Looking for The Lord Himself

 Worth repeating.

A friend of mine expressed her concern recently about how focused many Christians are on the approaching time of great tribulation (also called Jacob’s Trouble, Jer. 30:7). I know what she means. It is disconcerting to hear believers being preoccupied with all the terror and trouble while totally losing focus of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. 

It’s also unsettling to hear Americans talk as if the fall of America must signify the beginning of the tribulation and end times. There is no guarantee that this will be so.  America may fall years before the tribulation starts. Or it may fall after our gathering unto Christ has already occurred. We don’t know.

But, having said that, there is one thing I firmly believe and that is that we should be looking for Jesus Christ – not the fall of the U.S., not the tribulation, not the man of sin (2 Thess. 2:3), not the end of the American dream, not a great economic crash, not….well, you get the idea. While I think it is good to look forward to the many promised blessings that Christ will bring with Him and cause to happen, at the same time I agree with the following poem that we should be looking for the Lord Himself. It has been said that the gift without the giver is bare, and in this case it is surely true. Without the person of Jesus Christ Himself our hope of the future would be bare.  It is He Himself that is the embodiment of all good – past, present and future! Let us keep our eyes on Him!

The Lord Himself

It is not for a sign we are watching...
For wonders above and below,
The pouring of vials of judgment,
The sounding of trumpets of woe;

It is not for a Day we are looking,
Not even the time yet to be
When the earth shall be filled with God's glory
As the waters cover the sea;

It is not for a King we are longing
To make the world-kingdoms His own;
It is not for a Judge who shall summon
The nations of earth to His throne.

Not for these, though we know they are coming;
For they are but adjuncts of Him,
Before whom all glory is clouded,
Besides whom all splendor grows dim.

We wait for the Lord, our Beloved,
Our Comforter, Master and Friend,
The substance of all that we hope for,
Beginning of faith and its end;

We watch for our Saviour and Bridegroom,
Who loved us and made us His own;
For Him we are looking and longing;
For Jesus, and Jesus alone.

- Annie Johnson Flint

Philippians 3:20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

1 Thessalonians 1:9-10  For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

1 John 3:2-3  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. 

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First published here Dec. 2012; edited.

Evening Song - Jesus Paid It All (Schaffer and Beazley version)

Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 

Mark 10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. 

1 Timothy 2:5-6 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. 

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The Thousand Word Project - Simple Beauty

 

Pretty Edible - Mixed Berry Muffins

 

To make these colorful (and delicious) muffins simply replace the frozen blueberries in your favorite blueberry muffin recipe with frozen mixed berries. Yum! :-)

In A Small Place - A Poem by Annie Johnson Flint

Zechariah 4:10 For who hath despised the day of small things?...

In a Small Place

Fret not because thy place is small,
Thy service need not be,
For thou canst make it all there is
Of joy and ministry.

The dewdrop, as the boundless sea,
In God's great place has part;
And this is all He asks of thee;
Be faithful where thou art.

In thee His mighty hand can show
The wonders of His grace,
And He can make the humblest room
A high and holy place.

Thy life can know the blessedness
Of resting in His will;
His fullness flows unceasingly
Thy cup of need to fill.

His strength upon thy weakness waits,
His power for thy task.
What more, O child of all His care,
Could any great one ask?

by Annie Johnson Flint

1 Corinthians 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

Luke 16:10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 

Evening Song - Come, Thou Fount (Warrenton)

Psalm 36:9 For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light. 

Zechariah 13:1 In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. 

Jeremiah 17:13-14 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters. Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise. 

John 4:13-14 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 

Revelation 7:17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. 

Revelation 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 

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Worth Repeating - Breakfast Bars

A recipe "Worth Repeating." This was originally published here in Oct. 2010. I would make them now with the GF flour since I learned I have a gluten intolerance. I would like to try making them again with add-ins that I can eat now. It would look a little different, but I'm sure they would still be good. :-)

I got this recipe for breakfast bars from my friend, Beth. I thought they were so delicious I could hardly stop eating them!

 
She made them with the Gluten Free flour as the recipe calls for. I didn’t have any, so I made them with whole wheat, oats and oat flour. I also used a different mixture of nuts and dried fruit. I have included her (slightly altered) recipe and my version as well. Make them to your own taste and family needs. The choice is up to you. :-)
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Gluten Free Breakfast Bars

1 ¼ cup GF flour
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup honey (or agave nectar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
½ cup sunflower seeds
½ cup peanuts
¼ cup raisins

In a small bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda.

In a large bowl, combine oil, agave and vanilla. Stir dry ingredients into wet. Mix in nuts and raisins. Grease an 8x8 baking dish with oil. Press the dough into the baking dish, wetting your hands with oil to help pat the dough down evenly if necessary.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes (or till golden brown). Cool and Serve. Note: They are also good warm (with milk over them if desired), but will be crumbly when served this way.

My version (use same instructions as above):
1/2 C. whole wheat flour
1/2 C. oat flour
1/4 C. old fashioned oats
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 C. oil (grape seed)
1/4 C. honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 C. sliced almonds
1/2 C. peanuts (salted)
1/4 C. raisins
1/3 C. dried cranberries
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It will look something like this in the pan before you bake it.

These turned out really well, though I got mine just a bit too dark. I loved the nutty looking texture with the bits of red cranberry peaking out.

I ate some of it with milk on it like cereal. It was very good this way too! :-)