Spring, the Season of Beauty and prosperity after a dreary and gray winter, springs forth with colors, radiating life to the world; it sparkles beauty and music, the sound of happiness found in nature, while leaving behind the cold of winter. Some fly many miles away from the cold, others hibernate in holes until light of the sun sparkles warmth. They come out to greet spring in its arrival with songs of all kinds, as in the mocking bird who imitates many tunes taken from other birds. The strength with which they let out their songs is most noticeable. One song after another fills the earth in praise to the Creator, YAHWEH ELOHIM (Lord God). Butterflies fly hundreds of miles in search of flowers of their liking. A flower garden welcomes them to decorate its environment; nature in unison embraces spring as part of their lives in every aspect of life. Spring in man’s life starts at the time he is born. Joy, laughter brightens the family at the sound of a baby crying. Life is beautiful! As the season of spring speaks continuously in the life of that child, it changes swiftly with each year that passes. From baby, to childhood to adolescence, to adulthood, when spring fades away bringing the season of summer, the one in which man shows maturity in his years of twenty on up. The Lord speaks at this time and says, “Rejoice, O young man, in your adolescence, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. And walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. Therefore, remove sorrow and vexation from your heart and mind and put away evil from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity [transitory, idle, empty and devoid of truth]; Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come or the years draw near when you will say, I have no enjoyment in them; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened [your sight is impaired], and the clouds of depression return after the rain [of tears]; in the day when the keepers of the house [your hands and arms] tremble and the strong men [the feet and the knees] bow themselves and the grinders [the molar teeth] cease because they are few and those who look out the windows; [the eyes] are darkened; when the doors [the lips] are shut in the streets and the sound of the grinding [of the teeth] is low, and one rises up at the voice of a bird and the crowing of a cock, and al the daughters of music [the voice and the ear] are brought low; also when [the old] are afraid of danger from that which is high, and fears are in the way, and the almond tree [their white hair] blooms, and the grasshopper [a little thing] is a burden, and desire and appetite fail, because man goes to this everlasting home and the mourners go about the streets or marketplaces. [Remember your Creator earnestly now] before the silver cord [of life] is snapped apart or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern [and the whole circulatory system of the blood ceases to function]; then shall the dust [out of which God made man’s body] return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return to God Who gave it.” (Ecle. 12: 1-7).
Tag: Life
A Journey through the Desert of Life
For you did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother’s womb I will confess and praise You for You are fearful and wonderful and for the awful wonder of my birth! Wonderful are You works, and that my inner self knows right well; My frame was not hidden from You when I was bring formed in secret [and] intricately and curiously wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them… (Ps. 139: 14-16).
The beautiful creation of man expresses the depth of the wisdom of our God! Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unfathomable are His judgments! And how untraceable are His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord and who has understood is thoughts, or who has been His counselor? … For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever! Amen. (Rom. 11:33- 34,36).
When God created man, He created him in His image, like no other creature he had created. Some special to consider and feel honored by. He gave man a beautiful garden to take care and live in. The earth was filled with beauty, as life was sinless and perfect. “It was good!” So, God said. Emerged in the wisdom of God in everything created, the world made its turns, bringing new days with the brightness of the sun which nourished and beautified all. A smile confirmed peace and joy all enjoyed. The Garden of Edem was the ornament of all lands and still is, because it is the Lord’s land. The fragrances the garden sent out were the fragrances of purity. Man needed nothing more to have his life complete and fulfilled, as God visited him and fellowshipped with him in the cool of the day.
The world enjoyed that period of time, short or long, I do not know, although, we wished that time would have lasted forever, as the pages of history would have had a different story to tell. We do not have understanding of what happened in that garden, but we have the promise that all will be changed someday. Meanwhile, life portrays that of Adam and Eve in their disobedience to God. The journey through this world became filled with challenges. We are born to die; the future is dark and uncertain in many ways, as dark as that day when Adam and Eve opened the door to sin, then sin entered into the world, bringing man the reality of his consequential destiny. The everyday choices we make in our journey will certainly dictate our day. Adam’s new journey started on cursed ground, on roads of thorns and with the sweat of his face he labored to provide food for the family and of course, life was not the same; death was now part of his life. Out of the dust he was formed, to that end he will return. It is rather depressing when we reason life this way: a beautiful beginning with a tragic end. New lives are sprouted every moment into the world, bringing happiness, a smile that will take a long time to fade. The future of everyone is written in the book of God. His Words determine the destiny of all lives. A journey is seen from the distance, with clear choices to make. Choices of all kinds, good or bad. As an example, Adam and Eve’s fall to sin changed the world, for sin continued spreading to all generations. When Cain, their first son, was born, he already had in his DNA the root of iniquity; His life was unique and strange. Becoming a vagabond, his life’s journey was rough and unpleasant, for he lived under God’s judgment.
I Will Say of The Lord…
Every time we face problems with faith and courage we are proclaiming who and what the Lord is to us: our Refuge, our Fortress; He is our God in Him we have put our trust. This is truly a summary of Psalm 91. When abiding in God’s hiding place with certainty we can experience safety. The storms might rage near us; thunders might vibrate the earth and lightening’s flash of fire come down and burn it, even quakes might split the earth, still nothing will touch those who securely have embraced the Lord’s refuge. He is our impenetrable fortress. Nothing in this world and below is greater than He. Therefore nothing can touch us. He created the world and the heavens and all submit to His command and power; He created all living things big and small, great and powerless, all are His creation. The same Lord is the One Who says to us, I AM with you always, fear not!
In one occasion when the disciples were with YAHSHUA in a boat, a storm raged greatly against them, but He was found asleep. With only a whisper of His voice, the wind calmed down and all became peaceful again. The disciples asked the question: Who is this that even the winds obey His voice? He is God almighty, my refuge, my fortress, He is my God; in Him I have put my trust. Let be and be still, and know that He is God; He will be exalted in the earth!
Guard Your Heart Above All
(Heb. 13:9; Prov. 4:23)
Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life (Prov. 4:23).
The physical heart is not just a muscle; It is the body’s engine room, responsible for pumping life-sustaining blood via a network of vessels. It sends oxygen to the entire body. The heart is an amazing pump; it beats 72 times a minute. It is truly the spring of life. When it stops life stops with it. It is the center of our emotions. As such it is the symbol of goodness or meanness. At the act of one’s goodness, it is said to be from a heart of gold. But it is there that bitterness is harbored and evil springs forth. A carrier of life in the physical, the heart is also a receiver of good and evil in its emotions. The Bible says that the heart is deceitful above all things and perverse and corrupt and severely, mortally sick! Who can know it (Jer. 17: 9). The tendency of the heart is to be evil. It is in agreement with the ingenerated soul of men which comprises the mind also. It is hard to understand that a body organ so vital to bring life is also a haven to harbor corruption, destruction, and bitterness. Solomon admonishes us to guard the heart with all vigilance, because the heart is vulnerable to all things. The heart receives and the mind processes whatever enters the heart of men. The Apostle Paul admonishes us to hold our thoughts captive into obedience to Christ and to have a renewed mind. That in itself is guarding the heart. We are what we think in our heart. As the heart is, so is man. The mind, the master controller of the body, is key in guarding the heart. When the soul is mentioned, it is implied to be the heart and the mind, that is, emotion, will and intellect. We feel with the heart, we desire with the heart and we think with our mind. Heart and mind are inseparable in their functions.
Every Life is a Book
Without paper, without a pen, every minute pages are written through someone’s life. From the crib to the grave, life speaks through attitude and actions without language, without voices one’s book is developed page by page in a subtle way, until life’s breath is taken away from us. Life is a beautiful expression of God’s wisdom, love and His mercy. It demonstrates the immensity and depth of God’s wisdom. Created to bring glory to God, we humans have failed God’s purpose for creating us, but not nature around us. Look at the flowers of the field, the firmament declaring His glory. They are faithfully declaring their Creator’s glory. The Word of God says, The heavens declare the glory and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day after day pours forth speech, and night after night shows forth knowledge (Ps. 19:1-2). From the time we are born we start the first page of our book. For many, their stories are filled with joy, pomp privileges and smiles. For others, not so fortunate, nonetheless. The pages of their book start with misfortune and death. Millions of others will not have a chance to see the light of the day, only anguish and despair, for their lives are taken away in suffering. They have been denied the right to live when being sucked out of the mother’s womb, the supposed safest place to be. Their book is a wordless book. No one knows what would have been their lives’ story registered in a forever book. Only God knows. Life is given to all by God with a future planned under each name, as David so wrote: I will confess and praise You for You are fearful and wonderful and for the awful wonder of my birth! Wonderful are Your works, and that my inner self knows right well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret intricately and curiously wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when yet there was none of them (Ps. 139: 14-16).
Truth Is the Only Key to Open the Doors of Freedom and Hope
Let’s talk about truth, a scarce subject everywhere these days. News is passed around the internet, filled with make believe stories, some with a twist of doubt and some not sure and others with a hint of truth. The complete truth is in no way found in the media. These are as the days the Prophet Isaiah dealt with when the nation of Israel rebelled against the Lord and denied Him. Justice, he said, is turned away backward, and righteousness stands far off; for truth has fallen in the street, and uprightness cannot enter [the courts of justice]. Yes, truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. And the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice (Isaiah 59:14-15). What is truth? Asked Pilate to YAHSHUA many years ago, when YAHSHUA stood in front of him, being accused on the basis of lies. Pilate, a Roman and unaware of the Jewish law, needed something called truth to hang on to punish the accused. The more that the crowd yelled accusations against the Lord, the more that Pilate’s curiosity grew. He wanted to know the truth, so it seemed, although with his hands tied by the Jewish authorities, he was limited in his freedom. He asked YAHSHUA, Are You the King of the Jews? When YAHSHUA truthfully admitted by saying, My kingdom belongs not to this world… then He answered, I am a King. This is why I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the Truth. Everyone who is of the Truth hears and listens to My voice. Pilate, curiously asked, WHAT IS TRUTH? (John 18:31-40).
Pilate’s question, What is truth? Echoes throughout the ages. Believing YAHSHUA to be the King of the Jews, Pilate wrote an inscription on a placard that read, YAHSHUA THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS and put it on His cross, although not staying to hear YAHSHUA’S answer of what is truth. Pilate stood firm on what he wrote, when the Jews asked him to change what he wrote, he said, What I have written, I have written. For once he stood his ground and defended YAHSHUA’S title. The title was written in the three main languages of those days: Hebrew, Latin and in Greek. This act of Pilate was of great spiritual significance, for it carried a prophetic weight soon to be happening through YAHSHUA’S death and subsequently, His resurrection. YAHSHUA’S death constituted salvation for the world. The Truth stood uprightly on the cross at Calvary. YAHSHUA, the Savior of the world; the Truth, the Way and the Life!
No Death with YAHSHUA, No Life with Him
The sound of a new born baby touches we mothers the same way as when we had our own. Life is beautiful! Life is a miracle only our Creator- the Lord YAHSHUA would create us in the womb of our mothers. The completeness of our birth is amazing in its intrinsicality, connecting all parts of the body to harmonize and synchronize with each other, without interference. The brain, the control center of the body, is an important organ of the body in its functions. But with all its complexities, the physical body will not have an entrance in heaven, for it is contrary to the laws of God. Paul said, For those who are according to the flesh and are controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and seek those things which gratify the Holy Spirit; now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death; but the mind of the Holy Spirit is life and peace, because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God’s Law; indeed it cannot. So, then those who are living the life of the flesh, cannot please or satisfy God or be acceptable to Him (Rom. 8:5-7).
In his saying, Paul was echoing the words of YAHSHUA: If any person wills to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever would preserve his life and save it will lose and destroy it; but whoever loses his life for My sake he will preserve and save it; for what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and ruins of forfeits himself? (Luke 9: 23-25). Faith without commitment to God is not faith that is alive, or be counted as such, for faith demands action, or it is not faith at all. Faith is seen in one’s conscious decision to obey God. In the parable of the seeds YAHSHUA told, it has an application we must pay attention to and take to heart, in order to understand that one must die to self in order to bear fruit into eternity. Three were the soils in which the seeds were planted; but only one was the good soil. It was noted by the fruit the seed bore. Faith is like that; where there is faith, there is growth and fruit producing tree. No servant can serve two masters, for either he shall hate the one, and love the other; or else he shall lean to one and despise the other; you cannot serve God and riches (Luke 16: 13). We cannot serve God and the flesh and the world.
Light from the Word 