When I See Jesus Face To Face

 If I die before Jesus returns, I want this sung at my funeral. Preferably with joy. Don't wear black. Wear happy colors. Release a multitude of balloons, whether the sun shines or the skies pour. When I see Jesus face to face, 'twill be a joyous celebration. Don't waste your money on flowers, either. Give that amount you wanted to spend on flora and fauna to your local homeless shelter. Feed the poor, clothe the naked, shelter the refugee.


When I see Jesus face to face, my style of burial won't matter. Don't waste your money putting me into the ground. Plain and simple or cremation is good enough. Fellowship and remember me, but grieve not for my going. Grief is what happens to us, when someone we love deeply dies. Even knowing death is coming for that person does not lessen the grieving. It is still a traumatic shock to the body and mind of the one left behind.



Mourning endures for quite awhile. We never get over the grieving and yearning, we simply get through it. Some through the bottle, some through drugs, some both; neither good ways. Some get through it in anger, some in deep depression. But some folks grieve with the help of a loving, living God. He is our mainstay through it all.



Through the sudden impact of never seeing their face again. Never hearing their laughter, nor their voice. A memory, a photo can only do so much but eventually it is enough. For awhile there may be no memories, because the grief is strong and seemingly overwhelming. But when we cry out to Jesus for help, He is right there to help us. Jesus holds our hands through every waking and sleeping moment. The Holy Spirit comforts us and guides us to stable ground, where we again can stand, and not drown in our sorrows.



When I see Jesus face to face,

my face will be all smiles.

For I am finally in this place

at the end of all my miles.



I have endured the race,

 set before me,

walking, running too

just so I could see my Friend

on the other side of the blue.



When I see Jesus face to face,

I'll know that I am home,

my tears are gone, my sorrows done

Thank God, I'm home at last.

Pondering

The Cross

According to Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary the cross is a single stake " I " upon which criminals were hung until they died. If not dead by sunset, their legs were broken to bring death more swiftly (John 19:31-33).

What is it not? Two stakes formed to make a cross " t ". That symbol is a holdover from pagan culture brought into the apostate church, the church which turned its back on the truth of the gospels, desiring only to 'increase their prestige'; thereby allowing this " t " to remain as a symbol of Christianity, though it was not.

It is not the letter X, the first letter of the word "Christ", which Constantine used.

A. The cross is a humiliating means of execution for all crimes, not just treason, but theft and murder, as well.

1. Treason: John 19:12

2. Theft: while all the gospels agree that thieves were hung with Christ, careful study indicates that thievery was not a crucifixion matter. Malefactor is a word which means "a person who violates the law; one who does evil to another person"; these are the ones who were hung on either side of Jesus Christ.

3. Murder: Acts 3:14, wherein Peter states that a murderer was released instead of Jesus.

B. The cross is not to be revered as such, but The Lamb of God who was slain for the sins of the world is to be revered, worshiped, honored and adored.

1. Revelation 5:6, 12

2. John 1:29

3. Isaiah 53

C. The cross represents submission to God, our higher Authority. Though we are made to suffer by the hands of another, it is our silent submission to God that God sees. Christ did not defend Himself by word or by action, but meekly submitted to His Father's will; showing us by example how we are to behave when we are come against for believing The Word of God and obeying it.

1. Complain not to the person(s) judging you: Isaiah 53:7; John 19:9.

2. Do not hate the one(s) hating you: Matthew 5:44; Romans 12:14; 1 Corinthians 4:12; 2 Corinthians 6:1-10.

3. Do not judge, nor condemn they who come against you, but love and forgive them. Matthew 6:7; 7:1;18:22; Luke 23:34; John 3:16, 17; 13:34; Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13.

So, as I sit and ponder the cross, I also see through communication with God that the cross is both multitudinous and personal. The invitation to salvation is for all, yet each must make an individual surrender and commitment to believe and to follow Christ.

1. John 3:16 states that GOD loved the world (multitudinous: all people)

2. Romans 3:10, 21 tells us we are all sinners and unrighteous.

3. Romans 5:8 BUT GOD commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. "How wonderful, how marvelous" as the hymn is written. We did nothing to deserve or earn or purchase this great love which God has for us. Ponder that, if you will. Nothing we, you nor I, can ever do will cause God to love us more than He does now or then.

4. Romans 3:23 Sin= Death - For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.

5. Romans 9:25-26 This gift of God is available to all people, not just to the Jews. "As He saith in Osee (Hosea 2:23), I will call them My people, which were not My people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not My people; there shall they be called the children of the living God."

6. Romans 10:9-13 This much loved passage of Scripture relates that it is on an individual repentance that salvation is given. The message of the gospel is for all, but belief is an individual act by each who hears the gospel.

"That if thou (you) shall confess with thy (your) mouth (speak out loud) The LORD Jesus, and shall believe in thine (your) heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou (you) shall be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.

For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same LORD over all is rich unto all that call upon Him.

For whosoever shall call upon The Name of The LORD shall be saved."

We don't need fancy words, nor long and wordy prayer, to admit we are sinners. We just need to talk to Him from the heart. I could give you an example of what to pray, but Jesus already did that for us. Twice in the Scriptures, we are brought into God's presence through the words of Christ when He prayed. Once, by an example of prayer; second, by His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, before He was betrayed and crucified.

Admit we have sinned against God.

Believe that Jesus Christ is God's only begotten Son, that He died on the cross and rose from the dead.

Commit ourselves to a life of following Jesus and serving others.

Die daily. (not physically, but surrendering our bodies in full [thoughts and actions] to God's will.

Exemplify God's grace.

Forgive without number any and all sins committed against us every day.

Statler Bros Old & New Testament

 I grew up listening to Merle Haggard and The Beatles, Freddie and The Dreamers and these guys, The Statler Brothers. While it may seem like an eclectic taste, when my folks got married they each brought their taste in music with them: Mother brought her country and western, Daddy brought his rock n roll. And while I drifted in and out of both, eventually I found my way to southern gospel. And I love it.

Enjoy these wonderful songs by The Statler Brothers and listen your way through The Bible.

Seeing The Pigsty..

...For What It Is

Luke 17:15-20


You can tell your kids to clean their rooms. You can show them how to clean and take care of their rooms. But until they realize that their room is filthy, according to your standards, they will just not see the filth for what it is.

Us Moms and Dads know that a clean room is more than just a nice room. The child/children sleeping and playing in there are happier, the room smells fresh and clean when you walk into it and the child is learning a basic need for him or her self: responsibility for one's own needs. 

It is the same way with a sinner. We are told we need to be saved from the penalty of sin. We are shown the way to salvation. But until we see the need for salvation, until we recognize that we are sinners and that our thoughts, our actions, our words are sin, we will not obtain said salvation. 

We need to see sin for what it is before we can be declared set free from sin. Which begs the question, What is sin?

SIN IS ANYTHING GOD SAYS IS SIN. 

What is the penalty of sin? 

Death. Twice dead. 

How do I escape the penalty for my sin?

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, that whosoever believeth on Him, should be saved.". John 3:16 

GOD STILL LOVES. It is not a past tense, it is a current frame.

"For whosoever shall call upon The Name of The LORD shall be saved". Romans 10:13

WHOSOEVER MEANS ANYONE. God's love is not restricted to the color of our skin, nor the culture into which we are born, nor our gender, nor our citizenship. GOD LOVES. EVERYONE. 
Even the people who hate God, God loves. Why? Because GOD IS LOVE. 

What does God hate? Sin. Not the sinner, not the one committing the sins, but sin itself. Sin is disobedience to God. It is what keeps us from God's presence, because God is holy and sin is not. 

Are you seeing the pigsty yet? The Prodigal son saw nothing but despair and hopelessness when he sold himself into slavery to slop pigs. It is only when he realized where he was and what he was doing that he ran to his father and begged for forgiveness, expecting only to be a paid servant.

But what happened? His father ran to meet him, when he saw him coming. He forgave him immediately and wrapped him in the family garments, threw a huge party and welcomed his son home. 

It is in this way that God sees us. He waits for us to see sin for what it is, to recognize that we need His forgiveness on our sins because it is against Him we have sinned. He wraps His arms around us, throws a robe of righteousness across our shoulders and gives us only His best. 

That's what a heavenly Father does. 

Our hearts are our rooms. It is this room Jesus enters, when we believe. It is dirty and needs to be cleaned. Jesus washes our sins away with His blood. He cleans our hearts when we believe that He is who God says He is. 

I believe. 

Lauren Daigle - Trust In You

I Am the Lighthouse

I fell in love with this song, when I was a teenager. I am glad to have found it again. In more ways than one.