There's A Prerequisite

Sharing a quiet time thought today. I came across a verse last evening as I was reading a biography of Augustine that caught my attention. I began to think about what Jesus had told His disciples in Matthew 5:8, one of the Beatitudes-- "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." I gave it more attention this morning as I pondered the phrase "they shall see God."

Jesus told Philip that those who have seen Me, have seen the Father (John 14:9). Many did see Him while He was on earth, but most did not recognize Him. Why not? Few were looking for Truth. They had their own ideas of what God would be like. He would fulfill their preconceived notions.

When God confronted Job with His glory after Job had grumbled against Him, Job's eyes were opened in humility. He said to God, "Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.... My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You (Job 42:3, 5). Humility of heart enabled Job to see God as He is--full of wonder and glory and amazement. Pride keeps us from seeing life, death, God, others, anything clearly. It blurs the lens through which we look. It renders us myopic.

Philip saw Jesus in the flesh, and God spoke to Job directly, but what about those of us in the present? God has spoken for centuries through His Word, the Scriptures. Just as with Job, a humble heart opens our spiritual eyes to His glory and magnificence as we read. And some through the years have seen God as He is.

But Jesus says there is a prerequisite to seeing God. Not all see Him. Many will never see Him. It isn't a physical 'seeing' but, rather, a spiritual 'seeing,' and only the pure in heart see Him. How can we be pure in heart when Scripture tells us that the heart is deceitful and desperately sick. Who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9). And "Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood" (Psalm 24:4). 

Are we living a lie or living in truth? We only know what truth is from God's Word. And there Jesus tells us that He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus (John 14:6). Any other way that we might be trying, or any other person we might be following, is lifting up the soul to falsehood. It's a lie, plain and simple, that keeps many from seeing God. The sad thing is, so many believe the Lie. They are deceived. Some are even self-deceived (James 1:22).

The Lie says, "Blessed are those who are proud of who they are, for they shall be envied." Blessed are those who trust in their reputation, for they shall be advanced." Blessed are those who have self- confidence, those who don't need God, for they can run their own life." But that, dear one, is lifting up the soul to falsehood. And those who do will not stand in God's holy place. They will never see God.

What a terrible void, a horrible hole in one's heart.

Only those those who are pure in heart, only those living in truth, only those who have come into His presence through Jesus can ever hope to see God.

Seek Him, and you will find Him, for He says, "You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13). Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near (Acts 55:6).

I hope you see Him, dear one, and that we will see one another in His Heaven, when we can see Him face to face.

Image ~ Inseparable, Florence Fuller, c1900

via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

The Greater Endeavor

The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array, the most powerful radio receiver in the world, is a 27-radio telescope system mounted on railroad tracks in a Y-shaped array near Socorro, New Mexico. It's purpose is to hear from space as the telescope provides high clarity images composed from radio signals. The world is listening and watching.

All ears are tuned toward the heavens. What are they hearing and seeing? The heavens declare the glory of God and his handiwork. Whether they study the heavens or the microbes, scientists study God's glorious creation. To study God himself, though, and what he has already communicated to us in His Word, that, dear one, is the far greater endeavor.

 Image: by Hajor - CC BY-SA 3.0

I Wish I Had Said ....

I went with my mother yesterday to her new doctor, and in the course of the discussion he learned that my Beloved and I had recently moved here to be near my parents and to help in whatever ways we could. He commented that I must have a good husband who is willing to do that. Yes, indeed I do. I explained that I had left the decision of where to move to my Beloved because it was a difficult one for me to make. We knew we wanted to be near family, but to which location should we go? We have a daughter and grandchildren who live in crazy Chicago, another daughter near the east coast, and my parents here. My Beloved decided that we needed to be here, so we packed up, sold the house and moved.

I commented to the doctor that that's what families do. They take care of each other. He reminded me that you don't see that much anymore. It was at that point that I stumbled with what to say. Yes, it is sad, that our culture is like that now, but I didn't want to be praised for doing what I think is just the right thing to do. What I should have said was that the love of God compels us to help our family. It is love for His ways that guides my Beloved and me in what we should do.

When we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and love others as ourselves, our new nature compels us to do what's right. Of course, we aren't forced into it. The choice is still ours to make. We are told in Galatians 6:10 to "do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith." And we can't get any closer to the 'household of faith' than to our own families.

I wish I had directed our discussion that morning with the doctor to the God of love and made much of Him and His ways. It saddens me that I didn't think about it because to Him belongs the glory, for great things He has done.

Painting ~ Louisa Baldwin 1868, Edward Poynter 1836-1919

True Light

Doing some homework this morning from a Bible class and being reminded why so many people have lost their way in common sense and decency. And, sadly, who further degrade themselves into perversion and don't even realize it. They have been blinded by the god of this world.  "...the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (2 Corinthians 4:4).

My take away from my study this morning--

I need to let the light of the gospel shine in my own life so others might see and glorify God the Father (Matthew 5:16). The gospel is their only hope out of debauchery. To do this, I must "walk in the light as He is in the light" (1 John 1:7). Jesus has said, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life" (John 8:12).

That light is found in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I find this gospel in the Holy Scriptures. By meditating on God's Word, the gospel can permeate my life, so that others might see the gospel lived out. And so that the god of this world cannot blind my own mind as well. For sometimes we are willfully ignorant.

Photo ~ via Pixabay CC0 Creative Commoms

Mysteries of the Unseen World

The vastness of God's creation is beyond man's comprehension, yet to see the marvels that man has been able to see technologically points undeniably to the Great Designer. 

We watched Mysteries of the Unseen World this evening, a National Geographic documentary that shows a world of things that our normal vision cannot see. It gives believers just a glimpse of what God might allow us to see and know when we come into His presence after life on this earth. All Heaven sings His praises, and this movie shows plenty of reason to do just that.

True believers see God's hand where others may not. Whether or not you believe God created the immenseness and minuteness of the universe, I think you'd enjoy the photography and science behind this documentary. We watched it on Netflix, but it's also available through Amazon. You can watch the Netflix trailer here.

Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? 

Tell me if you understand.

Job 38:4

Dress Like You Mean It

Commenting today on something most will not understand. If you're not a follower of Jesus Christ, you just won't get it. I don't expect you to. This post isn't for you. But for those gals who desire to have everything you do bring glory to His name, I want to encourage you to dress like you mean it.

As followers of Jesus the Christ, the totality of our purpose is to make Him known, not ourselves. To magnify Him, not ourselves. To have people notice Him--not us, not our bodies. Especially, I repeat, especially when we're gathered together in corporate worship. Our motives, our mission in life affects what we wear when we come to worship. 

With our whole being, we come to worship. I know many of you know that. Many of you desire that and live that. For the more naive, I implore you to please let our men focus on worship. I want to be able to focus on worship as well. I do not want to see your cleavage. I do not want to see your rear end. I do not want to see your big belly, soon-to-be mama (even though I respect the new life within you). I do not want to see you poured into your clothes and see every hill and valley, or see your clothes barely hanging on you and hoping they don't fall off. I want to see your God. I want to see your Savior working in and through you.

I know what the prevailing style is. I also know why it's the prevailing style. I think you do, too. 

So, let's kick it up a notch. Dress like we mean it. Full throttle on mission. 

And keep looking upward.
~ Vickie 

Painting ~ Love Letters, Charles Trevor Garland 1855-1906

All to God's Glory

We awoke this morning to a Narnia landscape! 

The trees were draped in white. It was beautiful! 

I went out to the back porch and just looked and listened. 

The sky was deep, clear blue.

And the morning sun was shining on nearly ten inches of snow from the winter storm. 

All was quiet except for happy birds singing and praising God. 

They loved it, too!

 We threw seed out for them and watched from the kitchen window.

There's been so much snow that we've been feeding them on the porch 

and throwing seeds under the bushes for them.

 

Cute little birds tracks on the porch.

Mr. Cardinal took a moment to thank us.

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

~ Psalm 19:1 ~

There is no work which God has made 

in which so much of the glory of God appears 

as in a man who lives quietly in the midst of adversity.

~ Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment