on to say, "You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." (Luke 2: 11-12) When we seek for a Savior, we find Jesus and none other. 

    Only He is deserving of our obedience, our gifts and our worship.

"On coming to the house, they saw the Child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh." Matthew 2:11 

    What a sight that must have been, a snapshot of the glorious worship we will give to our King as we surround His throne by the glassy sea!

"Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 'You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.'" Revelation 4: 9-11

    

God Knows Your Name

 "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you, I have summoned you by name; you are mine." Isaiah 43:1

    Last Monday, my nephew and his wife welcomed their newborn son into the world. We all waited to learn his name, which my sister released with several photographs the following day: Bennett Andrew. When I spoke with the proud grandma, I said, "Think of how many times he will use his name throughout his life along with his date of birth."

    On that same Monday, I was in the airport awaiting my flight home from Houston. The minute I flopped into a chair at the gate, I heard my name called over a loud speaker! My rapid heartbeat thudded in my ears as I gathered my wits about me to approach the desk. 

    "Yes?" I inquired, "I am Rachel Parsons. Is anything wrong?" Well, I needn't have worried; the request was for me to change my seat. I didn't mind, as long as I didn't have to sit in the lavatory on the plane. 

    Out of the sea of humanity that was coursing through the airport that day, my name was called. It was an unexpected, odd and rather frightful moment.

    What if God called my name? Would I shake in my size 10s or would I respond in obedient anticipation?

    Once home, I began to think of all the people in the Bible whom God called by name. Here's what I came up with, though there's likely more:

• Abraham - Genesis 22:1
• Moses - Exodus 3:4
• Samuel - 1 Samuel 3:6
• Elijah - 1 Kings 19:9
• Zechariah - Luke 1:13
• Mary, mother of Jesus - Luke 1:30
• Mary Magdalene - John 20:16
• Simon Peter - John 21: 15
• Saul - Acts 9:4
• Ananias - Acts 9:10

    When someone calls your name, it's a very personal thing, so I am not surprised that God knows me by name. He who formed me in my mother's womb ordained all my days for me before one of them came to be. He who knows the number of hairs upon my head would also know my name. What a comfort that is! He is a God who sees me, who hears me and knows me very intimately and, because I am saved by the blood of Jesus, my name is written in heaven (Luke 10:20). 

    When I was a preschooler, I remember watching a show called "Romper Room." At the close of each show, the hostess would peer through an empty hand mirror and say, "I see Linda; I see Johnny; I see..." Her magic mirror was a way for the child watching at home to feel special, as if he/she were a part of her world. When my name wasn't called, I would wave my arms at the television, vainly wishing to be seen.

    I don't have to do that with the God of the Universe who has summoned me by name. I am His.

"The gatekeeper opens the gate for Him, and the sheep listen to His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out." John 10:3

The Richest of Fare

 "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare." Isaiah 55:1-2

    When I was a kid, eating out was a rarity, so when we piled into the family sedan and drove to McDonalds, it was a memorable occasion. I can still recall the aroma of french fries wafting from the golden arches, drawing us like crazed moths to a porch light. We threw a few fries onto the hood of the car for even the birds were hungry for them. 

    Ah, the days of blissful ignorance, before words like cholesterol and sodium content stayed our hands.

    I have noticed a hunger reminiscent of those days, but it's not for food, it's for the Word of God. Three times this past week, I wove scripture into the conversations I was having and I noticed how thirsty these folks were to hear from Him - like a tender rain on parched ground, they drank it up. 

    What a blessing it is to be a Christian these days when the fields are ripe for harvest all around us. The prophet Amos said:

"The days are coming," declares the Sovereign Lord, "When I will send a famine through the land - not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it." Amos 8: 11-12

    Let us don our aprons and feed those who are hungering for righteousness while we still can. When we, who have been satiated until our cups overflow, share our meal with others, they will then "delight in the richest of fare," and it doesn't cost us a thing.  

    People are famished and we hold the menu. "For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things." (Psalm 107:9)

"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" Romans 10: 13-14