Go out of your way to to make your family know how special they are and build a family fortress of love. Everyone needs to know that they are loved and they need a hug.
Husband, hug your wife. Tell her she is beautiful. Take her in your arms and dance with her. Ask her what her dreams and goals are? Hire a sitter and take her on a date. Talk with her and seek to understand her.
Wives, hug your husbands. Be your husband's number one fan. Appreciate him and encourage him in his endeavors. Pray for him everyday.
Parents, hug your children. Give them piggy back rides through the house. Wrestle them in the floor. Tell your girls how pretty they are. Tell your boys they are handsome. Play their games and stories and enjoy their company. Give them attention. Be tender and lead with kind words. Teach them God's ways and God's word.
The devil wants to destroy our families. If he can divide, he can conquer. I encourage you to shore up the weak areas in your family. Love. Hug. Laugh. Pray. Play.
--Johnie
Friday, August 22, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Time Traveler, Part 4
What would it be like to travel back in time? What would you see? Who would you meet? What would they think about meeting you? Well, we cannot travel through time, but there is one who can. Jesus Christ is the Great Time Traveler. He is ever-present in past, present, and future. But what of man? Will man ever be able to leave the time frame he is carried along by?
Ponder some of your life experiences. Do you really think that you are the only person to feel what you feel, to have known what you know? In the 1500's one of your fore-fathers was a child, a teen, an adult. The same goes for the 2nd century. Same for the 5th century BC. All throughout what we call history, are people who were just like we are. They had fear, had courage, had rejection. They had to go through the awkwardness of growing up just like us too.
When you think about how much you have in common with all of mankind, then you begin to see the equality of the ages. We are all eternal spirits dwelling in aging flesh. We were there in Adam and Eve from the beginning. We are equals with our fathers from generation to generation.
My father died at 79 years, but he was once 33 like myself. He died frail, but was once strong like myself. If I were to know my father and my grandfather, my great-grandfather, even going back to the first generation, and met all my forefathers at my age, we would have so much in common. They would be working to support their families, dealing with aging parents and small children just like us. But they all died just like we will. In heaven however there will be no age. We will all be together then. Dying, aging flesh is bound in time, but our redemption goes beyond time.
Life is all about our personal relationship with our personal Maker. That has never changed throughout all history. The thing that will carry us from this life into eternity is that our relationship with God will not be interrupted. He is our Friend. What a peaceful and secure feeling knowing His love and forgiveness and knowing that it wasn't you who chose Him as much as Him who chose you! He surpasses time and predestined those he chooses, from all generations, to be His children!
Our brother Paul encourages with these eternal words of God, saying, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified." (Romans 8:28-30)
---Johnie
Ponder some of your life experiences. Do you really think that you are the only person to feel what you feel, to have known what you know? In the 1500's one of your fore-fathers was a child, a teen, an adult. The same goes for the 2nd century. Same for the 5th century BC. All throughout what we call history, are people who were just like we are. They had fear, had courage, had rejection. They had to go through the awkwardness of growing up just like us too.
When you think about how much you have in common with all of mankind, then you begin to see the equality of the ages. We are all eternal spirits dwelling in aging flesh. We were there in Adam and Eve from the beginning. We are equals with our fathers from generation to generation.
My father died at 79 years, but he was once 33 like myself. He died frail, but was once strong like myself. If I were to know my father and my grandfather, my great-grandfather, even going back to the first generation, and met all my forefathers at my age, we would have so much in common. They would be working to support their families, dealing with aging parents and small children just like us. But they all died just like we will. In heaven however there will be no age. We will all be together then. Dying, aging flesh is bound in time, but our redemption goes beyond time.
Life is all about our personal relationship with our personal Maker. That has never changed throughout all history. The thing that will carry us from this life into eternity is that our relationship with God will not be interrupted. He is our Friend. What a peaceful and secure feeling knowing His love and forgiveness and knowing that it wasn't you who chose Him as much as Him who chose you! He surpasses time and predestined those he chooses, from all generations, to be His children!
Our brother Paul encourages with these eternal words of God, saying, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified." (Romans 8:28-30)
---Johnie
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Time Traveler, Part 3
Before anything existed, the Trinity was. The Father was always the Father. The Son was always the Son. The Holy Spirit was always the Holy Spirit.
"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness....'" - Gen. 1:26 Father, Son, and Spirit were working together from the very beginning.
Before anything existed, all things were known by God. He knew that you would sit down at your computer now. He knew that you would turn the key in your car today. He knew that you would flip the light switch earlier. All this He knew before you were born. All this He knew before "The Beginning." And Jesus is all throughout the old testament just as much as the new. Usually whenever "the Angel of the Lord" is mentioned in the Old Testament, it is referring to an appearance and working of Jesus before He was born.
He talked to Hagar in the wilderness about submission and promise and He saved her and Ishmael. He sent Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, and He stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac on the mountain. He appeared to Moses as a burning bush. He was ready to kill Balaam on the road.
Het met Gideon at the wine press and told him to go after the Mideonites. He accepted Gideon's sacrifice on the rock. He met with Minoah and his wife and told them they would have a son, and He accepted their burnt offering.
He gave food and drink to Elijah under the broom tree in the wilderness. He killed 185,000 Assyrians in the night after Hezekiah prayed and asked the Lord for deliverance. He stood before the high priest, Joshua the son of Jehozadak, to rebuke the devil there beside him, and to support Joshua and take away his sin.
These are all events in the life of Jesus, the Son of God, but they happened superior to time before He was even born, showing us that He was before His own birth. It is hard for us to understand that all these things are co-existent to our omnipresent, all-knowing, never-aging, eternal Creator. He is eternal, meaning He fills all time and overflows time with Himself. When the scripture says "in the last days" certain things will happen, it is because God has already experienced it and has revealed it to men. I used the past tense, but time is no constraint to our Eternal God.
He is there in the past. He is here in the present. He is there in the future. And He never changes. Praise our God and Saviour for calling us before the foundation of the world to be His children!
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."
(to be continued) ---Johnie
"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness....'" - Gen. 1:26 Father, Son, and Spirit were working together from the very beginning.
Before anything existed, all things were known by God. He knew that you would sit down at your computer now. He knew that you would turn the key in your car today. He knew that you would flip the light switch earlier. All this He knew before you were born. All this He knew before "The Beginning." And Jesus is all throughout the old testament just as much as the new. Usually whenever "the Angel of the Lord" is mentioned in the Old Testament, it is referring to an appearance and working of Jesus before He was born.
He talked to Hagar in the wilderness about submission and promise and He saved her and Ishmael. He sent Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, and He stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac on the mountain. He appeared to Moses as a burning bush. He was ready to kill Balaam on the road.
Het met Gideon at the wine press and told him to go after the Mideonites. He accepted Gideon's sacrifice on the rock. He met with Minoah and his wife and told them they would have a son, and He accepted their burnt offering.
He gave food and drink to Elijah under the broom tree in the wilderness. He killed 185,000 Assyrians in the night after Hezekiah prayed and asked the Lord for deliverance. He stood before the high priest, Joshua the son of Jehozadak, to rebuke the devil there beside him, and to support Joshua and take away his sin.
These are all events in the life of Jesus, the Son of God, but they happened superior to time before He was even born, showing us that He was before His own birth. It is hard for us to understand that all these things are co-existent to our omnipresent, all-knowing, never-aging, eternal Creator. He is eternal, meaning He fills all time and overflows time with Himself. When the scripture says "in the last days" certain things will happen, it is because God has already experienced it and has revealed it to men. I used the past tense, but time is no constraint to our Eternal God.
He is there in the past. He is here in the present. He is there in the future. And He never changes. Praise our God and Saviour for calling us before the foundation of the world to be His children!
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."
(to be continued) ---Johnie
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Time Traveler, Part 2
Jesus never changes. In the Revelation given to John, Jesus states four times His supremacy over time.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” - Rev. 1:8
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” - Rev. 1:11
“It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End." - Rev 21:6
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” - Rev 22:13
Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last letter, like our English A and Z. How can someone exist before existence of all? That person would have to be the Creator of all.
In John 8:56-59, the Holy Spirit led John to record a conversation between Jesus and some Jews. The Jews were accusing Jesus of having a demon and Jesus had just finished telling them that He was not a liar like they were. The story picks up with Jesus talking: "'Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.' Then the Jews said to Him, 'You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?' Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.' Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by." Here Jesus told them He was the God of their father's by using for Himself the name that the Lord told Moses to tell the children of Israel who He was, I AM. He was not in the past. The past is in Him. He is not in the future. The future is in Him. The same even applies to the present and what lies beyond the whole span of Creation.
This is reiterated in both Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," and "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made."
I actually began to think about this topic during an engineering club where we were watching a movie about string theory. That theory seems to be changing still, but it basically states that the time-space continuum is like a fabric with folds. The folds could bring two close "timelines" together. They were very pro "parallel universe" saying that there were endless realities with us living in each and choosing all the possibilities that could happen. Primarily it states that there is something that holds the universe together like thread. They are calling the thread "dark matter." Now, I'm not saying that I whole-heartedly believe string theory, but I couldn't help but think of all these verses about Jesus while they were talking. I kept saying to myself, "How can they not see that what they are talking about is Jesus?" Jesus is the thread that holds the universe together. He is what they are searching so hard to find.
Paul wrote in Colossians 1:15-17, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist."
Jesus is sovereign in all things. In Him all things consist. He is the thread holding our lives together. Time is non-existent to Him because all time is simultaneous in Him. He has stepped into time at His will as the pre-incarnate Christ many times, and quietly inhabits every moment of existent time, even future time. Take some time and thank Him for His sovereignty over all, past, present and future.
(to be continued) ---Johnie
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” - Rev. 1:8
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” - Rev. 1:11
“It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End." - Rev 21:6
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” - Rev 22:13
Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last letter, like our English A and Z. How can someone exist before existence of all? That person would have to be the Creator of all.
In John 8:56-59, the Holy Spirit led John to record a conversation between Jesus and some Jews. The Jews were accusing Jesus of having a demon and Jesus had just finished telling them that He was not a liar like they were. The story picks up with Jesus talking: "'Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.' Then the Jews said to Him, 'You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?' Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.' Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by." Here Jesus told them He was the God of their father's by using for Himself the name that the Lord told Moses to tell the children of Israel who He was, I AM. He was not in the past. The past is in Him. He is not in the future. The future is in Him. The same even applies to the present and what lies beyond the whole span of Creation.
This is reiterated in both Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," and "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made."
I actually began to think about this topic during an engineering club where we were watching a movie about string theory. That theory seems to be changing still, but it basically states that the time-space continuum is like a fabric with folds. The folds could bring two close "timelines" together. They were very pro "parallel universe" saying that there were endless realities with us living in each and choosing all the possibilities that could happen. Primarily it states that there is something that holds the universe together like thread. They are calling the thread "dark matter." Now, I'm not saying that I whole-heartedly believe string theory, but I couldn't help but think of all these verses about Jesus while they were talking. I kept saying to myself, "How can they not see that what they are talking about is Jesus?" Jesus is the thread that holds the universe together. He is what they are searching so hard to find.
Paul wrote in Colossians 1:15-17, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist."
Jesus is sovereign in all things. In Him all things consist. He is the thread holding our lives together. Time is non-existent to Him because all time is simultaneous in Him. He has stepped into time at His will as the pre-incarnate Christ many times, and quietly inhabits every moment of existent time, even future time. Take some time and thank Him for His sovereignty over all, past, present and future.
(to be continued) ---Johnie
Friday, August 15, 2008
Time Traveler, Part 1
I have often wondered what it would be like to be a time traveler. Visit the past, explore the future. I've never seen the Butterfly Effect, but what might I accidentally change were I to be out of my time. Who wouldn't be born? What countries would cease to exist now if I were to accidentally give "the past" technology from today? I am thankful that God has constrained us to time, but could there be a real time traveler? I say YES!
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." I love that verse out of Hebrews. Everything and everyone around us ages and decays, but Jesus never changes. Now tuck that away for just a moment.
"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him." (Ephesians 1:7-10) Jesus is the time traveler, spanning all time and space. All history is spread out before Him with only Himself able to enter it and change it. This is the mystery of His will, that He entered our time and chose us and bought us out of our depravity.
Are we living in the past? Or are we just planning for the future? How are we living in the here and now? If all we do is remember or plan, is that really living? Take a minte and write down how you spent your time today. Did you live life to the fullest or did you just get by? Did you let Jesus into your day?
Now remember the verse out of Hebrews. If He's not our foundation, then how are we going to find life and find it more abundantly? Focus on what never changes.
(to be continued) ---Johnie
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." I love that verse out of Hebrews. Everything and everyone around us ages and decays, but Jesus never changes. Now tuck that away for just a moment.
"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him." (Ephesians 1:7-10) Jesus is the time traveler, spanning all time and space. All history is spread out before Him with only Himself able to enter it and change it. This is the mystery of His will, that He entered our time and chose us and bought us out of our depravity.
Are we living in the past? Or are we just planning for the future? How are we living in the here and now? If all we do is remember or plan, is that really living? Take a minte and write down how you spent your time today. Did you live life to the fullest or did you just get by? Did you let Jesus into your day?
Now remember the verse out of Hebrews. If He's not our foundation, then how are we going to find life and find it more abundantly? Focus on what never changes.
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."
(to be continued) ---Johnie
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Penelope Epiphany
I just watched a show called Penelope about a girl that was born with a pig snout. I thought the movie was ho-hum - one of those bubblegum type shows that gave me just enough to chew on, but not enough to make a meal.
One thing I really liked in it was that there was a major change in one of the characters, a photographer who had been stalking the girl's family for years to get a photo of the girl and had even lost an eye trying. Finally Penelope sells her own picture to him, and then once he's got what he's wanted for so long, he doesn't seem to like what he's become and he stops pursuing his life-long obsession.
I know the movie is about many things (accepting others for who they are, liking your imperfect self, liking your kids for who they are), but this photographer is probably my favorite character. He had an epiphany that changed his life, and woke him up to see reality. That is the kind of change I think we all need. I know I fantasize about making a difference in the world, but I always tend to think of big change. I solve the world's problems single-handedly, while showing everyone how humbly I'm taking it.
My ego embarrasses me whenever I think of what Jesus did during His life and what He was actually capable of doing. He really could have brought tons of advancements to the world thousands of years before they happened, but that wasn't in His plans. He could have taken a trip of healing around the world picking up followers wherever He went, but He didn't. He could have even taken the world by force, but not Jesus. God's ways are truly higher than mine! Oh, how I want to be like Jesus!
I won't show Penelope to my kids because it made light of drinking and getting drunk and there were a few mild profanities and some strong emphasis on "kissing='I like you'" towards the end. But if you decide to watch the movie then look for the guy I'm writing about. Maybe you'll catch a glimpse of the same hope in him that I did. It's a hope I also have for myself.
---Johnie
One thing I really liked in it was that there was a major change in one of the characters, a photographer who had been stalking the girl's family for years to get a photo of the girl and had even lost an eye trying. Finally Penelope sells her own picture to him, and then once he's got what he's wanted for so long, he doesn't seem to like what he's become and he stops pursuing his life-long obsession.
I know the movie is about many things (accepting others for who they are, liking your imperfect self, liking your kids for who they are), but this photographer is probably my favorite character. He had an epiphany that changed his life, and woke him up to see reality. That is the kind of change I think we all need. I know I fantasize about making a difference in the world, but I always tend to think of big change. I solve the world's problems single-handedly, while showing everyone how humbly I'm taking it.
My ego embarrasses me whenever I think of what Jesus did during His life and what He was actually capable of doing. He really could have brought tons of advancements to the world thousands of years before they happened, but that wasn't in His plans. He could have taken a trip of healing around the world picking up followers wherever He went, but He didn't. He could have even taken the world by force, but not Jesus. God's ways are truly higher than mine! Oh, how I want to be like Jesus!
I won't show Penelope to my kids because it made light of drinking and getting drunk and there were a few mild profanities and some strong emphasis on "kissing='I like you'" towards the end. But if you decide to watch the movie then look for the guy I'm writing about. Maybe you'll catch a glimpse of the same hope in him that I did. It's a hope I also have for myself.
---Johnie
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