Posted on 09/28/2002 3:04:01 PM PDT by grantswank
JESUS: NEW-MAKER
J. Grant Swank, Jr., POB l984, Windham ME 04062
Pastor, New Hope Church, Windham ME
Think back ten years. What pressure was on you then? Think back fifteen years.
What were you doing? You cannot recall; it is a blur.
Sometimes, as years pass, it is as if another person lived our situations, places, and events. One of God's gifts is to blur the past in preparation for eternity.
Paul said, "Forgetting those things which are behind. . .I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:l3-l4).
The accent is on the NOW in Jesus; then this now will pass as well. Therefore, it is not so much what is the content of the now, but Jesus, who will never leave us.
Satan would have us focus on our settings: poor, confused, threatening. God would have us focus on our Savior: more than adequate, abiding, loving, leading.
It is Jesus who is all-in-all. It is He who undergirds our mortality. It is He who understand our fragility.
That is why Scripture refers to us as clay: cracked; as dust: blowing in the wind; as wheat strands: at the mercy of the weather. Yet over our humanity is the God-man, Jesus Christ--our very breath derives from Him.
Sometimes God permits dire situations so we will cast off all our attachments to the world. Some of us have difficulty letting go of our manufactured securities: position, academic accomplishments, standing in the corporation, bank accounts, political savvy, talents, connections. Yet none of these can be our security; only Jesus can.
Therefore, trying situations are allowed by the Father to continually reminds "Blessed are the poor in spirit. . ." Poverty in soul is the beginning of spiritual riches.
Right now assess, not what is taking place in your life, but how aware you are of Jesus. As long as your companionship with Him is intact, then you are sound--whole. From alpha to omega, this intactness is all that ultimately counts for anything.
We tend to concentrate on the situation at hand instead of on Jesus. But circumstances will pass; so will you. Only your tie with Jesus will go on and on.
The Father permitted His only Son to endure intense persecution, particularly from so-called religious persons. They poked, jabbed, reviled--publicly--in one circumstance after another. Are they doing that to you?
Why did the Son have to undergo such daily miseries? To make certain that in His humanness He was totally yielded to the Father's plan for the moment.
If that was the procedure for the Sinless One, then why not for His other children--the offspring of grace? As Jesus was crafted daily into the Father's image through agonies about Him, so we are crated daily in the Savior's image through agonies about us.
Take your eyes off the situation and put them on Jesus within the housing of your soul.
He is already there; do not beg Him to come. By faith, you accept this security. That is enough for you.
You are going to be scrutinized VERY closely.
Well we will know when he posts all 2000 of his articles on FR HUH??
I think I will pass..my RC training has me see Priests and Ministers as Men only
Thanks for the compliment Sink..Ole Grant is making me consider a new vocation:>))
Really? Did the guy read the book he was teaching from?
The two meditations you posted are far superior to Swank's.
I'm sorry, but Grant Swanks name brings to mind a Baptist pastor in Ft. Worth, Dr. Fred Swank. When I was working a funeral at his church while on summer vacation from college, Dr. Fred actually passed the plate at a funeral for a deacon at Sagamore Hills Baptist, saying "that's what Brother Bob would have wanted."
The widow was furious and uttered several epithets, which I heard, since I was driving the limousine transporting the family.
She actually left the church over that incident.
The problem is sink ANYONE can rent a storefront and start a church..I think that is where the 3000 comes from..self starts.
The problem is no accountability....the Bible is clear on the proper order .
I do not do lone rangers
johnny cochran --- right?
Day 4
Thursday, December 28, 2000
The Four Gospels: 1) Matthew, 2) Mark, 3) Luke, and 4) John, which proclaim the Good News of God's reconciliation of the world to Himself in Jesus Christ.
The cave was a cold and dark place, certainly not the place that Mary expected to give birth to the Savior of Israel. Had not the angel told her "the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35)? Certainly no one could expect the Savior would be found in such a common place.
The wooden feeding trough was overflowing with damp, musty hay, hardly a suitable bed for the Christ. How could this stable, this ordinary manger, this simple bed of hay be the throne for the New King of Israel? Yet, outside the sound of angels filled the air, they were proclaiming the birth to the shepherds in the fields, "Glory to God in the Highest." The shepherds came seeking the promise proclaimed by the angels. The hay-filled manger had become a holy place, because of His presence in it. It was the King that drew the shepherds from the fields, the stable was no longer common or ordinary. It was the throne room for the Most high.
"Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2;19)
Only a King willing to humble Himself, and enter into the ordinary, only a King willing to occupy a bed of hay could consider making His home in the human heart. How fitting that scripture tells us that this birth would be "a sign to us."
Jesus BECAME the light that shines into the darkest corners, showing us the hay and stubble that fills our splintered wooden hearts. Only as we allow Him to reach deeper and deeper into our lives, can the Spirit of God come and light a fire, burning the Hay and stubble. He will soften the wooden manger of our heart so there is only room for that babe. If we yield to Him, that babe will become Lord of our life. And like the manger we will become a holy place.
As we now prepare for a New Year, let each of us that calls Jesus "Lord," allow the Spirit of God to "overshadow" our lives, let us "ponder" the miracle of the ordinary made Holy and set aside as a throne for the Savior. What a Savior! What a Lord!
Prayer:
Father, Savior and Spirit.
We praise you and Bless you, we glorify your Holy name. You have reached down in love to your children, You have granted us the privilege of making our hearts your home. Allow us the grace to allow you to work in us and through us in the coming year. Never let us forget that we are only Holy because You are with us and in us. Apart from you we can do nothing.
Amen
Suggested Scripture Reading for Today
[Psalms: am: 72; pm: 111, 113] [Isa 28:9-11] [Rev 21:9-21] [Luke 1:26-38]
BTW Is it true that "swaddling clothes" were strips of cloth used to make the "wicks" of candles in that day. Hence the "swaddling clothes" out of which came the Light of the world.
BTW if I am to match him article for article I will be very busy and have a completed book to send to the publisher in two weeks:>))
sorry im jumping in late ma, but we'd welcome you (that is, "protestant denomination #29,998")
No competition with him...you need to re read THIS time understanding the issue
That's beautiful writing, RnMom. Obviously your talents extend beyond Free Republic.
Merry Christmas! 8~)
Grant Swank Jr.
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