Even the sparrow has found a home,
And the swallow a nest for herself,
Where she may lay her young
Even your altars, O Lord of hosts,
My King and My God.
Psalm 84 - 3
"If you could fly to the feet of your God and King what type of bird would you choose to be" the Watcher asked the woman in the wheelchair.
"A sparrow" she replied.
Having observed he was being closely watched by a man and woman standing in the shadows he called out "and what sort of birds are you"
There was no reply to his question they stood detached and pensive still staring at the woman. "Perhaps you are cuckoos" said the Watcher. "Did you take advantage of this sparrow, is that why she was pushed out of the nest"?
Still there was no reply.
The Watcher knew in a busy nest there were always litter favourites and there were always runts. Litter favourites stayed close to the nest until it was quite empty.
The crippled sparrow sang for joy. She knew her time would come when she would soar to the throne of her God and sing with the angels, but for now she would patiently wait remembering His promise. "I will look after you"
He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge.
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
Psalm 91
3 - 4
**************
Lucy was a 'go for', the eldest girl in a family of five children, and it did not go unnoticed in the neighbourhood that it was always Lucy struggling with the shopping and watching over her younger siblings. The neighbours were watching as she pushed an old pram full of books up the ramp on to the removal van that was to take them to their new home. Giving and serving were grounded in her nature, polishing the family shoes the only way to get noticed, win her mother's approval and catch little scraps of praise.
Eventually cinderella Lucy left home and married her prince. Her domestic training ensured it was a smooth transition from one sink to another. Three generations later, widowed and alone she faces a world that has changed beyond recognition. When today's young people don't get their own way they riot. When the educated elite don't get their way they blame the elderly generation and the honest hard working salt of the earth men and women whose kids can't even get jobs. Anarchy is no stranger on streets in the western world. The fabric of society is crumbling. The elderly are often abandoned by the children they fought to feed, cloth and educate. Family squabbles cause division. When you refuse to dance of the music of this world you face opposition from every corner and when you are a genuine "born again" christian you even face accusations from supposed fellow christians.
The God most deny is moving, He is shaking relationships and households, cities and nations by the entry of His Holy Spirit power working in people. Matthew 24 is unfolding.
Those who challenge any concept of a designer God will simply put all the turmoil down to anti.social behaviour. Perhaps if they had stared evil in the face as did the butchered christians in the Middle East they might not be so complacent. Most don't believe in a creator God but there is a small matter of conscience. Exactly where does the prompt come from. The suggestion that your behaviour was hurtful or that what you did would inevitably have its consequences. Of course if you can happily kill someone without a shred of emotion then obviously you are seriously damaged and society needs to be protected from your actions.
On the opposite side of the fence you have the religious 'basket cases' sentencing people to hell fire at every opportunity. The prosperity preachers - how will they cope when God actually decides to deal with us all. Their possessions and money will burn along with the rest.
God has been incredibly patient thus far.You can't scare people into the Kingdom but there are plenty of examples of this on You-Tube. God chooses to touch lives and every word spoken by an evangelists or fellow christian should tie in with biblical truth.
Then there are the precious and preferred mob who condemn just about anyone who has a differing opinion. Obviously they consider they know the mind of God and are quick to condemn.
It can be the simplest quote or saying that will trigger the journey. Or it can be the loss of all we hold dear that might bring us to our knees. Suddenly we get our priorities right. We are not important in the scheme of things. There's a bigger picture. Self is in the ascendancy in a society that promotes personal freedom. Live your life to the full and taste absolutely everything a decadent society offers. The latest attempt at silencing christian witness in the U.K. would be the proposed Equality Act.
When you suddenly experience the hand of God you try to explain the unexplainable and how it changed your life. The man who so eloquently put this experience into words is Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Ever to be remember is that best and brightest of hours, when first we saw the Lord, lost our burden, and received the roll of promise, rejoiced in full salvation, and went on our way in peace.
Then the flowers appeared in our heart; hope, love, peace, and patience sprung from the sod; the hyacinth of repentance, the snowdrop of pure holiness, the crocus of golden faith, the daffodil of early love, all decked the garden of the soul.
Just how beautiful the words that describe spring, new beginnings, a shoulder to lean on and a rock to stand on in the coming days.
It all starts with repentance, you leave your past in the past and move forward in a new life in Christ.
The recent Jacob Prasch video freely available on You Tube "The Day of the Lord" might give those wallowing in the Sloth of Despair a new urgency. Time is short and even shorter for those who knew a better world where the experience of war made people look to their neighbours and care for those unable to care for themselves.
Perhaps if christians stopped jostling for position and power and started to actually follow their Saviour a watching world might just consider the 'precious pearl of faith' worth having.
Matthew 13 - 46
"who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Even the Lord's disciples squabbled amongst themselves. A mother requested her sons had a place of privilege on the right and left hand of Yeshua's throne.
Matthew 20 - 22
Yeshua said: You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup I am about to drink, and be baptised with the baptism that I am baptised with" They said to him we are able. The baptism here refers to the fact that Yeshua was divinely appointed to suffer and die - would they?
The film Ghost is still extremely popular. Why? because it gives those who have lost loved ones hope of a reunion in another place, a better place. Of course the scary things that came up out of the pavement also remind us we are not all going to make it. But hey its only a film. Who wrote the script and where did the idea come from.?
There is a small chip called conscience - most have it. It's that thought that says - hey that wasn't very nice - or should you be doing that and a prompt warns there would be consequences. Of course some are totally devoid of conscience, perhaps that's a fault in their gene pool but most are and realise we are facing a very uncertain future.
Genesis 6 - 3
And the Lord said "My spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh.........................
Genesis 6.6
And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
Genesis 6.13
The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them.
No one can deny the appalling greed of the elite and the suffering masses. The persecution of those who stand for the Word of God will continue unabated until Messiah Yeshua comes.
"but the best life of Christ is His living biography, written out in the words and actions of His people"
Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Amen and Amen.
SHALOM
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