Samaria

A story I have often heard,
I read again today.
But this time I have seen it in
A new and different way.

So read the story, and may you
Be called as I have been.
But I must stop, else I will tell
Before I e'en begin. :)

Samaria

A peaceful city, it was now
Surrounded by the foe;
Drug to the depths of misery,
Sorrow, and untold woe.

Imprisoned now within their walls
With food becoming short
The people fell to desperate means;
To what could they resort?

But late one night the enemy host
Fell into fear and dread.
The army of the Lord was heard!
Without a thought they fled.

With morning light, four lepers rise
And venture from the gate.
Their hunger drives them to this risk,
No matter what their fate.

As they approach the enemy camp,
A silence rules the air.
And, peering in a tent or two,
Discover no one there.

Within the town, no person knows
The feast that lies without,
Until the lepers, rushing back,
Exclaim to all about.

There is a lesson here, my friend,
Written for you and me.
Just like those men, we've found a feast,
White raiment, gold that's free.

But all around are people starved,
Who want to do the right.
They search for something they know not--
They're looking for the light.

Held captive by a wicked foe,
That peace and joy extorts,
Oft' people fall to desperate means;
To what can they resort?

Without the peace that passes thought,
They seek for joy, and try
At broken cisterns, empty wells
That never satisfy.

They look in wonder at our lives,
And marvel at our peace;
They wonder how to get such joy,
Such free and full release.

My friends, will we withhold such news--
Good tidings such as this?
If we forbear 'til morning light,
Something will come amiss.

So gather up the bread of life,
And spread it far and wide.
From the great honor of this task
Let nothing turn aside.

"And the sun stood still..."

Lately I have been thinking a lot about a three-letter word.

Ask.

"Why is it that we do not receive more from Him who is the source of light and power?"  

Why? "We expect too little, and we receive according to our faith." "I asked the angel why there was no more faith and power in Israel. He said: 'Ye let go of the arm of the Lord too soon. Press your petitions to the throne, and hold on by strong faith. The promises are sure.'" 

"Ask, then; ask, and ye shall receive. Ask for humility, wisdom, courage, increase of faith. To every sincere prayer an answer will come. "

Victory can be gained only by those who ask.

Five nations against one. It seemed impossible. But the message had been given, “Fear them not, for I have delivered them into thine hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee.” So, unhesitatingly, they went. 

Marching all night, Joshua and his army arrived at the scene of battle in the morning. Taken by surprise, "the immense host fled before Joshua up the mountain pass to Beth-horon; and having gained the height, they rushed down the precipitous descent upon the other side. Here a fierce hailstorm burst upon them. 'The Lord cast down great stones from heaven: ...they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.'"

"Joshua, looking down from the ridge above, saw that the day would be too short for the accomplishment of his work. If not fully routed, their enemies would again rally, and renew the struggle....He did all that human energy could do, and then he cried in faith for divine aid." 

"Then spake Joshua to the Lord, ...and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies.... The sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day."

Not until God’s promise to Joshua had been fulfilled, did the sun sink behind the hills. The entire host of the enemy had been routed. 

"Those who achieve the greatest results are those who rely most implicitly upon the Almighty Arm. The man who commanded, 'Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon,' is the man who for hours lay prostrate upon the earth in prayer in the camp of Gilgal. The men of prayer are the men of power."

He sees

Luke 21:1-5

"And He looked up and saw...a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites."

He sees. The things that are beneath the notice of many are not lost to Him. The smile, the kind word, the act of self-denial that looks so easy on the outside, but in reality required "all that she had" God notices; and it brings a smile to His face.

"It is the unpretending acts of daily self-denial, performed with a cheerful, willing heart, that God smiles upon." "Nothing is so small and obscure that it is beneath his notice."

Eternal opportunities

James, John, Peter & Judas. "...these were the objects of Christ's greatest solicitude and the recipients of His most frequent and careful instruction."

Really! Judas, too? What made the difference between him and the other three?

Read on...

"Peter, James & John sought every opportunity of coming into close contact with their Master, and their desire was granted." Ed 86-87

Follow the lives of each of those men... What a difference! Is anything worth missing an opportunity to sit at His feet?

The complete victory of praise

Jehoshaphat's army went to battle with song... and it was won by the time they got there.

"He appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever... And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped." --2 Chronicles 20

Lord, help me to fight my battles with praise...

Just a little longer

For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer. --Isaiah 54

My mind goes back to a little boy on an operating table. His father leans over him, grasping his hand tightly, sweat beading on his forehead-- not because of the intense tropical heat but because of the agony of seeing his little boy suffer. “Son!” he says, “be strong! Just a little longer and you won’t feel the pain. It will be over soon!” The father begins to feel faint as the sutures, one-by-one, close the gash on his son’s head. He leans heavily against the table, refusing to let go of his child's hand. We offer a chair, and sinking gratefully into it, he buries his face in his free hand, still grasping his son’s hand tightly with the other.

At last it is over. Everyone breathes easier. The trembling child finds refuge in his parents’s arms, and peace settles into the room.

In that simple island father I saw one of the most precious pictures of our heavenly Father. His heart was so bound up with his little boy that every pang of pain that touched his son reflected keenly in his face. It was as if he felt the pain. But as much as it hurt him to see, he wouldn’t let go for anything. The more it hurt the tighter he grasped his son’s little hand.

I often wish for the nightmare of sin to be over, but as I quietly observed in that little clinic, it dawned on me just how much He must long for it to be over. Every pang of pain felt by one of His children on earth is felt just as keenly in His heart. He is touched by the feeling of our infirmities, and in all our afflictions He is afflicted. (Heb. 4:15, Isa. 63:9) That is so much pain it is impossible to fully comprehend.

But the operation did finally come to an end, and the relief we all felt when it was finished was a delightful little preview of the peace that will settle over the universe when sin is forever ended and we can take refuge in our Father’s arms.

“The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.” GC 678

My Little Role Models

Birds. They're such little things... especially to be role models! But that's just what they've become to me. I admire them.

Sitting on the porch this morning, I listened to the sounds of nature coming to life. The clear, mellifluous voices of robins echoed from the hills, mingling with the tiny, sweet voices of chickadees singing their spring songs. As I listened, I was filled with a desire to be like them. Put in human terms, birds have a depth of character that can be rivaled by few.

• They are always full of vibrant, bubbling activity, yet they're never too busy to stop and pour out their delight in a torrent of exuberant song.
• Whatever He calls them to do, they do it with all their might. Whether nest-building, searching for food, or just praising.
• They retire on His time-frame, and when they wake to His call, their first priority is praise.
• Sometimes all I know of a bird is its song. When I hear a little voice emanating from the depths of a tree and try to catch a glimpse of the tiny chorister, I usually never see it. If I do, it is often just a simple little ball of plain brown feathers... a precious reminder that it is not the bird's plumage but its praise that makes it beautiful.
• Birds sing whether they have a beautiful voice or not. I heard a duck quacking with as much energy as the robin this morning. And it was beautiful, because it was giving all it had, with all it had! It is not the voice but the heart that makes a beautiful song.

I could go on, but suffice it to say that I admire my little role models. It amazes me that such a tiny bit of life can set such a high standard. (Yes, there's another lesson...)

I'm beginning to see why our Savior specifically told us to "consider the ravens" (Lk. 12:24), and I'm sure they'll be the subject of even more fruitful thought for many mornings to come.

It is safe...

Change-- it can happen so quickly and unexpectedly. Two and a half weeks ago, as we flew up the eastern coast of Japan, I looked down at the lights of Tokyo and Sendai flooding the coast like a million candles. As mile after mile of lights slid under our plane, I admired the scene, thinking of the millions of people and organized bustle of activity beneath... little realizing that in two short weeks many of those lights would be out, and the lives they represented decided for eternity. Thousands of lives changed in a moment-- family, friends, home, job, security and stability vanished. Life as we know it is so fragile... but fragile things are always safe in the hands of a Master.

"It is safe to let go every earthly support and take the hand of Him who lifted up and saved the sinking disciple on the stormy sea." 4T 558

It is safe... eternally safe.

Oh, to grasp His hand more firmly every day.

“Measure the cord… if you can.”

It was Sabbath afternoon-- our last Sabbath on Paata-- and we were walking through a neighboring village to visit some friends we hadn’t seen yet.  I remember this village well from when we lived here before.  It always had a dark, depressed feeling about it, but today it was worse than ever.  As we walked through the village, we passed group after group of people who were intoxicated in one way or another.  It was painful to see such pitiful demoralization, but what was even more painful was to see, in those clouded faces, the faces of the once-innocent children we grew up around.  As we walked, I thought of the terrible environment they had to grow up in, and it seemed almost hopeless.  Can anything good come out of this village-- this island?  Then another thought crept into my mind-- They said that about His village…  Oh, Lord!  Is this what You came to for me? 

I looked at the village again-- sin in its darkest hue was everywhere I turned.  But this time I looked at it with awe and gratitude, because it began to dawn on me what He really came to for me. 

“Jesus did not count heaven a place to be desired while we were lost. He left the heavenly courts for a life of reproach and insult, and a death of shame. He who was rich in heaven's priceless treasure, became poor, that through His poverty we might be rich.  --DA 416

The same thought gives hope to the darkest corner of the world, because it was from Nazareth, a village “proverbial for its wickedness" that the Light of the world came. 

“Measure the cord, if you can, that has been let down from heaven to lift man up.  The only estimate we can give you of the length of that chain is to point you to Calvary.”  --OHC 45

Paata Mission Trip

We're at last on our way to visit our mission island for the first time since we left 12 years ago-- a trip I've wished for and dreamed of (literally) for all 12 years. :) God is so good... and I'm excited! Please see our family blog, climbingtogether.blogspot.com, for the first update.

Point of reference...

Have you ever thought of why the north star is the most important navigational star? It's dependable! While every other star constantly changes position, the north star is always the same...

Praise the Lord that He is always the same! As everything around us changes, He is still there, the same as He was yesterday and as He will be forever. Problems will certainly come when we try to use a moving object as our point of reference. But with God as our only point of reference, we will be "stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord."

"It is safe to let go every earthly support and take the hand of Him who lifted up and saved the sinking disciple on the stormy sea." --4T 558