Could we with ink the ocean fill
And were the skies of parchment made
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade
To write the love of God above
Would drain the oceans dry
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
Though stretched from sky to sky

The Love of God – Todd Agnew
From the album Need

This is one of my favorite Scripture passages. It declares the holiness of God, the sinfulness of man, the forgiveness of God, and obedience of the forgiven. It is the Gospel displayed in the Old Testament.

In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Isaiah 6:1-8 NASB-

Our Sunday School class started this week with comments about the devastation from the earthquake in Haiti. One of the mothers said her son asked, “Is God mad at them?” She wasn’t sure how to answer him. I did my best to present her with an answer. I briefly explained the fall of mankind in Adam, the fall of creation, the entrance of death into the world, our inherited sin nature, and God’s hatred of sin. I said it wasn’t only those in Haiti that were sinners, we were too. I know it wasn’t a completely developed answer but I hoped it gave her some basics. Today, though, I read an article (linked below) by Jim Elliff that I believe is very helpful. If we have questions ourselves or maybe want to spark a conversation, use it as a tool. Through it the Lord may grant new understanding or even new life.

If God is Good, Why Do So Many Bad Things Happen?

Proverbs 27:5-6, 9-10, 17 NASB
5  Better is open rebuke Than love that is concealed.
6  Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.
9  Oil and perfume make the heart glad, So a man’s counsel is sweet to his friend.
10  Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend, And do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity; Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away.
17  Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.

Friendship with someone is usually birthed out of shared interests and results in many happy times spent together. But these verses from Proverbs 27 speak of deep friendship. It is the kind of friendship that, because of real concern and love, hard things are said. Things like “wounds of a friend” and “iron sharpens iron” indicate pain and friction. We likely can identify with those feelings. But the challenge is to look beyond those feelings and be willing to be the kind of friend that can give and receive sharpening through the love of Christ. Let Ephesians 4:25-32 be our model for friendship.

Ephesians 4:25-32  NASB
25  Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another.
26  BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
27  and do not give the devil an opportunity.
28  He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.
29  Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.
30  Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31  Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
32  Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

What follows is a series of tweets from @STimmis today. What are the “If I’m not” situations in your life?

How can I be sure I would lay down my life for sake of Jesus & the gospel? Perhaps I’ll be like Peter in his bravado & denial?
Can’t ultimately be sure until I’m called on to do so. But there are indicators in what I am reluctant to give up…
If I’m not prepared to give up my bed to go and serve someone, I can be fairly confident I won’t give up my life…
If I refuse to give up a holiday abroad so I can support someone in gospel ministry. I can be confident I won’t give up my life
If I’m not willing to pursue people who are different from me in order to bless them, I can be fairly certain I won’t give up my life.
If I’m not prepared to miss out on promotion so I can stay & help plant churches, I can be fairly certain I won’t give up my life…
If I’m not prepared to jeopardize a friendship so that I can tell others about Christ, I can be fairly certain I won’t give up my life.

Luke 9:23-24 NASB  And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.

I am preparing to return back to work after vacation and don’t relish getting out in the cold, snow and ice.  But I am encouraged to know that it is all in the control and plan of God.

“At this also my heart trembles, And leaps from its place. “Listen closely to the thunder of His voice, And the rumbling that goes out from His mouth. “Under the whole heaven He lets it loose, And His lightning to the ends of the earth. “After it, a voice roars; He thunders with His majestic voice, And He does not restrain the lightnings when His voice is heard. “God thunders with His voice wondrously, Doing great things which we cannot comprehend. “For to the snow He says, ‘Fall on the earth,’ And to the downpour and the rain, ‘Be strong.’ “He seals the hand of every man, That all men may know His work. “Then the beast goes into its lair And remains in its den. “Out of the south comes the storm, And out of the north the cold. “From the breath of God ice is made, And the expanse of the waters is frozen. “Also with moisture He loads the thick cloud; He disperses the cloud of His lightning. “It changes direction, turning around by His guidance, That it may do whatever He commands it On the face of the inhabited earth. “Whether for correction, or for His world, Or for lovingkindness, He causes it to happen.

Job 37:1-13 NASB.

My daughter enjoyed the benefits of a large backyard when we traveled to Maine to see our family. Here is a picture I took of her on December 24th. She played and played until she was wet, cold, and red-cheeked. She loved every minute of it.

He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. – 1 Peter 2:24 ESV

We got our Christmas tree up last weekend. Though it seems, to me, more and more of a struggle to get it up each and every year, I still enjoy having it in my home. As you enjoy your Christmas tree this 2009 Christmas season, I hope you take time to reflect on the most perfect “Christmas tree”…the tree that Christ Jesus our Lord hung upon at Calvary.

Our Christmas trees have lights and ornaments hanging from them. This tree had hung upon it the very body of the Son of God. Christ the Lord hung on that tree drinking down the wrath of His Father. His blood flowing for the forgiveness of your sins. Jesus hung on that tree bearing the penalty for YOUR SINS AND MY SINS!. Jesus hung on that tree so that as He took upon all of our sins…took upon Himself the full just and righteous wrath of God, we would be accredited with His righteousness. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!

I hope you enjoy your Christmas tree this Christmas season, but please do not forget to thank God for the Greatest Christmas Tree Ever!

by Jeff Parks