Come, Let Us Go

“Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;   let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.” — Psalm 95:1

Beginning with the opening line, “Come,let us sing for joyto theLORD,” Psalm 95 is an invitation to praise the Lord. But where exactly are we going?

The mystical masters who lived in the holy city of Tzfat in Israel during the 16^th century understood this verse as encouragement to actually go somewhere special when praising the Lord. Once a week, they would leave the hustle and bustle of city life and go out to the fields and forests in order to connect with the Lord.

But there is another understanding of the verse as well — one that influences how we live daily.

I heard the following story from my friend Avi, a rabbi with a thriving congregation. Like many community leaders, Avi is a very, very busy man. One day, Avi was taking a rare break in his day to speak with his father. His father said he was planning a visit and wanted Avi to pick him up at the airport . . . right in the middle of rush hour!

“Dad, I love you, but I just can’t get away for that long. I’ll send a car service,” Avi offered. But the father wanted his son to greet him at the airport and insisted Avi come. Again, my friend said, “Dad, I love you so much. But I just can’t do it.” “Just come,” the father said. “I love you, but I can’t,” came Avi’s refrain. After a few more exchanges like this, Avi’s father had enough.

“Stop loving me so much and just pick me up from the airport,” Avi’s father said, and he hung up the phone.

Feelings don’t mean much if we don’t follow them up with action.

Back to our psalm. Where are we invited to go by the psalmist when he beckons us to “Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD”? Anywhere and everywhere! Every place that we can transform our feelings of love into actions of service, that’s where the psalmist wants us to go. Go somewhere, and do something good. That’s the ultimate praise of the Lord.

An old age home? A soup kitchen? Or maybe just the airport to pick up a relative or friend? Where can you go in praise of the Lord? Choose one action that you can do today that reflects how you feel about God. Turn your love into actions, and your heart into hands.

http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/come-let-us-go

Deuteronomy 33:27 The eternal God is thy refuge.

The word refuge may be translated “mansion,” or “abiding-place,” which gives the thought that God is our abode, our home. There is a fulness and sweetness in the metaphor, for dear to our hearts is our home, although it be the humblest cottage, or the scantiest garret; and dearer far is our blessed God, in whom we live, and move, and have our being. It is at home that we feel safe: we shut the world out and dwell in quiet security. So when we are with our God we “fear no evil.” He is our shelter and retreat, our abiding refuge. At home, we take our rest; it is there we find repose after the fatigue and toil of the day. And so our hearts find rest in God, when, wearied with life’s conflict, we turn to Him, and our soul dwells at ease. At home, also, we let our hearts loose; we are not afraid of being misunderstood, nor of our words being misconstrued. So when we are with God we can commune freely with Him, laying open all our hidden desires; for if the “secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him,” the secrets of them that fear Him ought to be, and must be, with their Lord. Home, too, is the place of our truest and purest happiness: and it is in God that our hearts find their deepest delight. We have joy in Him which far surpasses all other joy. It is also for home that we work and labour. The thought of it gives strength to bear the daily burden, and quickens the fingers to perform the task; and in this sense we may also say that God is our home. Love to Him strengthens us. We think of Him in the person of His dear Son; and a glimpse of the suffering face of the Redeemer constrains us to labour in His cause. We feel that we must work, for we have brethren yet to be saved, and we have our Father’s heart to make glad by bringing home His wandering sons; we would fill with holy mirth the sacred family among whom we dwell. Happy are those who have thus the God of Jacob for their refuge!

http://www.crosswalkmail.com/ShareArticle.do?perform=view&articleID=oqwwwwwqm&siteID=vprjvmfgjrjfygtkbzqdqfmypbbyrhfqvvt&recipID=526889780

Substitution

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him —2 Corinthians 5:21

The modern view of the death of Jesus is that He died for our sins out of sympathy for us. Yet the New Testament view is that He took our sin on Himself not because of sympathy, but because of His identification with us. He was “made. . . to be sin. . . .” Our sins are removed because of the death of Jesus, and the only explanation for His death is His obedience to His Father, not His sympathy for us. We are acceptable to God not because we have obeyed, nor because we have promised to give up things, but because of the death of Christ, and for no other reason. We say that Jesus Christ came to reveal the fatherhood and the lovingkindness of God, but the New Testament says that He came to take “away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). And the revealing of the fatherhood of God is only to those to whom Jesus has been introduced as Savior. In speaking to the world, Jesus Christ never referred to Himself as One who revealed the Father, but He spoke instead of being a stumbling block (see John 15:22-24). John 14:9  , where Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father,” was spoken to His disciples.

That Christ died for me, and therefore I am completely free from penalty, is never taught in the New Testament. What is taught in the New Testament is that “He died for all” (2 Corinthians 5:15)— not, “He died my death”— and that through identification with His death I can be freed from sin, and have His very righteousness imparted as a gift to me. The substitution which is taught in the New Testament is twofold— “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” The teaching is not Christ for me unless I am determined to have Christ formed in me (seeGalatians 4:19).

http://utmost.org/substitution/

The Moon and Me

“It will be established forever like the moon,   the faithful witness in the sky.” — Psalm 89:37

What if life were perfect? What if every morning when you woke up, the sun was shining? After a great night rest, you would greet your perfect spouse and your angelic children, and then make your way to your dream job. What if the traffic lights were always green and your co-workers were always helpful and cheerful? What if after every perfect day, you returned home to a perfectly leisurely evening? What if life were easy? What, then, would be the point of it?

A young man once complained to his older and wiser father about all his problems in life. “I just want things to be easy, Dad!” the son said. “I know a place where people have no problems. But I don’t think you would like it there,” the father replied. “Why not?” asked the son. “Let me show you,” said his father. The two got in the car and drove for few miles. As they neared their destination the old man said triumphantly, “Here it is!” And they pulled into a cemetery.

The only people without any problems are ones who aren’t living. An EKG heart monitor says it all. The sign of life is a healthy pattern of ups and downs. The sign of death is a long, flat line. Because life was never meant to be easy. It’s only through our challenges that our lives have meaning.

In Psalm 89, life is compared to the moon. The psalmist writes:  “it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky.” The Sages teach that the “it” in the psalm is the world. When God created life, he intended for it to be like the moon. While the sun is always bright and shinning, the moon waxes and wanes. Sometimes it is full and bright, other times it is just a tiny sliver in the sky. Isn’t that the story of our lives?

Sometimes we are on top of the world, higher than the highest mountain. But other times, we fall flat on our faces. For every mountain, there is a valley. But these ups and downs are what gives meaning to our lives.

We are here to learn and to grow. What would we learn in a predictable world? Why would we grow if everything came easy? Next time you find yourself feeling small or dark, look at the moon in the sky. Remember:  In the times that it is smallest, it is reborn. The darkest parts of the cycle lead to the times of fullness and light.

http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/the-moon-and-me-2

One Consequence of Same-Sex Marriage By Jim Daly , CP Guest Contributor

By the end of this month it’s likely to be legal for children in California to have three  parents.

As of now, the state’s current law only allows two parents per child, which  is both the historical standard and the common sense one.

So why aren’t two enough anymore?

Same-sex marriage.

Children of lesbian couples may have two “mothers,” but it’s obviously  impossible for a child to be conceived without a father. The same is true for  homosexual men; every child is born of a mother, even if the male couple deems  her simply utilitarian in nature.

California state Senator Mark Leno introduced the legislation expanding  parenthood earlier this year when he learned of the unfortunate plight of a  young girl named M.C. The little girl’s biological mother is a lesbian who is  “married” to another woman. The state recognizes the two women as M.C’s parents,  but the youngster suddenly found herself in an even more precarious position  when her biological mother went to prison and her other “mother” was  hospitalized.

In a day she went from having two “mothers” to having none, at least  practically speaking.

The circumstances are very disturbing. The biological mother went to jail  because her boyfriend stabbed the other “mother.”

The biological father requested custody but was denied because of  California’s two-parent policy. Instead, the child became a ward of the state.  Even though the two women were otherwise disposed, the law still views them as  the child’s legitimate parents.

The sordid details notwithstanding, the consequences of this law designed to  allow for multiple parents are far reaching and tragic.

I fear for the child who will soon be pulled in every direction, their  loyalties challenged and their sense of morality further corrupted and  confused.

This is what happens when the gender of a parent no longer matters, when culture sees the role of mothers and fathers as  interchangeable or even irrelevant rather than sacred and distinct.

A mother cannot be a father and a father cannot be a mother.

California Senator Mark Leno may be on the verge of a legislative victory,  but like regularly happens with attempts to redefine God‘s design of the family,  when radicals win, it’s the children who ultimately lose.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/one-consequence-of-same-sex-marriage-81619/#hbHUOYkClMRoEG62.99

Family Resemblance

“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2

I am the third in an extended line of Joe Stowells. As a young boy, I realized that my name often brought quick recognition and statements like, “Oh, you’re Joe Stowell’s son.” My dad, Joe Stowell, Jr., pastored a large, successful church. He was highly respected as a preacher and was a leader on several ministry boards. He was, in fact, a household name within our denomination and was recognized for his service to Christ with an honorary doctorate from Wheaton College. I was proud of my dad and felt honored to be his son. Being known as his child was a primary source of significance for me. I always felt it was an honor to bear his name.

But I have to tell you that the honor also brought some expectations. Given my dad’s great reputation, I was keenly aware that my actions would reflect on my dad, and that others’ perception of him might well be shaped by what they saw in me. And, when I forgot about my identity as Joe Stowell’s son, there were always a few “behavior cops” nearby to remind me! I’m not interested in being your behavior cop today, but I am deeply interested in God’s reputation that has been entrusted to lives like yours and mine. You are probably already getting the point: God paid a major price to adopt you into His family, ran the risk of calling you His child, and promised you a better-than-anything-on-earth inheritance. There are no material possessions, fame, or power that can compare to the significance that you have in being His child!

So, when people find out who you are, they may just be wondering what your Father is like. What they see in you may be the only thing they ever know about our God. Since God is loving, gracious, just, honest, faithful, patient, generous, and merciful—just for starters—the family resemblance should be finding its way into your relationships, your career, and your family on a regular basis. In Philippians 2:5-11, Paul reminds us that even our attitudes should reflect the heart of Christ. We should choose to think of ourselves as servants and to obey God with a humble and surrendered spirit even to the point of personal sacrifice. Hey, after all, that’s exactly what Jesus did to let others know that His Father desired to serve our sin-lost lives with the love of His saving grace.

You know, I have to tell you that I’ve always wanted my dad to be proud of me. To this day, I have found great satisfaction in having heard him say that he was glad to be my dad. On a much greater scale, I want God to be pleased to be known as my Father! Keeping up the family reputation is a sure way for you to know that He is pleased with you.

YOUR JOURNEY…

• What about you? Have you experienced the privilege of becoming God’s child?
• Read the list of family expectations in Ephesians 5:1-12. What specifically can you do to upgrade the family name?
• Peter tells his readers that they may experience some suffering for bearing the name of Jesus (1 Peter 4:12-19). Have you experienced suffering or ridicule as a Christian? Did it derail you?

• How has the “family resemblance” been reflected in your life over the past week?
• What impression are your co-workers, friends, and family getting of Christ by watching your life as one of his followers?
• How does knowing that you bear the name of Christ impact your sense of significance and self-worth?

http://getmorestrength.org/daily/family-resemblance/

Priority Check

“Now they sin more and more; they make idols for themselves from their silver, cleverly fashioned images, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of these people, “They offer human sacrifices! They kiss calf-idols!” — Hosea 13:2

The corruption that Hosea dedicates his life to correcting is so aptly captured in the following quote: “They offer human sacrifices! They kiss calf-idols!” The Sages teach that while the normal way of a human being is to kiss people and slaughter calves, this generation got things completely backwards. They would kiss calves and slaughter people! Apparently, their priorities had been turned completely inside out.

It sounds barbaric to us, but human sacrifice was an accepted practice in ancient times. Our verse describes the worship of an idol in the image of a silver calf. People would sacrifice humans – even their own children – just for the opportunity to kiss the idol. It sounds absolutely insane to value an inanimate object over a human being. Who could do such a thing? But – wait. Think about it. People do it all of the time.

“Cat’s in the Cradle” is a famous song all about a father who is too busy to spend time with his son. Though the son repeatedly asks his father to spend time with him, the father offers little more than vague promises to spend time together in the future. He is presumably busy with his job and earning a living. As the song progresses, the child who wants to be just like Dad grows up. The day with Dad never comes.

In the last two verses of the song, the roles are reversed and the child doesn’t have time for his father. The father, now an older man, realizes that he missed the chance to have a relationship with his child. He may have achieved financial success, but in the process, he gave up his son.

This haunting song reminds us of the sacrifice many of us unknowingly make when we strive for gold and silver. In our pursuit of success, it’s so easy to forget the cost. Though most people start out with their priorities in place, time and challenges can turn them inside out. The scary part is that most people don’t even realize that their priorities are shifting. Harry Chapin, the author of the song, said about it, “This song scares me to death.” It should stir us all.

In our generation, we often flip-flop our priorities like the idol worshipers in the time of Hosea.  The question is this:  Do we sacrifice our money so that we can kiss our kids? Or do we give up our children because of our love for money?

http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/priority-check

God’s Love Even For Sinners

Because tax-gathers and sinners kept coming to Jesus to hear him, the Pharisees and scribes complained, “This man welcomes sinners and even eats with them!” So he told them this story: “What man of you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go and hunt for the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and when he gets home calls together his friends and says, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the sheep that I lost.’ So, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who is truly sorry and promises to do right than over ninety-nine upright men who have no need to do so.

“Or which one of you women, if she has ten silver coins but has lost one, does not light a lamp, sweep the house thoroughly, and search carefully until she finds it? After finding it she calls together her friends and neighbors and says, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I lost.’ So, I tell you, there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who is truly sorry and promises to do right.”

Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, ‘Father, give me the part of your property that belongs to me.’ So the Father divided his property between his two sons. A few days later, the younger son got together all that he had and went into a distant country where he wasted his money in reckless living. After he had spent it all, there was a great famine in the land, and he began to be in want. So he agreed to work for a man of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine; and he was ready to eat even the pods that the swine were eating, for no one gave him food. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough to eat while I die here of hunger! I will go to my father and say, ‘Father, I have sinned against God and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.’

“So he went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt pity for him, and ran and threw his arms about his neck and tenderly kissed him. Then his son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against God and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick, bring a coat, the best, and put it on him and put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf, kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this son of mine was dead but has come back to life, he was lost but has been found.’ So they began to make merry.

“Now the elder son was out in the fields, and as he came near the house he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what all this meant. The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ And he was angry and would not go in so his father came out to reason with him, but he answered, ‘See all these many years I have worked for you and never disobeyed one of your commands, yet you never gave me so much as a young goat that I might have a feast with my friends. But now when this son of yours comes, who has wasted your money with wicked women, you kill the fatted calf for him!’ His father answered, ‘Son, you are with me always and all that I have is yours; but it was right to make merry and rejoice because of your brother, for he was dead but has come back to life, he was lost but has been found.’”

http://kids.ochristian.com/Childrens-Bible/Gods-Love-Even-For-Sinners.shtml

California’s Scorched Earth Policy Toward Marriage

From the moment the push to redefine marriage began, the most militant of the would-be redefiners deployed a “scorched earth policy” toward marriage to achieve their goals. In other words, they proved willing not just to alter, but also to destroy marriage and the familyin order to establish conditions where they could reconstruct marriage – and all of society – according to their own designs.

And part of this scorched earth policy, as we’re now seeing it in California, is the effort to recognize more than two parents for children.

That’s right—SB 1476, a bill that gives judges the power to pretend that a child could have “three or more” parents—has made it through the state Senate and is now with the Assembly. And once a child has two mothers and a dad or two dads and mother, how small is the step to allowing the two moms to “marry” or the two dads to “marry”?

According to the The Sacramento Bee, three parent relationships that would be protected under SB 1476 include:

A family in which a man began dating a woman while she was pregnant, then raised that child with her for seven years. The youth also had a parental relationship with the biological father. 

A same-sex couple who asked a close male friend to help them conceive, then decided that all three would raise the child.

A divorce in which a woman and her second husband were the legal parents of a child, but the biological father maintained close ties as well.

 

In looking at these various scenarios, it doesn’t take long to see that there are numerous ways for a child to end up with three parents. (But why stop at three?)

Seriously, by the time you add up all the same-sex options, together with divorces and remarries and boyfriends and girlfriends in between, children raised in an SB 1476 world would  not even know what “mom” or “dad” means.

And once it goes that far, it will have reached the point of critical mass for which same-sex “marriage” advocates are hoping. There will be such chaos that they can just step in and say, “Jane and Sally are already both mothers to little Johnny in this house. If we’re going to recognize them as mothers, why not allow them to ‘marry’ so little Johnny can have parents who are ‘married’ like everyone else’s?” And if the “two moms” must be “married,” how can we stop there and deny “marriage” to every other conceivable confederation of enumerable adults who have some connection to a child?

Where slopes were once slippery, we now have the steepest of cliffs.

In California, pro-chaos legislators are using a scorched earth policy to set up the opportunity for reconstructing marriage after their own image. And if they prove successful in getting SB 1476 signed into law, the reconstruction they seek won’t be far behind.

Austin Nimocks

Austin R. Nimocks is senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund (www.telladf.org), a legal alliance employing a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.

http://townhall.com/columnists/austinnimocks/2012/07/08/californias_scorched_earth_policy_toward_marriage/page/full/

California Law Would Not Be in Kids’ ‘Best Interest’

When she was a precocious preschooler, the daughter of my cousin was famous for begging to sit in the front seat of the family car. As the youngest of four children, she was unlikely to have that privilege, even if she was large enough to safely sit up front. She begged anyway.

The story goes that after repeatedly being denied the chance to sit in the front, the little girl buckled herself into her booster seat in the back, smugly declaring, “This is the front seat.”

Which proves that even a 4-year-old can execute the “When all else fails, redefine the issue” strategy.

This is the avenue being pursued by California state Sen. Mark Leno, who has introduced legislation in the Golden State to allow a child to have more than two parents.

Reflecting the changing nature of families, Mr. Leno believes that adults in nontraditional families — such as when there is a gay couple as well as a biological father or mother — ought to have parental rights conferred on all the parties engaged in the business of “parenting.”

Referring to the 1950s TV show about the quintessential American family, the San Francisco Democrat is quoted as saying, “The bill brings California into the 21st century, recognizing that there are more than Ozzie and Harriet families today.”

Mr. Leno is an outspoken proponent of gay marriage, which the voters of California have resoundingly and repeatedly rejected. Now it appears he’s going around the will of the citizens to confer at least one of the “rights” associated with gay marriage — the “right” to be designated as a parent to a child with whom one has no biological connection.

In a tasteless nod to pragmatism, Mr. Leno thinks this bill is a good idea for, among other reasons, its ability to assign financial responsibility for children to an even larger pool of people than just the two responsible adults known as a “mother” and “father.” He envisions kids having access to more child support, Social Security benefits and health insurance.

Apparently what he does not envision are the gruesome and protracted custody battles and fights over who must (or mustn’t) pay child support, fund a college education, foot the bill for a wedding, or even pay attention when said (confused and understandably screwed up) child lands in jail or rehab or on a therapist’s couch.

Most troubling, Mr. Leno seeks to redefine “parenthood” in a fundamentally different way, eliminating old-fashioned designations of “mother” and “father” in favor of the gender-neutral term “parent,” something he presumes anyone can be to another person with whom they form a special emotional bond.

The irony in this bill is that Mr. Leno believes it somehow serves children’s “best interests,” something he wants California courts to determine.

But Mr. Leno ignores the irrefutable proof: If we want to serve the best interests of children, we’d work harder to raise them in intact two-parent families consisting of one mother and one father.

At the risk of stating an obvious, if unpopular, fact: Children of “traditional” families do better by every measurable standard. They achieve more educationally, they engage in fewer risky behaviors, they get more sleep, eat more vegetables, read more books, enjoy better health, and have greater potential for success as adults than do children raised in any other family structure.

Apologies to those who simply aren’t able to provide the benefits of a two-parent home, for whatever reasons. Life throws curves and we all do the best we can with what God sends our way.

But redefining what it is to be a “parent” will no more make someone a mother or father than will sitting straight and tall in your booster seat put you up front where you’d prefer to be sitting.

Words have meaning, and no matter how they redefine it in California, “mom” and “dad” mean something unique and irreplaceable.

Marybeth Hicks

Marybeth Hicks is the author of Don’t Let the Kids Drink the Kool-Aid: Confronting the Left’s Assault on Our Families, Faith, and Freedom (Regnery Publishers, 2011).

http://townhall.com/columnists/marybethhicks/2012/07/05/california_law_would_not_be_in_kids_best_interest/page/full/