Follow the Lamb

whithersoever he goeth… Rev. 14:4

John the Baptist came preaching repentance for the “kingdom of heaven is at  hand”, preparing the way for the Messiah.  He preached that  Jesus was the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world.   But notice the 3 steps the Jews took in rejecting Jesus:

(1) “John was sent in the spirit and power of Elijah to prepare the way of Jesus. Those who rejected the testimony of John were not benefited by the teachings of Jesus. (2) Their opposition to the message that foretold His coming placed them where they could not readily receive the strongest evidence that He was the Messiah. Satan led on those who rejected the message of John to go still farther, to reject and crucify Christ. (3) In doing this they placed themselves where they could not receive the blessing on the day of Pentecost, which would have taught them the way into the heavenly sanctuary. The rending of the veil of the temple showed that the Jewish sacrifices and ordinances would no longer be received. The great Sacrifice had been offered and had been accepted, and the Holy Spirit which descended on the day of Pentecost carried the minds of the disciples from the earthly sanctuary to the heavenly, where Jesus had entered by His own blood, to shed upon His disciples the benefits of His atonement. But the Jews were left in total darkness. They lost all the light which they might have had upon the plan of salvation, and still trusted in their useless sacrifices and offerings. The heavenly sanctuary had taken the place of the earthly, yet they had no knowledge of the change. Therefore they could not be benefited by the mediation of Christ in the holy place.  EW 259.1

The  services, sacrifices and rites performed in the sanctuary or temple  had continually pointed to the ultimate Sacrifice, and work of Christ as  High Priest to come.  John’s message was a wake up call to the reality that the services and symbols which for thousands of years had been pointing forward to the Messiah were now meeting  the Reality.  The very One the forms had been pointing forward to year after year had come!  John  was sent to alert the Jews to the fact that they needed to prepare for this change, that what they had been trusting in, their continual services in the temple, were coming to an end; because the Christ the Lamb of God was to be the sacrifice for the sins of the world.  Not only was he “The Sacrifice for sin”,  but was also to take up the position as High Priest after his resurrection, and to minister in the heavenly sanctuary, in all it’s realities until the close of time. He was to perform in heavenly reality those services which he had given the Hebrew people in a miniature form, pointing to his work, so many centuries before.

Could we possibly miss following the Lamb as they did? 

For the modern saga, watch  Worship at Satan's Throne:

Soul Surrender

Recenlty I have been listening to sermons on Christ Our Righteousness by  Pastor Bill Lehman, that can be heard here:  Sermons by Bill Lehman and others  Speaking of the necessity of surrendering the heart, he came to the text in Matthew 12:43, 44.  This parable I had previously understood to be refering to demon possession.  But now find it is speaking of conversion, where the house is empty, swept clean and garnished but where the presence of the heavely guests is  found lacking.  Notice these these statements from Desire of Ages:

 

"Then He added a warning to those who had been impressed by His words, who had heard Him gladly, but who had not surrendered themselves for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is not only by resistance but by neglect that the soul is destroyed. "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man," said Jesus, "he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there." 

 

"There were many in Christ's day, as there are today, over whom the control of Satan for the time seemed broken; through the grace of God they were set free from the evil spirits that had held dominion over the soul. They rejoiced in the love of God; but, like the stony-ground hearers of the parable, they did not abide in His love. They did not surrender themselves to God daily, that Christ might dwell in the heart; and when the evil spirit returned, with "seven other spirits more wicked than himself," they were wholly dominated by the power of evil.   

    " When the soul surrenders itself to Christ, a new power takes possession of the new heart. A change is wrought which man can never accomplish for himself. It is a supernatural work, bringing a supernatural element into human nature. The soul that is yielded to Christ becomes His own fortress, which He holds in a revolted world, and He intends that no authority shall be known in it but His own. A soul thus kept in possession by the heavenly agencies is impregnable to the assaults of Satan. But unless we do yield ourselves to the control of Christ, we shall be dominated by the wicked one. We must inevitably be under the control of the one or the other of the two great powers that are contending for the supremacy of the world. It is not necessary for us deliberately to choose the service of the kingdom of darkness in order to come under its dominion. We have only to neglect to ally ourselves with the kingdom of light. If we do not co-operate with the heavenly agencies, Satan will take possession of the heart, and will make it his abiding place. The only defense against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith in His righteousness. Unless we become vitally connected with God, we can never resist the unhallowed effects of self-love, self-indulgence, and temptation to sin. We may leave off many bad habits, for the time we may part company with Satan; but without a vital connection with God, through the surrender of ourselves to Him moment by moment, we shall be overcome. Without a personal acquaintance with Christ, and a continual communion, we are at the mercy of the enemy, and shall do his bidding in the end.  

     "The last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so," said Jesus, "shall it be also unto this wicked generation." There are none so hardened as those who have slighted the invitation of mercy, and done despite to the Spirit of grace. The most common manifestation of the sin against the Holy Spirit is in persistently slighting Heaven's invitation to repent. Every step in the rejection of Christ is a step toward the rejection of salvation, and toward the sin against the Holy Spirit. " DA 324 

 

"Lord remind me daily of my moment by moment  need of surrender to you!"

 

Happy Sabbath

One Thing is Needful

Marshmallow Snow! we said as Heidi and I climbed up the hill from a fast sled run.   The wind had etched it like a sand scape over and around the dry clumps of grass.  Truly it looked like a sculptured blanket, smooth yet textured and so soft.  A beautiful day, lots of sunshine and rather productive, but not in the way I had thought.  It was one of those days savoring of a score of possible acomplishments, but I can't boast of that. Pondering what direction to go in the day, I asked the Lord which way... since there was snow I had thoughts of inviting a crowd to play...... but some had been sick... and then there were studies to do.....  laundry and phone calls to catch up on....a hair cut to give... an order to place.... but as the morning unfolded the Lord sent me a very uplifting phone call... from a friend  whom I hadn't really met yet!  Later I realized the sequence in the day the Lord wanted to bring my way, and  I had nearly elipsed it all with my possible "plans".

"Martha was cumbered with much serving.....one thing is needful"... time at "Jesus feet" Luke 10:40

Appreciating My Husband

who thinks ahead on so many things and at Thanksgiving got  me a  new, fast computer. Though, I've had it for a few months and have been thankful for it all along, I'm finally getting arround to organizing some music files on it today.   Found some of my favoite "Hymns for a Kids  Heart" accompaniments tucked away in a that I had down loaded from the web site a while back and thought I had lost them. Love all the rich orchestration.  Think I should have studied music more in school, but never really seemed to have a teacher that could have gotten me into all the mechanics of chords and how they fit together. So am just having to learn from scratch a lot.  But the Lord is good and helps  me learn and gives me new songs. Some times more than I can keep up with.  Must be that an inventive mind has to create often, well, can I say it... constantly!!   Yet the best things, the most lofty aspirations will be realized in the ceasless ages of eternity!

On another note: Today I took the time to bake up an few squash, one Banana squash weighing 18 lbs. and some small jack-be-little pumpkins, and butternuts too. Anyone else every try the little pumpkins?  Absolutely delicious! Meaty and sweet!  Just a little time consuming to get out of the shell.  Most of the squash was going in the freezer so as not to loose it to old age, as we have some others.  They have been so good this year.  But now it's time to look at seed catalogs and re-order or at leas assess the seed stock.

Spring around the corner

or so it seems some days.  Today it's very clear, cold with a couple inches of snow and just plain beautiful. The kind of day that reminds us that there is pruning to be done in the berry patch!  Trees to be planted while  it is still cold, and seeds to be sorted or ordered.  Since we had such wet fall  there are still corn stalks in the garden and left over plants here and there.  Who can think of planting and gardening when there is still winter all around?  Acording to the wise man:


The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he in harvest, and have nothing.
 Pro 20:4Hmmmmm...
 Some times the short winter days and long evenings are a restful delight. Lately it seems the computer has plenty of my time with the article preparation for Gospel Echos For The Home, connecting with friends and such things. Plus the daily duties.  But today I've been looking for some recording equipment accessories. Am thankful that some  are affordable. Maybe we'll soon be able to start recorded some pieces. 

Gospel Echos for the Home

 is the title of the blog  where I have posted the first in a series of articles on practical gospel living in the home. A number of years ago a friend of mine shared a few in this series with me.  I was captivated by the practical insights into both the Word of God, human nature and the affairs of daily living that this author brought out in her articles.  S.M.I Henry was a godly woman of deep christian character, moulded by providencial leadings in her life from a shy, invalid, into a confident evangelist of the truth in the mid to late 1800's.  Though a true poet at heart, she also wrote for the Methodist Church many stories and periodicals designed to keep younger feet from the paths of the destroyer, while raising three children alone after her husband died from illness following the Civil War. Recognizing the monster evils of the saloon, she with a handful of other concerned women launched the beginnings of the W.C.T.U (Women's Christian Temperance Union) of which she was the Evangelist. This is but a short description today.  I plan to add more details  in the future. Please visit  Gospel Echos for the Home  at: http://gospelechosforthehome.blogspot.com/

Learning Things

Seems I've been learning a few things about myself this week.  T'was kind of suprising.  Well since most of the last week and a half I've been tending the sick, making the meals, taking care of the pets needs, doing the hydotherapy treatments, on my own or so  it seemed, while Ron was at work. Sometimes I found myself struggling with keeping a cheerful attitude amid the added duties.  A couple of times I wasn't sure if I was coming down with the flu myself or just struggling to stay willing to keep tending my flock.  Besides drinking  lot's of tea and lemon water, taking a nap and not trying to over do,  I was learning to trust the Lord in more fully this week, eat simpler, with a emphasis on extra fresh things, lots grapefruit and cultured salads.  So far I'm hanging in there.  Then I read that quote I posted about New Strength Daily.  That really gave me a boost to think that the Lord is daily, hourly supplying me with new physical and mental strength.

Spent two Sabbaths at home and have rather have enjoyed two quiet days.  Went to the folks for Sabbath dinner, as Ron's sister with and a friend  of her's were here. Had a pleasant time and came home for  a quiet evening,to read some stories and.... well.... start laundry.

One of the blessings for me  on Sabbath was finding a way to share The Home articles that I have long been wanting to share. Think I will be periodicaly posting them on another blog.  So I'm off to launch that- hopefully today.  Watch for details later.