'Humble yourself therefore under the mighty hand of God....casting ALL your care upon Him, for He cares (does the caring)--for you.' (1 Peter 5:6-7)

How do we humble ourselves before Him?
ONLY by casting it onto Him--instead of insisting on trying to carry it all ourselves!

THE WATCHER, THE HUMAN and THE WRATH OF GOD:
a conversation...
HUMAN: “I cannot understand the idea of the wrath of God.”

WATCHER: “What is the difficulty?”

HUMAN: “Well, doesn’t he portray himself as the God of mercy and grace?”

WATCHER: “He does, and rightly so.”

HUMAN: “Then how can he be all mercy and grace, yet also wrath?”

WATCHER: “Let me explain it this way. Do you understand light and darkness?”

HUMAN: “Of course!”

WATCHER: “Really? Then you would understand that there is light that is desired and invited, and light that is neither desired, nor invited...or, to put it another way, situations where darkness is preferred.”

HUMAN: “Huh?”

WATCHER: “When you arrive home to your darkened house late at night, you invite light in by operating the switch...and you welcome the light, do you not?”

HUMAN: “Of course.”

WATCHER: “But if you were in your neighbour’s darkened house and in bed with his wife when he came home and switched on the light, would that light be welcomed?”

HUMAN: “Well, I guess not.”

WATCHER: “So in one case the light is a welcome blessing and in the other, a judgement?”

HUMAN: “That is so. Ah...I see. So, in one case the light banishes unwanted darkness and in the other it banishes desired darkness and also exposes an evil—actually a different kind of darkness—and a darkness that has been chosen?”

WATCHER: “Now you’re getting it. Consider this: if physical light instantly obliterates physical darkness, what do you suppose spiritual Light does to spiritual darkness and its secrets?

HUMAN: “Well...clearly co-existence is impossible. Is that uncompromising obliteration of that kind of darkness by light what is meant by his wrath?”

WATCHER: “I believe you're close. How could it be otherwise? You have said it—co-existence is a contradiction. It is a law that light obliterates darkness. The option is to invite and welcome The Light to eradicate any darkness in you—(and that’s where you’ll experience his grace and mercy!)—or to have it eradicate both the darkness along with the one in its embrace! (You see, once you begin to embrace darkness, it will embrace you with greater strength than yours!)”

HUMAN (now shuddering): “One last question: where does that darkness (and those embraced by it) go, when The Light arrives?”
 
WATCHER: “Perhaps that is for another discussion, but, The Light himself called it a place known as exoteron skotos— ‘OUTERMOST darkness.’ I think that means darkness from which there is no possibility of escape!”
 
January 18, 2020
 

               WHAT LOAD?
 
“Why are you carrying that big load?” asked The Helper.

“What big load?” said I, “I can’t see it.”

“That’s because it has actually become part and parcel of you,” The Helper explained.

“Can you help me see it?” I asked.

“I can, on one condition” He said.

“And that is?”

“That you’ll give it to me and allow me to carry it as I told you I would.”

“But isn’t it mine to carry? Didn’t you give it to me?”

“Well...yes and no. I permitted it as your lot, but only so you’d learn to hand it to me.”

“Really?”

“That’s what I do.”

“Oh thank you so much. Here it is. Ah...that’s better!”

...SAY AMONG THE NATIONS, ‘THE LORD REIGNS.’   (Psalm 96:10)

What appears to many to be reigning--is Randomness. And, at the foundational level of the particles that constitute the universe--the principle quantum physicists are finding, is unpredictability and uncertainty. Sub-atomic particles and photons of light do not behave in a 'Newtonian' predictability. At the core, it has been found, is UNCERTAINTY!
But: it is a Governed uncertainty. All the uncertainty discovered and described by Heisenberg, stands under some form of Ultimate governance!
 
Of course, just as the Bible reveals; whilst Solomon and James and others say, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, ‘we know not what a day may bring forth’, Paul tells us that, ‘in Him, all things are held together.’ Behind the apparent randomness is...? An Ultimate government; randomness does not reign...

THE LORD REIGNS!
 
Certainty resides ONLY in Him! We see yesterday and this present moment only. He however, sees ahead, as Abraham so wonderfully discovered.

And what He asked of him—and of us—in the midst of uncertainty, is that we trust Him.

A big ask? Well...maybe it may sound like a big ask, but His offer is a security impossible to find elsewhere.

The promise is that He will accompany you into every tomorrow, through ‘thick’ or ‘thin’, preparing a way for you in which resides certainty and peace—His peace, which is freedom from anxiety—regardless of the ‘randomness’ of circumstances!

‘FROM THIS TIME FORTH...’

 The way God sees Time--
 
As far as the believer’s time-realm existence is concerned, God is only looking forward concerning us and our journey with Him.
‘From this time forth’ is a phrase we encounter quite often in the Bible—used by people and by God too.

Examples? ‘The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in FROM THIS TIME FORTH, and even forevermore’ (Psalm 121:8)
‘But we will bless the Lord FROM THIS TIME FORTH and forevermore’ (Psalm 115:18)
 
Can we see that FROM THIS TIME FORTH implies a constantly-renewing start-point? In our walk with Him—in His marvellous grace, it’s always ‘from NOW—forward’!
 
I may may falter, I may stumble and disappoint, yet every tick of the clock is providing its own new, ‘from this time forth’ opportunity!
 
It is His extraordinary grace that says, ‘Forget former things, don’t consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth...’ (Isaiah 43:18/19)

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