Thus Far- Streams in the Desert December 31

December 31

Thus Far

"Thus far has the Lord helped us" (I Sam. 7:12).

The words "thus far" seems like a hand pointing in the direction of the past. Twenty years or seventy, and yet "thus far the Lord helped us!" Through poverty, through wealth, through sickness, through health; at home, abroad, on the land, on the sea; in honor, in dishonor, in perplexity, in joy, in trial, in triumph, in prayer, in temptation--"thus far the Lord helped!"

We delight to look down a long road of trees. It is delightful to gaze from one end of the long vista, a sort of verdant temple, with its branching pillars and its arches of leaves. Even so look down the long aisles of your years, at the green boughs of mercy overhead, and the strong pillars of lovingkindness and faithfulness which bear up your joys.

Are there no birds in yonder branches singing? Surely, there must be many, and they all sing of mercy received "thus far."

But the word also points forward. For when a man gets up to a certain mark, and writes "thus far," he is not yet at the end; there are still distances to be traversed. More trials, more joys; more temptations, more triumphs; more prayers, more answers; more toils, more strength; more fights, more victories; and then come sickness, old age, disease, death.

Is it over now? No! there is more yet--arising in Jesus' likeness, seeing the face of Jesus, and sharing fellowship with the saints; and experiencing the glory of God, the fullness of eternity, and infinite joy.  So dear believer, "be strong and take heart", Psalm 27:14, and with thanksgiving and confidence lift your voice in praise, for:

"The Lord who "thus far" has helped you
Will help you all your journey through."

When read in Heaven's light, how glorious and marvelous a prospect will "thus far" unfold to our grateful eyes! --C. H. Spurgeon

The Alpine shepherds have a beautiful custom of ending the day by singing to one another an evening farewell. The air is so crystalline that the song will carry long distances. As the dusk begins to fall, they gather their flocks and begin to lead them down the mountain paths, singing, "Thus far the Lord helped us. Let us praise His name!"

And at last with a sweet courtesy, they sing to one another the friendly farewell: "Goodnight! Goodnight!" The words are taken up by the echoes, and from side to side the song goes reverberating sweetly and softly until the music dies away in the distance.

So let us call out to one another through the darkness, till the gloom becomes vocal with many voices, encouraging God's weary travelers.  And may the echoes grow into a storm of hallelujahs that will break in thundering waves around His sapphire throne.  Then as the morning dawns, we will find ourselves on the shore of the "sea of glass", Revelation 4:6, crying out with the redeemed host of heaven, "To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever! (Revelation 5:13).

"This my song through endless ages, 
Jesus led me all the way."

AND AGAIN THEY SHOUTED; "HALLELUJAH!" Revelation 19:3
 

Old Times

One of my sons just called to me from their game room- "Mom, ____ is being mean."

I kid you not. Yes, they are 20 and 22.

: ) Feels like old times- all I need to do is close Allison's bedroom door and it really would be like old times. She would spend days like this cleaning and organizing her room.

I bet she is at her little house cleaning and organizing!

Life

If I died today-

I died no longer a slave.

To self, or addictions or anyone else.

If I died today-

I die, free.

Now that's called living.

Thank You, Jesus- who is my life (Colossians 3).

Luke 4:17-18

Jesus opened the book and found the place where it was written,

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed

Galatians 5:1
It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

Romans 8:2
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

January 8-13, 2015

5 days=

1 husband

4 children- Allison, sweet hubby Ben, Cody and Johnie

Happy 25th Birthday Allison!

Merry Christmas to all of us!

Sun and books!

No cooking, no cleaning and no cellphones!

Cruising to the Bahamas and Grand Cayman Islands!

Christmas

Many times during this time of year I say, "I am not a Christmas person".

And...I'm not.

I can't seem to get Christmas cards out.  I can't seem to get any shopping done until 2 weeks before Christmas.  Then I'm rushing around trying to get the gifts- and not get the cards out- which makes me feel guilty and inadequate.

Sometimes, I wish I was a man.  Men- don't make out Christmas lists.  Or do the shopping for gifts.  Or write out cards- and actually send them.  Or get together with friends to figure out when we are all getting together- and what are we going to eat?  Now, don't get me wrong, Nick helps me.  He'll do mostly, whatever I ask to help me get through this but- the majority is up to- me (and all women).
Let's not forget all this has to be done while keeping UP with the laundry, housework, cooking (not only for our family but for all the parties and functions) and if you work outside of the home.  Or you homeschool.  Or....what's your "or"?

Then there is church functions- parties, plays, musicals.

If you have children in school- you have those parties, plays and musicals.

And then there are the family get-togethers, for both sides of the family.

Some of us live 300 miles away from our family- and travel home every Christmas day.  Then you feel as if you've cheated your own kids out of a Christmas at home.  My kids have NO idea what a "Christmas at home" is- we have only missed 2 Christmas's out of 22 not being on the road for 6 hours.  One, we were all sick with the flu.  We laid in bed and watched "George of the Jungle"- it was pleasant, although we were sick!  The second was in 2010, we ran into snow in Hendersonville and had to turn around.  Nick ended up sick with the stomach flu that day also.

But if you don't go you miss your family at "home".  I feel guilty- and inadequate.  Again.

So let's get back to the REAL reason for Christmas.  It's to celebrate Christ's birth.  And well, I guess I struggle with that too.  Oh, I believe He was born.  Certainly!  When was He born?  WE DON'T REALLY KNOW.  Some say September, some say April.

http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/25th.shtml

But we've- man, believers and unbelievers, have made it so much MORE than His birthday.  We give gifts because, "He is the gift given us, so we should give gifts to others"- and most American's go in debt.  Not just financial debt- but time debt ( I think I listed all that above- making lists, shopping, wrapping, cooking) and rest debt (how can we rest when we have all the other stuff to do?).

I really don't know when Jesus was born.  I do know we can probably pin the day of His death and resurrection and ascension before we could His birth.   We give Him ONE day as a church to worship, celebrate and thank Him for His death so that we can life- and His resurrection so we can have freedom- and His ascension so we know where He is and we are also!

After all these years, and all this stuff-  I can't honestly say I celebrate Christmas in December.    I CAN  honestly say I celebrate Christ- all of Him- daily.  The rest is just stuff I'm caught up in.  What I do enjoy is time with family and friends.  So, for me, that's what December is- time with family and friends.

I think it would freak some out to hear me say I used to enjoy Christmas before I became a believer.  Because as an unbeliever Christmas WAS all about giving gifts, making other people happy with gifts, getting gifts- that was the whole purpose of getting together with everyone- gifts, eating, some time together- it was all about fun for all of us.

Now, I love my Jesus so much- and He gets so left out- and I wonder what He even thinks about it all.

For 30 years of my life I celebrated a month of the year in anticipation of Santa bringing me something or me being the Santa giving to others.  Now for 15- I struggle with celebrating Jesus one month- His birth AND Santa.  And I feel empty.

When December 25th is over- I feel like, "OK- now we can get back to being real."

I wonder if anyone else is as weary of this as I am.

Healed

Jesus wants to heal those broken places in you....

Christiane Northrup in 'Mother-Daughter Wisdom' describes what we receive from our mothers as being similar to being dealt a hand of cards. What we received is formative and foundational, but this "hand" is NOT our destiny. If you didn't get dealt a great hand, say, or your cards are torn or bloody, folded or lousy or even missing, this is where the healing presence of Jesus Christ can come in and wash your cards clean. He gives you the cards He intended for you to have. He restores. He has established our destiny, which is to have Him formed in us. He is our inheritance, and we must bring Him our hearts, our wounds, all that we were meant to have as girls growing up. We bring Him the hand we were dealt and ask for His healing. His name is Faithful and True. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He wants to heal us! Jesus is the One Who has the right to speak into our lives with authority and power. He has the power to bless who we are and who we are becoming. We need to hear from Him.- Stasi Eldredge, Becoming Myself

Thank You, Jesus- for healing all those broken places in me so that I be who You created me to be. Healed. Whole. Complete.

"I will be with you."

Starla Ellison

2 mins · Spartanburg, SC · Edited · 

Every year I end the year with writing in my journal about the year. Then I write about my hopes and plans and dreams for the new year. I love going back and reading them.

In 2014 I actually DID some of the things I wrote I wanted to do (run a marathon, Ireland with Nick, new living room, finished my discipleship training class and started sitting in counseling/discipleship with my mentor so that I, too, could be a counselor/discipler).

There was a lot, I didn't get to do.

There was a lot of things that I got to do that was not in my journal to do ( 2 women's bible study/fellowship at my house with wonderful women!).

When 2014 started I did not expect so many deaths and illnesses this year. So unexpected. My mother in law and her sister. My dearest friend's mother and husband. My uncle. My son-in-love's grandfather. My sister-in-law's terrible illness the whole last half of the year. My cousin's granddaughter's illness. A woman I work for who was/is my dear friend- an illness- that robbed her memory and filled her with untrue hallucinations.

But this I have found to be the most truth I will ever ever know- no matter what a new year holds or an old year held:

But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator...
And He who formed you...
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine!
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
You are precious in My sight,
You are honored and I love you,
Do not fear, for I am with you;
Everyone who is called by My name,
And whom I have created for My glory,
Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.” (from Isaiah 43)

Needs

When we have children- they come with emotional needs. They come with physical needs. Most of us know that- and we do our best to take care of those needs.

But there is a need children have that I didn't know they needed when I became a parent.

They also come with spiritual needs.

BOLDNESS!

I so admire Saul. Here he was, deeply seeped and trained in the religion of the Jewish (Hebrew, Israelite) people- his people and God's chosen people.

Then Jesus.

Jesus came and broke down all the traditions and barriers through His birth, life, death, burial, resurrection AND ascension!

He created a new race of people. People that are united with Him. In union. One.

Then Saul (his name later changed to Paul) met this Jesus- and when you really meet this Jesus- you just can't be the same. Because you aren't the same. He does an inner work, in your inner man, that only He can do. A total transformation.

Paul met this Jesus- and he had a choice. He could sit nice and polite and listen to the mixture of the Old Covenant and the New Covenant- or

he could live in an intimate, moment by moment fellowship and oneness with this Jesus that has so radically exchanged him and lives within the core, the most real part, of Paul- his new, born-again spirit.

And in this intimacy Jesus spoke truth to Paul, the whole and complete gospel to Paul (Colossians 1:27, Galatians 2:20, Romans 5-8)- He revealed to Paul what none had been revealed before! Mysteries!

Paul chose Truth. Paul chose the whole and complete Gospel. Paul chose to live in intimacy with this Jesus. Because of this Paul wrote 13 letters (at least, but that's all we have) to the house churches that had gathered together. In these letters he reveals what Christ Jesus spoke and revealed to him through the Holy Spirit.

In the letter Paul wrote to the church (the body of believers, the body of Christ) in Ephesus he asked them to pray for him- this is what he said:

"and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, TO MAKE KNOWN WITH BOLDNESS THE MYSTERY OF THE GOSPEL".

Let each of us, that God has chosen to reveal Himself Who He is and who we are because of Him- MAKE KNOW WITH BOLDNESS THE MYSTERY OF THE GOSPEL, the whole and undiluted Gospel.

“May God raise up men and women who are humble enough to learn to live by the indwelling life of Christ with other believers. And who are courageous enough to proclaim the unsearchable riches of that life in this hour”. – Frank Viola