WHEN PUSH COMES TO SHOVE

 

"When push comes to shove..."
"When all else fails..."
"When I come to the end of my rope..."
"When I come to the end of MY rope 
         I'll tie a knot and hang on!"

There's got to be a better way - and I believe God has provided one.
Jesus says, 

"I am with you always." 
"I will supply all your needs according to My riches." 
"I will never leave you or forsake you." 
"In Me all My promises as YES and AMEN." 
"I know the plans I have for you - to give you a future and a hope."
"I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you."

Tie a knot in His rope, and He will hold you and strengthen you so that you never feel the need to push and shove, you will not be overcome by failure, and you will never come to the end of a rope again. Our God is faithful.

BY HOOK, OR BY CROOK by Sue McCary Sargis

 “Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. And I will turn you about, and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords.’” —Ezekiel 38:2–4

There is a war coming, the likes of which we have never seen. God says He will put a hook in the nostrils of those coming against His beloved Israel. It’s a battle I will not be here to witness, even from a far away shore because I will be safe in Heaven with my Jesus by then. I pray all those I know and love have a personal relationship with our Savior so they, too, do not have to suffer the world to come, a world gone totally array in the hands of the antichrist. This, however, is not the intent of my writing today.

While reading Ezekiel’s prophesy, the phrase “by hook or by crook” suddenly came into my mind. I’ve always understood this to mean something will happen, one way or another. As I believe God is sovereignly in control of timetables past, present and future, I know His will is accomplished, one way or another – in my life because I choose the crook; in others lives because they continually choose the hook. In the case of this end-times war it will be by hook, or by force and against the will of those waging war because God’s plans will be accomplished. At times in my own life when, kicking and screaming all the way, I ended up right where God’s plans intended because He knows I am not His enemy, but a sheep in His pasture, under His protection and care. It wasn’t His preferred method of moving me, though.

As “by hook or by crook” flittered through my mind I saw a Shepherd’s staff – that S-curved handle on a straight, strong, sturdy implement, and I know the shepherd uses his staff to rescue sheep from harm, to haul them out of streams when they get too close to raging waters ending upside down and helpless, weighted by their heavy frock, and to pull them out of briar and bramble. The shepherd also uses the crook to ward of predators, and to hook a lamb to keep it from wandering off. The shepherd’s hook is a steadying rod as well.

Would I rather be forced by hook - a symbol of servitude and conquest, or by crook – a symbol of rescue and protection? Would I rather experience the Good Shepherd’s leading and care . . .

The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul.  He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runneth over. Surely, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Psalm 23

Or constantly be afraid of that cruel hook found in God’s Ezekiel warning? When we get to know the Shepherd, we see His staff with eyes of understanding – we know we are protected, we know we are rescued, we know we are led safely to succulent pastures and rest. I will follow the Shepherd. I choose the Crook.

Once upon a time, a shepherd stood on a hillside 

with a stick in his hand, and that was all he needed 

to successfully guide his flock.

(smallfarmersjournal.com/The Shepherd’s Crook/by: Nick Evangelista/from issue: 21-1)

 HIS BLOOD BE UPON US AND ON OUR CHILDREN . . .

It’s almost time for the sun to descend below the horizon, and yet its glow is seen in the heavens and upon the waters. How glorious. 

As I read the Lent Scripture for today from CONTEMPLATING THE CROSS by Tricia McCary Rhodes, I thought of the moment in history when it seemed all glory had descended and faded completely, leaving only darkness upon the face of the deep.

“Crucify Him, Crucify Him” the angry crowd roared; their ruler would not carry the emotional weight of this Man’s death, and washed his hands as a gesture removing himself from any guilt or responsibility. “I am innocent of this Man’s blood; do with Him as you wish,” and the mob gladly took on that responsibility – the sentence of death. (The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 27)

But as the setting sun glows in the heavens and upon the deep, the light of God’s presence remains for those who choose to see – for those who know “His blood be upon us and upon our children” is no curse after all; it is the gift and the heart's cry of a gracious God and a loving Savior. No other religion's deity, in all of history, has displayed such love.

Indeed! Lord, God of heaven and earth, maker of the universe, all-compassionate one, Your blood be upon us and upon our children! This is the cry of our hearts as we look toward the horizon and await Your glorious return. Every eye will see the SON of GOD – who came to open blind eyes, to heal the lame and the deaf, who opened prison doors and declared, “This is the Day of God’s Favor” –  descend and gather those whose lives have been transformed through the Blood of Jesus which was so quickly dismissed by that earthy king because of an unruly mob and by myriad today who turn away from the love of Jesus as easily as the brilliance of the setting sun is ignored. Holy Spirit of God, open blind eyes! May our children and children's children experience Your grace while the glorious day of Your appearing is still on the horizon...

“The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

Thank You, oh thank you Jesus – INDEED! May Your blood be upon us and upon our children. 

Amen. Selah

KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL

 I just got to thinking, after my pastor's message today, about the dilemma we find ourselves in everyday because of that blasted fruit incident - or as my pastor coined it, "that Dr. Doolittle-ish conversation between the serpent and Eve:

GENESIS 3:6

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.

Without much thought I recalled a parallel between the three conclusions of Eve and a teaching on three found in 1 John:

Earlier in Genesis1:16-17, God's instruction to Adam is recorded:

And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

God was not withholding anything, except pain and sorrow and death, from Adam and Eve. The tree with forbidden fruit would cause them to know evil experientially. Many misquote this as simply the ‘tree of knowledge’ and, in doing so, miss the point altogether. It was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and because this door was opened, the whole of humanity, going forward, has to experientially deal with evil and the pain, sorrow and death associated with evil.

There came a day when God, at just the right time, left Glory, became the Man, Christ Jesus, died a sinner’s death on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins; rose from the dead, securing our justification; and one day will return to take us home, where there will be no more sorrow, no more pain, no more death. In the meantime, our carnal battle with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life - what seems good and pleasing and desirable - will continue to loom as majestic as that tree with forbidden fruit must have seemed in the middle of Eden. But, with our eyes and heart and mind set on Jesus, we will enjoy the fruit of the Spirit rather than the evil our flesh desires. Instead, we get to TASTE AND SEE THAT THE LORD, HE IS GOOD! (Psalm 38:4)

ROMANS 6:23 tells us:

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

REVELATION 21:1-5 reminds us:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Until that day, because of Christ's great love and sacrifice on our behalf, we have the blessed joy of choosing LIFE, even though that blasted fruit was picked. 

And He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” 

AMEN AND AMEN – THANK YOU FATHER, SON, HOLY SPIRIT – AND EVEN SO, LORD JESUS, COME.

suemccarysargis 1/10/2021