Tears in Heaven

Heaven is supposed to be a happy place but seems to me the luster had dimmed somewhat that day long ago, and the sparkle had gone out of the eyes of the ones circled around the throne.   Ten thousand angels with drooping wings were pleading with Jesus.

               “Don’t go, please don’t go. You’ll meet with suffering and persecution down there.”

               “They’ll never appreciate you as much as we do.”

               “Jesus, You told us yourself that You’ll be crucified. That is so unfair, so unjust! Surely there is another way.”

               Then Jesus met His Father’s love-filled eyes and the power in that beam caused the voices around Him to become like an indistinct murmur.

               “I’ll do anything for you, Father, absolutely anything,” He communicated wordlessly just as His Father knew He would.

               Jesus had died and rose again, as predicted, He had suffered scorn and reproach, been spat upon, beaten and His crucifixion was more brutal than any before or since because He carried your sins and mine to the cross with Him.

               Just as He knew would happen, the scorn and rejection did not vanish with the resurrection, but He had left the peace and joy in Heaven for our sakes, not His. 

               Saul was a particularly zealous enemy of Christ, and while still a young man, took care of the coats of those who were deliberately hurling stones at a follower of Jesus to kill Him.

               That was only the beginning of Saul’s evil campaign; later on, he marched off to Damascus with the intention of irradiating as many Christians as possible. However, the Heavenly Father loved that fiercely determined young man. He saw that he was sincere—but mistaken. Acts 9 NKJV - The Damascus Road: Saul Converted - Bible Gateway

            

   Things changed radically for Saul. Even his name was changed, and the newly converted Paul worked tirelessly for the new Master whom he adored.

               Adored, you say? Isn’t this the same man who was bound and determined to go to Jerusalem even though he had been warned repeatedly that he would face bonds and imprisonment there? https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjxsKrUrszUAhUHx2MKHYFgDQAQFggoMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbiblehub.com%2Facts%2F21-11.htm&usg=AFQjCNG_6wSo-X2XC7zTiyM0mnbMKhNcGg&sig2=w87sfmwbYFGDv56rGWxTLQ biblehub.com/acts/20-23.htm  Wasn’t he being a stubborn old codger to go against the advice of so many of  brothers and sisters in Christ? I don’t think so. Take note of how much the fellow believers loved him, how they wept over him, and eagerly hung on to his every word even long into the night.

               Remember how he persecuted the church? Here was a man who, in worshipful adoration, was trying to make amends. Here was someone who was so grateful he would do anything for the One who had came down from Heaven to rescue him.

            Do you remember how the angels may have pleaded with Jesus not to go but He went anyway?  Few of us have been asked to sacrifice as much as Paul was, but he caught the vison of what Jesus had done for Him and couldn’t do enough in return. 

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Free For Now

For those of you who would like to read the 'diary' of Mary the mother of Jesus but feel you can't afford it, I just want to let you know it will be available for free on Amazon for a few days starting the first of June. (Kindle form)

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Wallflowers and Fish

Ever heard reference to wallflowers?  They are fragrant flower that blooms in spring, but are quite inconspicuous.

Not to insult the Andrew in the Bible, whose name means ‘manly’ or anyone else for that matter but he reminds me of a wallflower, in a good way.

Andrew caught my attention because he went about doing good in a quiet, unobtrusive way. He was one of the in group, one of the chosen ones to be one of Jesus’ closest disciples. But did he let it go to his head, did he juggle for a position of honor like some of the others that were even closer did? No, and I repeat, he just quietly went about doing good.

We hear so much about the little boy who brought his lunch to Jesus, but who sought him out? Andrew. Now Andrew couldn’t have been a loud, aggressive sort, I don’t think, but a kind, fatherly type. Why do I think this? Because he searched among the masses until he saw a boy with a small lunch, a poor lunch and the boy wasn’t afraid to share his humble offering of dry, coarse bread and a couple fish with Andrew. Perhaps he knew Andrew from before. Perhaps his father was also a fisherman. Nevertheless this little lad trusted Andrew; trusted him not to make fun of his ‘inferior gift’ and gave him the courage to make his way through the huge crowd to talk to the highly respected teacher.

Now Andrew’ own insecurities came to the forefront when he said ‘what are they among so many?’ but he have a quiet, humble trust in Jesus…so Jesus did the rest.

We don’t have to be great important people. Maybe we can be a little more like Andrew and help others, I’m thinking mainly of lending a helping hand to children now, but it could apply to anyone.

Is there someone we can encourage to bring their ‘five barley loaves and two small fishes to Jesus?”

A Peek Into My Private Diary

Today I am going to let you have a peek into my own private journal. The thing is, something so special, so thrilling, happened that I want to share it with the world.

Maybe you have heard by now that we are planning on taking a big trip. BIG: as in a trip of a lifetime for poor folks like us.

Okay; blessing number one: someone offered to pay for half of the trip. Can you imagine that?! We are traveling clear to the other side of the globe to see our son who is doing volinteer work in Mozambique, and these folks really wanted to go, themselves, but they thought we should go rather!!
That decision happened a long time ago, but since then, something else incredible, or at least very special, happened.

Our son had informed us that, sure, the workers would do our laundry, but we should bring four or five extra sets along, anyway. Well, this ole Canadian girl doesn't have a closetful of lightweight cotton dresses for galavating across the world. I had purchased some material earlier to sew up, but had decided to wander into Value Village, a good second hand store, to see if I could find some suitable dresses. Generally it is highly unlikely that I would find something that is modest and becoming according to our conservative Mennonite standards, so I rarely even look.

This is significant enough to consider as a new paragraph. I started browsing, just casually browsing, and lo and behold I found a very cheerful garment that would match my complexion and aurburn hair just perfectly. (Oh, yes, and it was a great fit.) I continued searching and another home-sewn Mennonite style dress showed up, and then another! (All in my colors and size!) I took them all because they were all so lovely and looked like new, but quit looking. If there were any more, let someone else have the joy of finding them.

I was so overwhelmed and thankful, and could hardly get over it! Boy, does God ever like to spring neat surprises on his children!

P.S. I also found a nice pair of walking shoes as an economical price.
P.P.S. I'm almost reluctant to add this because you'll think it's too good to be true. This all happened on Tuesday which is 30% off day for Seniours. (No, I could hardly believe it, either!)
http://www.authorsden.com/marilynffriesen

Invasion in Primo

Have you ever heard of the wonderful land, the glorious land, the warm and happy land of Primo? It is not so very far away, but is in a dim and mysterious country where strange and incredible things happen every day.