ANGELS, FROM THE REALMS OF GLORY

Ah, the beauty of our hymns!  They tell the stories of the Bible, put them to music, and through it all, bring out the marvelous, often spectacular wonder of Jesus Christ.  Whether people these days will consider it or not, the Bible is the True Story of God's dealing with mankind - and the result of faith is worship!  

Today's Hymn, "Angels, From the Realms of Glory" is a result of believing the Bible's account of the coming of Christ.  I hope you enjoy it - and are inspired by it when you next sing this hymn.

"This hymn was written by James Montgomery (1771-1854), who was born in Scotland of Irish parents.  His father, John Montgomery, was a Moravian pastor––apparently the only Moravian pastor serving in Scotland at the time.

"Montgomery's parents felt a call to serve as missionaries on the island of Barbados, West Indies, in the Caribbean.  When James was only five years old, his parents departed for the West Indies, leaving James with a Moravian group in County Antrim, Ireland.  His parents died in the West Indies a few years later, so James never saw them again.  One wonders how well he remembered his parents––and whether he resented them for abandoning him at such an early age.

"The Moravians made it possible for James to enter Fulneck Seminary in Yorkshire, but that turned out to be a bad fit.  James had the soul of a poet, and poetry was banned at Fulneck.  In 1787, he apprenticed himself to a baker, which also proved unsuitable.  He bounced from pillar to post during his late teens.

"But in 1792 he began working for Joseph Gales, who published the Sheffield Register, a local newspaper.  Gales supported a number of radical causes, and in 1794 was forced to flee to Germany to avoid prosecution.  Montgomery, although still in his early 20's, was able to gain control of the newspaper, and changed its name to Sheffield Iris.  Under his leadership, the paper continued its radical bent for more than three decades––advocating such seditious causes as abolition.  Montgomery was twice imprisoned for his editorials, but his imprisonments only added to his popularity.

"As a young man, Montgomery drifted from the faith, but as he matured he returned to the Moravian church and became an advocate for Christian missions.

"On Christmas Eve, 1816, Montgomery was reading the second chapter of Luke, when these verses captured his attention:

"And suddenly there was with the angel

a multitude of the heavenly host

praising God, and saying,

'Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace,

good will toward men'"

(Luke 2:13-14, KJV).

"Montgomery was inspired to write this hymn, which he wrote quickly and printed in the Christmas Eve edition of his newspaper.  Each verse of this hymn speaks to the nativity from the perspective of a different group of people."

• Verse 1 is about the angels, who are urged to "proclaim the Messiah's birth." 

• Verse 2 is about "Shepherds in the fields abiding."  It includes the phrase, "God with man is now residing"––an allusion to Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:23, which speak of a virgin conceiving and bearing a son whose name will be Emmanuel, which means "God with us."

• Verse 3 is about "Sages," the Magi or Wise Men, who are urged to "Seek the great Desire of nations"––an allusion to Haggai 2:7, which in the King James Version reads:

"And I will shake all nations,

and the desire of all nations shall come:

and I will fill this house with glory,

saith the Lord of hosts."

• Verse 4 expands the vision to "Saints"––a word that in the New Testament applies to all Christians.

• Verse 5 further expands the vision by urging "All creation" to praise "God, the Father, Spirit, Son."[1]

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[1] From the Internet:  http://www.lectionary.org/HymnStories/Angels%20from%20the%20Realm%20of%20Glory.htm, 12/2/15.

THE KANSAS CITY ROYALS AND THE CHURCH

I grew up in Overland Park, a suburb of Kansas City.  I graduated from Shawnee Mission North High School there in 1984.  I then went to college at Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas.  I've gone to several baseball games at Royals Stadium (Now called Kaufman Stadium in honor of the man who got the Royals started and built the stadium for so many to enjoy.)  With the Kansas City Royals so much a part of my childhood, looking up to and wanting to be like the 1985 World Series champions, I remember the thrill of their come-from-behind win over the St. Louis Cardinals (whom I also later grew to love).  I remember specific games.  I remember idolizing the players.  I remember playing with my friends and imagining we were those players as we played our summer-league baseball games.  It was a time filled with imagination, hope, and wonder.  And it was a time when our community - which crossed cultural and state lines.  The Kansas side owned the Royals as much as the Missouri side.  The Royals were "our team."  And they united us all.  Even as I sat in our student union in Emporia, Kansas watching the 1985 World Series, we all pulled together for the Royals!  And what a surprising win that was!

Now, sitting here in South Central Missouri, "saddened" that my "other" team, the St. Louis Cardinals were not playing the World Series, I ponder the reach of unity and celebration the World Series Champions of 2015 bring to the area.  My friends and family closer to Kansas City than I are using Facebook to announce their plans to take the day off to attend the victory parade.  School Districts are closing in KC to allow staff and students alike to celebrate.  That team, the Kansas City Royals, has won more than a World Series - they have won the hearts of people for miles around - as far as their fans are across the globe!  The thrill of seeing the underdogs (at least the underdogs from the media's perspective) win by coming from behind game after game after game is something that stuns, amazes, and delights the heart - even if you root for another team.  And it unites you with the community of Kansas City! 

I say all that because I sit here also pondering that the excitement over the our "Boys in blue" is a very fleeting thing.  In a few weeks, Spring Training will begin again, and a new season will begin, making the journey to the World Series a whole new race, with entirely new contenders in the post-season, uniting their communities.  With that in mind, why is it the church sees so few victories worthy of such amazing celebration?  Or have we simply forgotten the amazing victory of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Talk about a "come-from-behind" win!  I mean, He was dead!  He was buried!  His tomb was sealed!  And still He came back!  That should have us all attending a parade!  We should all be cheering, making and wearing apparel, and lighting up social media with our pride that our Lord has won the day!  Every enemy, every opposing team has lost, and Jesus is King!  We should take a day off and truly celebrate this win!  It's an eternal win.  And it will be repeated by everyone who will follow Jesus!   Shouldn't that make us all glow with wonder, excitement, and spark our imaginations?

And that's Just A Thought for today!  

PUTTING GOD ABOVE ALL OTHER "GODS"

The First Commandment:  Exodus 20:3 (NKJV)  You shall have no other gods before Me.

People all the time say that they have no other gods before the God of Heaven.  Indeed, they really talk Him up.

But is this true?


Lest I get too far ahead in our consideration of how we show our gods, let's first recognize the gods we have.

What is "a god"?  The definition people have for "a god" is pretty varied.  Hopefully yours has at least the following three elements:

1. A "god" is a living being
2. A "god" does things
3. A "god" is served

If this is so, then this first commandment logically says that there should be no living being greater, more able, or worthy of service than the God of Moses.  It also means we serve no other "god" than the God of Moses.

Therefore, let's look at the things that we serve. 

Money
Power
Self

These things consume all too many people.  We find they all have the ability to do things.  However, the first two are not living beings.  Still, they capture our attention, devotion, and become the aim of our lives.  The second one, Self, is a living being and so completely qualifies as a "god." 

Now being selfish is really behind greed, which drives our efforts to gain money or power.  Money can sway many people to do very immoral things.  Power can do the same.  But the self is what is being preserved, protected, or promoted when money or power offer anything to them.  Rather than being a tool to do right, money and power are used to do whatever will preserve, protect, or promote the person wielding it.  For that reason, the first two are not "gods" as many have tried to say. 

The god of self, however, is the god that comes between us and the God of Moses.  It is a sinful god, indeed, for doing just that. 

So, Christian, when you find your "self" standing between you and Jesus Christ (who was and is one of the parts of the God of Moses), then you are not letting the God of Moses preserve you, protect you, or promote your well-being.  You are trusting your own ingenuity, wit, and wisdom to use whatever is at YOUR disposal to accomplish your own will.  You do not serve the will of God, but your own.  That is sinful, and it stands between you and an intimate relationship with Christ.

Learning to be totally dependent on Jesus is a lifetime process.  Fortunately, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all unrighteousness.  However, our choice to love, serve, and obey the God of Moses and that to the rejection of service, love, and obedience of self is the highest form of honor we can give Christ.  It will bring us near to Him and Him to us.  His promises will be fulfilled before our eyes.  We will see Him as He is, and how much He can be trusted and relied upon.  We will learn to obey Him more and more implicitly, and as such, we will find our lives to be His tools to do His will on earth, as it is in Heaven!  We must put to death all other "gods" such as self, and have no other gods before Him! 

That is a commandment that is not changed by the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.  It is VERY applicable today!  Let's live by it.

And that's Just A Thought for Today!  May the Lord Bless you as you meditate and live by His Word.

Singing for Jesus

"They shall sing in the ways of the Lord." -

Psa_138:5

Do you remember when you were saved? Do you remember when the burden of your sin was so great upon you that unless the Lord did something quickly, you would collapse under it? Do you remember how wonderful it was when Jesus stepped in, took the burden from you, and lifted you up at the same time saying, "Go, dear one, and sin no more. Live for me, and I will always take the load off of you and carry it for you"? That's when you started singing for and about the Lord.

What song have you now? Have you lost that sense of song in your heart? Put your burden back into the hands of Jesus and sing again! Sing of His mercy, and His marvelous work of forgiveness in your life. Sing of the wonder that your sins could be washed clean - even though you may not have forgotten your sins, nor has the enemy that seeks to remind you of them - you can still sing that your Savior has removed them from you. Sing of the joy He gave to you when you realized that sin and death no more offered fear and certainty of wrath, but life and peace with the Lord! Sing it out loud, and sing it that all may hear the song. Sing it from a full heart, and rejoice ever more - not just in what Christ HAS done, but in what Christ does in His daily loving kindnesses to you.

"I will sing of the mercies of the Lord, Forever, I will sing, I will sing.

I will sing of the mercies of the Lord, Forever, I will sing of the mercies of the Lord!"

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Angels Are Not Gods

Bible Reading: (Hebrews 1:14) Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Angels have gotten a lot of attention in recent years. Cute little cherubs sitting on nick-nack shelves reveal chubby boys or girls with rosy cheeks and dimpled smiles sporting golden wings and harps. These are the angels spoken of by bumper stickers that tell us we are protected by them. Maybe its for this reason that so few actually believe. Yet, those who do have elevated angels to the role of god - and look to the angels, not the Savior, for salvation from any and all circumstances.

The biblical picture of angels is quite different - and wonderful. Angels aren't wimps. Their power is real and it is great, but it is limited. Their appearance is stunning and glorious, but it is overshadowed by the glory of God. They are not the creator, but the creature. When seen by any biblical person, that person was tempted to bow to the angel; and then instructed to rise and bow only to God. What a thought! What a lesson!

Angels are ministering spirits - at the command of the Almighty. They definitely serve the saints - Believers. They are interested in what we have (salvation, redemption, forgiveness of sin) because they will never have it. They will one day be the subjects of our judgment (we will one day judge the angels). Angels are not the focus of God's creation - man is. Christ did not die to save angels, but lost men. God is still over the angels.

Angels serve in many ways, not just protection. They anointed Isaiah's lips with hot coals. They usher the saints into the throne room, and escort them about heaven as they did John in Revelation. They rejoice when a single sinner repents. They all bow before the Father and the Son, and they unite to speak His praises around His throne. Many times we serve angels who appear to be people; and we are unaware of them when we do it.

Angels are dignitaries, yes. But angels are emissaries from a greater nation - the nation of Heaven. We should thank the Lord for making and sending such a mighty army of servant-warriors who operate in realms unseen on our behalf that we might be free to do the will of Him who sent them in the first place. Let us take our eyes off of the angels and place them with rejoicing in our hearts upon the One to whom we all answer - angel and man alike: Our Savior, Jesus Christ, the Lord!

Bro. Greg

An Offering to God

Bible Reading: Song of Solomon 7:13 The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.

How very wonderful to offer all we are to our Savior! We came with only one thing in the beginning - our faith - and gave it to Him. We had nothing else worthy to give... indeed we had nothing else to give. As we grow in Christ, His spiritual fruit growing in us all the time, we offer it as "all manner of pleasant fruits" to Him who has caused them to grow in us in the first place. They are sweet smelling, and we lay them up for Him.

May He delight in their beauty, their plenty, and their taste. May His joy overflow with our faithful offering. May His faithfulness cause greater abundance in us, and our joy delight in Him all the more for His pure, compassionate, and delightful love. How He has lifted our bodies in sickness, our souls in distress, and our spirits in deep waters. His mercies are new every morning, and our song should sing His praises as full as a basket of Holy Fruit. Truly, this will delight both the Savior and Saved alike!

As we depart in prayer with this thought - may our lives be an offering of faith and praise to the Savior, and our ways reflect His perfect dependence upon the Father for guidance, glory, and grace. May we live a holy life as He did, lest we spoil the fruits of faith with disgrace. Yet, we rejoice that His grace will cover the failings of the imperfect by the blood of the perfect. He plants in our hearts the seeds of faith, and by His Spirit, grows them into the deeds of a mighty, holy God, fertilized and fed by the blood of the Savior and Son. We call Thee "Beloved" indeed!

Bro. Greg

Morning Devotions

Bible Reading:

(Nahum 1:2) God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.

Jealousy is not always a bad thing - when it is righteous. God's jealousy is ALWAYS righteous. He deserves our love, our attention, our worship, our lives. He has loved us with an everlasting love. He has protected us with legions of unseen angels. He has sacrificed everything for our love, and would offer much more were there much more to be offered. He first created us; then He chose us; and finally bought us with His blood. Heaven was made for us (or we for heaven); it is not the same without us. Like a fountain, the love of God flows unceasingly; like a spring-fed cistern, the water of life is always abundant, clear, and refreshing.

God is jealous of our love

in return. He has a stake in the matter that is a Holy stake. He does not desire our love to simply lavish it upon Himself. He wants to pour His love out in return.

God is jealous of our trust.

He knows that trusting any other is folly. Trusting the flesh results in weakness and failure. Trusting the world results in heartbreak and deception. Trusting others results in frustration and disappointment. Trust in anything or anyone other than the Lord is an empty trust.

God is jealous of our company.

How lonely is the Lord among a world of unbelievers? But how lovely is the communion between a God and His child? The depth of such a relationship is infinite. Not even a man and his wife can share the intimacy that God shares with His love. God knows and understands, cares and can handle whatever we bring to Him.

It only serves us to hold our hearts chaste unto the Lord; it is good to love ONLY the Lord, to trust ONLY Him and to commune ONLY with Him. How it pleases our Lord, and brings His blessings upon us. What grace we need for such a Holy love - and to think that grace is free and abundant to all who seek it from the very hand of the God we are to serve!

Bro. Greg

Morning Devotions

Bible Reading: Mark 3:13 And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.

"How are you, today," said the man to a Christian.

"I am doing fine, under the circumstances," answered the Christian.

It is possible to live over the circumstances rather than under them - and Christ makes it possible. Do you long to see things from a perspective that is over your circumstances rather than under them? Here is a verse for you. Do you yearn for one of those "mountain top" experiences with Christ? Here is a verse for you. Do you want to go where few have gone before with the Lord? Here is a verse for you.

The mountain top is not attained by lofty church positions or scholastic excellence in Bible Study. It is not achieved by great works of faith, or masses converted to Christ. It is only achieved by following Jesus - and answering His call to come unto Him. When Jesus ascends, it is certain that those whom He has called, those who follow Him, will ascend to the same heights as the Master. It is through day to day discipleship and communion with the Lord that the "Holy Mount" can be found. It is only through obedience to the call of the Lord that one may climb to such heights.

The glorious splendor of the mountain is a lofty goal for anyone. It is not a goal that may get fame or medals. It does not earn power or prestige. The world does not think it to be valuable. But the Eternal One who calls you to this mountaintop stands ready and able to bless you with amazing things: "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." These things are not earned, sought, or bought through any more than earnest discipleship and faithful obedience to our Savior. Loving Him for who He is, as well as thanking Him for what He has done in saving you of your sins and making you a new creature is the way to such splendor. It is not the selfish work of worldly ways. It cannot be stolen or manipulated. Christ cannot be deceived into thinking one is a disciple. He knows and sees the heart. Only those who answer His call with clean hands (washed in His blood) and a pure heart (purified by His death, burial, and resurrection) can possibly be granted this wonderful, lofty privilege of a Mountain Top experience of this magnitude.

Will you yield your life to Him? Give Him more than your allegiance - give Him your whole being for Him to do with as He pleases! He will make it worth your while - forever.

Bro. Greg

Morning Devotions

Bible Reading: Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

Some things are special, and reserved for those who are Christians, those who are close to the Lord. They are not experienced by the common man - though they are available to be experienced by him if he should accept Christ as Savior and Lord. These things are deeply intimate, and private - though the effect of them may be displayed on the Christian's face for all to see. Do you, dear Believer, know of some of these things?

• Do you know of a peace which passes all understanding?
• Do you know of the privilege to lean upon the bosom of Christ?
• Do you know of the confidence of having truly sought the Lord by Prayer and heard His voice in response?
• Do you know of the overwhelming desire to shout, "Hallelujah!" because of the joy of being completely forgiven of your sins?

These things may, perhaps, be imitated, but the genuine thing is reserved for those who are calling unto the Lord. What joy, splendor, and assurance is shown to the disciple of Christ! How He shows you marvels of His glory, delights to your soul, and wonders that only the eyes of the redeemed can behold.

Do you long for more than mediocrity in your worship? Do you desire greater and greater things in your devotions? Would you have a deeper understanding of the Bible? Then look to Christ; call unto Him until He answers. There is no conjuring, no manipulating, no majic formula for such things; for they come only by the hand of the Lord which cannot be forced. Wait on Him with obedient heart, and you have His promise of much greater things.

Bro. Greg

Morning Devotions

Bible Reading: Psa_111:9

I awoke this morning with a yearning for a closeness (companionship) with the Lord that He has already filled. I didn't feel it; and like I said, I yearned for it - but it was there already. It was established by Jesus Christ before the foundation of the earth. It is eternal - written into the covenant and sealed with the blood of Jesus.

There is a companionship that is everlasting, unseverable. It is the desire of most people to have such. I believe it is what men and women look for in a mate. I believe it drives our lives in ways we may not comprehend. When it fails through human relationships, our hearts are broken. If our hearts are broken often enough or deeply enough, we withdraw, and are made less of a companion ourselves. There is only one remedy for such earthly companionship - forgiveness and love. These two things seem so rare in our world today.

But the void in our hearts for such companionship is filled with the Living God and Loving Savior. Jesus has sent redemption to us - filling us with Himself. He has made us a promise that will never be broken - Himself. He is mighty, and He is pure. He is Holy and He is ours!

It is this passion that makes our worship for Him overflow. It is this covenant that makes our hope of heaven sure. It is His name upon it all - sealing it with His precious blood that indelibly stamps it "sealed" and "perfect." This morning, let your love for Him flow freely in your worship and thanksgiving to Christ.

Bro. Greg