HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY

                   

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE

                    by Kelly Strong

                    I watched the flag pass by one day.

            It fluttered in the breeze.
            A young Marine saluted it,
            and then he stood at ease.
            I looked at him in uniform
            So young, so tall, so proud,
            He'd stand out in any crowd.
            I thought how many men like him
            Had fallen through the years.
            How many died on foreign soil?
            How many mothers' tears?
            How many pilots' planes shot down?
            How many died at sea?
            How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
            No, freedom isn't free.

            I heard the sound of TAPS one night,
            When everything was still
            I listened to the bugler play
            And felt a sudden chill.
            I wondered just how many times
            That TAPS had meant "Amen,"
            When a flag had draped a coffin
            Of a brother or a friend.
            I thought of all the children,  
            Of the mothers and the wives,
            Of fathers, sons and husbands
            With interrupted lives.
            I thought about a graveyard
            At the bottom of the sea
            Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
                           No, freedom isn't free.

In reading this poem and thinking about this holiday, I am reminded that freedom definitely is not free. I'm reminded of the great price the Son of God paid for our freedom from sin. Memorial Day has a special meaning for me because it was on Memorial Day 1948 that I was baptized. That was definitely one of the best days of my life and one I will never forget even though that was many years ago and I was just 11 years old.  

For links to lots of inspirational posts, please click HERE to go to the Spiritual Sundays blog.

God's Jewels

Sunday is Mother's Day and like so many who do not have their mother with them here on this earth, I was feeling nostalgic when I was looking for a poem to share for the occasion. I opened up one of Helen Steiner Rice's books on poetry and the first page I opened up to was a poem entitled God's Jewels. Before I read the poem, I thought to myself. That describes my mother. She certainly was and is one of God's Jewels. So I'm dedicating this to my precious mother who left this earth in 1999.

GOD'S JEWELS

            We watch the rich and famous
          Bedecked in precious jewels,
          Enjoying earthly pleasures,
          Defying moral rules—
          And in our mood of discontent
          We sink into despair
          And long for earthly riches
          And feel cheated of our share—
          But stop these idle musings,
          God has stored up for you
          Treasures that are far beyond
          Earth's jewels and riches, too—
          But never, never discount
          What God has promised man
          If he will walk in meekness
          And accept God's flawless plan—
          For if we heed His teachings
          As we journey through the years,
          We'll find the richest jewels of all
          Are crystalized from tears.

                                - Helen Steiner Rice 

I think one of the reasons this reminded me of my mother is because she never had very many earthly possessions but she had great faith and lots of love to share. The older I get the more I realize how short this life is and the importance of storing up treasures above as the Bible says to do. My mother had a lot of treasure stored up above and I believe she is enjoying it now. But I also believe the greatest treasure she has is being with her Lord.

I hope you will visit the Spiritual Sundays blog. You will find many many links to wonderful inspiring posts. Just click HERE to go there.

New Heaven and New Earth

When I posted the info about Charles Spurgeon, I promised to share some more from the book We Shall See God by Randy Alcorn. What a great little book this is. I know I said it before, but I'll say it again. I like the chapter called Homesick for Eden. Here are some excerpts from Spurgeon's sermons delivered in 1860.

People are not the only ones who suffer under the Curse; the Earth itself experiences the devastation of the Fall in the form of thorns, blights, and disasters of every kind. But one day Christ will come to restore the Earth to its rightful state. Then it will no longer groan in the pains of childbirth but will live in joyful celebration of its new life, which will never again be taken from it.

After the first humans sinned, God cursed the Earth.

When Christ came into the world, evil people twisted a crown made of the cursed thorn and put in our his head and made him king of the Curse, and in that day he purchased the redemption of the world from its curse. I believe, and I think it is warranted by Scripture, that when Christ shall come a second time, this world will become everywhere as fertile as the Garden of Paradise used to be. 

 "The whole creation," says Paul, has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth" (Romans 8:22). Groaning for what? Groaning and waiting for the redemption, when this world shall be washed of all her sin. Her curse shall be removed, her stains taken away, and this world shall be as fair as when God first formed her from his mind, as when, like a glowing spark, forged from the anvil by the eternal hammer she first flashed in her orbit. This Christ has redeemed, this Christ shall most assuredly redeem.

And then Alcorn gives his thoughts on the subject.

We are homesick for Eden. We're nostalgic for what is implanted in our hearts. It's built into us, perhaps at a genetic level. We long for what the first man and woman once enjoyed―a perfect and beautiful Earth and free and unstained relationship with God, one another, animals, and the environment. Every attempt at human progress has been an attempt to overcome what was lost in the Fall. If God's plan were merely to take mankind to the present Heaven or to a heaven that is the dwelling place of spirit beings, there would be no need for new heaven s and a New Earth. 

Upon creating the heavens and the Earth, God called them "very good" (Genesis 1:31). Never once has he renounced his claim on what he made. He isn't going to abandon his creation; he's going to restore it. We won't go to heaven and leave earth behind. Rather, God will bring Heaven and Earth together into the same dimension, with no wall of separation, no armed angels to guard Heaven's perfection from sinful mankind (Genesis 3:24). God's perfect plan is "to bring unity to all things in heaven and oin earth under Christ" (Ephesians 1:10, NIV).

Wow, I don't know about you, but this really makes me look forward to heaven more than if I were to go there as a disembodied spirit drifting around on clouds as some have envisioned heaven. No wonder so many people have no desire to go there. Compared to a New Heaven and a New Earth, the "cloud" theory does sound a little boring. Although, if this were God's plan, I'm sure there would nothing boring about it. I just agree with Spurgeon and Alcorn. We are promised a new body like Jesus' resurrected body. A new body - a new Heaven and a new Earth - what could be better? I sure can't think of anything.

Now, if you didn't come here from the link on the Spiritual Sundays blog, I hope you will go there and read what others have shared by clicking on the various links. And you might even want to link there too. Click HERE or on the icon at the left to directly there.

My Shepherd

I heard this song on another blog. I really like it so I got the video version to share here. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon 1834-1892

Charles Spurgeon. I knew the name. I knew he was a preacher who lived a long time ago. That's really all I knew about him. Then I discovered a book that Randy Alcorn recently wrote called We Shall See God. This is when I found out more about Charles Spurgeon.

Charles Spurgeon lived from 1834 until 1892. He was England's best known preacher for most of the second half of the 19th century. He served for 30 years at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, and it is estimated that during his lifetime he preached to more than 10 million people. His collected sermons fill sixty-three volumes and remains one of the best selling series of writings in history. I say WOW WOW WOW! And that without rapid transportation, modern audio speaker systems, TV or internet.

Charles Spurgeon preaching at Metropolitan Tabernacle in London.

Now, back to Randy Alcorn's book. This is a small book but packed with lots of good stuff. He has taken excerpts from some of Spurgeon's sermons on heaven and given his thoughts and comments about them. I intended to share something from that book in this post, but now I'm thinking I will save it for the next post. There are a lot of things in the book that I would like to share. Are you familiar with Randy Alcorn's book called Heaven? I think it is one of the best books I've ever read. If you haven't read it, you really should. You will probably have a whole new perspective on the subject. I know I did.

I'm sharing this for Spiritual Sundays. Click HERE to go to that blog to find links to many inspirational posts. You may want to share a post on your own blog by linking it there.

THE VOICE

We recently got yet another translation of the New Testament. This one is called The Voice and is written in story form. I found it easy to read and I decided I would share just a little of it on my blog. Since last Sunday was Easter, the resurrection is still on many people's minds. As it should be - not only on Easter, but every Sunday and actually not even just on Sundays.

We pick up after Jesus had appeared to the two men on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection.  Luke 24:33.

33So they get up immediately and rush back to Jerusalem―all seven miles―where they find the eleven gathered together―the eleven plus a number of others. 34Before Cleopas and his companion can tell their story, the others have their own story to tell.

Other Disciple: The Lord has risen indeed! It's true! He appeared to Simon!

35 Then the two men report their own experience―their conversations along the road, their moment of realization and recognition as He broke the bread. 26At that very instant, as they're still telling the story, Jesus is there, standing among them!

Jesus: May you have peace!

     You might expect them to be overjoyed, but they aren't.

37They're startled and terrified, they think they're seeing a ghost.

Jesus: 38Why are you upset? Why are your hearts churning with questions? 39Look―look at My hands and My feet. See that it's me. Come on; touch me; see for yourselves. A ghost doesn't have flesh and bones, as you can see that I have!

[40Then He shows them His hands and His feet.]

41Now their fear gives way to joy; but it seems too good to be true, and they're still unsure.

Jesus: Do you have anything here to eat?

42They hand Him a piece of broiled fish, 43and He takes it and eats it in front of them.

Jesus: 44I've been telling you this all along, that everything written about Me in the Hebrew scriptures must be fulfilled―everything from the law of Moses to the prophets to the psalms.

45Then He opens their minds so they can comprehend meaning of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Jesus: 46This is what the Scriptures said: that the promised Anointed One should suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47that in His name a radical change of thought and life should be preached, and that in His name forgiveness of sins should be preached, beginning in Jerusalem and extending to all nations. 48You have witnessed the fulfillment of these things. 49So I am sending my Father's promise to you. Stay in the city until you receive it―until power from heaven comes upon you.

50Then He leads them out to Bethany. He lifts up His hands and blesses them, 51and at that moment, with His hands raised in blessing, He leaves them and is carried up into heaven. 52They worship Him, then they return to Jerusalem, filled with intense joy, 53and they return again and again to the temple to celebrate God.

~  ~  ~ 

I like the way this new translation of the New Testament reads almost like the script for a play. It is inexpensive too. The paperback edition which we have is only $6.99. 

Thank you for letting me share this with you. You will find links to lots of inspiring posts by clicking HERE. That's the Spiritual Sundays blog, of course.

HE IS RISEN

Mark 16

Jesus Has Risen

 ¹ When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. ² Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb ³ and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

 ⁴ But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. ⁵ As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

 ⁶ “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

 ⁸ Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.^[a]

   [The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9–20.]

   ⁹ When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. ¹⁰ She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. ¹¹ When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.

   ¹² Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. ¹³ These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.

   ¹⁴ Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.

   ¹⁵ He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. ¹⁶ Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Because He lives I can face tomorrow. And I like what one little child said when told the resurrection story, "Goody goody goody. They didn't keep him dead."

Please visit Spiritual Sundays for links to lots of inspirational posts.

HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST

See How Your King Comes

 ^12-15The next day the huge crowd that had arrived for the Feast heard that Jesus was entering Jerusalem. They broke off palm branches and went out to meet him. And they cheered:

   Hosanna!

   Blessed is he who comes in God's name!

    Yes! The King of Israel!
Jesus got a young donkey and rode it, just as the Scripture has it:

   No fear, Daughter Zion:
      See how your king comes,
      riding a donkey's colt.

 ¹⁶The disciples didn't notice the fulfillment of many Scriptures at the time, but after Jesus was glorified, they remembered that what was written about him matched what was done to him.

Lyrics | Hillsong United lyrics - Hosanna lyrics

Please visit the Spiritual Sundays blog for links to many inspirational posts. Click HERE to go there.

DARE TO ASK

KATE SMITH 1909-1986

Perhaps you have never heard of Kate Smith, but I suspect most of you have even if you are too young to remember when she actually performed. She was a great singer. I recently read a story about her faith and I want to share it today.

Kate was asked to describe her philosophy of living. She said it had been the same since she was a little girl and could be stated in just three words: "Try asking God." Then she told the story of the beginning of that faith for her.

Once she was out in a rowboat on the Chesapeake Bay with two other girls. All three were in their early teens. They did not notice that the outgoing tide had swept them far out from the shore and that it was nearly dark. They suddenly became filled with fear. They cried for help but no one could hear. Then Kate Smith remembered a statement in the Bible that if two or three are gathered together in His name, He is in the midst of them.

"We have the limit," she said to her friends. "The Bible says 'two or three' and we have three. God will save us if we ask Him." They prayed. And out of the gathering darkness became the lines of a boat. They were taken aboard and carried back to safety. From that time on, in trouble, in need, in disappointment, in every circumstance of life, her philosophy was simply, "Try asking God."

I found this information about Kate Smith in Charles Allen's book entitled All Things Are Possible Through Prayer.

I am notorious for trying to fix or put  things together without reading the instructions. After I've tried and tried and failed, then I read the instructions. How many times has my hubby reminded me when I'm frustrated about assembling something or trying to figure out how something works, that I need to read the instructions. And boy, does that help. God has given us instructions for everything in life, but the world keeps trying to figure out things on their own and neglect the instructions. Many times in our society, they even make fun of and scoff at His instructions. I'm so happy that we have them written in His book. Let's not forget to read and follow them. It does no good to know the instructions if we don't follow them.

Spiritual Sundays is a blog where you will find links to many inspiring posts. Please click HERE to go there. 

St. Patrick

Since Saturday is St. Patrick's Day, I decided to see what information I could find about it online. Here's a portion of what I found. Some of it was contradictory. This is not surprising since he lived so long ago.

St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is one of Christianity's most widely known figures. But for all his celebrity, his life remains somewhat of a mystery. Many of the stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick, including the famous account of his banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are false, the products of hundreds of years of exaggerated storytelling.

Saint Patrick, who lived during the fifth century, is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. Born in Roman Britain, he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of 16. He later escaped, but returned to Ireland and was credited with bringing Christianity to its people. In the centuries following Patrick's death (believed to have been on March 17, 461), the mythology surrounding his life became ever more ingrained in the Irish culture: Perhaps the most well known legend is that he explained the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) using the three leaves of a native Irish clover, the shamrock.Since around the ninth or 10th century, people in Ireland have been observing the Roman Catholic feast day of on March 17.

Patrick Guided by Visions:
After more than six years as a prisoner, Patrick escaped. According to his writing, a voice-which he believed to be God's-spoke to him in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland.

To do so, Patrick walked nearly 200 miles from County Mayo, where it is believed he was held, to the Irish coast. After escaping to Britain, Patrick reported that he experienced a second revelation-an angel in a dream tells him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Soon after, Patrick began religious training, a course of study that lasted more than fifteen years. After his ordination as a priest, he was sent to Ireland with a dual mission-to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the Irish. (Interestingly, this mission contradicts the widely held notion that Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland.)

The beautiful prayer of St. Patrick, popularly known as "St. Patrick's Breast-Plate", is supposed to have been composed by him in preparation for this victory over Paganism. The following is a literal translation from the old Irish text:

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.

I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the poop [deck],
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I'm always inspired by people like St. Patrick. He made such an impact on Ireland and Christianity that we're still celebrating his life after all these years. Wow 461 was a long long time ago. I like the explanation of the meaning of the shamrock. Thank you St. Patrick for your faithfulness. I will be wearing green in your honor even though green is not my color.

Please visit our Spiritual Sundays blog for links to lots of inspirational posts. Just click HERE to go there.

God's Love Endures Forever

Another dear friend in his 90s went home to be with the Lord this week. I'm sharing the following poem by Helen Steiner Rice in memory of him.

God's Love Endures Forever

God's love endureth forever ―

    What a wonderful thing to know.

When the tides of life turn against you

     and your spirit is downcast and low.

God's kindness is ever around you,

     always ready to freely impart

Strength to your faltering spirit,

     cheer to your lonely heart.

God's presence is ever beside you,

     as near as the reach of your hand.

You have but to tell Him your troubles,

     there is nothing He won't understand.

And knowing God's love is unfailing,

     and His mercy unending and great,

You have but to trust in His promise ―

     God comes not too soon or too late.

So wait with a heart that is patient

     for the goodness of God to prevail.

For never do prayers go unanswered,

     and His mercy and love never fail.

And the following quote by HSR

God never said die not, sorrow not, or suffer not, but He did say, 'Fear not!' And when you take the fear out of life, then all the terrible experiences ― all the trials and all the suffering ― become bearable.

I hope you will visit Spiritual Sundays. So many wonderful inspirational posts are shared there each week. Here is the url:  http://bloggerspirit.blogspot.com/

LIFT UP YOUR EYES

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
He it is who reduces rulers to nothing.
Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.
Scarcely have they been planted,
Scarcely have they been sown,
Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,
But, He merely blows on them and they wither.
And the storm carries them away like stubble.
"To whom then will you liken me
That I would be his equal?" says the Holy One
Lift up your eyes on high
And see who has created these stars
The one who leads forth their host by number
He calls them all by name
Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power
not one of them is missing ...
Do not fear for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 40:21-26; 41:10   

Wow. I don't know about you, but these scriptures give me great hope. Even though it seems like everything is going wrong in our world, He is still in control and it is so true. Nothing takes Him by surprise and do you suppose He is worried about anything that is going on here? And if you are still worried, I suggest you read the above scriptures again.

And did you notice the statement about the circle of the earth? Until recently people thought the earth was flat. How do you suppose Isaiah knew about the circle of the earth so many centuries ago? To me this is just another proof that Scripture is inspired by God.

Another thank you to everyone who shares on Spiritual Sundays. Here is the link to that blog. New people are always encouraged to join us there. http://bloggerspirit.blogspot.com/