Invitation or Command?

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” Christ declares in Matthew 11:28.

Is this an invitation of Christ? Well, only if you understand that an invitation from the King of kings comes as a command. An invitation to a birthday party of a friend you may accept or reject. An invitation from the Lord of heaven and earth is a command that you had better obey—or lose your life!

 It is, therefore, a command, without doubt. But it is couched in a way that, in the Lord’s command to come to Him with the burden of sin, He speaks tenderly and with infinite love, for He woos God’s elect to Him by sweet words. He knows how great the burden of the sin of His people can be. He knows how, crushed beneath their sin, they wonder whether God can possibly ever receive them. He knows that they are so ashamed that to come to Christ seems a boldness too great for an unworthy sinner.

 The words are calculated to give us courage, courage in Christ’s love for us, a love that is too great for us to comprehend. The Lord does not say to you and me, “Come to Me—or else.” His voice is not harsh and threatening. He comes in His love for poor, chastised, frightened sinners who know their sins make them unworthy even for Christ to take a quick glance in their direction. “Come to Me ... I fulfilled the law for you who cannot keep it. I will give you rest—rest in salvation by grace alone!” 

Prof. Hanko
                        

Matthew 25

                                                   

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

I love this passage of Scripture. I cannot read it without my mind going to that place. Without tears on my eyes and without that expectation of hearing the words of my Lord and my God. O, to be known by Him! To be blessed by the Creator of the world!

There are a few points that jump at me:

1. there is a kingdom prepared for His people before the creation of the world. Not for all, but for His people. Those who are blessed by the Father! What a beautiful picture of a perfect plan, of our names written in His book.

2. I find it interesting, how the righteous will ask: when did we do this Lord? (as if they don't remember, because they acted not for their own glory, but as a natural way to live...they lived out of what was in their hearts, so there was no record keeping of good deeds in their minds... but God recorded  those actions  in His book!). O precious Savior! May I forget what I do good and be reminded by You alone!

3. In contrast, the wicked, will say: when did we see you like that and did not help you? they did have a record of all their good deeds, they knew them and could "remind" the Holy God of their deeds. But they are not reminded of them. They acted also from what was in their hearts... their own glory!

O, to be known by God! Not that we know Him, but that He knows us!, not that we love Him, but that He loves us! what a blessed and sweet sound that will be, when we enter this kingdom of rest prepared for us before the foundation of the world.

My kindness shall not depart from thee (Is.54:10)

Lord, how is it that You can be so tender and indulgent to one so forgetful, so unworthy, so inexcusable as I am? And your answer is- 'My kindness, I have loved You with an everlasting love'. But Lord, I am a worse and greater sinner than I thought I was; every day reveals to me some hitherto undiscovered evil in my heart, which must be displeasing in Your sight. Again you say: 'My kindness, I have put away thy sin' But Lord, I have no power to do right, I cannot of myself even think a good thought, much less live that life of holiness which You command and require. And again You give me that sweet reply, 'My kindness, My grace is sufficient for thee, for My strength is made perfect in weakness' Oh! That I had a seraph's tongue to tell, or a pen dipped in praises of heaven to write, what his loving kindness and tender mercy have been to me!
Mrs. Spurgeon.

I am so blessed!

Halloween just passed, Christmas is coming, parties and dinners... and I see many women taking the opportunity to dress with provocative clothing, it brakes my heart. I am so incredible blessed to be surrounded by good friends who are sensitive enough to dress modestly all the time.

I am so blessed to be surrounded by friends and church family, that care for the sanctity of marriage, that respect and honor that purity. That love us so much that they would hate to be a stumbling block in our marriage. Those women who love my children enough to show a good example. Those women that love them enough to protect them from images hard to erase from their young brains.

I am so blessed. I can go with any of my close friends for dinner or a party and I can be confident that our time will be a good time because of the company and not because of the low cut dress I wear or the competition to see who gets the most looks from men.

I am so blessed to have young men in my family that cherish their minds so much as to look away even at a adds from stores that are too provocative (and they are everywhere!). And to walk away with hurt from seeing women who sell their bodies, not for money but for the simple momentary joy of a lustful look.

I am so blessed to have a God who knows what is best for our minds and He remind us in His Holy Word to renew our minds not conforming to the pattern of this world. I know this may seem foolishness to the world, but it is not foolishness! foolishness is to not see the beauty of sanctity!, There is so much more lasting joy in purity, there is no competitions on the better, the youngest, the one who had surgery, botox... nothing! you can love freely. You can go to a party and not be worried as to where to look. You can enjoy friends knowing that they care for you and you for them. You can be who you are, you can learn to impress your husband by the beauty of character, a beauty that will last. You can encourage other women not to compete for sexiness or beauty, but for holiness, home makers, lovers of their husbands, children and lovers of God.

I am so blessed!

Remember the days of your youth

God’s Love for Jerusalem

Ez.16:1 "Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, ³ and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: “Your birth and your nativity are from the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. ⁴ As for your nativity, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. ⁵ No eye pitied you, to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you; but you were thrown out into the open field, when you yourself were loathed on the day you were born.

⁶ “And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ ⁷ I made you thrive like a plant in the field; and you grew, matured, and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed, your hair grew, but you were naked and bare.

⁸ “When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine,” says the Lord God.

⁹ “Then I washed you in water; yes, I thoroughly washed off your blood, and I anointed you with oil. ¹⁰ I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk. ¹¹ I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your wrists, and a chain on your neck. ¹² And I put a jewel in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. ¹³ Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate pastry of fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly beautiful, and succeeded to royalty. ¹⁴ Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you,” says the Lord God.
 
¹⁵ “But you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it. ¹⁶ You took some of your garments and adorned multicolored high places for yourself, and played the harlot on them. Such things should not happen, nor be. ¹⁷ You have also taken your beautiful jewelry from My gold and My silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images and played the harlot with them. ¹⁸ You took your embroidered garments and covered them, and you set My oil and My incense before them. ¹⁹ Also My food which I gave you—the pastry of fine flour, oil, and honey which I fed you—you set it before them as sweet incense; and so it was,” says the Lord God.

²⁰ “Moreover you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore to Me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your acts of harlotry a small matter, ²¹ that you have slain My children and offered them up to them by causing them to pass through the fire? ²² And in all your abominations and acts of harlotry you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, struggling in your blood.

²³ “Then it was so, after all your wickedness—‘Woe, woe to you!’ says the Lord God— ²⁴ that you also built for yourself a shrine, and made a high place for yourself in every street. ²⁵ You built your high places at the head of every road, and made your beauty to be abhorred. You offered yourself to everyone who passed by, and multiplied your acts of harlotry. ²⁶ You also committed harlotry with the Egyptians, your very fleshly neighbors, and increased your acts of harlotry to provoke Me to anger.

²⁷ “Behold, therefore, I stretched out My hand against you, diminished your allotment, and gave you up to the will of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior. ²⁸ You also played the harlot with the Assyrians, because you were insatiable; indeed you played the harlot with them and still were not satisfied. ²⁹ Moreover you multiplied your acts of harlotry as far as the land of the trader, Chaldea; and even then you were not satisfied.

³⁰ “How degenerate is your heart!” says the Lord God, “seeing you do all these things, the deeds of a brazen harlot.
 
³¹ “You erected your shrine at the head of every road, and built your high place in every street. Yet you were not like a harlot, because you scorned payment. ³² You are an adulterous wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband. ³³ Men make payment to all harlots, but you made your payments to all your lovers, and hired them to come to you from all around for your harlotry. ³⁴ You are the opposite of other women in your harlotry, because no one solicited you to be a harlot. In that you gave payment but no payment was given you, therefore you are the opposite.”

³⁵ ‘Now then, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord! ³⁶ Thus says the Lord God: “Because your filthiness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your harlotry with your lovers, and with all your abominable idols, and because of the blood of your children which you gave to them, ³⁷ surely, therefore, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved, and all those you hated; I will gather them from all around against you and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness. ³⁸ And I will judge you as women who break wedlock or shed blood are judged; I will bring blood upon you in fury and jealousy. ³⁹ I will also give you into their hand, and they shall throw down your shrines and break down your high places. They shall also strip you of your clothes, take your beautiful jewelry, and leave you naked and bare.

⁴⁰ “They shall also bring up an assembly against you, and they shall stone you with stones and thrust you through with their swords. ⁴¹ They shall burn your houses with fire, and execute judgments on you in the sight of many women; and I will make you cease playing the harlot, and you shall no longer hire lovers. ⁴² So I will lay to rest My fury toward you, and My jealousy shall depart from you. I will be quiet, and be angry no more. "

O how humbling is this to me. I was that baby, and He had pity on me, He cleansed me and washed me, and dressed me with the best. Then, I prostituted myself and prefered other sins than my Lord. I was even worst than a prostitute, since I was not being paid to sin, but did it for free, out of my own evil desires! O may I never forget the days of my youth, remembre where He took me from, and that all in me if I have anything good at all, is His mercy poured out for me. Then, my Sovereign Lord ,decides after long suffering, to punish the prosititute... and strip her naked infront of his lovers, and be stoned, and pour out His wrath over her... yet, He poured it all on Jesus Christ (my Redeemer!), and on me... nothing! just the words: "My wrath was satisfied, now you are mine! and I am angry no more." O, what a merciful God. I am clean, forgiven and clothed!

signs

I am a bit worried about writing this post as I know it could cause much controversy, but I am writing it as a reminder to myself and I pray you may be blessed by it.

Butterflies have became very special to me. They remind me of my baby Erica Faith, because her room was all decorated with them (walls, crib ...). At her funeral I wore a butterfly necklace and I got another one, just because it was a settle reminder of her (but my sister gave me a necklace with her name on it and that is the one I wear now all the time). But any ways, you get the picture... butterflies became special to me.

Well, very soon after my baby died, I went to this park with some friends, and there was this butterfly that came to me only and flew all over me. It flew inside my hands as I am trying to cover my face, as I am shocked by the boldness of it. It stands on me over and over again. Of course I burst into tears. Since then, there have been a few experiences like that, of butterflies come and stand on me.

Not long ago, the Lord was merciful to me and gave me peace as He graciously has done in the past. And as I visited the grave where the body of my baby lays (even the marker we chose has butterflies in it), all I could think of was: she is not here! her body is here, but my baby is in absolute complete satisfaction, that she needs nothing! not even me! She does not see me, she does not think of me, she does not misses me or hopes to meet me. All of her needs are perfectly met by the Lord. What a beautiful thing that is! To also, look forward to that day, where I will also need nothing, or no one! not even her! For some this may sound mean or cold, but to me, it gives me great hope and joy.

Last week, the same happened with a butterfly fluttering all around me and stood on my head and flew all around my face for many minutes and my mind went right into the "signs" mode. Is this a sign of God giving me to remind me of her, is this an act of a loving God to give me a little of her? And then, I had to stop myself and look at my Lord and remember what His Holy Word says: God is enough! And then I saw this "experiences" as something I was enjoying, something dangerous to hold on to. Because God has been enough, I need no sign, I need nothing other than His precious word to sustain me.

Satan is very crafty, even using God's creation to play with my emotions, knowing that I am in a vulnerable position. Knowing that he can distract my attention from the One who sustains me and strengthens me, and the only who gives me peace and instead, put my hope in "signs" that I can easily find all around me and depend on them instead of depend on God alone.

So, I thank God again for His mercies towards us. For His peace and for the great confidence of His sufficiency. For the future hope and for the great gift of not needing signs to know that He is enough and to know He cares for us.

FB before 13?

I have been on FB since 2007. For the most part it has been fun, sometimes a waste of time, and others a way to encourage and be encouraged by others. I am now in contact with friends from when I was a little girl, met women that I have never met personally, I read great articles, and hear great music. All while I am sitting at home with a cup of tea.

I have 2 boys who wanted to join FB soon after I did. Why? not so much because I was in, but because friends the same age as them were on it. So what can be the big deal right? They will have friends the same age, keep in touch with them in a virtual world an that is it. No harm done.
Well as I started being part of FB, I realized some things besides the obvious (time wasting machine and pointless status updates) but my concern was their soul. That is my number one priority for them, my main responsibility before the Lord.

First of all, a secular world, who cares none about the soul of my children forbids them to join their social network until they are 13, that should be a good enough warning for me. If I want them to join before the age 13, I have to lie about their age. There is no way around it (unless I do not know about it of course). So by me agreeing to lie about their age, is to say that lying is really "not that bad".

Another reason we are waitingfor my younget to join, is because as parents we have some "cards" that we can play wisely or we can throw them all at once in raising our children. At least for our family, there are privileges in growing up that are worth waiting for (staying alone at home, having a cellphone, joining FB, watching certain movies, and so on). If we give them all those perks at a young age, we have no cards to play later! So when they are in their youth, what else can they look forward to? they already have it all and have seen it all. So they have to find something more exciting for themselves that is more thrilling or that feeds their need of accomplishment. But in our family, we decided to wait for those privileges. To have them looking forward to reach that age where they can join, or get the "cool phone" or look forward to be old enough to earn privileges that come with maturity and responsibility.

We want our children to know how to use wisely social media. To watch what they write, what they read, where they comment, what they comment, who the allow as friends, who they reject. If they use it, is to be used for a purpose, not for simple amusement or because they are bored. Their identity and reputation is on the line and they need to be wise about it.

It is hard. But we strive not for what is easy but for what is good for their souls.