Relative Time

As I write this, here in Michigan it is 10:25 AM, December 31, 2011. At this very time in Australia it is already New Years Day, January, 1, 2012.

Time is relative. God said so when He had Peter remind us that to the LORD a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as a day.

Bodies of matter move in relation to one another and we percieve that movement as time.

Jesus revealed Himself to the Apostle John as the Alpha and Omega. He determines the times. He coordinates the movements of those bodies of matter in whose relative movements in relation to one another we percieve this thing we call "time"..

Our times are indeed in your hands O LORD!

To Focus on the Cross

"To focus on the cross not only grounds our faith on the God who is loving and faithful, but also gives us an example in his sacrificial and redemptive love that we can never outstrip.

When we suffer, there will sometimes be mystery. Will there also be faith?

Yes, if our attention is focused more on the cross, and on the God of the cross, then on the suffering itself."

D.A. Cason, "How Long O Lord?" (2nd Edition) (Baker,2006); page 173

The Letter

You wrote that letter to me 40 plus years ago, and I have not seen nor heard from you since then, but it gave me joy to re-read that letter tonight. Wherever you are, may God's blessings be upon you and it is my prayer you live happily ever after...

Peace...

Immanuel

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

(Matthew 1:18-25)

Immanuel means God did not abandon us. He did not leave us to ourselves.

Immanuel points to that mystery of God becoming man and dwelling among us, feeling our human wants, griefs, and pains.

Immanuel points to that future consummation when in the new heavens and earth, God's dwelling place comes down to that new earth and God and man dwell together forever.

Immanuel means we can live with hope, having the forgivness of our sins, and having peace with God.

Imanuel; the proof of God's love and intent to save a lost and fallen humanity...

Immanuel! All praise and honor and glory to God and God alone!

That's Christmas

Billy Goat Log: December 5, 2011

• From the sanctification department: This morning I found myself irked and bothered about something not really worth mentioning. Truth was, as I thought about those things, I could feel my blood pressure going up; as in the sinful anger zone. I needed to call a time out and rein in the thoughts and passion and confess to the Lord the sin that it was. Then I got irked that I got irked... Of all the serious real life issues in a fallen and not yet fully redeemed world, I got all hot and bothered about that?
  
  

  Lord help me to see the trivial issues in life as the trivia it is. Help me to see the cares and things of this kosmos the way You see them.

• Seasons: In a few short weeks winter will officially be here. The neat thing about that is the days will start to get longer. In our more northerly latitudes in Michigan, the changes in the length of daylight between the seasons is noticeable. We think of winter as the season when everything has died and is dormant and slumbering beneath the cold winter wind and snow. But then think how the definition of winter is the period of time when the short days start getting longer. It is in that we find the hope of the winter season; it anticipates the spring that is coming.
  
• It is a beautiful thing to see the people of God show and express the love of God to those who are hurting and broken...
• My Master invited me to have a meal with Him and His people last night. The partaking of the meal with Him was a sign of His forgiveness for the wrongs I have done Him. The punishment I should have received for those wrongs was borne by the Master Himself. In His work on my behalf, I was reconciled to Him and where there was emnity there is now peace and acceptance. So it is I can eat at His table with joy and gladness of heart.