Infant Jesus at the Temple and Testimonies about Him

“And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, ‘Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own side also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.’ “ -Luke 2:34-35 (ESV) [Read Luke 2:21-38]

Mary and Joseph as pious Jews had obligations concerning Jesus’ birth that had to be performed according to the law. On the eighth day after His birth they followed the command to circumcise a male child (see Genesis 17:12-24, 21:4, and Leviticus 12:3). This was a ritual act in evidence of the covenant God made with Abraham and his descendants. It indicated a devotion to Yahweh God. In Old Testament times, the father might perform the rite on his child. Later, the Jews had those who specialized in the operation, and it may have been to one of those that Mary and Joseph took Jesus. Circumcision also indicated that the person would not be cut off from the covenant of God. It was a solemn and binding agreement between parents and God and ceremonially passed on to the infant with the outward act of circumcision.

After forty days, the Jewish time set for purification of the mother after the birth of a male child (see Leviticus 12), Joseph and Mary went to the temple and presented the required offerings, two turtle doves or two young pigeons. This offering was for the poor. The more well-to-do couple would have offered a lamb. Their desire to follow Jewish law prompted them to do this. By not having the money to purchase a lamb, the act was symbolic: Jesus Himself would become the Lamb, Himself offered years later for the sins of the world. Mary and Joseph’s desired to follow Jewish law prompted them to follow purification rites. Had it not been for following the law, they should not have had to go for this purification rite, for Jesus Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit and therefore holy. Their conformity to Jewish law shows their faithfulness and obedience in keeping the covenant.

Two people in the temple interact with the Baby. First came old Simeon. “Waiting for the consolation of Israel,” was a term meaning a sign that God would soon come to comfort and rescue Israel. Upon seeing Jesus, Simeon took Him in his arms and blessed Him. His psalm of gladness in Luke 2:29-32 echoes some of the Messianic words of Isaiah (see Isaiah 42:6, 49:6, 52:10) and Psalms (98:2). Following his outburst of praise, Simeon turned to Mary and made a prophecy of his own. He told her that her son would “cause the fall and rise of many in Israel.” Fall indicates judgment upon the arrogant; rise foretells salvation for those who will accept it. He also tells Mary her heart will be pierced as though by a sword. We know that Mary watched years later as her beloved Son was crucified. Old Simeon’s prophecy came true.

Next came old Anna, a prophetess and long-time widow who was given to fasting and prayer. She also recognized Baby Jesus as the Messiah and declared Him “the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38). Not only did Mary and Joseph know of the mission of the Son, but now two elderly people recognized Him as the promised Messiah. From Mary and Joseph, we learn the lessons of piety and obedience. From old Simeon and old Annah we learn the importance of living close to God and watching for His revelation.

Prayer: Lord, whatever acts of piety and obedience You call us to do, may we perform them with sincerity and devotion in fulfillment of a binding covenant we make with you. Amen. -Ethelene Dyer Jones 12.27.2015

Wise Men Visit Jesus

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him…And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country another way.” -Matthew 2:1-2; 11-13 (ESV) [Read Matthew 2:1-12]

Scholars hold that as much as two years had passed since the birth of Jesus when wise men from the east came to Bethlehem searching for the king whose natal star they had observed, and which they had followed until they reached Bethlehem. Who were these wise men—Magi, as they have been designated, from the Greek word Magos, meaning scientists or wise men. These travelers were probably form Persia. The nova—new star—they had seen in their own country was interpreted by them to mean that a new King had been born to the Jews. The logical place to look for a new king of the Jews was in Jerusalem, so they inquired at the court of Herod, the Roman ruler at his palace there. Since Jews had been in exile in Persia and Babylon—lands of the East—perhaps the Magos had read about prophecies of the coming king of the Jews. Numbers 24:17 was held as a prophetic scripture forthtelling this king: “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.”

The Jewish scholars Herod summoned could quote from Mica 5:2, giving Bethlehem as the expected place of the new king’s birth. But it is interesting to note that neither the Jewish learned men nor Herod accompanied the wise men from the East on their further search. They continued to follow the star, and it led them to a house in Bethlehem where they found Mary and her baby, Jesus. They fell down and worshiped him. Notice the holy reverence with which they regarded the child. And being warned in a dream, they did not return to Jerusalem to tell Herod they had found the young king. They went back to their own land another way. Did these men recognize the impact the child they adored would have on peoples everywhere? It is not likely that they did at that time, but in their action was a foreshadowing of a time when all Gentile nations will acknowledge and recognize the Lord Christ. The presentation of gifts was significant: gold to represent Christ’s royalty; frankincense His divinity; and myrrh His passion and sacrificial death. In the Wise Men’s visit and adoration is deep symbolism of Jesus coming not just for the Jews but as the Savior of the World.

-Ethelene Dyer Jones 12.20.2015

In Expectation of a Visit from God

“What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?”

-Psalm 8:4 (NKJV)

Christmas is coming, and no doubt many of us are expecting company. It has long been a practice (especially among Southern families) to welcome home at Christmastime those who have moved away. And if a Grandfather or Grandmother lives near or with one of her family members who has stayed “near the old homeplace,” Christmas is certain to be a time when those away will return home to visit parents and also visit the relatives who live in the home community. Such was the visitation at Christmas and other times from those relatives living away. 

 

Early in the creation period, God walked and talked with Adam. But after Eve was tempted by Satan, she also invited Adam to partake of the fruit of the forbidden tree,. They heard God walking in the garden in the cool of the day and tried to hide themselves from God, feeling guilty to be in His holy presence. That visit from God was not welcomed by the couple because they felt guilty before God for the sin they had committed. It was their choice to separate themselves from the presence of God and from communication with Him. God’s visits were not welcomed by them under the circumstances.

Man then became in great need of visitation from Holy God. Many were the efforts from Adam to Christ to restore the lost fellowship, but any measures taken by the leaders of God to bring the people back into communion with God were short-lived. People sinned again and again and knew the biting separation from a holy and righteous God. Jeremiah wrote: “ ‘Am I a God near at hand,’ says the Lord, ‘And not a God afar off? Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?’ says the Lord; Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ says the Lord (Jeremiah 23:23-24).

In the fullness of time the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, came to earth. To paraphrase Psalm 8:4, the Father was sending His Son because He was ‘mindful of man” and wanted ‘to visit him.” John records God’s visitation with mankind in this way: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14, NKJV). Christmas if the time when we celebrate the visitation of God to mankind. “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us!” Christmas is Immanuel, “God with us.” God was mindful of man, and came to visit us. We know the marvelous story, told by the angels, repeated by disciples from that first Advent to the present and even into the future. Someone has already come, and His name is Jesus—because God was ‘mindful of man’ and wanted ‘to visit him.’ Praise be to God!

-Ethelene Dyer Jones 12.13.2015

An Everlasting Kingdom ~ A Messianic Prophecy

“How great are His signs, how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion endures from generation to generation.” -Daniel 4:3 (ESV).

The amazing context of this declaration about the Lord God and His everlasting kingdom is that the words were written by King Nebuchadnezzar, pagan king who ascended the throne in Babylon in 605 B. C. He made a golden image and commanded the people to worship (see Daniel, chapters 2 and 4). He became temporarily insane, but was restored to sanity, and with his association with the godly Daniel, acknowledged God. Daniel became his mentor and instructor about the one true God. In a letter “to all people, nations, and languages that dwell in the earth” (Daniel 4:1.), King Nebuchadnezzar prefaced his statement about the one true God and His kingdom with these words: “It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.” (Daniel 4:2).

How did the statement about God foretell the qualifications of the Messiah?  “His signs and wonders are great”: When Jesus was upon earth, He went about doing good. He fed 5,000 with five loaves and two fishes. He said “Peace be still,” and the winds and waves obeyed Him, the sea became calm, and the storm stilled. He cast out demons, healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, raised persons from the dead, and forgave sinners and outcasts. And these are but a few of “His signs and wonders.” 

“His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom”: In His testimony before Pilate as He stood on trial before him, Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). As He was ready to ascend into heaven following His resurrection, his disciples asked Him: “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). He answered them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority” (Acts 1:7). 

 

Only through the revelation from God could the prophecy King Nebuchadnezzar wrote in 600 B. C. have been about Christ’s kingdom. Certainly Christ could speak of the kingdom while He was upon earth. 

 

Also in Nebuchadnezzar’s declaration were these prophetic words, “and His dominion endures from generation to generation.” This shows the responsibility one generation has to another to tell of the King and His kingdom, to “pass on” the good news. In our observance of Christmas, if we truly seek the Spirit and truth of the Lord’s coming to earth, and, living after the event, we know how we have responsibility to “Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere, that Jesus Christ is born!” The gospel came to us from someone, and it goes to someone else through our telling others the story of Jesus and His love. Thus “His dominion endures from generation to generation.” A scholar once said, “We are one generation from paganism.” If someone had not witnessed to us (as Daniel, the captive Hebrew, witnessed to King Nebuchadnezzar long ago), we might not now know of the Lord Christ. 

 

I read a story of how a pastor, when Christmas fell on Sunday, asked his congregation not to attend church that day but to “go out and be Christ to people you meet.” Remarkable testimonies came of how people shared Christ and many came to believe as a result of “going into the highways and hedges” to tell others of the Christ who, because He loved us all, came to earth to restore mankind’s fellowship with God. “Go, tell it on the mountains…and everywhere” that Jesus’ Kingdom is everlasting, and we can be a part of it through faith and belief in Him.

-Ethelene Dyer Jones 12.06.2015.

Every Morning Mercies New

“It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.

They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion sayeth my soul; therefore will I hope in him.”–Lamentations 3:22-24 (KJV).

Sometime poetic lines pound themselves against the parameters of my mind until I have to grab a pen and paper and write the thoughts so that my mind can move on to other things. Maybe this is a gift—maybe just a pastime that I’ve been practicing most of my life. Maybe it is inspiration; I like to think that some of the lines indeed are inspired by the Spirit of God. Here is one entitled simply “Every Morning Mercies New.” The lines of the poem bear truth worth considering. The poem itself is not a Keats, Shelley or Wordsworth quality piece, but sincerely rendered from a heart overflowing with joy. The poem is old—written in 2005 when I had heavy caregiving responsibilities. God was faithful to provide what we needed and bring me triumphantly through that journey. Praise be to God.

Oh! The delight of morning

When birds are on the wing;

When squirrels scamper for their food

And Nature wakes to sing!

Another day to embrace life,

To rejoice with exultant thanks;

To know that whatever happens

God keeps us in His ranks!

What beauty for our eyes to see,

What joy within our hearts

When Spring in all its splendor

With bursting new birth starts!

Then comes Summer’s verdure

With life-blessings in store;

And fall comes softly tripping

With abundance—more and more!

Sometimes in Winter we wonder

Will darkness and nighttime cease;

But when dawns the Springtime morning

Joy floods with amazing peace.

As duties call and crowd me

May this day etch its rightful place

Of reassurance on this journey

That God assists me in life’s race. (-EDJ. From March 7, 2005)

May you be blessed on this Lord’s Day with a song in your heart. –Ethelene Dyer Jones 11.29.2015.

Thanksgiving, a Time to Count Blessings

“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing.

Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him and bless His name.

For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.”

Psalm 100 (KJV)

I memorized Psalm 100 when I was in third grade at Choestoe School. In those days, it was not “against the law” to have Bible reading in at the beginning of each school day, have the pledge of allegiance to the flag (we learned these for both United States and Georgia flags), and have quote the Lord’s Prayer in unison.

Furthermore, my third grade teacher in our one-room country school, Mrs. Mert Collins, was my teacher in public school and also in Sunday School at Choestoe Baptist Church. At both places, she encouraged her pupils to memorize verses from the Bible. Among those I memorized early was Psalm 100. At a program for our parents and community citizens at our school at Thanksgiving, the children stood on the raised platform before our gathered guests and quoted Psalm 100. In those early years, it became a favorite passage and I wanted early to live by the precepts noted in the Psalm.

I learned long after my wonderful seven years at Choestoe School when I studied Bible in college that this Psalm was specifically “A Psalm for Giving Thanks.” Although of Israelite origin, the Psalm invites people “of all lands” to join in thanksgiving and to sing praises to God. The Psalm makes it clear that we are “the sheep of His pasture,” a metaphor used in several places in the Scriptures, and noteworthy in “The Shepherd Psalm,” Psalm 23. A shepherd gingerly and carefully looks after his sheep, leading them beside still waters and to green pastures. In like manner, the Lord provides for those who love Him. And for His care and provision, we ought always to give thanks.

Besides memorizing and quoting Scriptures in our country school, we also learned songs of Thanksgiving. A favorite was “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come,” with words written by Henry Alford (1810-1873) and set to the music “St. George’s Windsor” by George J. Elvey (1816-1893).

Since we lived in a farming community, we could relate well to the words of this Thanksgiving hymn. We loved to sing this song when our parents and neighbors came to hear our Thanksgiving program at school. Mrs. Mert Collins had to explain the meaning of some of the words in the hymn to us, but when we learned the words and tune, you can imagine that we sang it with gusto. She told us that to sing hymns like this one was a good way to give thanks to God: “Come, ye thankful people, come, Raise the song of harvest home!/All is safely gathered in, Ere the winter storms begin; God, our Maker, doth provide For our wants to be supplied;/Come to God’s own temple, come, Raise the song of harvest home.”

What is your favorite Thanksgiving Scripture? Your favorite Thanksgiving hymn? Would it not be timely to share them as you gather this Thanksgiving to celebrate? -Ethelene Dyer Jones 11.21.2015

Going to the House of the Lord

“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good.” –Psalm 122:1, 9. One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple.” –Psalm 27:4. “For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. –Psalm 84:10. “And daily in the temple and in every house, they ceased not to tech and preach Jesus Christ.” –Acts 5:42. (KJV).

Going to the house of the Lord—for worship, praise, prayer, learning, listening, being challenged in the Christian life, for quietness and meditation, knowing that God is God, enjoying Christian fellowship! When it comes time to go to church, are you like the psalmist who exulted, “I was glad when they said unto me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord’ ”?

Each cited scripture above exclaims with what gladness the writers considered going to the house of the Lord and what a privilege for the worshiper. Even a lowly task, that of a doorkeeper, one who greeted people when they came to worship and bade them farewell when they left worship to go from the temple or sanctuary or place of worship into the work-a-day life, even a doorkeeper is better than considering wealthy dwellings of wickedness. And when the early Christians met to worship, even the threat of being jailed and persecuted (a very real possibility), they “daily in the temple and in every house” did not cease to meet, to teach and to preach Jesus Christ.

What has happened in our modern age to take away the love for and the help from assembling ourselves together at the house of the Lord? What has occurred to harden our hearts and remove our zeal for the church? I have heard many excuses as I have tried to encourage persons to renew their faithfulness to the Lord and their faithful attendance at church. The writer of Hebrews 10:25 admonishes: “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is: but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as we see the day approaching.”

Some of the excuses offered for non attendance at church are: “I work on Sunday”—or “I work hard during the week, and I must sleep-in or rest on Sundays.” Another is “I can worship as well at home or wherever I am on the Lord’s day; I don’t have to go to church to worship.” Then this excuse, a bit more bitter: “I don’t like to associate with those ‘hypocrites’ at church.” Still others claim, “I can hear good sermons on television or radio; it’s not necessary for me to go to church.” And the excuses go on.

A person must develop his/her own commitment to the Lord that includes a love and longing for fellowship with other Christians in the house of the Lord, the church. For me, this is vital and necessary. I pray that, if going to church is not a regular and necessary part of your spiritual life, that you will pray about it until you, like the psalmist, can exclaim: “I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord!” On this Lord’s day, I am eager to got to church and worship! -Ethelene Dyer Jones 11.15.2015

Considering Three Pursuits: Beauty, Truth and Love

“Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” –Psalm 29:2b (NKJV).

“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.”-John 14:1 (NKJV). “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” –John 8:32 (NKJV). “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” a-1 Corinthians 13:4-8a (NKJV).

“For every beauty there is an eye somewhere to see it.

For every truth there is an ear somewhere to hear it.

For every love there is a heart somewhere to receive it.”

These are words from the pen of Ivan Panin who lived from 1855-1942. Dr. Panin was a Bible scholar born in Russia who did much study in the Hebrew and Greek languages and applied what he learned to an intensive study and interpretation of the Scriptures.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” wrote Margaret Hungerford (1855?-1897). How we view people, places, objects and events makes the difference in whether we consider them ugly or comely, of little value or priceless. How does your eye view an object, person or situation to determine beauty? According to Ms. Hungerford, the beholder either sees beauty or does not. If we train ourselves to look for beauty, it is likely that we will be searching for it wherever we are. And this being the Lord’s Day, Sunday, we have the opportunity for beauty when we gather together in bonds of Christian love to “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”

“Truth will out,” wrote John Lydgate (1370?-1450?). Sometimes we cannot hear truth because we are deafened by deep-set prejudices, preconceived notions and irrelevant ideas. Is your ear attuned to Truth? Jesus invited us to seek and follow Him and He will lead us to Truth which is freeing and satisfying. Today many voices vie for hearings and we need to weigh and seek to sift the false from the true. Back to another truthful saying by Dr. Ivan Panin who believed that “For every truth there is an ear to hear it,” also held that we can learn truth. “Experience, if we only learn by it, is cheap at any price,” he wrote. Such experience we can apply to learning truth.

“Love either finds equality or makes it,” wrote John Dryden (1631-1700). Love is more than a fleeting feeling and a romantic attachment. Love is a deep commitment. Have we a heart to receive—and give—love in the places where it is needed most? Paul wrote that he would show the Christians at Corinth “a more excellent way.” Then followed the great treatise on love found in 1 Corinthians 13. The qualities of love are identified. We can use the characteristics in the chapter as a check-list to see if our manner of giving and receiving love is according to

God’s will and way. 

 

Does the way I live my life demonstrate beauty, truth and love?

-Ethelene Dyer Jones November 8, 2015

Signs for the Seasons

“And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth. And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night--and the stars And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.” –Genesis 1:14-19 (ESV). He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting.” –Psalm 104:19 (ESV).

“Spring forward! Fall back!” These are not commands for some military maneuver, but directions for how to set the clock when Daylight Saving Time change rolls around on the calendar. Now (in 2015 and since these dates became effective in 2007) the time for fall change (roll back one hour) is 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday in November and the spring (move forward one hour) change is on the second Sunday in March at 2:00 a.m. Electronic devices are set to change automatically. It is hardly practical that anyone would stay awake to make the changes right on the minute of occurrence of time change.

The history of the time change is intriguing. If you are interested, I recommend that you seek out and read the story of how the phenomenon of Daylight Saving Time evolved. The history will reveal that the hurdle to change the time has met obstacles. From religious antagonism to secular displeasure and disregard, the idea to change time has met with opposition. We “set-in-our-ways” people don’t like changes that go against “what we are accustomed to.” And time seems so set. As we read in Genesis, God got time just right on the fourth day of Creation. He set day and night. Each was ruled by its own special light: the sun for day, the moon for night. And He saw that the way He had created it was very good.

“So then, when there is a good thing going, why change it?” argue those who may be irked and whetted while getting used to an hour’s change in time spring and fall. A writer for “Snopes” wrote this comment: “The purpose of the shift (to Daylight Saving Time) is to transfer, in effect, an hour’s worth of daylight from the early morning hours of the day, when only milkmen and chickens are awake to appreciate it, and use it to push back sunset until one hour later in the day. This arrangement is claimed to cut electricity usage in the evening and help reduce traffic accidents.” (http://www.snopes.com/science/daylight.asp. Accessed 10.31.2015.)

In this new month and in the beginning of this winter season’s Daylight Saving Time change, may we, as the Psalmist, rejoice that from the beginning of Creation God has faithfully brought day and night, light and darkness, sunset and sunrise. Indeed, we can say with the Psalmist, “He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting” (Psalm 104:19). Furthermore, we can declare with positive faith as did the Psalmist: “My times are in Your hand” (Psalm 31:15a), and, assuredly, “This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it!” (Psalm 118:24).  

-Ethelene Dyer Jones November 1, 2015

Assurances of God’s Help

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, and the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” –Isaiah 43:1b-3a (ESV).

Do you feel sometimes that your challenges are out of proportion to your ability to meet and deal with them? It is at such times that we stop, consider deeply, and rely upon God’s promises, with a firm assurance of His present help in time of trouble.

The promise from God written by Isaiah in his prophecy for the focal verses today was a favorite and often-quoted passage of a dear friend of my husband Grover and me. The man was a stalwart minister of the gospel, a man without formal theological degrees but nevertheless scholarly in his approach to studying the Bible and imparting its truths in his messages individually to persons and corporately to the congregations he led. This country preacher had so many troubles in his life to overcome. He was a bi-vocational preacher, working at a secular job to make a living for his family. Yet Sundays and other days found him preaching and ministering to his country church congregations with compassion and love.

 

This minister’s beloved wife became quite ill, and although he sought the best medical help available for her, with his means and area for consultation, she succumbed to the disease. After a few years had passed, the minister met and married another godly woman who shared his passion for ministry and was a help-meet to him. But then she, too, was overcome with ravages of an incurable cancer and preceded him in death. Not many months after his second wife’s death, we had the privilege of visiting in his church and hearing him preach on one of his favorite passages, Isaiah 43:2. Given as testimony to his own ability to overcome and his assurance of God’s help, he recounted how “deep water…fiery trials…flames of disappointment…none, none consumed or defeated because of assurance of God’s help. Every time I read and meditate upon Isaiah 43:1-3 of think of this stalwart man of God and his testimony to overcoming difficulties because of the firm assurance of God’s help.

The verses from Isaiah also remind me of an incident in my young life when actual waters were there to threaten. During my high school years, I rode the school bus eight miles, but to get to the “bus stop” nearest my home, I walked one-half mile, a distance that had a river to cross along the path. One particular fall day a storm portended, but we did not have warnings in those days as now for expected storms. I went on to school, walking the half mile and then riding the bus the eight miles. During the day, rains deluded. In the afternoon late when I arrived at the place where I got off the bus to walk home, my father was there to meet me with our faithful farm mule, Pet. I was directed to sit behind Daddy and “hold on” as Pet carefully made her way through the flooded, rushing waters of Nottley River swollen by the day’s heavy rainfall. I’m sure, even with the mule and himself to the rescue, my father was praying that we would get safely through the debris and rising waters to the shelter of our farmhouse.

God’s assurance of help is as tender and loving as my father’s rescue of his teen-aged daughter on that dark, rainy, storm-tossed day. God ever stands ready with help for those who “pass through the waters, the rivers, the fire” of life. What He promises, God fulfills.

-Ethelene Dyer Jones October 25, 2015

Hear This and Understand

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted: but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength: they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” – Isaiah 40:28-31 (ESV).

When I was a classroom teacher I’m sure I often said to my students, “Now hear this, remember this, and if you don’t understand, please ask me and I will explain again.” As a teacher, I soon became aware that they sometimes tried to distract me from further instruction by having me explain yet again something that they probably understood. They, in their “student wiseness” had learned that they might distract me from going to something new and harder by reviewing again what they had already learned. Students are, as we say, “like that.” And teachers, too, are known to “belabor points.” We have examples in the Bible where God had to “reteach” believers, over and over again.

The beautiful passage, our focal verses for today, was preceded by a pointed question by Isaiah the prophet, speaking on behalf of the Lord God, asking the people: “Why do you say ”My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God?” (Isaiah 40:27). And then come the question and declaration (and I paraphrase): Have you not heard and known? God is everlasting. He is the Creator. He has no tendency at all to faint or grow weary. He knows everything about us because His wisdom is all-encompassing. He strengthens the faint and empowers those who are without stamina. We know that even youth and young men seek to outstretch their energy and grow faint. But here is great news for all of you: Those who wait for God to empower you will have strength renewed. Think of the mighty eagle soaring through the airwaves. They mount up with such ease and accomplishment. To fly is their God-given ability. And to fly with grace and expertise is their practiced manner. Runners, likewise, who persist and practice learn to set their pace, racing without undue weariness because they master speed and breathe properly. In like manner, those who walk can learn to walk without fainting.

The message in Isaiah chapters 40 through 66 was written by Isaiah to Israelite captives in Babylonian exile. They were naturally sad, discouraged and disheartened. God’s people were under worldly domination of a pagan king and they were in a strange land. They needed to be reminded of God’s power and their allegiance, still, to Him. “Hear this and understand” was a clarion call to know without a doubt that circumstances do not have to defeat God’s people.

Even in physical bondage the heart can know spiritual freedom and hope. In our weaknesses, God’s strength gives sufficiency. Waiting for the Lord is the best time possible to renew strength and to anticipate what God’s power in and through you will accomplish. Author Squire Rushnell in his book When God Winks at You proposes that there are “no coincidences with God,” but that God-winks are planned by Him for our “ah-ha” moments! His thesis is that God speaks directly to us through the power of coincidence. [New York; MIF Books, 2006]. When the Israelites in Babylonian bondage saw an eagle soar, it was a reminder (not a coincidence) of God’s power and care for them. Let us practice in everyday life seeing, hearing, and understanding what God is teaching us of His incomparable truths.

–Ethelene Dyer Jones 10.18.2015

Trusting the Lord’s Plans

“ ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.’” –Jeremiah 29:11-14 (ESV)

The situation for the promises found in the focal verses from Jeremiah 29:11-14 is a letter written by Jeremiah the prophet (inspired by God) to the Jewish exiles taken in 597 B. C. to Babylon. He wrote the letter to reassure the exiles that God had not abandoned nor forgotten them. The letter, in addition to being sent to the exiles in Babylon, was also circulated to the scattered and discouraged remnant remaining in Judah. 

 

He advised the exiles to make the best of the situation they were in. They were encouraged to build houses (imagine their being able to do this in exile!), plant gardens, get married, have children. The general intent was to encourage them to stay strong and look forward to being delivered, even though they would be seventy years in exile. We know from how life is that many who went into exile would meet death before freedom came and the people could return to Jerusalem. But Jeremiah wanted to infuse them with hope and to assure them that God had a future and a hope planned for them.

Jeremiah encouraged the people to remain prayerful, to seek the Lord sincerely (with all the heart) and find Him. Just because they were out of their homeland did not mean that God had abandoned them. And they were to remember with certainty that God had plans for them, “to give them a future and a hope.” When anyone loses hope he cannot hold on, cannot aspire to better prospects or to a brighter future. God who holds the future, knows what our future is.

And God declared through Jeremiah that His plans for His called-out people’s purpose was “a future and a hope.”

Maybe we have had to “go into exile,” to go away from familiar places we have loved and which have been home. It is not easy to pull up roots and relocate, to “start anew” in an unfamiliar place. Or maybe our exile is from illness or some debility that prevents our doing the work or taking on the pursuits we once enjoyed. These exiles are hard, but they are not the end of the road for us. “ ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord” (v. 11). Isn’t it a remarkable thought to consider that God has plans for our future and these include our welfare?

Couple this wonderful promise from Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles with Jesus’ admonition in the Sermon on the Mount: “Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34, ESV).

Bible teacher Dr. Warren Wiersbe stated of Jeremiah 29:11: “God thinks about you personally and is planning for you. You need not fear the future.” Let us latch onto the promise in the verse and change any anxiety we have to hope and thanksgiving that even our future is secured by God Almighty. –Ethelene Dyer Jones. October 11, 2015.

Thoughts on Marriage

“An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not harm all the days of her life.” –Proverbs 31:10-12. “Let marriage be held in honor among all.” –Hebrews 13:4a (ESV).

I enjoy weddings—the beauty, sacredness and promise of love that surrounds them. God ordained that “man should not be alone” and so He “made an helpmeet for him.” (See Genesis 2:18). The family was the first institution God ordained following the creation.

In the beautiful Garden of Eden the first marriage ceremony was presided over by God Himself. When Adam beheld Eve, the wife God had created for him, he exclaimed:
 

This at last is bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh;

She shall be called Woman,

because she was taken out of man.” (Genesis 2:23).

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24).

Saturday, October 3, 2015 was the wedding of my eldest grandson, Brian David Jones to his beautiful bride, Amanda Owens. The wedding was the sacred, solemn, beautiful ceremony one likes to attend and to witness. I remembered how Brian David had come, the first grandchild of seven, and from the beginning had been a winsome, bright, engaging little boy, beloved and loveable. Here he stood, a handsome man, mature in years, pledging to “love, honor and cherish” Amanda his bride, “as long as they both should live.” As I enjoyed the solemnity of the vows spoken and the beauty of the ceremony’s setting, I prayed that God would bless the union of Brian David and Amanda and give them love deep enough to transcend challenges and strength strong enough to meet whatever life brought their way.

The lines of William Shakespeare’s Sonnet kept hammering at the edges of my mind and I made the poem a part of my prayer for this newly-wed couple, my beloved grandson and his bride:

           Let me not to the marriage of true minds

           Admit impediments. Love is not love

           Which alters when alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove;

O, no! It is an ever-fixed mark,

That looks to tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.

Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle’s compass come;

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error, and upon me prov’d

I never writ, nor no man ever lov’d. –William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

May God’s graciousness and love guide and secure this marriage. –Ethelene Dyer Jones 10.04.2015

The Importance of Family in God’s Plan

“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” –Genesis 1:27-28 (ESV).

Pope Francis in his tour of America this week participated in a mammoth “Festival of Families” in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 26, 2015. In his address before the masses of people, and following the six testimonials by family members who shared their family and spiritual journeys, Pope Frances said in his homily, “The family is the furnace of hope.”

He encouraged families to remember how God the Creator provided for the family in the Creation and told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply. The family was the very first institution on earth. Imagine the beauty and exhilaration of that first dwelling place, Eden, a place made especially for the family God had created. All was well until temptation came and Adam and Eve succumbed to the deceit of Satan. Their wrong decision cost them their residence in Eden. And ever after, man has subsisted by toil troubled by the conditions initiated by wrong choices and the presence of evil in his nature.

But hope came—for individuals and for the family unit—when Jesus Christ came to earth to provide the propitiation for man’s sin. Pope Francis painted a good picture of the family unit when he said, “The family is the furnace of hope.” Paul wrote: “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:1-2). 

Paul further in Ephesians wrote of Christ, the head of the church, as the bridegroom, and the church (believers) as the bride. This analogy shows the sacredness of the marriage relationship and the importance of keeping vows intact and family as a foremost institution of God’s intention for man and woman, His highest creation. Therefore, “Husbands, love you wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of His body. Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” –Ephesians 5:25-33 (ESV). 

Families are in grave danger today. Divorce rates are astronomical. Let us reconsider the sacredness of the marriage vows and the mission God intended for the family. We need furnaces of hope where the light of God’s love ignites holy teaching, holy living and holy commitment to the values and solidarity of the family. Pray that in your family this may be your personal mission. -Ethelene Dyer Jones -09.27.2015

A Day for Rest and Worship

“Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. “ –Exodus 20:8-11 (ESV)

In the first statement of this commandment recorded in Exodus 20:8-11, a reason for rest on the seventh day of the week is in remembrance of God’s resting after He had completed creation. For the second listing of the commandment about the Sabbath, see Deuteronomy 5:12:14. In it a reason for keeping the Sabbath is in remembrance of the Israelites’ deliverance from Egyptian bondage. In the wilderness wanderings, it was forbidden that the people gather manna on the seventh day but that they gather enough on the sixth day to last for two days. It is interesting to note that a system of working six days had already been established by the time the Ten Commandments were given. This was as God had done in creating the heaven and the earth and all within them. On the seventh day God rested. It was beneficial that man, too, rest on the seventh day. The seventh day became a day of worship as well as a day of rest. 

 

Leviticus states that a ‘holy convocation’ (for worship) was to be declared for the Sabbath day.  Thus worship began to be observed on the Sabbath Day. In the New Testament we read that Jesus went to the synagogue on the Sabbath Day to worship: “And He came to Nazareth where He had been brought up. And as was His custom, He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and He stood up to read” (Luke 4:16). Also in the New Testament, we learn that Christians began to observe the first day of the week as a day holy unto the Lord and for worship, in commemoration of the Resurrection of the Lord on the first day of the week: “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked to them…” (Acts 20:7a). “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,” wrote John in Revelation 1:10a.

Why did the observance of the Sabbath become so burdened down with “thou shalt nots” for Jewish worshipers? The observance of the Sabbath became somewhat the heart of the law. Prohibitions became burdensome. Some, like tying and untying a knot (as work) were enforced, and others as well were added to what was permitted and not permitted. By Jesus’ day, the practice of keeping account of Sabbath rule-breaking was so prevalent that Jesus was prompted to say: “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:28). This occurred after his disciples, hungry on the Sabbath, plucked some grain from a field they passed and were criticized. Lest anyone think they were “stealing,” as well as plucking grain (working) on the Sabbath, the Deuteronomic law allowed for anyone hungry to gather enough grain from a field to assuage hunger (see Deuteronomy 23:25). 

 

What shall we say of the Sabbath as it relates to Christian practice? Sunday, the first day of the week, is observed as a day of rest and worship. We are to consider the day set aside for the work of the Lord and for gathering in assembly to study God’s word and worship. Our society has made work on Sunday almost a necessity and a way of life. We ought to seek a time to set aside for worship and a day to rest. Hebrews 4:1-11 speaks of the Sabbath Day as a foretaste of the heavenly rest to come when we are gathered into the eternal kingdom. We should say with conviction about Sunday and the day of corporate worship: “I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord” (Psalm 122:1). -Ethelene Dyer Jones 09.20.2015

Praying for Needs and Using Scriptural Promises

“Then the Lord will be zealous for His land, And pity His people. The Lord will answer and say to His people, ‘Behold I will send you grain and new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.’ “ –Joel 2:18-19. “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you: And My people shall never be put to shame.” –Joel 2:26-27 (NKJV).

The conditions under which Joel the prophet spoke are agreed by most Bible scholars to be after the exile to Babylon (586 B. C) because the exile is mentioned as a past event (see Joel 3:2-3), Jerusalem had been conquered (3:17), and no kings are mentioned as ruling in either Judah or Israel at the time of writing.

Times were hard, indeed, for Joel mentions a plague of locusts that decimated the crops, trees, and wine, and the people did not have anything to take as offerings as they went to worship. The message of Joel is a lament for the hard conditions, yet through the perilous times, he lends hope by affirming that the Lord will hear their cries, will send grain, new wine and oil, and they will be satisfied. One of the best promises is that the Lord will take away the reproach with which other nations regard the people who belong to the Lord. They will not want for basic needs like food and shelter, because the Lord will deal wondrously with them in restoration and meeting needs.

I have just seen the Christian movie, “War Room.” The emphasis of the well written script, the story line and movement of the movie is that Christians win victories as they sincerely turn to the Lord in prayer. Prayer is not an option but a necessity if the Christian wants victory over Satan and steadfastness in living. The importance of using the Word of God as a guide to prayer is also prominently emphasized. An older Christian woman is able to guide a troubled younger nominal Christian woman to establish her own prayer closet and be honest in prayer and intercession. Elizabeth, the major younger character, uses scriptural promises to claim victory over challenges that only the power of God can change.

In “Acts of Dependence: Praying for Our Needs,” Joni Eareckson Tada who learned to live with her paraplegic condition following a diving accident states: “Two things God honors above all else: His name and His Word” [quoted in A Life of Prayer. Garden City, NY: Crossings Books, 2004, p. 99]. From many places in the Scripture, we learn of the greatness of God’s name. Psalm 145:1-3 magnifies His name and teaches us to Honor Him: “I will extol You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable.” From John 1:1-3 we learn the importance of the Word.

“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. The Word is Jesus Christ who came to earth to reveal God the Father. Since God honors His name and His Word, we pray “in Jesus’ name.” “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” To pray in Jesus’ name means that we are seeking His will and that we will be submissive to His authority.

Try using Scripture as you pray. You will be talking in “God’s language” and conforming your mind to His will and His way as His word teaches us to do in Romans 12:2: “not being conformed to this world but being transformed by the renewing of our minds…to the will of God.” -Ethelene Dyer Jones 10.13.2015.