Jacobs Thoughts and Doings

We have a tradition at Chestnut Hill Mennonite Church to have open mike for people to speak.  Anna Ruth took the opportunity to make her tribute this morning.  I loved it.  This marks the last Sunday that the Garbers will be with us.  We already feel the pain on this move into the future.  God bless the Garber family as they readjust things in their lives.

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.  God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

1 John 4:16

All Christian theology rushes to something quite unbelievable, God loves us!  I suppose I keep thinking that all blessings are in knowing God, but as I read this mighty text, I see that the most wonderful and amazing thing is that God loves us!

That is bed-rock truth.  God is love.  He is many other things as well, but this is the most precious, and reveals his very heart.

One of God’s special gifts to Anna Ruth and me is our oldest child, our only girl, Jane.  Today is her birthday!  We can not thank God enough for the joy of being her parents and close friends over these many years.  In God’s love, he allowed us to live next door to her and her husband, Glenn, almost twenty years. Thank you, God, for Jane!  She is a blessing to us and to many others.

“Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water.  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Revelation 7:16, 17

God is the great preparer.  Moving into afterlife, toward heaven, we see the great plan of God clearer and clearer.  Things that we hung on to in the past are left there.  We move forward with our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

Hunger is gone, as is thirst because these elementary things are of this life, not of the new eternal life.

The Lamb is their shepherd.  Living water gushes forth in power and beauty. Tears will be no more.  They are wiped away from every eye, every tear.  What a glorious day awaits us – in a way, we can understand to a degree what that will be like. Let nothing hinder our determination to enter our eternal rest, prepared for us from the foundation of the world.

Rest, child of God.  The best is ahead.  You can rely on that.

Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Romans 8:17

I was impressed this morning of my standing in Christ.  I am his child.  As you are if your life is hid with Christ.  I can only begin to understand all there is in the claim that I am a child of God.  It is not just a claim, but the truth.

If I am a child, the Spirit says, then I am an heir of God.  I am his progeny, I am in his family, his actual child!  Can it be?  It is just that!

That I am a child of God is such a joy that I am overwhelmed.  How about a greater blessing, if I may say so, that I am a co-heir, like a brother or sister of Jesus!  That takes some faith!  But it is true as the morning sun.

That is our standing, sure.  But what are the consequences?  The Spirit goes on to say that we are also sharers in his sufferings!  No matter how hard we try to deny this, it is the truth and it is the Way!  In fact, it is the only way that we can share in both the sufferings of Christ and in his glorification!

Be still, my soul, and let the grace of God pour into you.

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

John 3:1 – 3

I love this man, Nicodemus.  I want to be more like him.  He presumably sought out Jesus because Jesus was healing the sick.

As a member of the highest spiritual Jewish council, the Sanhedrin, he was a man of honor and a true seeker for the things of God.  He was supposed to judge any movements that were coming on the people of God.

He recognized in Jesus someone special.  When he found Jesus, Nicodemus called him, “Rabbi.”  Or teacher.  He also believed that Jesus was a special messenger from God.  The reason?   Because Jesus was performing marvelous signs.

Many of us came to Jesus for some reason or another.  Nicodemus wanted to know this man who is healing the sick. I think I first fled to Jesus because I was a lost teenager and I cried out for help.  That was the beginning – there was much more to following Jesus than physical healing.

This prompted Jesus to explain a great mystery – spiritual truth is seen by those who have been “born again.”  This must have been a new concept for Nicodemus. Later on he became a follower.  Marvelous!

These lovely small flowers are blooming in our hanging basket.  We are impressed by their determination to survive some dry days!  I at times forget to water it!

One of my delights is seeing children enjoy our three small ponds with lots of fish and frogs.   Here are Jonathan, one of the twins?, Isaac and Eric.  Anna Ruth and I like to see our progeny enjoy the verdant spot at our place.  Glad they enjoy it.

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Luke 6:36

Be full of mercy!  I think that is a correct usage.  “Full.”  That is the operative word as I pray over this verse this morning.  I find that I am highly selective about whom I would like to show mercy.  That contradicts the command of Jesus to be merciful to all, just like God, our Father, is full of mercy when he relates to his children like you and me.  He extends his mercy to all who believe!

I am trying to imagine a world in which this is true – being full of mercy toward all.  It would not be anything like our world where it seems all of us are defined by whom our enemies are.

My word for this morning is to be merciful to all, like Jesus is merciful to all.  I am not sure how all that works but I am sure I should be like the Lord, having mercy for all.  Some people rub me the wrong way, we say.  That does not please God.  He asks us to have mercy, not judgement.

Lord Jesus, soften my hard heart in this regard.  Give me love for all whom you love!

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.

Revelation 3:19

We close the month with these rather surprising words, God rebukes and disciplines us who believe.  There is no other way.  If following Jesus has been presented to us as the easy way, without problems and challenges, we have not heard the Spirit clearly.  Our call is to follow Jesus, no matter what that means.  Like Jesus, we, too, will have our portion of problems.  This is not a sign of God’s disfavor, but of his love.

The way of God’s love is the way of holiness.