Good News

After the sober word posted earlier, it only seemed appropriate to post this encouragement from God's Word.

- Cephas

Psalm 27
Of David.

¹ The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?

² When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.

³ Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.

⁴ One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.

⁵ For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.

⁶ Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.

⁷ Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.

⁸ My heart says of you, "Seek his face!"
Your face, LORD, I will seek.

⁹ Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
O God my Savior.

¹⁰ Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me.

¹¹ Teach me your way, O LORD;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.

¹² Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence.

¹³ I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.

¹⁴ Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.
 

Sonnet XII

My God – A Sonnet To My King
By Jonathan D. Eller

My God, My God, who loves as well as You?
Your patience is more broad than all You’ve made,
And though all men are false your word proves true.
Your promises, vast as the stars arrayed,
Speak goodness, love, and mercy without end.
Your power stuns my intellect and yet,
The helpless and downtrodden You defend.
Your heart’s inclined to forgive and forget
The sins confessed by children penitent.
But anger flares towards those who mock Your path
And scorn Your truth with actions insolent.
They, sowing foolish seed, invite Your wrath.
Lord, let Your kindness cause them to repent.
Please draw them to the Holy Lamb You sent.

October 27, 2008

Undone

I was utterly undone by this song this morning.

Very Cool Video

Fearfully And Wonderfully Made

You can see a picture of the molecule over at Deborah's blog, Thoughts Along The Way. That's where I found the video.

Wonderful News!

OK, this is a little late, but I figure better late than never. I got some great news from Luke D a former member at StillWaters about the medical condition of his son, Josh. Some of you may remember that Josh nearly died several times as a result of complications from a surgery that he had. It was really touch and go there for quite a while. I'll let Luke give you the details:

Just so you know the context...
Many doctors said Josh might not eat by mouth again.
Josh ate solid food at Thanksgiving.
Some doctors said Josh would not get off the vent.
Josh hasn't used the vent since December 21st.
One PICU doctor raised questions about Josh's future "quality of life" and suggested that we just take Josh home and "let nature take its course".
We know that God determines what Josh's life will be, and because He loves Josh, we can rest in that hope.
Virtually all the doctors (except pulmonology) said he'd never get rid of the trach.
(You know where this is headed...)
TODAY DR. SIMPSER REMOVED JOSH'S TRACH!

Out it came, and Josh continued breathing normally! In fact, he has not had to be suctioned once since the trach's removal at 2:15 pm EDT! He is on his bipap now sleeping comfortably and enjoying this new turn of events. We will change the gauze over the small hole in his neck tomorrow, and the hole should be half the size then. It should close off completely in a bit and all that will be left is a slight scar.

There is still more to be done in terms of Josh's strength and speech, but therapy is dealing with that. This trach issue has long been viewed by Josh as the summit of the mountain he needed to climb. For some time, he has expressed that he will be "normal" when he gets the trach out. No matter how much encouragement and prayer we have given him, he still has struggled with his image. Since mid-afternoon today, Josh has been positively glowing.

Josh's life and successful independence from the trach is testimony to God's faithfulness and the efficacy of prayer. Perhaps you are facing a huge challenge that is causing you to doubt God's goodness and His care for you, but let this story encourage you that God loves YOU and is working for YOUR good. Don't give up - even when the "experts" (like the "doctor" that thought they should just stop wasting resources on Josh and let him die) tell you there is no hope. With God there is always hope. NOTHING is too hard for our God.

That certainly doesn't mean that the road won't be difficult. If you knew the whole story behind this wonderful report, you would know that there were some very dark days and some heart-wrenching cries to God, questioning how He could allow this to happen. You would realize that there were excruciating weeks spent in hospitals where there was little hope offered and exhausting hours spent caring for this brave little soldier.

But God has come through! Take Him at His word when He says, "For I know the plans that I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."

Are You On Double Secret Probation?

I got this devotional thought from our brother, Rick, and thought it should be shared here. Please don't see it as an endorsement of the movie, Animal House. Neither Conspiracy of Kindness nor our brother would recommend that you watch it. It simply isn't edifying.
- Cephas

"We must constantly remind ourselves that Satan's thumb isn't bigger than God's. Try as he might to put it on us, our comfort is that God's is on him." - Rick

1PE 5:8-9
"8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings."

Lessons from Animal House:

"Sometimes life can feel like its lived under a double secret probation... like a big thumb hovering over our every move waiting to squash us at every little mistake. It seemingly follows us all our days making us wonder if there is any real hope of freedom, eternity, an assured relationship with God. We think it causes our stumbling, suffering and pains, and that it be the thumb of God. But when we receive Christ we find that the thumb is Satan seeking to destroy what life Christ has given us.

When we feel this stalker, our skin crawls, our heart quickens, our breathing becomes more shallow. Aha! Because of Christ we are now aware of what we could not know before. We keep ourself under control by letting God be in control. Satan says "you're not going to get away with it this time, smart guy" but God replies to him that his accusations are groundless because Jesus Christ went to that eternal detention on our behalf. This sets us free from the fear of Satan's looming thumb because it looms no more.

We must constantly remind ourselves that Satan's thumb isn't bigger than God's. Try as he might to put it on us, our comfort is that God's is on him." Rick

Funny How Things Work Out

The joint Thanksgiving service at Back Creek Presbyterian Sunday night was once again thoroughly enjoyable. The church building itself is 150 years old this year and the church has been there for over 200 years. The building is beautiful, but the church is far better still!

It is funny, though, how insular we are even as brothers and sisters in Christ. At the start of the service we had to be desegregated from our individual congregations. Self-consciously, we had huddled in our little familiar groups. I am glad Pastor Thrailkill had the courage to shake things up a little at the beginning of the service and force us to mingle. In fact, he did it again right before the fellowship, challenging each of us to sit at a table with someone who wasn't from our church. I met some wonderful people as a result - people that I'll look forward to seeing again. Once again it was proved that we (Christians) ARE all family.

The text for the sermon Sunday night was Psalm 118. It begins and ends, "Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever." What a great place to begin our meditation during this Thanksgiving holiday! It must have been on the Lord's mind, for in my daily Psalm reading in the One Year Bible the past two days has been in Psalm 118. Funny, huh? I wonder if He is trying to tell me something?

Well, seeing how God seems to be speaking this Psalm to His people right now (or at least to me), I plan to make it my meditation this week. I pray that God will help you to reflect on all of the things that you have to be thankful for in the midst of all of the holiday's chaos. Have a wonderful, blessed day of Thanksgiving.

Got A Light?

I recently heard the telling of a pastor who went to Salem, MA for a two week window during Halloween. Over 400,000 witches from around the world descended upon Salem within that two week window and 400 of them came to know the Lord as Saviour because he was simply willing to go and be a light in the darkness. He went on to say that one particular witch he encountered asked him many questions, but oddly never looked at him. When he made mention of this, she said the light that came out of him was too bright for her to look upon! (emphasis mine) GLORY! The Spirit within me leaps as I type this! That is what John 12:46 is all about! Oh that the world would SEE Jesus coming forth from our very beings --- impacting a lost and perverted world!
- Deborah @ Thoughts Along The Way

Isn't that AWESOME? I have been totally challenged and encouraged by this post. In another place she wrote:

I, along with my children, have started to experience something new when we are out. As I shared in an earlier post, I am (used) to people stopping me to talk when out and about because I sing worship songs as I go about my day. But, twice already this week I have been stopped in my silence and it has thrilled my soul! My sincere prayer is that this is happening all over in and through the lives of my brothers and sisters --- that the Spirit of the living God is moving among the people!

I hate to admit that it has been a while since I have had this happen to me, but I hope that it will again - and soon, too!

How are you doing? Is your light so shining before men that they praise your Father in Heaven?

As we serve our neighbors, friends, and family in the power of the Spirit of God, our light will begin to shine ever brighter. We will experience His joy and His glory as we seek to show it to the dark world all around us. Friends, it isn't a time for fear, but a time for boldness! Let's put our lamps up on a stand where all can see them. I am reminded of the words of an old hymn:

Brightly beams Our Father's mercy
From His lighthouse evermore,
But to us He gives the keeping
Of the lights along the shore.

Let the lower lights be burning;
Send a gleam across the wave.
Some poor fainting, struggling seaman
You may rescue, you may save.

© 1947 Lorenz Publishing Company (a div. of the Lorenz Corporation)
Charles Francis Lane | Philip Paul Bliss

Shocking!

... by one offering He (Jesus) has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit bears witness to us; for after saying, "'This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,' says the Lord: 'I will put my laws upon their heart, and upon their mind I will write them,'" He then says, "and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."

Hebrews 10:14-17

Great News!

My good friend and editor of the blog "Thoughts Along The Way," Deborah, was able to witness the rebirth of her youngest child this morning!

Children have such a zeal for all of life's treasures, no wonder the Lord said to come to Him as little children! I think the Lord delights in their "ooooo's" and bubbly joy. One of life's richest treasures is that of our salvation. Little did I know the Lord had a blessed treasure awaiting me this morning, that of the privilege to lead our youngest to the Lord!

While the two older children were upstairs studying, he and I were sitting in our family room listening to beautiful worship music when I sensed the Lord beckoning me to talk with him. So I turned down the music and there as we cuddled together on the couch, I began talking to him about the importance of making his own decision to let the Lord come into his heart. I prayed softly over him and told him to listen for the Lord. I let him know I would be there for him if he decided to open his heart to Jesus. I turned the music back up and sat holding this precious child of mine. After a few minutes, he sat up and said, "I want to ask Jesus into my heart now -- right now." And so -- he did! After I prayed over him for the second time that morning, he cuddled back up into my arms and laid there for some time -- breathing deep -- at perfect peace. Some moments later, he bounded off the couch and ran upstairs to find his older brother and sister to tell them the good news. They were so excited for him! They proceeded to bounce around -- hugging him and telling him how happy they were that he was now a part of our Christian family forever and forever. He also wasted no time in sharing his news with "daddy" at work. It was a time of much rejoicing!

Join us in thanking God for our new little brother!

Welcome Home

HOME.

Just the sound of the word can cause a sense of well-being and relaxation, and walking through the door can actually bring about a comfort unknown elsewhere. After all, it's HOME. It's were I live. It's my place. I have my stuff here. My family surrounds me here. HOME.

Today, two young folks came home.

The relatively short distance between Rowan Regional Medical Center and the Vriesema home near Catawba College was the longest trip Lydia Marie has ever taken. (Her most difficult trip was being born on the 31st!) Woo Hoo, she's home. Let's agree in prayer that our Lord overflow His blessings to our dear friends, and allow a wonderful transition into the "rest of their lives" together.

A good bit longer trip was taken by our own local hero, David Taylor Harrison, USMC. Taylor made it back to North Carolina from Fallujah, Iraq following his second tour of duty in the war which continues. David, Angela, Skyler and Chase and the entire extended family rejoices at his safe return. We join them. This fine young man is a remarkable example of integrity, commitment, strength, and faith. We now may add our prayers to those of his loved ones who may see and hold Taylor again. Hallelujah.

Welcome home, you two. May you both grow and delight in the grace of Jesus Christ.

By the way, the best home and the best welcome will come along side our Savior as He brings us to be with Him in paradise after this life is through. By His grace and through faith we will be ushered into a place of mansions, according to some translations of the Scripture's promises.

I like it here a lot, but I am ready to go home.

Reformation Day 2007

History was made today.
In some ways, history began today.
Some of us will never forget today.

While fully expecting to post a message about our 490 years of Protestant heritage since Brother Martin Luther posted those historic "95 Theses" on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany on this date in 1517, I must defer to a more timely and ultimately more important event which occurred this very day.

It seems that another was even MORE fully expecting!
In Salisbury, North Carolina, at precisely 10:45 am Eastern Time, within the comfortable confines of the Rowan Regional Medical Center, a marvelous arrival was heralded as LYDIA MARIE VRIESEMA was welcomed into the arms and lives of her delighted, humbled, and pretty much exhausted parents, Katherine and Chad. These three along with the staff in the birthing suite pulled an "all-niter" as the labor progressed for almost twelve hours. All are doing well. Amen.

The Numbers.
First child of Katherine & Chad Vriesema.
Weight: 8 pounds.
Length: 20 inches.
Future: eternal.

That's a pretty grand miracle to be wrapped in so diminutive a package! She is a series of miracles, really. Every child is. Your parents thought the same of you all those years ago. At least, I hope they did, because they would have been right.

Before Lydia moved into her third hour of brighter light, louder sounds, and breathing air I was afforded the memorable privilege of holding this perfect angel in my arms. Thank you, Katherine and Chad, I shall never forget the honor or the awe I experienced when you placed the mother of your grandchildren into my ready hands today. Okay, that may seem like I am rushing things a good bit.

Nevertheless, Lydia is tangible evidence that our Creator God is exceedingly loving towards His people, as He has entrusted the care and nurture of this precious little one primarily to Katherine and Chad, yet additionally to her extended family, and her extended faith family as well. We are ready. We are eager. We are able to assist loving and shaping her in the years ahead because Christ has placed within us the desire and granted the permission to love her in His name.

I could not help myself from singing a phrase or two of "Jesus Loves YOU" as she peacefully looked up at me. If memory serves, I also said something like this to Katherine, "Perfect! Beautiful! And so is your daughter!"

Prior to holding her, with the proud Papa and maternal Grandmother along side, I watched through the Newborn Nursery glass as Lydia passed all her neonatal tests with flying colors, and donned her very first piece of clothing, a fairly sporty and casual tiny tee shirt, followed quickly by a hand-knitted pink cap made especially for her. Not surprisingly, both were perfect fits.

Okay, StillWaters, let's allow the Vriesema family to establish their own "normal" routine before we inundate them with our presence and our presents. They all need their rest right now, and for the foreseeable future. Each of us wants to be, and will offer to be available to help in various ways, no doubt, so let's be sensitive to their needs, wants and desires now. Sandy, Katherine's mother, is here from Durham until next Tuesday, so let's coordinate with her on things such as meals and helps of all kinds, including visits simply to see the baby.

Nearly five hundred years ago today the spiritual world was influenced for change by an event which would reverberate throughout human history forever onward. Today in Salisbury, North Carolina the lives of the Vriesema family members were forever changed for the better, too. A covenant child birthed on Reformation Day -- how memorably wonderful. And, while the Reformation teachings will fade away when time and space are concluded on this old earth, Lydia will continue in her eternal spirit in paradise for all eternity! (Told you this was a more ultimately important event.) What an honor to pronounce the first benediction over her, knowing that our Lord will continue the choruses of blessing and joy over her for eternity. His song is already resounding through the halls of heaven over Lydia. (Zephaniah 3:17)

Welcome Baby Lydia.
Well done Katherine (and Chad, too).
We worship You, oh God, for this marvelous gift.

History was made today.
History began today for the "Three Vriesemas." We will never forget.
God's best to you, dear ones. . . is that the sound of baahing from a new sheep I hear?