The Father's gift TO His Son

“You can have this… but only if you promise to take care of it and never lose it.”  These were my words as I handed the stuffed Mickey Mouse over to my grandson.  I only added the caveat because of what it meant to me.

It had been mine when I was a child.  But I was willing to give it up because I knew how much he wanted it, and needed it.  I told him that if he ever out-grew it or didn’t want it, that was OK… but I would want it back.  The attachment, I admit, is a bit stronger than normal.

He still has it today.  He plans to pass it down… just as I did.

…

I have this coin that my wife gave me as a gift.  It has the image of an eagle on one side and a verse from the Bible on the other. Isaiah 40:31, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength and mount up with wings as eagles.”

Knowing that this verse is one of my “life’s verses”, when she saw the coin she had to get it for me.

I carry it on me always.  When I can’t find it I go crazy.  Throughout the day I will put my hand in my pocket to check for it.  It reminds me of her and how much she cares about me.  About the love she expressed when she purchased it.

It costs less than a dollar to buy… but I would be willingly pay much more to get it back had I lost it.

It has sentimental value that cannot be measured.  Like the Mickey… the attachment has come to represent something more than just what it is made of…

But of the love that caused the exchange.

And you have that value to God.

God's inheritance

There are typically two things that must happen for someone to “officially” inherit something:

1.       There needs to be a will
2.       Someone has to die

While it is not always the case, was I to say, “I inherited…” immediately you would assume that it was from someone, and that someone had passed away.

And inheritance usually has some level of value that would cause a dispute.  There would be an argument over who got it if it weren’t clearly stated in the deceased’s last will and testament.

And, as we have seen many times… wills can be contested.

Siblings and close relatives will go to court to prove that they deserve, were promised, expected to receive something regardless of what the will had stated.

Sometimes people are on the edge of their seats waiting for someone to die… so they can receive their inheritance.

I know God was.

Born of Fornication

“We were not born of fornication; we have one Father…” John 8:41

 Sometimes God will choose the oddest times to bring up the strangest subjects.

 While at church, during the worship at the start of the service God asked me a question…

 “What is fornication?”

 Before you wonder, as I did, why He would choose such a time to discuss such a topic… let me continue…

…because He gave me an answer and following the answer… a great encouragement.

Fornication does not just mean sex outside of marriage… because for one, biblically, sex outside of marriage does not exist.  Marriage is the result of sex.  Specifically marriage is the union formed through consensual sex. (There is a difference between a wife and a bride… but we’ll get to that another time.)

A little help along the way

Have you ever wondered why Simon was pulled from the crowd and told to carry the cross of Christ?

Well I'm not really sure.

Maybe he was strong.

Maybe he had a look of compassion on his face that told the Roman soldiers he would be willing to help.

Or maybe, just maybe (well of course, definitely) it was a divinely orchestrated event…

…One that teaches us a wonderful truth about the Father's compassion, mercy and determination.

God will always provide a way for us to have help.

When we feel weak and unable to go on, He can provide someone to help us carry our cross.

Just as the Father had Simon called from the crowd to help His Son, He will call someone from the crowd, maybe someone we've never met, to help us.

And we need not be ashamed. 

Christ's sacrifice on Calvary was not tarnished by the fact that He hadn't actually carried the cross the entire way Himself.  And neither will ours be. 

Why do the wicked prosper?

“Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper?” Jeremiah 12:1

You have to hand it to Jeremiah… he can really get to the heart of things.

He looks around and sees the wicked prospering… something I would gather he did not find particularly fair to those who were trying to not be wicked… and he wants to know why?

But notice how he goes about his little inquiry.  He starts with the statement that declares God’s righteousness, “Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee.”

He doesn’t doubt God’s righteousness, His judgments, or His character.  He doesn’t cry “UNFAIR O LORD!” 

He doesn’t wallow in a sea of “woe-is-me’s.”  Or look for sympathy from people.

He confidently approaches the One Who has the answers and asks plainly, “Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper?”

The question might come a bit differently from our lips…