God's Hand of Deliverance In Israel

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Sacrifice

The shadows fall on leaves that once shown red,

but now lay upon the ground withered and dead.

The life around them once held promise and joy,

but now is a resting place for many a young boy. 

Row upon row resting in the ground

are the hopes and dreams that will never be found. 

They gave them all to you and me

and for our children who now will have life and liberty.

They knew as their life-blood left them that day

that their sacrifice was not too much to pay.

It was for our futures filled with hope and love

That they followed our Savior’s sacrifice from above.

In this hallowed ground lies the greatest gift of all.

Their sacrifice for each of us, great and small.

August Thurmer

Dying To Self

When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment is, he responded by saying, (Mark 12) "Love your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind." Love then means one is to put another's needs before that of our own. Jesus says that we must lose ourselves (Matt. 10:39) "Those who find their lives will lose them, and those who lose their lives because of me will find them." That is, we are to allow our Lord to have his needs first in our lives, then the result will be that we will find life. Isn't that what love is all about, putting another's needs, wants and desires ahead of our own? It is done because we love them. Sometimes it can be painful, but dying to self is never easy, but the results are beyond joy.

Terrorism

The carnage and realism of the past week in watching what the Parisians went through brought back memories of when terrorists blew up the buildings that we worked in Frankfort, Germany while in the military. I remember looking at the terror-stricken faces of the civilians as I headed to the explosions in my battle gear while riding in the only transportation I could find in all the chaos, a trolley car. As I looked into the eyes of the people around me I could see in them fear and terror. The security of a world they knew was starting to unravel very quickly. I myself, searched hard at that time for answers as well. Seeing death and destruction, as well as the fear that another bomb might go off at anytime weighed on everyone continually in the hours, days and months to come.

This enemy is one that you cannot see to fight; they live in the shadows and take innocent lives with no thought to the cost of their actions. Their values are such that the common man cannot comprehend such lunacy. They are more afraid of life than death.

It is during these times one realizes that the only rock we have to rely on is our faith in Jesus Christ. Truth can be different things to different people, and as such, there are no absolutes found in the world, that is, outside of the Bible and God's word. Jesus is the source of life, liberty and justice. And this can only take place if we put our lives into his hands and not that of the world.

Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  Jeremiah 29:12-13

Losing Self

When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment is, he responded by saying, (Mark 12) "Love your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind." Love then means one is to put another's needs before that of our own. Jesus says that we must lose ourselves (Matt. 10:39) "Those who find their lives will lose them, and those who lose their lives because of me will find them." That is, we are to allow our Lord to have his needs first in our lives, then the result will be that we will find life. Isn't that what love is all about, putting another's needs, wants and desires ahead of our own? It is done because we love them. Sometimes it can be painful, but dying to self is never easy, but the results are beyond joy.

Finding Our Way

In life we encounter many situations that confront us on a daily basis.  Some of those are quite unexpected and take us by surprise.  Our line of thinking is heading one direction and life seems to be going the opposite way.  We, like the cowboy on the bucking horse are surprised when life throws us off in the other direction. 

I know that for myself, I am politely surprised, and sometimes I am angry with God for allowing this to happen.  “I thought you were looking out for me and would never allow such a thing to take place?”  I am reminded by the disciples in the sinking boat in the middle of the storm, (Matthew 4:38 “Master, don’t you care if we drown?”), that I too am human and my ways are not always God’s ways.  Like the disciples, I at times have accused God of not caring. 

In looking at the situation of the disciples, I see that they could have consulted Jesus when they first saw the storm brewing, but they

waited until their options were exhausted and then they not only called on the Jesus, but they accused him of not caring when waking him up.  I have to say that I have done the same.   Trying on my own strength and wisdom only to find that it was not enough, and then blaming God for not caring.  Looking back on these situations, I now see that I should have asked first for our Lord’s wisdom and direction from the beginning.  In this though, at times, it is hard finding the point when to consult and when to use the where-with-all that God has given me.  The old adage, (“God can only steer a moving ship”) does apply, but on the other hand, should I have asked first for God’s leading while at the same time letting God choose the direction I should go?  Obviously there are times to wait, and then there are times for action, but which option do I choose?  Like the runner who first commits the race to God, he still has to get out and try with his best efforts in the race.  So, what do I do?  For me to head in the opposite direction of God can be paralyzing, while on the other hand, sitting and waiting for God to move me, or show me his will before taking any action (being safe) requires no faith at all. 

I am finding though, that it is when I don’t take time to be still and wait on the Lord that leads me into the same situation that the disciples found themselves in. 

By reading God’s word, praying and seeking our Lord’s will first allows God to take the reigns and head me in the direction “He” wants me to go.  (Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”)

So where is the balance?  I am finding out that when I take the time to hear God’s voice, (even in the midst of the storm) I am heading in the right direction.  Is it easy, by no means!  Being patient when the waves are lapping over the side of the boat is hard to say the least.  But, God knows our hearts and he also knows our needs before we do.  By taking time to give our future to him, we are giving over the direction we are to go by putting these decisions into his hands.  By relinquishing our will to that of Lord’s, allows for God to direct our minds and hearts to that of his mind and heart. 

Giving Our Will Over to God

Reading in Matthew 26 we see a woman coming into the room where Jesus is about to eat, she then begins poring expensive perfume over him; and yet, while in the next scene we see Judas Iscariot selling information about where Jesus will be, so that those who want to kill him can be waiting for him. One person (the woman with expensive perfume) is giving without cost because her heart is filled with gratitude, while the other person, (Judas) is looking for gain only for himself. 

I find that it is an easy lesson to learn, but sometimes hard to do.  That is, in putting my selfish desires behind me. At times, when my heart is looking at only gain for myself, I need to pray and ask God first for forgiveness, and then to ask him to change my heart. Satan wants us to think only of ourselves, thinking nothing of how it might benefit or hurt others. 

Sometimes what I need most is the strength just to surrender in what "I" want to do, think or have. In my mind I can justify a thousand different reasons why I deserve or should have my own way. Then the Holy Spirit pulls on my heartstrings and I know what I must do, surrender my will to that of our Lord's. Sometimes it is not easy, but when I ask him, Jesus gives me the strength to relinquish what truly is not mine to keep. "Lord, I don't want to give this to you, but give me the strength and the desire to do 'your' will concerning this." When giving my desires to him, he then can give me peace, and more importantly, contentment.

Wedding Clothes

In Matthew 22:1-14 Jesus is talking about the parable of the king who invited people off the streets to come to a wedding feast that was set for the king’s son.  The king it is said, provided wedding clothes for each of his guests, but one person came in with his own wedding clothes instead.  The king subsequently noticed this person and had him expelled from the feast into the streets. 

When first looking at this, the king’s decision seemed somewhat harsh, to say the least.  But evidently the custom was to have wedding banquet clothes prepared for by the king exclusively.  The man coming in wearing his own wedding clothes was evidently an affront to the king.  Jesus was telling us this parable with a point in mind.  I believe this feast represented the invitation to become a Christian and a follower of Christ Jesus.  The clothes represented how we as sinners were to receive a new self formed in the image of God.  This new self though is to be done by God’s Holy Spirit and the work that we allow Christ to change within us.  That is, to be more like our Savior and the example that he set for us while on earth, and by the examples laid out for us by the apostles and other Christians in the Bible. 

The man who came into the wedding feast with his own wedding clothes, I believe, was an individual who tried to gain goodness by his own works.  The fine clothes that he wore were bought and prepared for by himself, and not the king.  Like the man in the parable who bought and paid for his own clothes, we cannot purify ourselves with our own efforts.  We can never be good enough to receive salvation on our own, and we cannot make the changes that God wants of us by ourselves.  It is done by allowing God to create the person he meant us to be.   In Isaiah 64:6 God tells us this:  “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”

So one can see that the changes that are made that make us Holy in God’s sight are done only by him, and not ourselves.  As Christians, we need to surrender our wills to that of God.  We do this by giving each day to him and asking our Lord to work within us to change our inner self to that person he created us to be.  By doing this, we then are donning the wedding clothes that he prepared for us to wear.