The Abrahamic Covenant -Does It Apply to Our Day?

 

Friday, April 15, 2016

The Abrahamic Covenant -Does It Apply to Our Day?

“Now the Lord had said to Abram: ‘Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to a land which I will show you. I will make you a great nation; and I will bless you and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse.  And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3).

Hey Gang:  The Word of God is filled with irrevocable laws that, if we choose to tamper with, we will reap a harvest.  In my years of serving as Chaplain at the Village, the focus of my ministry was based on the Seed Planting Parable, an irrevocable law of God.  Paul taught: You tamper with God's laws at your own peril when he wrote, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap." in Galatians 6:7   

 I can attest to the fact that in all the times I ask youngsters, “if I planted a seed of corn, what would I get in return?”  The answer was consistent throughout the years – “You would get corn!”   I wish I could say, when I used this analogy with kids, I wished they would see themselves as the seed, and im-mediately change their seed planting program, but seldom was that the case. 

 Do you know what the Abrahamic Covenant is? Do you think it is in still God's plan for today?  I pray all who are reading this epistle know and apply it to their lives; but let me share a point or two on this irrevocable law.  The Abrahamic Covenant is a God-given promise based on the seed planting principle that you will reap what you sow, and can influence every decision you make in this life -time - every time! – every time!

 Paul, in writing to the Galatians, was very clear; this is an irrevocable law that can never be annulled (Galatians 3:17).  

Now, I am sure most of you are very aware of what I have said so far but let me go a step further and put some meat on this principal.  For the past several months I havehad a growing feeling, in my gizzard, that I am in a cage with two ravenous beast - a hungry bear on one side and an angry lion on the other; and I hear the door opening and see they are about to slip a Tasmanian Devil into the fray.  I wonder which one will win the day and have the joy of ripping me to shreds. 

I believe we can change the characters in that analogy and put the United States of America, the "Land of the free and the home of Brave" in the cage, and replace the hungry bear with the Supreme Court’s decision on same sex marriage.   Is it not interesting that the court's decision was announced during "Gay Pride Month" as set by President O.  There was never any doubt by the court watchers that the Court would make same-sex marriage the law of the land by a six to three vote. On that issue they were off by one vote, and another nail was added to the coffin of this once proud nation.

 In a recent follow up article pertaining to this decision, I learned two very significant things: First gay- right marriages have been adopted as national law only once before in recorded world history.  I thought it might be Sodom, but not so, it was in the days of Noah!  I also learned that Nepal, the country with total recognition of gay rights recently adopted gay marriage as the law of their land. Here is a tidbit that might get your attention: shortly after Nepal passed their gay-right laws they were hit with a major earthquake where 8500 people were killed.

 I close this epistle with Paul’s word: “Be not deceived, we will reap what we sow” (Galatians 6:7). 

 Blessings,  Gramps

Return To A Very Important Principle

 

Friday, April 29, 2016

 

“Then The King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’ (Matthew 25:34).   “The King will answer to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it unto Me.’ (Matt. 25:40).  (read verses 34-46).

Hey Gang:  When God called me and my family to leave our home, jobs, California friends and move to Michigan and become an unemployed director of a not-yet- started Boys Home, I think I learned how Abraham must have felt when God said, pack it and follow My leading.  God sold our house, brought our income tax return back in two weeks (which was unheard of in that day) and removed any excuse I might have had for not following His lead.  So we packed all of our worldly possessions in a van and pickup truck and headed East.  A trip I will share with you in the coming days.

  So when I dotted the last “I” I asked the Lord to put His words into my heart and mind that lead us to follow Paul’s advice of 2 Thessalonians when he wrote, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus and by no means quench the Spirit and do not despise prophetic utterances.” And most of all ‘Examine all things carefully and hold fast to that which is good and abstain from every form of evil’ (2 Thess. 5:16-22). (Gramps rendition)

 I love  Paul’s words in Philippians when he said, “For I am confident of this very thing that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil.1:6).  Is that your prayer this morning?  It certainly is mine.  In chapter 3:12 Paul gives me hope for all the stupid things I have done and continue to do in my life when he wrote, “Not that I have already obtained it or have already became perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus”.

 But this morning the verse that is ringing in my heart and mind is “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice.  Let your gentle spirit be known to all men.  The Lord is near!”.  Praise the Lord that even in these dark days when everything that can be shaken is being shaken “the Lord is near!”  “And we can have the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:7).  And I believe that the seeds of that peace comes to life when we “rejoice in the Lord always”. 

 Kermit is not a name that will reach the top ten on the list of popular names that moms and dads will name their newborns; but, it has served me well in the occupation into which God led me.  If my name was one of the more common names, like John or Matthew, the kids I worked with would soon forget it.  Years ago, after retiring from the Village I was walking through the Chicago Airport when I heard my name called out.  It was a young man who has passed through my life years before.

 And, if you would ask that young man who Kermit was in his life, he would say he was a “seed planter”.  Are you a seed planter?  When I would ask the boys if they were seed planters, most would say “no”, but when I explained that their attitude the morning and their attitude at the dinner table were times when they were in a constant seed planting mode – positive or negative. 

 This epistle could turn into a book, so let me cut to the chase of what I believe God laid on my heart for you this morning. When we stand before God and give an account of what we did with His Son, Jesus, we will be judged by our fruits. (Matthew 7:16).     Read again the Scripture of the morning and note who Jesus said would inherit the Kingdom.  Who was Jesus referring to? The hungry. The thirsty. The stranger. The naked. The one in prison.  I do not believe the list is all conclusive but includes all who are down and out and in need of a helping hand.   Perhaps it is your next-door neighbor. 

 I close this epistle with what I adopted as my creed many years ago. It contains a challenge and a blessing, if we accept the challenge.  It is found in Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you.  They will pour into your lap a good measure – pressed down, shaken together, and running over.  For by your standard of measure, It will be measured to you in return”.  Malachi3:10 God said, said, “Now test Me in this! 

 Blessings, Gramps

  Walked Today Where Jesus Walked!!

“But "Thanks be to God who gives victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding n the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord” (I Corinthians 15:57-58).

 

Hey gang: As I have become more mature (older to you city folks) many things that used to be important are no longer important.  And most things that are important to me seem to have lost their importance in many folks lives.   Joy has taken on a different meaning.   I love to see my grands and great grands exceeding in things in their young lives, but my real joy is just being with them and watching them grow.

 

I had the privilege of returning to the U.S Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio with part of my family.  I wish we lived closer and that I could volunteer there a couple days a month.  As I was walking among all the relics of the past and reading of the many battles that were won to protect our nation, I sensed in my heart that I was in a sanctuary. 

For me there is a reverence to walking among the hundreds of retired aircraft that served their country well.  Out in the garden that surrounds the museum is very a special place; several years ago it became even more special, sacred to me, when a memorial bench was placed in the garden memorializing my brother’s graduating class from pilot training.  He is gone now, as is most of his class, many having given their lives in combat.

 

I have felt this same “awe” at another place that I have been privileged to visit.  In my several trips to Israel there are those places that bring the hair up on my neck.  I remember the first time I looked at the mountain where I could see a perfect picture of a skull, the place where many feel our Lord was crucified, and my first trip to what many believe was the tomb where Jesus was placed on that fateful night.

 

 It really does not matter whether either site is correct, what is important: “For God so loved you and me that He gave His Son to come and take our sins to the cross and prepare way for salvation.   And equally important is the truth that the tomb was and is empty!!!

 

I was excited to return to the Air Force Museum.  It was like revisiting some old friends.  There was the F-51 fighter, the one that helped win the war in Europe and the P38 that was the key to success in the war against Japan.  There was the Boeing 707, the first airliner jet that I worked as a radar controller. 

 

But there is also a greater excitement in growing in my heart and soul today; we have made our reservations to return to Israel and celebrate early our sixtieth wedding anniversary.  Wow, does that warm the cockles of my heart.  We will return to Ir Ovot, now known as Biblical Tamar Park;  we will get our hands dirty in Israeli soil, once again.  We will revisit the Garden, where the battle of the cross was won, and walk the shores of the Sea of Galilee. 

Some feel we are foolish to go to a place where violence is a way of life and I agree, for we have to go through Chicago and New York.  But when the air craft landing gear touches the ground a peace that surpasses human understanding fills our hearts, we are home.  And from that moment on there is a deeper understanding of the Scriptures that comes alive in the depths of your heart.

 

We have been to Israel with many people and there is a common agreement among them all, it changes and deepens your relationship with Jesus.  There is still room, come along and see for yourself.  If interested, let me know and I will send you a trip description.

 

Blessings,

Gramps    (I would go back today…Gma Jean)