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Gleanings From The Word

Category: Hebrews

  • We Are All Displaced – Find a Home With Jesus

    agroup of displaced/ refugee children from World War 2

    I’ve mentioned before that the farm just up the hill from us is being developed into a subdivision. That has displaced many small animals and birds.

    That includes brown rats. There is a misconception that brown rats carry bubonic plague, but the biggest carrier of the plague during the Dark Ages was humans, followed by black rats. 

    Still, even brown rats can be pests.  Cute in their own way, and smart, but pests, nonetheless. I don’t mind them out in the wooded areas, but once they start visiting the yard, the rules change, and they have to go.

    I don’t blame the rats for moving down the hill. After all, their home has been turned into a construction zone. I can empathize.

    All believers are displaced people. We have been transferred out of the kingdom of this world into the Kingdom of God.  As the old song (whose authorship is disputed) “This world is not my home, I’m just a-passing through, My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue; The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door, And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.”

    We are pilgrims, strangers in a hostile foreign land. That concept is threaded through Scripture but is particularly highlighted twice in Hebrews. “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.” Hebrews 11:13 ESV

    “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.” Hebrews 13:14 ESV

    Displaced pilgrims waiting to go home. Citizens of another land, refugees. Yet, we are far from homeless. The Kingdom of God is manifested in this life; we just won’t experience it in full until we get to glory.

    When times get hard, when discouragement comes, don’t despair. We’re not home yet.

    Hang fast, my dear friends, home is just around the corner.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

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  • Do you see things through the eyes of faith?

    Do you see things through the eyes of faith?

    Mount Baker from the Abbotsford side

    I see Mount Baker or parts of it almost every day. Located just to the southeast of us in Washington State, it dominates the southern horizon. It’s a sight I never grow tired of. Of course, if I’m out after dark, the mountain disappears, but by faith I know it’s still there.

    The mountain can also disappear from my view depending on the weather. Clouds, rain, fog, or a combination of them can obscure the sight of a small part of it, or everything. The changing weather patterns mean the view can change from hour to hour, minute by minute, or even second by second.

    If I turn away from the mountain, I go somewhere else, and if a hill or building blocks my way, I can’t see it anymore.

    Of course it does, Kevin. That’s normal. The mountain hasn’t gone anywhere or disappeared; you just can’t see it at those times.

    I know that, but I use the thought to make a point. Are there times when you feel that God has moved away, or you can’t “see” Him? That happens to most of us, at least at times.

    God was there before anything in the material universe existed. He will be then when everything changes on the last day.

    Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. Psalm 90:2

    God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”  And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel:‘I amhas sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:14


    For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature,have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.     Romans 1:20

    So, if He is always there, why does He seem distant or absent? There are several possibilities.

    You’ve turned away. Sometimes our own sin blinds us to God, and we turn from Him.

    You’re looking but not seeing what’s in front of you. This happens to me when I’m trying to find something and fail. I ask Kathy for help, and she shows me where it was right there in front of my face.

    God blesses you with a period of temporary blindness so that your faith is put to the test and grows. That’s a reason we don’t often think of.

    Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

    If you aren’t seeing God, first check your own life. What sin is blinding you? Take time to repent and confess. Then ask Him to reveal Himself again. Pray, read the word, and practice some spiritual disciplines to reconnect.

    Trust Him, allow your faith to grow. He is at work in all things, all circumstances, and every life. He works all things for His glory and the good of those who love Him.

    Just as Mount Baker is still there when the cloud lifts, you will find God still there when your vision and circumstances clear.

    Remember, He promises to never leave or forsake you. You can trust His promises.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

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