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Wow! What an incredible few weeks this has been! As we ready ourselves to celebrate the 70th year reign of Queen Elizabeth 2nd the atmosphere is buzzing. Children in their schools have been having themed parties when everything from the clothes they wear to the goodies they are eating are in colours of red, white, and blue. Shop windows are decorated accordingly, and many windows and gardens are festooned with bunting to match our Union Flag :) Over this long weekend I expect there will be many garden parties (weather permitting) and a time of gladness to be had by all.

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We just had a celebration as well… it was our 40th wedding anniversary, while we had a house full of loved ones who had come to bring cards and flowers, our daughter who lives in the UK whom we haven’t seen for three years just 'showed up' for a surprise visit with our youngest grandchild who we have never met before. This was an absolutely wonderful surprise arranged in secret by our son and daughter! It was a whistle stop visit, an overnight stay to return home the next day. It was all over far too soon but with the help and support of some key people no less precious than those who organised the surprise, it was all so much appreciated and will be a precious and abiding memory to keep and treasure.

And while all of this has been going on I have been watching live video footage of nesting birds. I have watched with great interest the little British blue tit birds build their nest over almost a month, then the eggs one by one were laid in a beautiful little fur lined cup created by the mother bird instinctively with knowledge impressed into it by God the Master Designer. I watched the perspective mother bird sit on her nest of ten eggs for about two weeks until one by one, eight of the tiny eggs hatched. From that moment on the work really began as there were a lot of hungry mouths for the parent birds to feed. Over the next three weeks or so I watched the tiny baby birds grow and grow from little pink ‘grubs’ into small versions of their Mum and Dad. Seven of the hatchlings survived to fledge.

But here is a thing that interested me… when they were all grown and ready to leave the nest, and from outside the confines of their little box, the big outdoor world was luring them to come on outside. As time passed they all grew restless until one day within a few hours they each left the confines of their nest to start a brand new life in the warm sunshine, and all of the adventures that they would never have known if they stayed ‘safe’ in the little box in which they were born.

It cheered my heart to see these little creatures grow and fledge successfully. But what a cause for celebration as it were, for each of these little birds now that they were free to live the life they were created by God to live. I do hope they have fared well out there in the big wide world.

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For those of us who are trusting in and following the Lord Jesus, perhaps we can identify with those baby birds; looking out from the confines of a life outside of the favour of God, in the darkness of our sins from where we were born. The Lord in His grace, mercy, light and love beckoned us to trust our all on Him and to the joy of our souls when we finally did we never looked back!

The Lord Jesus told us that there would be joy in the presence of the angels the moment we did… and there was!

Now this is not all! There is a celebration in heavenly places yet to come in the not too distant future. All heaven’s hosts are waiting for this special occasion. God’s people are waiting for this as well. When at last we reach our home in heaven either through passing from this life into His presence, or through the glorious appearing of our beloved Lord Jesus to take us home alive as He promised He would. When all God’s people will have been gathered in, there is going to be the most fantastic celebration beyond what we could ever imagine. We read of this incredible scene in the book of Revelation 5: 6-14.

Now, while all this might be completely foreign to our human thinking at present, we must understand in the light of where we are right this now hides from our view where we are going to be. Here we are from the confines of our dark world looking at eternity with our beloved Saviour and His home in heaven through a little hole! We cannot fully imagine how unspeakably wonderful it is really like other than the little glimpses we are given in the Word of God.

However, the more we get to know our precious Saviour, the more we long to be with Him where He is. And oh, how we long to worship and adore Him with pure and perfect praise.

We know that Jesus is coming very soon to take all His people home to be with Himself because He promised He would. This means that all those who have died before will be risen from the dead with beautiful glorified bodies, and those of us who are alive will be changed in a moment of time and together we will rise to meet Him in the air. We won’t need to be worried about how this is all going to happen… it just will. We will be lifted up, and out of this world to meet with the One who loved us and gave Himself for us when He died on the cross to pay our sins. We will taken away while this world will undergo a time of suffering like it has never known before because those left behind would not accept the only way God provided to rescue them from their sin and secure for them a home in heaven.

Nobody reading this should leave the wellbeing of their eternal soul to the last minute, or chance making it through the time of tribulation that is to come upon this world after Jesus has taken His people home and away to His Father’s house. 

I don’t know about you but my heart is already in eager anticipation of this incredible event when Jesus will come. We have so very much to look forward to in the not too distant future. Concerning the jubilation of all that the Lord Jesus promised us any minute now, I think it is most fitting to borrow a couple of precious little statements I have recently heard or read from loved ones. Because while there may be many earthly causes for celebration, all of these things will pale into insignificance; for “Soon we fly” away to enjoy “The best that is yet to come”

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
John 14: 1-3.

 “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him…”

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed …”
“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord
shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,
and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:
and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 
1 Thessalonians 4: 14-18. & 1 Corinthians 15: 51-52.

~~~~~

Here's how to know for sure you can be ready for heaven and for the promised coming of the Lord Jesus.
It's as simple as 'ABC'

~~~~~

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It has been said of late especially in these past few years that we are living in the last days, and there is no doubt about that! All we have to do is look at what is going on in the world and compare that with what we read in the Bible. It won’t take a lot of discernment to realise that we are not only in the last days of human history as we know it, but we are possibly living in the last hour! So it does not stretch any truth if we were to refer to this hour in which we are living as… ‘The Eleventh Hour’.

I notice that some rather significant things happened in the eleventh hour in the Bible, which demonstrates to all who read that God is a merciful God… “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3: 9.

* Back in the days before the flood: “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6: 3. His Spirit was not going to reason and strive with these rebellious people forever and soon judgement would come upon them all. 

But God gave to the inhabitants an ‘eleventh hour’ in which to repent!

This eleventh hour lasted for a merciful 120 years before their time was up. All that time Noah was building an ark to the specifications given to him by God to save them from the floods that were to come upon the earth. We are told that he was a preacher of righteousness, so he must have been warning the people while working. (See 2 Peter 2: 5.)

We know that at the appointed time when the animals were brought to the ark and Noah’s family were all gathered in, God closed the door before judgement was rained upon the earth bringing to an end all who were on the outside.

Only eight human souls were saved out of the population of people that rebelled against God and refused to repent. 

* Then, if we read on we eventually come to the book of Jonah. He was sent by God to the city of Nineveh to preach its inhabitants about coming judgement. However, Jonah knew the type of people he was being sent to and went in the opposite direction. Such was the wickedness of this people he had no desire for them to hear a message that would eventually cause them to turn from their wicked ways and turn to the living God.

But Jonah was the man God chose to take a message of mercy to these people and he eventually found himself on the path of obedience via the means of a whale! His message was simple and direct as he walked his three day journey through the city: “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” Jonah 3: 3.

Nineveh’s eleventh hour lasted just forty days, but in that time the whole city repented of their wickedness and trusted in the living God. Although Jonah was a reluctant servant, he delivered what God wanted them to know nonetheless and great blessing followed.

* There was a man who was a blind beggar laying at the gates of Jericho, and day after day he depended on  the handouts of passers by. But one particular day was different to all the others. He heard a commotion and asked what was going on, and when he heard that it was because Jesus was passing by that way, he grabbed his opportunity and called out to Him. He knew that this precious Man could do something for him that no one else could do, which would change his life forever.

He knew that it was now or never because Jesus might never pass by that way again, and so he called, and kept calling out to Jesus even though others were trying to stop him. The more they tried to stop him the more determined he was until we read: “Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.” Mark 10: 49. Imagine that, the Maker of the universe stopped for a beggar and called… for him!

The kindness and compassion of the Lord Jesus was sufficient to heal this blind man and gave to him his sight. His life was never the same again all because he made the most of his eleventh hour!

* Our beloved Lord Jesus was crucified between two malefactors and it was only a matter of time before they would all die. Jesus was there to die as our willing Substitute to take away our sins; for He didn’t have any of His own, but the other two did, and they were being corporally punished for theirs. But sometime during their suffering one of them observed that the Man on the cross in between them was not like them.

From being the rough and railing man, he had a change of heart, and after rebuking the other malefactor for railing at Jesus, he asked the Lord to remember him when their suffering was over on the other side of death. And Jesus came out with an incredible personal promise for this man: “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23: 43.

Right at the end of this man’s eleventh hour he was saved from his sin and given the promise of a home in heaven ‘with Jesus’! His hands and feet were nailed to a cross so he was unable to do anything or go anywhere to merit forgiveness and favour with God, all he could do was to look to the Lord and pray!

We must beware not to take our opportunities to get right with God for granted as if was okay to leave this all important matter right until the last minute, because only one of the malefactors was saved there that day -

Only one, so nobody should despair - but one only, so that nobody should presume!

Perhaps all of us in spite of where we are spiritually have something of great importance to attend to in this late hour.

Look up and take courage, those of you who walk closely with the One ‘who loved us and gave Himself for us’, it won’t be long now before “that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” we long for will be realised. (See Titus 2: 13.) So much to do, so many people to reach and encourage. May He find us occupied with His business when He comes.  

Those who are wondering out there in the wilderness - return with a contrite heart to the Lord who has been waiting so long for you. He is waiting with open arms to accept you into His warm embrace as one of His treasured people once again. He will give to you the opportunity to shine in the last few moments before He comes to take His people to be with Himself as He promised He would.

For you dear folks who are out there in the dark, outside of the love and favour of God - repent of the sin that separates you from His loving favour, and trust with all your heart in Jesus who died on the cross in your place. Because now He lives in the power of an endless life because of the Father’s great delight in the work He finished. There is joy in the presence of the angels when sinners trust the Saviour, so come in sincerity and set heaven ringing with joy and praise over your salvation.

Do it while you may, before the eleventh hour is over. The clock is ticking and soon the opportunity will be gone forever!

 
Courtesy of pixabay.com

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Here's how to know for sure you can be ready for heaven.
It's as simple as 'ABC'

~~~~~

Courtesy of Unsplash.com

“Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone:
but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”
John 12: 24

When the Lord Jesus spoke these words He would have been teaching something familiar to those He was addressing. They would have all been familiar with the process of harvesting wheat or other essential grains. The ground would have to be prepared, then the sower would walk up and down the field fanning the grains of wheat to fall into the earth for a hoped for future abundant yield.

In the days to follow there would be a time of waiting in which it would appear very little or nothing at all was happening. Then all of a sudden the first shoots would appear, and before long the field would be green with shoots of new life. First it would look like grass, but then it would grow taller and taller until it was ready to harvest.

Then the reapers would come and cut down the tall wheat and arrange it into stooks to dry in the sun before being gathered up for threshing. Then all of the grains of wheat would be beaten out in the autumn wind which would carry away the husks and leave the good wheat grains to fall to the ground to be gathered up for processing.

Soon there would be grain enough for food and enough to store for the next year to be planted over again.

Everyone would know that without the grain being buried in the earth they could not expect any crop to follow. This was a principle of life that everyone knew without any explanation.

However, Jesus was drawing the attention of the people to something very precious about Himself.

I suppose if we were to look at a large company of people we would not really observe anything outstanding about any one particular person. We would just observe a lot of people! Then if we were to back away and see the population of the human race we would just see a multitude of people almost beyond our ability to calculate how many.

This would be like looking into a vat of wheat. We would see it as wheat, not as individual grains! We would be hard pressed to pick out one particular grain out of the many millions of them as being particularly wonderful.

Now comes the wonderful thing about what Jesus was saying to His audience: He was a human being, and to all intents and purposes, He looked just like another human being. He didn’t appear on first impression to stand out among the others and many people overlooked this precious Man.

However, there were a few that got to take a closer look at what He did, and payed a little closer attention to what He was saying and discovered He was not like everyone else at all!

This Man had the most incredibly beautiful nature.

He spoke with authority and yet gentleness to everyone. He was approachable by all kinds of people whatever their status; be they men or women, boys or girls, rich or poor, good or bad! Children adored Him, women ministered to Him, young men and older ones alike were captivated by His teaching. He freely spent time with all sorts of questionable people and yet remained untainted. He reached out and touched unclean people delivering them without being contaminated.

There was never a bad thought that entered His mind, or a bad word that escaped His lips. He had complete control over all His emotions, and indeed over His God given power! And this incredible Man had authority over the weather, demonic entities, and over the animal kingdom. I could go on and on because eternity will never exhaust the qualities of such a One as He!

But what made this Man so unique among the generations of people from way back in the beginning right up to date? If the Lord was likening people to grains of wheat, then what was so special about the particular grain of wheat He was referring to?

He was referring to Himself, and without a shadow of doubt He was the ‘Holiest of Grain’!

As He was teaching the people that day about how the grain of wheat goes into the ground and dies in order to grow into a fruitful plant, looking ahead to that day when fruitfulness would only come because He would one soon day also have to die. 

Perhaps for some this might have been hard to hear, but it was necessary that He would be the One to have to go into ‘the ground’ and ‘abide all alone’ in order to ‘bring forth much fruit’.

He was the only Man that ever lived that never deserved to die because He was sinless. He was not born in sin like we are but was conceived in purity because God was His Father. 

Why would such a Man as He die the way that He did? Of course it was inevitable that He who was the only One qualified to bear away the sin of the world would have to endure the shame, the horror, the darkness and separation that He did because our sin was that ugly. If He didn’t do this because He could, then we would have no hope in this world or after we die!

The agonies that we see and know of as recorded in our Bibles are a display of what humankind really thinks of the Lord Jesus. Simeon referred to His suffering and the reason why when speaking to Mary His mother about the future of the precious child he was holding.

“And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother,
Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
Luke 2: 34-35.

It is a certain thing that the thoughts of mankind were revealed on that dark day when our beloved Lord was crucified to take away the power, guilt and shame of our sin. Man did their worst to Him on that day, but there came a time when the intense sufferings of our beloved Substitute were shrouded in a supernatural darkness. This was the time He, the sin bearer was atoning for our sin between He and His Father. Away from the gaze of human eyes the mighty exchange took place so that every soul that has ever lived could have the grand opportunity to be pardoned and declared righteous by God who is holy.

 The Lord Jesus is indeed the single grain of wheat that ‘fell into the ground', and died all alone.

There might have been some scepticism about whether or not He really died, but we know that He did because the Bible tells us so. The Bible tells also that He would be buried, and on the third day He would raise from among the dead… which He did in victory just three days after being pronounce dead before being removed from the cross where He died in our place!

Imagine that! ‘The Holiest of Grain’, the most precious of all people that ever lived: suffered, bled, and died all alone. He did this out of the greatest and purest love for people like you and me, and out of obedience to do the will of His Father, who is not willing that anyone should perish, but come to eternal life through complete trust in Him alone.

Soon the season will be upon us once again when we will remember the death, the burial, and the resurrection of our precious Saviour. May we be among the many who have been brought into the marvellous benefit of what He accomplished all that time ago. May we be counted in among that abundance of fruit that has come from the sewing of that precious ‘Holy Grain’ into the ground. And may we in turn live out a fruitful life for the good pleasure of the heart of a loving God who reached out to us in all our need. 

Where would we be today without His abundant mercy and grace that ever sent the Son of His love to be the Saviour of all who place their complete trust in Him? We would have no hope for sure, but now we not only have the precious hope of being brought into a relationship with our living Lord and Saviour, but we have ‘the blessed hope’ also to very much look forward to. That is the hope of being caught up to be with our Beloved Lord very soon as He promised to His disciples just before He took His journey to the cross.

This is what He said: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14: 1-3.

Just look around and see that this world is not our home anymore. Everything in it is descending into chaos and fast headed for a time of great tribulation upon a world of people who will not bow the knee to Him to accept Him and His wonderful gift of Salvation. Today He provides the way to escape His future wrath and the guarantee of His comforting presence while here along with the joy of knowing that we shall be with Him in heaven one day very soon. 

Do not waste a moment of time; take a moment to consider this seeming small insignificant grain of wheat and discover for the blessing of your own soul that this grain was indeed the ‘Holiest of Grain’ who bore in His own body the iniquity of us all. (See Isaiah 53: 6.) 

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Here's how to know for sure you can be ready for heaven.
It's as simple as 'ABC'

~~~~~

Courtesy of Pixabay.com

I took a stroll along the beach a few weeks back. It was a cold, crisp, sunny day, and I was so grateful to enjoy the open space and some alone time with God.

Something on the horizon caught my attention. It was a large flock of birds flying inland, and as the flock came closer I could hear the sound of the beat of many wings and a chorus of quacks. It was a huge flock of ducks and they flew right over head, circled into the bay and landed on the seashore a few hundred metres away.

Everything around me without this spectacular event would have been more than enough to cheer my heart, but then I realised saw something that I could have missed had I arrived half an hour before or after! I felt very privileged. It reminded me of the importance the Word of God places on an upward look.

"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth."
Psalm 121: 1-2.

When David wrote these words he knew the importance of the upward look that set his sights on the Lord Himself. When troubles came his way, it would have been easy for him to cave in because on a human level it looked like this was how it was all going to end for him. But the hope and the help that he needed was not on a human level.

He knew the only help that he would be able to find would come from his God,
the Maker of the hills that he was looking up to!

Peter, one of the disciples of the Lord Jesus is a prime example demonstrating to us by his actions and later by his words where our hope and our help is found.

He did something nobody else has ever done before, he walked on the water to go to Jesus! He was with his companions on a boat being tossed around on the stormy sea, when suddenly they all saw a Man coming to them walking on the water! … It was Jesus!

At first and understandably so they were terrified at such a sight. They thought that they were seeing a ghost! But when Jesus called out to them, then they knew it was Him and were comforted. That is when Peter being emboldened called out to the Lord to bid him to come out and walk to Him. And Jesus did just that! Peter got out of the boat and placed his feet upon the waves and walked on the water to go to Jesus.

Of course it didn't take too long for him to realise what he was actually doing! And seeing the waves and hearing the wind he became overcome with fear by the circumstances he was in and began to sink. After a desperate cry for help to the Lord… "Lord save me,” Jesus put forth his hand to Peter’s and lifted him up out of the water bringing him safe to the boat. And immediately the wind stopped blowing! (Read the full account in Matthew 14: 24-32.)

Peter knew there was only one place where hope was to be found, and that was in the Lord Himself. While being enveloped by the waves he looked up and cried out to the Lord... and he was not disappointed 

But then another time after the Lord Jesus had been speaking to the multitude, many people upped and left him because they didn't like what he had to say while talking with them about being completely identified with Him. Sadly there were many followers that left him as well, and Jesus asked His own disciples: “Will you also leave me?"

It was Peter who replied: “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life." John 6: 68. This is a little bit like with the Psalmist said: “Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.” Psalm 73: 25.

It would seem that there is no one on earth or in heaven that we can go to for the companionship, the understanding, the hope and refuge we so desperately need except the Lord alone who lives in the power of an endless life. He is all of the above and so much more to those who are trusting in Him fully.

We live in a sad old world that is groaning and creaking with the burden of the man made sufferings afflicted on it and its inhabitants.

Wherever we look there is something almost overwhelming to contemplate. There are disasters and catastrophes whichever direction we look. We are living through the knock on effect of the recent pandemic, and while doing so we are in an environment in which Lawlessness abounds. And if that wasn’t enough, now there are the sad events of war in the Ukraine. We see and hear of all these things and wonder what is happening?

Without a proper perspective on these things it would be very easy to fall into despair!

But the Bible tells us that these things are all part of what is going to happen during end times. From God’s perspective He has seen everything that is about to take place and Jesus was telling His listeners what to expect.

“And [Jesus] said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven ... And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." Luke 21: 8-11, 28.

It would be the easiest and most natural thing to sink into that dark valley of despair right now because of everything that is going on all around us, but the very fact that the Lord Jesus Himself told us that these things would happen at a certain time ought to actually be an encouragement to us. Because these are the things that herald the coming of a special event that is soon to take place.

Jesus calls it our ‘redemption’ in the above passage. The Apostle Paul when writing to Titus called this event: ‘The blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of our great God and our Lord Jesus Christ.” Titus 2: 13. When writing to the Thessalonians he addresses it as a moment when we will be ‘caught up’. Whatever discription or name we wish to give to this event, one thing we do know is that the Lord Jesus Himself also spoke of this wonderful event we all ought to be looking forward to very much.

Not long before He was crucified, He comforted them with a promise:

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14: 1-3.

What Jesus said is absolute and true because as He said, if this wasn’t so, He would have told us! He being God cannot lie, therefore we can lean fully on the words of His promise and with great and joyful expectancy ‘look up’ because our redemption is drawing ever so close.

His disciples watched theirs and our beloved Lord Jesus as He was taken up into heaven out of their sight, and while they were there, two angelic beings came to them and told them something of great encouragement to them and to us today: “… This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” Acts 1: 11.

It is interesting to note that they said that it would be the same Jesus who would come again …
“This same Jesus” … not someone else!

Remember and take courage dear one that an upward look will carry you through all those struggles we all face daily, and that an upward look joyfully anticipating His promised coming for all those who are trusting in Him will one soon day be richly rewarded!

"Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous judge shall give me at that day;
and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing."
2 Timothy 4: 8.

~~~~~

Here's how to know for sure you can be ready for heaven.
It's as simple as 'ABC'

~~~~~

Something NEW for you :)

After some unavoidable delays another song video is ready for you to watch and listen to.
During the Christmas season I usually produce and publish a song, and use the lyrics as the theme for all of my cards and correspondence.
But in doing so, I like to create a song that can be appreciated all the year around and not just at Christmas
You will find the lyrics to this one here at Rest a While’s Christmas Blog last year.
I trust that your heart will be warmed, encouraged and even challenged as you listen to "Hold My Face."

Courtesy of Pixabay.com

And there are also many other things which Jesus did,
the which, if they should be written every one,
I suppose that even the world itself could not contain
the books that should be written. Amen.”
John 21: 25.

When we open our Bibles up in the New Testament we read of four wonderful accounts of the life of the Lord Jesus. Each of them written portray different facets of our beloved Lord’s character and fulfilment of His role as was planned from before time began.

* The Gospel account written by Matthew highlights the Lord as the Righteous King.
* The Gospel account written by Mark presents the Lord as the Humble Servant.
* The Gospel account written by Luke presents the Lord as the Perfect Man.
* The Gospel account written by John presents the Lord as the Son of God.

These wonderful accounts give us insight into the character of this precious One who is “God manifest in the flesh.” 1 Timothy 3: 16.

Right from His earliest moments on earth there must have been something incredibly wonderful about Him seeing as the Bible tells us that He was sinless. There would never have been a moment of time when He thought, did or said anything regretful in any way or form or caused any grief to the heart of His true Father in heaven.

The many things He did while growing up would have filled up volumes of books
had they been written about all those years
prior to Him coming into the limelight at thirty years of age.

Could we ever imagine what a model child He must have been. Or those teenage years were not marked with the turbulent times we know of today when our children reach that time in their lives. And the desires of His heart in His early manhood were perfectly pure and all for the pleasure of His Father alone!

His nature was calm and collected. He was not a volatile character even though He would have had every understandable right to raise His voice or lose His temper. We never read of Him doing either of these things.

Some might consider His cleansing of the temple as outrage and temper, but upon a closer read we will see that this was simply not the case. After taking a good look at the corruption going on in the Temple He went away and made a scourge of cords, (not of flints or spikes like the scourge used on Him just before He was crucified), and then He returned the next day with purpose. During His act of driving out those who were engaged in profiteering and corruption nobody was hurt, and nothing was lost.

He turned the tables over spilling the money over onto the floor, and chased the animals off the premises using the scourge of cords He had made, but the money could easily be retrieved, and the animals could be easily rounded up again. The only things that possibly might have been irretrievable would have been the caged birds had He broken their cages, but He handed them to the sellers and told them to go and not to make His Father’s house a house of merchandise instead of being a house of prayer.

If ever there was a time to ‘lose it’ as it were, this would have been one of those moments. But everything He did in the Temple was carefully calculated moving with purpose and control.

In all of His communications with the people with whom He moved among was in perfect keeping with the way God would have done so. With women He addressed each one with gentleness and purity. Children gravitated around Him and He always had open arms and a tender touch for these precious little ones. He was approachable, merciful and gracious in every way to all sorts of needy people. And He saved His harsh words only for those who were supposed to be representing God but were keeping people away from Him with their hypocrisy.

And such was His altogether lovely nature and fragrant character
condensed into a few small paragraphs here. 

But what about all of those wonderful works of His? The multitudes of people suffering from individual infirmities that flocked to Him for healing, He made the time for them all. And at other times when He met the needs of individuals in need also. 

All manner of problems and distresses were handled by the Lord without a challenge to Him. The lepers were cleansed, the lame were strengthened, the blind were given their sight, the deaf were given the ability to hear and communicate. The demonic were delivered, and even the dead were brought back to life! Multitudes of hungry people were fed with the meagre portions of food barely enough to feed and sustain one person! Storms were stilled, and animal nature was subject to His control. 

I could go on and on just mentioning those things that have been recorded in Holy Writ, but there must have been so much more that has been withheld from us for the time being. Those of us who know Him personally as our Lord and Saviour will be joyfully occupied with everything that has currently been withheld from us at present but will be revealed to us in eternal ages.

O what an unspeakable delight it will be to appreciate perfectly
fresh revelations of His beautiful character we will never grow tired of … forever!

When God creates in a distant future day the New Heavens and the New Earth, I wonder if there will be a library filled with all the books that should have been written which this world could not contain but will be able to contain there! A perpetual library of tangible books that we can thumb through and discover for eternity new delights of our beloved Lord reserved for our learning in that day. 

What a thought! Just one treasure among a countless multitude of eternal blessings each of His dear people have to look forward to.

One thing is for sure; in a very soon coming day when we get to be with our beloved Lord and Lover of our souls and see Him face to face, we will probably be of a similar mind as the Queen of Shebah was when she saw Solomon in all his glory for the first time. This is what she said:

“… It was a true report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom:
Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it:
and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me:
for thou exceedest the fame that I heard.”
2 Chronicles 9: 5-6.

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