Set your hope. . .

Three wooden crosses on a rocky hill in a dry valley with bright sun and clouds

You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for:

“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.

The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
but the word of the Lord remains forever. (1)”

And this word is the good news that was preached to you.
1 Peter 1:23-25

The Apostle Peter has told us we are exiles and sojourners on Earth. Where ever we’ve come from, or where ever we are staying, this place isn’t our real home. Don’t look back. Look ahead. We are to look ahead to a time when we will see Jesus face to face. The Revelation of Jesus our Messiah. That’s where our true Home is, though we aren’t there yet, and we don’t remember having been there. Being with Jesus is Home.

The apostle said there’ll be a few bumps, maybe a whole lot of bumps, in the path to that Forever Home. He also said, “Rejoice!” We are to rejoice despite the difficulties, regardless of the length of the journey. We rejoice even if our sojourn on Earth seems too brief. No matter how long we stay on Earth, in bodies of flesh and bone, it is like the flower that blooms and dies in a single day. Eternity is like infinity, pretty hard to wrap our minds around.

Furthermore, we are instructed by the apostle: “preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (v13)

One of the biggest issues today is the lack of hope, or at least perceived hope. Technological “advances” are overwhelming. Employment isn’t secure. Conflict seems pandemic. Prices rise and rise, seemingly endlessly. People are angry all the time, ever where. There are too many problems, few if any solutions. And summer isn’t in full swing yet; riot season awaits us. Feels like chaos reigns.

Believe not the lies. Our GOD reigns! Walk by faith, not by the way or the sight of the nations, its governments, and social media “influencers” and fear mongers. We are called to set our hope on Jesus Messiah.

Note: 1. Peter references Isaiah 40: 6-8

LORD Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Rejoice in trials

Three firefighters in orange and yellow gear fighting a forest fire with water hoses and axes

Greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

It’s a rush, the firefighter told me, “One foot in the black; one foot in the green.” Her crew was the Heber Hot Shots, off the “A Bar S,” the Apache – Sitgreaves National Forest, Arizona.

Apostle Peter might have appreciated this sentiment. Contrary to our modern view of various trails, he said “Greatly Rejoice.” Look at it as a rush. Look beyond the immediate trail to what lies beyond it. As Christians we are going to have things that come against us that just aren’t pleasant. We’re not tip toeing through the tulips. We are walking through a swap. There are pleasant places and green pastures to lay our heads. Yes. But there are valleys in shadows that simply feel like death.

It builds our character. It builds our faith.

The wonderful result is “praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

LORD Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

We have a home

“According to his great mercy, [GOD] has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in Heaven for you. . .” 1 Peter 1:3,4

While the Tibetans sojourn in India, they long for a home that is on Earth. In the picture, I am parked in front a cafe and Sinclair gas station in Tucumcari, NM. The Paradise Cafe. In the background is the burned remnant of an old “motor” hotel. It’s located on Route 66, which is currently having its 100th Anniversary. Historic Route 66. Like the cafe and motel, it lays mostly in disrepair, useless and overgrown, bypassed by other, faster highways and interstates.

We, as Believers in Messiah, as Children of the Most High GOD, are sojourners on Earth. We aren’t at home here. We aren’t suppose to be. And though we’ve not been to this home for which we long, Apostle Peter tells us that we’ve been “born again through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven.” (v 3.4)

The Apostle also says that we “by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (v 5)

We have a Home! Thank You Jesus!

He says, too, that we are to rejoice, though we “have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

So we’re on a sort of backpacking trip. We’re taking in the sights, walking the trail. Tripping over roots, stones, our own boots. Drinking thirst-quenching water from streams (okay, we use a filter to collect the water), eating some bread we’ve brought along. Our map, our only true map, is the Bible, the Word of GOD. We rejoice for He knows where we are and how to get us where we are to go. We thank GOD and say “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a Light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105)

GOD’s Word shows us where we are and where we go. Hallelujah!

LORD Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

The Great Reveal

A bearded man in ancient robes writing a scroll on the beach at sunset with an eagle flying above and waves crashing nearby

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His servants the things that must soon take place.
Revelation 1:1

GOD gives Jesus a message for His servants through an angel to John. John faithfully records what he sees. A blessing is promised to all who read, hear, and obey because the time is near. (Berean Bible Comment)

Jesus’s Apostle John wrote (v9,10): “I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance that are in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of GOD and my testimony about Jesus. On the LORD’s day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet. . .”

Patmos is a small, rocky island in the Aegean Sea. According to commentary in the Berean Bible, “Roman records show it was used for political exiles,” and that “archaeology reveals first-century marble quarries on Patmos; exilees often labored in them.”

It’s the LORD’s day!

Apostle John doesn’t mince his words when, in his salutation, he clearly states from whom his letter comes: “Grace and peace to you from. . . Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.”

The Apostle is about to report events that might well require one of those movie warnings that caution, “The following may be disturbing, containing violence, etc.” But the exiled Apostle doesn’t wait until the end of his letter to give the GOOD NEWS, for he proclaims up front (1:7), “Behold, He [JESUS] is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him,” which references the prophecies of Daniel (7:13) and Zechariah (12:10).

JESUS RETURNS. Think, The Return of the King. This is the same Jesus that was put on trial for no crime except an offended religious leadership and Roman appeasement. Found guilty though innocent, Jesus was abused, ridiculed, hung on a Roman cross until dead. Jesus’s dead body was laid in a tomb until He arose, alive in his flesh body, to be seen by and spoken to by many people, for 40 days.

But wait, there’s more!

Luke reports Jesus’s disciples were gathered with Jesus, and “as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’ ” (Luke 1:9-11)

Here am I, LORD!
I await You.
I long for You.
I watch for You.
You are The King of the universe.
I await Your return.
I want to be staring in utter rapture,
gazing into Heaven,
watching You come.
Maran Ata! Come LORD!

LORD Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Exiles. . .

“To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion” 1 Peter 1:1

Every so often I can’t step over some word as I read. This time, on a rerun of Apostle Peter’s letters, it was exile. I know what the Dispersion is, but felt I just must look further into it. Ponder it.

According to Pastor Alexander Maclaren, Scotch minister in that latter half of the 19th Century, the letter was written to “sojourners of the Dispersion,” and was meant “not to the Jew, but to the whole body of Christian people, who, whatever may be their outward circumstances, are, in the deepest sense, in the foundations of their life, if they be Christ’s, ‘strangers of the Dispersion.’

For me, the take away from Pastor Maclaren’s Expository is that we, like those to whom the Apostle wrote, are sojourners on Earth. As such, We don’t fit well on Earth, “by reason of the contrariety between the foundation of our lives, and the foundation of the lives of the men round us; therefore, we stand lonely in the midst of crowds, and as strangers in the ordered communities of the world.”

Let us ever so remain as those sojourners: set apart, which is holy, and righteous in our Savior Jesus.

The photo was taken while on a camping trip along the Oregon Coast, 2018.
The sun setting into the Pacific Ocean reminds me just how many years I lived on the Pacific Coast of California and how going there always felt like home.
But that isn’t my real home, is it?

LORD Bless, Keep, Shine

Righteous: further thoughts

And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith

Philippians 3:9

Apostle Paul has described all the reasons he could boast in who he is: all his Earthly attainments, in meeting the requirements of the Torah, in his righteousness under the Law. He then confesses, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (v.8)

Here’s scriptures that encourage us in living in the Righteousness of Messiah–notes made while sitting on the deck, as this Blessed Georgia Springtime becomes a Blessed Summertime.

God’s rule over the universe is grounded in justice and righteousness (Psalm 89:14).

Because God is just, He demands that mankind, created in His image, also display justice (Micah 6:8).

Scripture is full of commands that humans act justly. This includes acting on behalf of those whose rights are being denied and those who are powerless to defend themselves:

“Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause” (Isaiah 1:17, ESV).

“Thus says the Lord: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place” (Jeremiah 22:3, ESV).

“Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked” (Psalm 82:3–4).

“I can do all things through the Messiah who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13; Eph. 3:16)

Yeshua said, “Without Me you can do nothing…” (John 15:5).

Note: The image is suppose to be crossed sword and pen, representing The Word and Writing. Contrary to conventional wisdom, our pens are not mightier than His Sword.

LORD Bless, Keep, Shine

Righteous

Older man sitting by roadside with dog holding sign for travel and vet fund

To do righteousness and justice
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. Proverbs 21:3.

Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain
is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.

It seems to me it’s easy to think of modern heroes as somehow being righteous. Theres the sports figures who spend time helping with a kids’ sports program. There are doctors and other medical professionals that volunteer overseas. Currently in the news an ebola outbreak has infected some of the health works.

There are many more righteous and just acts than seen on “TV.” There are a lot more righteous deeds done by unseen folks just doing the right thing. Theres a mother that teaches a hobo to sharpen her knives on the cement steps at the back door. She makes him a sandwich to eat when he’s done. That was in the early 1950s and the woman was my Mom.

Christians are call to perform righteous acts and be just. I imagine most Christians do far more than they actually know that they do. That may be that Christians are always a work in progress, and never on their own righteous or just enough.

The thing is, that’s okay. Jesus IS! We are not going to save our own souls. Jesus has, is, and will.

The second proverb was noted as a reminder to me that it’s not going to do anyone any good, especially me, to yield to evil. In my mind, it’s more than yielding to temptation; it is also yielding to the worldly views. Those worldly views are brought directly by “evil principalities”. (see Ephesians 6:10-20).

Thanks for following along with me as I take a look at some Proverbs. And thanks so much, Tom, for the “likes.” I appreciate you very much.

LORD Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Discipline

Two cyclists exerting effort climbing a steep mountain road during a race with spectators cheering.

“Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days.” Proverbs 19:20 Berean Standard Bible

Discipline. For me, discipline has meant punishment, like for not following the rules or making mistakes. Not a fan.

It is, however, a word also used in training, like for a bicycle marathon.

In other Bible versions discipline is rendered as instruction. Its origin is Latin, and meant instruction, training, knowledge. It entered Middle English with the original meaning of teaching and learning. At some point it came to mean chastisement and later evolved into orderly conduct.

Evolved may not be correct, as discipline seems to convey three things: teaching/learning, chastisement, AND orderly conduct.

Interestingly, in the Jewish Publication Society version of the Tanakh (Old Testament), from 1917, Proverbs 19:20 is translated as “Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.”

This isn’t the only word used in English translations that can easily be misinterpreted. In the previous column, Listen to counsel https://jonahzsong.blog/?p=6087, the graphic has the word wait, as in “wait on the LORD.” Does it mean wait as in “please sit here and wait for me.” What about people who wait on tables? Seems the original word wait was waite, and meant to watch, and could have the connotation of longing. There are entire phrases that can mean one thing to one person, and something entirely different to another person, such as “rightly divide. . .(2 Timothy 2:15)“

There are many ways in which the Bible can be understood and taught. May GOD enlighten our hearts, in the Name of Jesus, in the Power of Spirit.

As Apostle Paul prayed (Ephesians 1:15-23):
For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

LORD Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Listen to counsel

An older man holding a Bible and explaining Isaiah 40:31 to a young man sitting in a chair

“Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days.” Proverb 19:20.

This proverb was added to the my note taking simply because I thought I ought to reconsider advice.

I rarely seek advice from people. In the past I’ve shared thoughts with friends, and they’ve been quite eager to tell me what I should do.

There are times when people seem to just find me and tell me what they would do. I’ve felt like a magnet, attracting all sorts of possibly well-meaning folks.

Does King Solomon say we must take advice? “Listen to advice and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days.” Listen! Elsewhere we are advised to seek out many counselors. Listening to advice. Seeking out alternative viewpoints. Decisions are ours to make. We listen to counselors for alternatives, cautions that another “set of eyes” may see, differing viewpoints. Seeking out counsel is good. Of course it is, GOD through King Solomon says so.

But wait, there’s more. Before we go charging out, sit back down, we’re not done yet.

In the very next proverb, King Solomon declares “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”

Seems to me the decision is mine, and having a variety of opinions and alternatives to choose from is GODLY. Then I take my thoughts to our LORD in prayer, my decision to our LORD that His will is done, for His “purposes will stand.”

Next time it’d be good for me to take a quick glance at Discipline,
another touchy subject.

LORD Bless, Keep, Shine. . .