Text 759, 139 rader
Skriven 2005-12-04 11:44:18 av Bob Hoffman (8:8/2)
Ärende: Covered and Protected
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Faith's Checkbook

December 4

Covered and Protected

"He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust:
His Truth shall be thy shield and buckler" (Psalm 91:4).

A condescending simile indeed! Just as a hen protects her brood and allows them
to nestle under her wings, so will the LORD defend His people and permit them
to hide away in Him. Have we not seen the little chicks peeping out from under
the mother's feathers? Have we not heard their little cry of contented joy? In
this way let us shelter ourselves in our God and feel overflowing peace in
knowing that He is guarding us.

While the LORD covers us, we trust. It would be strange if we did not. How can
we distrust when Jehovah Himself becomes house and home, refuge and rest to us?

This done, we go out to war in His name and enjoy the same guardian care. We
need shield and buckler, and when we implicitly trust God, even as the chick
trusts the hen, we find His truth arming us from head to foot. The LORD cannot
lie; He must be faithful to His people; His promise must stand. This sure truth
is all the shield we need. Behind it we defy the fiery darts of the enemy.
Come, my soul, hide under those great wings, lose thyself among those soft
feathers! How happy thou art!

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'TIS THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY?
By Jim Elliff

http://www.bulletininserts.org/jolly.html

"'Tis the Season to be jolly?" Well, maybe.

The business of Christmas, that is, the hard and cold commercial trade of the
Thanksgiving to Christmas sales window, is a measure of how well America is
doing. It's the thermometer in our corporate mouths.


Needs are created through the media in order to entice the buyer into
purchasing more this year than last. No one is to be disappointed at Christmas,
after all. The manipulation is as blatant toward children as adults. And who
can bring themselves to crush the psyche of anyone by not giving them all they
want?

The end result of all of this is "happiness." The receivers of the presents are
happy and the merchandisers are happy. The media people are happy and the
credit card people are happy. Everything is happy during Christmas.

Happy is what it is supposed to be, that is. But sometimes things go south. The
economy may well not cooperate.

Sickness may invade the home, jobs may be lost, anger and sulkiness may pervade
the atmosphere, death may stalk a family member, drugs and alcohol may taint
family togetherness, divorce clouds may darken the skies, disappointment may
rule a child's spirit, and depression may turn you pensive and silent. And so
it goes behind the closed doors or in the inner space of so many. The Bible
says that even in their laughter there is sorrow.

Can tinsel and presents, carols and candy really bring happiness? Not often,
and not much. And if our happiness is based on circumstance, is it a true
happiness? Isn't it just a playful escape, a temporary delusion? Does a little
thin paint on the outside eradicate the rust beneath? Do cosmetics on a corpse
make the death go away?

I think the diversion is worth something, mind you, But when the reality is so
strong, do we have the right to call even Christmas a source of true happiness?

This "reality" is much more troubling than the list mentioned above-the
depression, sickness, sulkiness, and aggravations. The reality for a person
without Christ is a permanent state of non-forgiveness, alienation from God,
separation from the true people of God forever, and hell. Those are the matters
that make happiness hard to come by and what makes laughter so fugitive for the
thinking person.

Even joy based on family can elude you. Everything is moving, changing,
shifting. You cannot rest on anything to bring solid, stand-against-all-odds
joy but that which is permanent. And that which is permanent is God.

When the angels sang about Christ's birth, they said that they were bringing
tidings of "great joy." Great joy?—yes, joy for every person who will come to
Him by faith. It is in the relationship with God through Christ where joy is
found.

If a person is related to God through His Son Jesus Christ, then joy, that
deeper happiness that is more than a facial characteristic, is a birthright
blessing. The true Christian should be joyful because his sins are forgiven,
his place in heaven is secure, his life is in-dwelt by God's Spirit, and he has
an open door to God's throne room. No matter what happens, he always has reason
to rejoice because the big things are taken care of, and the Spirit in him
promises to help him through all the rest. In a word, his joy is not based on
circumstance, but on huge unchanging facts and an even bigger God behind the
facts.

For sure, some true Christians forget what they have and need a refresher
course on what is provided for them, but on the main you will notice that true
Christians have joy that is bigger than circumstances. I'm not saying this
about pseudo-Christians, of course, the church-goers who really don't know
Christ.

Christmas then is not the season to be jolly, as if the other seasons are the
opposite. But it is the reason to be joyful. Christ's coming to the earth, His
perfect life and sacrificial death as a substitute for sinful people like us,
is certainly a reason for joy to all who will come to Him by faith.

Is that you?

If you are one of those who has not come to Christ, then the best you can do
this season is to hope for good circumstances and a kind of na‹veté about your
actual situation before God. But things could be different and the coming of
Christ that you are singing about this holiday time could become the best news
you have ever heard-good tidings of great joy!


Copyright C 2002 Jim Elliff
Permission granted to copy in full for non-profit use, including all copyright
information.  Other uses require written permission.
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