Suffering of Job part 2

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Wendy Kleker

WHIPSERING HOPE

*“Soft as the voice of an angel, breathing a lesson unheard

Hope with a gentle persuasion, whispers a comforting word.

Wait till the darkness is over, wait till the tempests is done

Hope for the sunshine tomorrow after the darkness is gone.

Whispering Hope oh how welcome Thy voice

Making my heart in its sorrow rejoice.”

            Like a tornado rampaging through the land, troubles whirled into Job’s life tearing everything he held dear to smithereens.  His wealth, his livestock, his servants and, even worse, all of his children gone in the blink of an eye.  It was enough to knock even a strong man of faith to the ground.

Then one day in the glorious throne room of God the heavenly court of angels presented themselves before the Lord.  Once again Satan, the Accuser went with them.

“Where have you been?”  God asked Satan.

“I have been patrolling the earth, just watching everything that is going on there.”  Yeah right the Destroyer is only watching what is going on and not instigating a thing.  Innocence and sarcasm drip from his words.

God isn’t buying it, He cuts right to the chase, “Have you noticed my servant Job?  He is the finest man in all the earth.  He is blameless, a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.”  You will remember this is the second time God says such a thing about the man He allowed Satan to plunge into terrible trouble.  “And he has maintained his integrity, even though you urged Me to harm him without cause.”

Without cause! Just because Satan urged Him!  Does that seem quite fair?  Is God caving to peer pressure?  Of course not!  On the contrary, I think Satan is falling into God’s hands.

Satan replied to the Lord, “Skin for Skin!  A man will give up everything he has to save his life.”  I don’t think Satan quite understands every person’s heart, do you?  “But if you were to take his health away he would surely curse You to Your face!”  Satan’s sneer is evil and his eyes flash the fire of challenge.

“All right,” God says, “do with him as you please.”

At this Satan must have smirked in glee as he rubbed his hands together. “He he, finally I can do what I wish with one of His precious kids!”

But then God puts a cap on it.  “But spare his life.”

Satan’s smirk fades a bit, but not to worry, there are lots of things to be done to a human body.  IN fact maybe this if better.  He thinks as he leaves the Lord’s presence.

Satan strikes Job with terrible boils all over his body, from head to foot.  Can you imagine?  Have you ever had a boil?  I have not, but Jim, my late husband, had a boil one time and he was in complete misery, from just one.  It was like a big pimple, only much larger and much more painful, lasting many days. I can’t imagine having them all over my body!

Job’s disease was unknown and often associated in the past with a curse for the disobedient and rebellious person.  People had no idea if it was contagious or a terrible plaque that would spread amongst them, so Job removed himself from his neighborhood and sat outside the city on the ash heap, which I understand was where garbage was burned. He scraped his painful and irritating sores with a dirty, broken piece of pottery.

One day his wife stomped her way out to the dump.  Now we must understand that she had just gone through a terrible ordeal also and was grieving the loss of their wealth and children.  Then her husband is afflicted with a possibly incurable and most likely degrading disease. Certainly a situation which can make a person a mite touchy and discouraged.

I can see her marching up to a pitiful looking Job and stand before him with her hands on her hips.

“So,” she demands, “are you STILL trying to maintain your integrity?”  She kicks at a pile of ashes and flaps her hands at the black dust.  “Are you still trusting this God of yours?  I mean, really, how could your God whom you always claim is so loving, do such a thing to you?  Obviously, He doesn’t care about you. Or me either.”  She wipes tears from her eyes, leaving a black streak on her face.  “You might as well curse God and die.”

Job stares at her through red-rimmed, exhausted eyes, “You talk like a foolish woman! I really thought you were wiser than that!” Shaking his head, Job rubs a hand over his face, leaving a black smudge on his cheek.  “I’m sorry, I know you’ve been through a lot and it’s hard, but should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?”

Good question.  Should we accept only good things from God and never anything bad?  Is life with God a bed of roses without any thorns?  If we walk with God do we expect it to be a walk in a beautiful park beside tranquil waters?

I think we usually do.  I think we often equate God’s love and goodness with sunshine and birds singing.  Don’t we?  I know I do. I’m surprised when the storms come. Often my first thought is, what have I done wrong? Why is God punishing me? Or have I strayed from His path so far that He is using a two-by-four to knock some sense into me?

However look at what God tells the Accuser about Job.  “He is the finest man in all the earth.  Look at him, he is blameless!  A man of complete integrity.  He fears God and stays away from evil.”  He didn’t just tell Satan that once but twice.  Yet God gave Satan rein to torment Job extremely.  One trial after another fell upon Job until all of Job’s hope, all of his joy was gone.  Even his wife turned her back and walked away leaving Job on the rubbish heap.  Alone.

Sometimes in our lives things get worse before they get better.  Do they not?  Sometimes burdens pile upon us until it seems an elephant sits on our backs.  Sometimes pain in our bodies or our hearts becomes so great we feel we can not endure another minute.  Sometimes the night is so black we can not see even a glimmer of hope.

Oh but friend hope is there.

Sometimes hope whispers a song in the night.

“Now I am deeply discouraged but I will remember you.” David says, “I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your waves and surging tides sweep over me.  But each day the Lord pours His unfailing love upon me and through each night I sing His songs.  Praying to God who gives me life.”  Psalm 42:6-8

When troubles pile on top of us, hope glimmers in the darkness.

“Though I am surrounded by troubles, You will protect me from the anger of my enemies.  You reach out Your hand and the power of Your right hand saves me.

The Lord will work out His plans for my life, for Your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.  Do not abandon me for You made me.” Psalm 138:7-8

When the night is the darkest and the storm is the fiercest, hope soars on the wings of our praise.

“I will praise You, Lord, with all my heart.  I will tell of all the marvelous things You have done.  I will be filled with joy because of You.  I will sing praises to Your name, O MOST HIGH.

            The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.  Those who know Your name trust in You for You, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for You.”  Psalm 9:1-2, 8-10

When all we hold dear is gone, when life is turned upside down, when all seems hopeless, yet hope whispers in our souls.

“Why am I discouraged?  Why is my heart so sad? 

            I will put my hope in God!  I will praise Him again!  My Savior and my God!”  Psalm 42:11

Where do we put our hope?  Not in wealth which is as shaky as shifting sand.  Not in prestige and power which can topple like a great tower.  Not in possessions which burn away as straw.  Certainly not in our loved ones who belong only to God.

No, Job had to learn, as I did when I lost my husband, that our hope, our only hope is in our God the solid, unshakable Rock.

Christ’s greatest triumph was in humility.

Job was brought low and humiliated before he saw victory.

Humility is not just putting others before ourselves, its putting ourselves UNDER the mighty hand of God.  Its letting God do what He will do in our lives.  Its accepting His will in our lives, no matter how tough the climb or how painful the walk. Its casting all our cares on Him and thanking Him for everything. Because He cares for us.

Could it be in our lowest place, in humility, in trials and grievous trouble, we find victory?  Not necessarily when the storm moves on and the sun bursts from the clouds, but during the storm.

During the rampaging tornado, during the great tempest, we need to stand firm in our faith and trust our God and sing praises, no matter what troubles and storms come.

So, on the blasting winds we soar with wings of hope and in our joy and peace we find we triumph.

“If in the dusk of the twilight dimmed by the region afar

Will not the deepening darkness brighten the glittering star?

Then when the night is upon us, should the heart sink away?

When the dark midnight is over, watch for the breaking of day.

Whispering Hope, oh how welcome Thy voice,

Making my heart in its sorrow rejoice.

*Whispering Hope by Alice Hawthorne and Domenico Savino

“When each earthly prop gives under,

And life seems a restless sea,

Are you then a God-kept wonder,

Satisfied and calm and free?”

From Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman

 

 

 

Posted in Darkness, Hope dawns, Hope in Christ alone, Hope in God only, Job, Joy in the storm, Suffering, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Sufferings of Job part 1

Posted on March 18, 2017 by Wendy Kleker

ON THE WINGS OF THE STORM

 

*O worship the King,

All glorious above.

And gratefully sing

His power and His love.

Our Shield and Defender

The Ancient of Days,

Pavilion in splendor

And girded with praise.

O tell of His might,

O sing of His grace,

whose robe is the light,

whose canopy is space.

His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form.

Dark is His path on the wings of the storm.

        One day in Heaven at the throne of God, surrounded by vibrant colors like a rainbow, angels of the Heavenly court presented themselves to God.  Satan the Accuser came with them, no doubt to point out the faults of God’s children on earth.

            However God beat him to the draw, “So Satan,” God said, “have you seen my servant Job?  He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless, a man of complete integrity.  He fears Me and stays away from evil.  Period, no swaying.  No walking the fence.  No compromise. No toe dipping into sin.”

How could Satan contradict such a statement from the Creator?  So the great Accuser uses a different slant, “Yes but Job has good reason to fear You.” He whines.  “You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property.  You have made him prosper in everything he does.  Just look how rich he is!”  Satan rolls his eyes.  “But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” His lips curl in an evil sneer.

“Ok,” says God, “Go ahead and test him, do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically. And we’ll see what he does.”

Of course God knew what Job would do, or He wouldn’t have given Satan permission to test him.

So Job, who had everything he needed or wanted, who respected God and served Him with a singular purpose, who even prayed for his children and offered burnt sacrifices for them just in case they might sin, was going about his business one fine sunny day, when a storm swept in and blind-sided him.

A messenger came running up to his house and burst in the door shouting,  “Your oxen were plowing with the donkeys feeding beside them and the Sabeans raided us.  They stole all the animals and killed all the farmhands, except for me.”

The wind blasted against the house.

While he was speaking another messenger ran up and said between gasps, “The fire of God has fallen from heaven and burned up your sheep and all the shepherds.  I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

Thunder rumbled.

While Job sat wide-eyed and speechless another man burst into the house and gasping for breath he said, “Three bands of Chaldean raiders have stolen your camels and killed your servants, I am the only one who escaped.”

“Oh no!” Job exclaimed, clenching his fists.

Black clouds rolled over the sun and the earth plunged into darkness.

As if that wasn’t bad enough news to get all at once, yet another man ran into the house, his face was white, and he staggered as he stopped before Job.

“All your children were feasting in your oldest son’s home and suddenly a powerful wind swept in from the wilderness and hit the house on all sides.”

Lightening, swift and blinding, struck.

“The house collapsed and all your children are dead.  I am sorry, so sorry, I am the only one who escaped.”

The wind roared, like a hurricane and it knocked Job to the ground.  Job’s muscles had no strength.  His breath was taken from him.  Shock numbed his body and mind.  He clutched his chest because of the great pain there.

However, Job did an amazing thing.  In the midst of the storm Job reached out to God.  He worshiped his Lord.

“I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave this earth.  The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away.”

While the storm raged, while the wind tore at the trees threatening to uproot them, while the rain pounded the house, while the lightening struck, while the thunder pealed, Job said, “Praise the name of the LORD!”

 

Storms can hit quickly in our lives.  Suddenly the black clouds are roiling and boiling above our heads.  Blinding lightening strikes towards the earth.  Thunder rolls across the sky shaking the ground.  The powerful wind blasts against us knocking us to our knees.  Rain pounds on our heads threatening to drown us.

One phone call and our world is turned upside down.  In one instant our lives are changed forever.  One blinding lightening strike and our days are roiling with trouble. The storm is fierce.  The thunder booms and shakes our existence.

It seems I am alone in the darkness.  Where is God?  I can not feel His presence anywhere?  When the wind buffets my body and the rain stings my face, I feel as if I am completely alone in the storm.

As Job says, “I go east, but He is not there. I go west, but I cannot find Him.  I do not see Him in the north, for He is hidden.  I look to the south, but He is concealed.

But He knows where I am going and when He tests me I will come out as pure as gold.”  Job 23:8-10

Do not fear!  God is on the wings of the storm!  He doesn’t come behind the storm.  He isn’t only in the middle of the storm, no He comes before the storm.  He is on the wind that ushers in the roiling storm.

God had taught Job to trust Him.  He trusted God even when his whole life, including his health, had fallen apart. Somewhere along the line, God had instilled in Job an unswerving desire to follow Him with everything he had.  Job had integrity on his side.

God prepared and sent to Job three friends, actually there were four.  They sat with him for 7 days on the rubbish heap, in all kinds of weather and said not a word.  Now that is support!

Later when they opened their mouths, they were not so supportive.  They accused Job of sinning but you see because of his upright walk, he knew he was right with God.  He knew God was not punishing him.  He knew there was some other reason for his trials.  He knew God had something to teach him.  So in the storm and darkness, Job sought God.  Job reached for the Light.

Our God is on the wings of the storm. He comes before the storm, shutting the hatches, buttoning up our lives, preparing us for the storm. He knows how much strength we will need and He gives it. He knows what kind of support we need and He makes sure it is there in our lives.  He knows the physical and financial needs we will have and He provides them.  Before the storm ever darkens the sky.

God speaks to Job from the whirlwind.  Not the sunshine.  Not the warm pleasant days. Not a nice laid back afternoon while he was fishing beside a quiet stream, but out of the swirling, whirling, blasting wind came God’s voice.

“Where were you, Job, when I laid the foundations of the earth?  Tell me, if you know so much.  Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line?  What supports its foundations and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain?  Can you make the lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct?  Who gave intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind?  Who is wise enough to count all the clouds.  Who can tilt the water jars of heaven when the parched ground is dry and the soil has hardened into clods?” Job 38:4-7, 34-38 NLT

You see God is the wind that tells the storm where to go.  He is the lightening striking where He desires.  He is the rain that waters the parched ground.

He is not surprised by the storm, He is in the storm.  He knows the storm is coming. He orchestrates or allows the storm to come into our lives. He knows the testing we are about to have.  He knows how much we can endure.  He has a reason for the storm.  He is making our arms strong to bend a bow of bronze and our feet like the feet of deer so we can walk on the high places.  He measures out the exact amount of training that we need.

He is the sun that shines after the storm.  And the storm will pass.  The sun will shine again. It always does.

When Job prayed for his friends,  the Lord restored his fortunes.  In fact the Lord gave him twice as much as before! And he lived 140 more years to see his children’s children and many more generations.  (from Job 42:10)

When the thunder crashes, when the lightning strikes jagged across the sky, when the wind roars, He is there.  He is in the midst of the storm.

You may fall to the ground in your shock and weakness, but turn to Him.  Worship Him.  Praise Him.  Lean on Him.  Trust Him.  In the dark storm, seek the Light.

 

*Thy bountiful care what tongue can recite?

It breathes in the air, it shines in the light.

It streams from the hills, it descends to the plain.

And sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.

Frail children of dust, feeble and frail.

In thee do we trust, nor find thee to fail.

Thy mercies how tender!

How firm to the end!

Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer and Friend!

“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.  So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.  Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!

Be still and know that I am God!  I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us!  The God of Israel is our fortress!” Ps. 46:1-3, 10-11

“You are my King and my God!  You command victories for me (Israel).  Only by Your power can we push back our enemies.  Only in Your name can we trample our foes.

I do not trust in my bow.  I don not count on my sword to save me.  You are the one who gives us victory over our enemies.  You disgrace those who hate us.  O God, we give glory to you all day long and constantly praise Your name.” Ps. 44:4-8

“All praise to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.

He comforts us in all our troubles!  So we can comfort others when they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with His comfort through Christ.

We are crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure and we thought we would never live through it.  In fact we expected to die.  But as a result we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God who raises the dead.

He did rescue us again.  We have placed our confidence on Him and He will continue to rescue us!”  2 Cor. 1:3-5, 8-10

Story from Job

*”O Worship the King” by Robert Grant (good on u-tube by Chris Tomlin)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Comfort, God is in control, God is in my midst, God's plan, He is in the Storm, He is with us in trouble, Jesus is the Light, Job, Light, Suffering, Trusting God | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Memories of My Son part 5

Posted on March 11, 2017 by Wendy Kleker

THE LAST ELK HUNT

I told you about my first elk hunt with my son, now I will tell you about the last.

            The early September morning was clear and chilly.  As Stephen drove up the road on the ranch where John worked, north of Livingston Montana, the dark sky was turning steely grey.  I directed Stephen to park overlooking a timbered ridge and I told him at one time we had seen the hillside below covered with elk.  Talking softly we waited for a little more daylight. 

            The large ranch, located so close to the east side of the Bridger mountains you couldn’t see the tall peaks, was mostly open country with deep coulees, pasture land and hay fields.  The property did run up into the timber, however, bordered with Forest Service, giving the elk and deer an excellent habitat of cover and nearby feed.  In the summer and fall the elk were abundant on the upper sections of the ranch.  I often drove the three miles to where the prairie met the timber to walk and would see elk most times.  Come rifle season most of the elk moved to a ranch that did not allow hunting.

            Just a few days before this I had been walking on the ridge we now looked at, only I had approached it from a different direction.  I decided to see if a bull was in the area, so I sat down in front of a small bushy fir tree and using my mouth only, let loose with a bull elk bugle.  Not having a grunt tube or diaphragm, the call was without volume so wouldn’t carry far.

            As soon as my high whistle call with low grunts at the end died off, an answering call rang through the timber.  I tried again and sure enough there was the spine-tingling answer winging its way up the mountain side.  My border collie, Happy, who was sitting beside me, growled low in his throat.  I knew a bark would follow, so I told him to lay behind me and admonished him to be quiet.  Then I tried a few cow-talk squeals and bull grunts. 

            Soon I heard crashing and twigs snapping and knew a bull was attacking a small tree to demonstrate his strength and intimidate the other bull who was trespassing on his territory.  I heard cows talking, then silence.  Below me about 40 yards I saw movement, light colored antlers turning.  He came into sight moving slowly, silently, not a large bull, a rag horn with four points.  

             Cautiously he moved closer peering through the timber, searching for the other bull.  He stood in the open facing me, dark, regal and completely wild.  Even though I held a camera instead of a bow, my heart tried to pound its way out of my chest.  Happy emitted a low growl and I laid my hand on his head, hushing him.  

            I held my breath and snapped a few pictures with my old 35mm film camera and its 300mm zoom lens.  The bull cautiously stalked closer to within 30 yards and turned sideways in the open presenting a perfect bow shot. I shot away with my camera. 

            Happy growled again and in glancing at him I saw he was looking to my side.  I peered through the trees and saw cows milling.  The bull moved around to join his cows and not wanting the “other bull” to steal them, he rounded them up and moved them out; quickly and silently.

I was ecstatic!  Not only was it a grand experience to be so close to Wapiti, the Ghost of the Timber, but to observe their natural behavior was a rare treat.  And I had found the place to take my son when he came bow hunting.

            So as the eastern sky lightened, Stephen and I quietly shut the pickup doors and moved out towards the very timber that bull had come out of.  We hiked down a sagebrush covered slope to the bottom of the coulee where we leaned against a couple of trees at the edge of the timber, waiting for more light.  In the silence of the dawn our ears strained for sound.  The snap of a twig, a high squeal of a cow or maybe a low grunt from a bull.  My nerves zinged with anticipation and my senses were on high alert.  The scent of fir, spruce and sage mingled in the nippy air.  Birds began to twitter, streaks of red and orange streaked the eastern sky, and soon we could make out tree trunks in the gloom of the forest. 

            I motioned with my head and we moved higher on the slope, stepping quietly and soundlessly in the forest duff.  I thought I heard the cat-like call of a cow elk and grabbed Stephen’s arm. 

            “Did you hear that?” I hissed.

            “Yeah,” he whispered back, “A cow, but not sure where.”

            I made the cow call and waited.  No answer.  We moved through the timber, farther up the slope. 

            Suddenly a high whistle split the silence, followed by a guttural growl and low grunts.  My heart pounded and Stephen looked at me his eyes wide. Adrenaline flooded my veins and I instinctively raised my camera.  Stephen took an arrow out of his quiver on his bow and knocked it.  The bull was above us and slightly to the left, perfect for the wind which was coming down the slope.          

Putting my mouth right up to his ear, I said in a low whisper,  “I think they’re in a meadow about hundred yards.” I pointed up the hill, “You go ahead, when you reach the edge of the meadow and are set up against a tree, give me the signal and I’ll bugle.”

He nodded and moved up the slope.  I watched him go, he was silent, no sound what so ever.  His every movement was slow, every step precision, he moved from tree to tree like a spirit, his eyes roving the dark timber.  The military had trained him well.  He was a hunting machine.

I stayed about 40 feet behind him and tried to move as carefully and silently as he did.  When he stopped at the edge of the meadow, I stood behind a tree.  At his signal I put the diaphragm in my mouth and tipping up the grunt tube, I sent the high toned call winging through the morning air.

            Two breaths after my low grunts died off, an answering whistle sailed into the sky.  Before I could answer another bugle sounded farther up the mountain.  My heart kicked into triple time.  Two bulls!  For awhile we stood there and listened with held breaths while the two bulls blasted intimidating calls to each other. In between the bugling, we could hear cows mewing and talking to each other.  I cow talked now and then.

            I saw movement to the left and a shadow appeared out of the gloom.  A cow elk stalked on silent feet. How an animal that size can move, even run through the timber silently I have no idea, but I’ve seen it many times.  The cow slowly moved in closer, stopped and peered at Stephen.  Then she turned sideways, stopped and watched him some more, searching for that bull.  I waited for the twang of the bow, since it was legal to take a cow with a bow, but none came.  I knew why.  When you hear bulls bugling near by, no way will you settle for shooting a cow!  The cow turned away and slowly melted back into the timber.

            Stephen was glassing the meadow and I wondered if he could see the elk.  I sent up a call now and then, but soon it became apparent the bulls were not coming closer to our location.  In fact the closer bull was moving farther up the mountain.  Knowing this country, I knew as the morning warmed up, the wind would begin to blow uphill, taking our scent right to the elk.  I moved up to Stephen.

            “We have to move, get above them or at least to the side,” I whispered and explained about the wind.  I could see dark forms at the edge of the timber across the meadow and glassed them for horns.  They were all cows, but Stephen told me excitedly, he had seen a rag horn bull when he first came up.  He’d watched the bull bugle and rub his horns on brush.

            We started moving around the herd, but as we moved the bulls moved farther up the hill.  We could tell their location from the bugling they still did now and then.  If they stopped bugling I would send a call out and one would answer.  After about an hour or so of hiking, stopping to listen and glass, we were at the same altitude as the elk and four hundred yards across a draw from them. 

            We sat side by side on a log with binoculars to our eyes, glassing the thinly timbered mountainside.  The elk seemed unaware of our presence, but since I had bugled some, they evidently were staying a distance from what they thought was the new bull in the woods.  The herd bull evidently did not want to fight and was moving his cows away from the interloper.

            “I see a bull,” I whispered.  “There’s another one.  Second one’s bigger, probably the herd bull. They’re not far from each other.”

            I explained where they were and Stephen soon spotted them.  “Yep,” he whispered back, “big enough to go after.  What do you think is the best approach?”

            The breeze by this time was funneling straight up the mountainside so the best thing to do was to keep circling above them. So we tried to do that, but the wily Wapiti just kept moving ahead of us, keeping several hundred yards away.  I could see that I was not going to be able to get around them, but I knew Stephen could move much faster and quieter than I could.  So I suggested he go on by himself and move up through the thicker timber until he was above them. 

            So he moved out while I bugled and cow talked trying to fool the elk into thinking the “bull” and his herd were staying put.  I prayed Stephen would get a bull, and watched the mountainside through my glasses.  I caught glimpses of elk as they fed on the sparsely timbered slope.  Once I saw a spike and once again a bigger bull.  After quite awhile I heard a bugle farther up the mountain and figured it was Stephen letting me know he was above them. 

            I sat for awhile longer then made my way to the pickup and waited until Stephen came back.  He didn’t get a bull, he had a spike come into his cow talk and had a good shot, but he chose not to shoot a spike.  Later that evening we went up another drainage where we bugled until dusk without hearing one answer. 

That was our last elk hunt together.  We did have other adventures hunting antelope and pheasants and camping with John and the kids. 

Even though no animal was taken it was a successful hunt.  In bow hunting success is not, in my book anyway, measured by how many elk you stick, but by the spine-tingling adventure you experience.

            Also for my son and me it was successful because of the memories.  Every detail, every stalk, every turn of the head, every word, I will remember for this life time.  Both of us, I believe, will have the memories for eternity.  I thank my God for that last great elk hunt together and for the memories.

 

small rag horn

These photos did not scan well since it was a film camera, but they are of the bull in the story.

Posted in Bow hunting, bugle, bull elk, elk hunting, Memories, Memories of Stephen, My son | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Memories of My Son part 4

Posted on March 9, 2017 by Wendy Kleker

Jim and Stephen, 4 mo.

ANGEL UNAWARE

“Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters.  Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!” Hebrews 13:1-2 NLT  

            We tend to remember all those heart-stopping, hair-raising moments with our children.  Don’t we?  Such times when remembering, even after 40 years, still makes our heart stop and our breath catch.  And yet we may never know when we have Devine help or protection in our lives.

It seemed the year that Stephen was two there were several of those incidences that made his father and I get on our knees and pray earnestly for the safety of our small son.  Good thing there are guardian angels!

Just before Stephen’s second birthday Jim, his father, and I moved from Alaska to Trinidad Colorado so Jim could go to gunsmith school. The only place we could find to live was a small apartment in the upper story of an old house; complete with a turret in the living room no less.   I was not fond of living above another family in a house that was not very sound proof, sharing a yard and worrying about how much noise a two year old and our Golden Retriever, Kinji was making.  However it beat living in a small three man tent pitched in a barren, completely gravel camp ground, with not even one single tree.  So we took the apartment and moved in with our meager belongings.

            There was a fenced in yard with good chain link gates that the owners assured me were always closed and an outside set of stairs we could use.  Even though we tied Kinji up at night and when we were gone, I always made sure he was loose when Stephen played in the yard, since he was Stephen’s buddy.  The house was situated in a hilly residential area on a fairly well traveled street.

            One day I heard the outside door slam shut and Stephen’s slow steps as he climbed down the steep stairway to play in the yard with Kinji.  I was on the phone so didn’t pay too much attention, knowing he was safe and secure in the yard.  Ten minutes later I finished my phone call and looked outside for the inseparable pair.  Peering out every window in the one bedroom apartment, I did not see either dog or boy.  Not too worried, I started doing some cleaning. 

Often Stephen would go into the house below and visit our landlords who loved him and fed him tortillas with butter and sugar. He called them cookies.  I usually could hear him below calling, “Cooookie, cooookie” and chatting away with the elderly lady and her daughter and son.

            However, I soon realized I was not hearing a childish voice or a slamming screen door from below.  A bit concerned I ran down the stairs and searched the yard. No little boy.  No golden dog.  Knocking on the lower back door I asked if they had seen him.  No, they said, he had not been down. 

            Now really concerned I looked around the yard again and noticed the front gate off the street was open.  My heart fell to my knees! And fear surged, making me light headed.

            Running out to the sidewalk I yelled, “Stephen! Kinji!”  I looked up and down the street and saw no little boy and no dog.  I ran up the hill and looked down a side street. I saw nobody.  Where to look? I ran down the hill a couple of blocks looking down side streets.

            “Jesus please keep them safe!” I prayed as I ran. “Help me find them, please Lord!”

            My heart was pounding out of my chest.  I broke into an immediate sweat.  Dread filled my heart.  What to do?  Should I call the police?  Try to get Jim?   Jim had our only rig, so I decided to go back and call him at the school, then get on my bike and ride around searching. 

            I had stopped and was going to turn around when I noticed a lady walking up the hill towards me, several blocks away. She held a small boy by the hand and beside the boy was a big golden dog. 

            “Praise the Lord!”  I yelled and took off running.

            When I ran up to them, Stephen was grinning at me sweetly. I could do nothing but grab him up and hold him close for a long moment.

            The lady was smiling gently. “I saw these two walking on the sidewalk a few blocks down.”  She pointed down the hill.  “I figured they broke out from somewhere.”  She laughed then patted Kinji’s head.  “This guy was right by his side, staying between him and the street.  Quite a dog you have here.”

            I thanked her and squatted down so Stephen and I could give Kinji a big hug.  I talked to her a bit then walked back home. I asked the landlord if we could put a chain and clasp, something Stephen could not get undone on the gates, which he promptly did. 

            It wasn’t until later, I realized I hadn’t gotten the nice ladies name or found out where she lived. I would have liked to get to know her more and thank her again.  I thought, well surely I will see her around the neighborhood when I was walking or riding my bike. 

            So for the couple of months that we lived in that house, I walked often, pulling Stephen in his wagon, with Kinji beside us, hoping the lady would see us and come out to visit.  But to no avail.  I never saw that kind lady again. 

Could it be this kind stranger who had helped my two year old son as he wondered down a busy street with only his dog by his side could have actually been an angel?  Did I actually look into the eyes and talk face to face with an angel without being aware?  Could be.

sss10Jim, Stephen (2) me and Kinji

 

 

Posted in Angels, Angels to guard you, My son, son, Stephen | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The KINGS part 3 Joash

Posted on February 15, 2017 by Wendy Kleker

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THE CONSPIRACY

King Joash

“The Lord directs the steps of the Godly, He delights in every detail of their lives.  Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.” Psalm 37:23-24 NLT

Once upon a time, there was a baby prince. His name was Joash and he lived in a large palace built by Solomon, called the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. He had many brothers and sisters of which he was the youngest. He had a nurse who cared for him and loved him.   There were many servants to see to the prince’s every need. There was a grand nursery with many children and wonderful things to watch and play with. This little prince also had a very wicked grandmother.

Athaliah was the mother of the Ahaziah, king of Judah, who was Joash’s father. Athaliah encouraged her son, the king, to follow the ways of her very evil father, King Ahab of Israel.

“He (Ahaziah) did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, just as Ahab’s family had done. They even became his advisers after the death of his father and they led him to ruin.” 2 Chron. 22:4

So after reigning only one year in Judah, the Southern kingdom, God decided that a visit to the king of Israel, Joram, son of Ahab, would be Ahaziah’s downfall. While in the capital city of Israel, Jezreel, Ahaziah was killed by Jehu who was appointed by God to destroy Ahab’s dynasty and become the next king of Israel the Northern Kingdom. (from 2 Chron. 22:6-7)

When Athaliah heard that her son was dead she systematically began to murder her grandchildren and the rest of Judah’s royal family. You might say she was not the grandmotherly type! This evil woman, caught in the clutches of Satan, ordered the execution of her own grandbabies! What crying was heard in the palace! The nurses and servants were horrified as the children they had loved and cared for since birth were ripped from their arms and carried off screaming to their execution.

All but one. Amongst all the crying and screaming and mayhem, Jehosheba, wife of the priest, Jehoiada, and sister of late king Ahaziah, slipped unnoticed into the nursery and grabbed the youngest child, baby Joash from his crib. Wrapping her robe around the infant, she beckoned to his nurse and the two women calmly walked out of the nursery of horror.

Jehosheba led the nurse down many corridors in the great palace and slipped silently into one of the hundreds of bedrooms where they would hide until a hidden apartment could be readied in the Temple of the Lord.

Jehosheba knew the temple of God was the last place Athaliah would look since she would not want to step foot into the worship place of the one true God whom she had rejected. So when it came time for prayers, brave Jehosheba carried baby Joash under her robe, with the nurse following, into an inner room in the temple where she would hide her nephew from her mother for 6 years.

Can you imagine going against your own mother in a conspiracy that would ultimately end in her death or yours? Taking a stand like that against evil took a lot of courage and strength, no doubt given to her and her husband by God.

Six years the baby would be kept in an inner room in the temple, probably with no windows, where his cries would never be heard. Can you imagine? A child who could not run free in a meadow of green grass or feel the fresh air on his face. He would not feel the strength of a powerful horse beneath his legs or run and play with a devoted puppy. Unless maybe they were able to slip him out now and then disguised as a peasant boy to run and play in the country. I would hope this is what happened. However if he resembled his father in any way he had to be completely kept out of sight of his evil grandmother, Athaliah, now Queen of Judah.

It seemed Athaliah was getting away with her dastardly deeds. You would think God would strike her dead immediately, but He didn’t. She reigned for 6 full years over Judah and did much evil in the sight of the Lord worshiping Baal and other false gods.

In the seventh year of Athaliah reign, Jehoiada, the priest decided to make his move. Summoning his courage, he made a pact with five army commanders, and together they carefully planned out the conspiracy against his mother-in-law the queen of Judah. The 5 commanders traveled secretly throughout the southern kingdom, Judah and summoned the Levites and clan leaders in all the towns to come to Jerusalem where they all gathered at the Temple of God.

Jehoiada led the 7 year old child, Joash out of the temple into the courtyard where all the people were gathered.

“Here is the king’s son!” He cried “The time has come for him to reign! The Lord has promised that a descendant of David will be our king.” Then he laid out the plan for the great take over.

The commanders took charge of the men and supplied them with spears and small shields that had once belonged to King David and had been stored in the Temple of the Lord. Perhaps the prince Joash had played amongst those very shields. Now they were being used to defend him as the palace guards formed a line around the boy with their weapons ready. Armed guards formed lines to the south and to the north of the Temple and around the altar.

All was ready. Jehoiada brought the young prince out of the Temple. Joash was clothed in purple robes of royalty and he held his head high. If you were to look in his eyes you would see a glint of grit and steel there, for the blood of his great, great, great, great grandfather King David ran strong in his veins.

With much pomp, Jehoiada placed the golden crown upon Joash’s head and presented him with the copy of God’s laws. They anointed him and proclaimed him King of Judah. The crowd broke into clapping and shouting, “Long Live the King!”joash_crowned_king_1003-110

 

Meanwhile back at the palace, Athaliah, the wicked grandmother, heard the loud noise and she hurried over to the Temple. What she saw caused her frozen blood to run colder. There in the courtyard of the hated Temple was a very small boy wearing purple robes and a large golden crown, which tilted on his small head. The boy, who resembled her son, stood in the place of authority by the pillar as was the custom at times of coronation. Around him were many guards bristling with spears and holding shields. There were trumpeters and many people from all over the land who were rejoicing and blowing the trumpets.

In despair Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!”

Jehoiada ordered her to be seized and to kill anyone who tried to rescue her. She was a bad queen, not liked, I’m sure by her subjects, so no one made that attempt. The priest said she must not be killed in the Temple of the Lord so she was taken to a gate of the palace grounds and was killed there.

Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people that they would be the Lord’s people. Then all the people went over to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They demolished the altars and smashed the idols to pieces, then killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the leveled altars. No toleration there!joash-the-boy-king-the-parade-1-goodsalt-rhpas0336

With this taken care of the guards and commanders escorted the king from the Temple of the Lord to the palace and King Joash took his seat on the royal throne. Which, I’m sure, dwarfed the small boy.

So all the people of the land rejoiced and the city was peaceful because the wicked queen had been killed. Joash was seven years old when he became king.

I wish this story had a happy ever after ending. But unfortunately it does not. Joash did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight throughout the lifetime of the priest Jehoiada. He did many good things, he restored the Temple of God and all the items of worship that had been stolen. He followed God and worshiped Him with burnt offerings and sacrifices during the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest, who must have been like a father to the young king.

However when Jehoiada died at the age of 130, the leaders of Judah were able to persuade the king to abandon the Temple of the Lord. So King Joash led the people to worship Asherah idols instead of the God of their ancestors.

The anger of the Lord fell on Judah and Jerusalem because of this sin. However the Lord sent prophets to warn them and bring them back to Him, but the people would not listen.

Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah, son of Jehoiada, the priest and he stood before the leaders and said, “This is what God says: “Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands and keep yourselves from prospering? You have abandoned the Lord and now He has abandoned you!” 2 Chron. 24:20 NLT

The leaders and King Joash, the brave boy king who at one time stood tall for God, ordered Zechariah stoned to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s Temple. The very place Zechariah’s father had defied Joash’s wicked grandmother, risking his life to make a stand for God and crown Joash king.

Not long after that, the Aramean army marched against Joash. They invaded Judah with a small army and killed all the leaders of the nation.

“Although the Arameans attacked with only a small army, the Lord helped them conquer the much larger army of Judah. The people of Judah had abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so judgment was carried out against Joash.” 2 Chron. 24:24

Joash was severely wounded. But his own officials conspired against him for murdering the son of Jehoiada. He was assassinated in his own bed.

His life was saved by a conspiracy and he was taken out by a conspiracy.

“With blinding speed and power the Lord destroys the strong, crushing all their defenses!” (from Amos 5:10 NLT)

 

So the child king, Joash, who started out so strong and brave, who was brought up in the mentorship of a godly priest, who was saturated with God’s laws and word, ended up almost as evil as the grandmother who killed all of his family. What happened?

Sin is what happened. He abandoned his God. He turned his back on the very God who had saved His life. You might say, he was young, he was led astray, he was left without guidance and was persuaded. Yes he was, but he had a choice and he chose to turn his back and walk away from the God of the Universe.

God in His righteousness brought judgment on Joash and upon the nation of Judah. This happened time and time again with Judah, who did have a few Godly kings. Out of 20 kings in over 300 years, there were SIX kings who were righteous in the sight of the Lord! Six! Fourteen kings did evil in the sight of the Lord.

In Israel, the Northern Kingdom there were 19 kings in 250 years. How many were godly? NONE! God sent judgment on Israel in the form of enemies overcoming them and oppressing them time and time again. For 250 years God was patient and He sent many prophets to warn Israel to turn back to their God.the-death-of-king-josiah-at-megiddo-goodsalt-prcas0667

Through the prophet Amos, during Uzziah’s reign in Judah, two generations after Joash God, warned His people:

“I brought hunger to every city and famine to every town, but still you would not return to Me, says the Lord.

            I kept the rain from falling when your crops needed it the most. I sent rain on one town, but withheld it from another. Rain fell on one field while another field withered away.

            I struck your farms and vineyards with blight and mildew. Locusts devoured all your fig and olive trees.

            But still you would not return to Me, says the Lord.

            I sent plagues on you, like the plagues I sent on Egypt long ago.

            I killed your men in war and led your horses away. The stench of death filled the air!

            But still you would not return to me, says the Lord.

            Therefore I will bring upon you all the disasters I have announced.

            Prepare to meet your God in judgment, you people of Israel!” Amos 4:6-12 NLT

Finally, His patience was no more and He sent the Assyrians to defeat them and take all the people except for a few poor farmers into exile to a far away land. And the Northern kingdom of Israel was no more. A little later God also sent judgment on Judah when the Babylonians captured them and took them into exile.

So I ask you, is God the same today?

Is God still a just God?

If you read the prophets you will see many more such warnings to both Israel and Judah that ring very true for America today. Still through Amos, the shepherd prophet, God said:

“How you hate honest judges! How you despise people who tell the truth!

            Do what is good and run from evil so that you may live!

            Hate evil and love what is good, turn your courts in to halls of justice!

            I hate all your show of pretense the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies.

            Away with your noisy hymns of praise! I will not listen to the music of your harps!

            Instead I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of RIGHTEOUS LIVING!

            What sorrow awaits you who lounge in luxury in Jerusalem, and you who feel secure in Samaria

            You push away every thought of coming disaster, but your actions only bring the day of judgment closer.

            You drink wine by the bowlful and perfume yourselves with fragrant lotions.

            You care nothing about the ruin of your nation!

            Therefore you will be the first to be led away as captives. Suddenly all your parties will end.” (from Amos 5-6 NLT)

Does this sound familiar?

I ask you again, Is God the same today?

Could we not put the United States in the place of Israel and Judah in these passages?

I believe this is a warning to our nation. We need to become a “Nation under God,” once again. We need to follow God and only the God of Heaven’s Armies as a nation. Our people need to have Godly values and strong moral beliefs. We need to get back to the word of God and follow His truths, not every whim of the world. We need to have prayer back in schools and teach our children about the one true God. We need to stop worshiping other gods, bowing to idols and putting technology, gadgets, tv, wealth and other things before our God. We need to stop the lies and deceit, and the dishonest judicial system. God calls for a “FLOOD OF JUSTICE” across our nation!

We as a nation need to listen to the warnings of our God. We need to pray like we have never prayed before. We need to stand before our God in repentance. We need to stand for our God in defiance to sin.

O people of Israel (America) I am about to bring an enemy nation against you says the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies. They will oppress you throughout your land.” Amos 6:14 NLT

This also speaks to me and you as individuals. We need to examine ourselves and ask God to purify our hearts and lives. Are we just singing empty songs and noisy hymns? Are we hypocrites with our religious doings that mean nothing? Are we going to church and saying the right words but only for show and pretense? Are we spending the rest of the week trying to get back at our fellow American? Are we drinking much wine and having parties instead of living in righteousness? Are we worshiping idols and putting other things before our God?

“The Lord is a jealous God, filled with vengeance and rage. He takes revenge on all who oppose Him and He continues to rage against His enemies.

            The Lord is slow to get angry, but His power is great! He never lets the guilty go unpunished.” Nahum 1:2-3 NLT

Do not be deceived! God is the same today as He was yesterday. He is a loving God, yes, He is a patient God, but He is also a just God. He can not tolerate sin for long. He waits for hearts to turn to Him, but He will not wait forever.

He says in Amos 9:9-10 “For I will give the command and will shake Israel along with the other nations as grain is shaken in a sieve, yet not one TRUE kernel will be lost.

            But all sinners will die by the sword—all those who say ‘Nothing bad will happen to us’.

            In that day I will restore the fallen house of David. I will repair its damaged walls. From the ruins I will rebuild it and restore its former glory.”

            img_3234This is a bleak message, is it not? The prophets go on and on with doom and gloom, do they not? But wait, there is a glimmer of hope! There is light in the darkness. Jesus is the Light! Jesus is our hope. He gives the gift of Eternal life. Not something hoped for, which is just out of our reach, but something to grasp and depend upon.

            By His shed blood, His sacrifice of His life on the cross, Jesus brought about a way for us to have a close relationship with our God once again. A way for us black sinners to be made pure and as clean as white snow by believing in Jesus as our Savior and Lord of our life.

Believing is not just believing it is true, or that God exists. Beleiving is clinging to, trusting completely, relying on totally, leaning on, and following Him with all of your life. Making Him the focus of your days. Following Him with all your life. Loving Him with all your heart.

It is time to make a choice. The time for wavering is done! There is no more fence to walk. You will be either for God or against God. Like Joash you must make your choice. And like Joash, if you choose to go against God, you will pay the price.

“Not one TRUE kernel will be lost.” But those against God will die, the death of the soul, which is separation from God and torment for ever and ever.

Jesus says, “Look! I stand at the door, of your heart, and knock. If you hear My voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.

            Those who are victorious will sit with Me on My throne, just as I was victorious and sat with My Father on His throne.” (from Rev. 3:20-21 NLT) del_parson_in_his_glory_525

 

“Turn from evil and do good, and you will live in the land forever.

For the Lord loves justice, and He will never abandon the Godly.”

Psalm 37:27-28NLT

From 2 Chronicles 22-24 2 Kings 9-12 NLT

Note:  I am sorry if this offends anyone. I wrote something completely different for the lesson to this story, but I felt a check in posting it. The thought, “this is not what I want you to say,” kept coming to my mind. So I prayed about it many days and this is what I feel God led me to write. So if it offended you or if I stepped on toes, maybe you need to sit up and take notice of your relationship with God. Or maybe there is someone else you know who needs to hear this message.

It made me stop and think, “Am I doing what God would have me to do? Am I living the way God wants me to live? Are there rivers of Righteousness flooding my life? Every day we need to pray and ask God what He wants us to do for that day. And ask Him to help us live righteously. Not weeks ahead but for that day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in boy king, Following Jesus, God is God of the Earth, God is good, God is in control, Jesus is the Light, Jesus knocks at the door, Joash, king Joash, Light, Righteous living, rivers of righteousness | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

THE KINGS part 2 Solomon

Posted on January 26, 2017 by Wendy Kleker

king-solomon

ALL THE KING’S MEN

Solomon’s Fall

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall!

         Once upon a time there was a great king. This king followed God with all his heart. God blessed him with great wisdom and many riches. He sat himself upon a high throne in his great throne room called The Hall of Justice. His huge throne was decorated with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. Picture it—a huge, pure white chair, glimmering with gold’ so high there were six steps up to the base. The throne had a tall rounded back and large arm rests. A stone lion stood on each side of the throne and there were two lions on each end of the 6 steps. Can you imagine?

On the throne sits a tall regal man with a golden crown on his head. He wears purple robes of the finest silk and cloth. There are jewels, red, green, purple and gold, sparkling on his fingers, around his neck and studded on his sandals.

Besides the Temple of God, he built a great palace called thea3c0af741d0ba9db746764802009ca3a Palace of the Forest of Lebanon which had cedar pillars and cedar beams and 45 side rooms arranged in three floors of fifteen each. Wow! I would love to see that building! 5876538591_fdc20585cc_bHe also built the royal-portico-insideHall of Pillars, living quarters for himself and living quarters for his wives. The construction of the temple and other buildings took 20 years.d7e15fe175914d2a8fa8ceea58129a80

All the utensils and drinking cups in the palace were made from solid gold. There was so much silver in the land that it was considered worthless at this time. King Solomon built a fleet of trading ships that sailed away only to come back every three years loaded with gold, silver, ivory, apes and peacocks. Why apes? Of all things!

Solomon had 12,000 imported horses, 1400 chariots, 200 large shields made of hammered gold weighing 1500 pounds each, 300 small shields also made of hammered gold which weighed 400 pounds each and many wives. Ah yes, his wives. We will get to that later.

This king was known to be richer and wiser than all the kings in the world. You would see in a given day, nobles from all around the world, wise men coming to the foot of his throne to listen to his words and gain knowledge. Of course all those who visited brought many gifts, maybe each trying to out do the other.

afefe-queen-sheba-visits-king-solomon Even the great Queen of Sheba heard of his fame so she traveled to Jerusalem to test Solomon with hard questions. She arrived with many gifts of gold, spices and precious jewels and she spent much time talking to Solomon about everything she had on her mind. Solomon had answers for all her many questions and the regal queen was overwhelmed at his knowledge and great achievements. And so his fame spread to all the world.

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This mighty king sat himself high on a huge throne, but he soon started to slide down the slippery slope of selfishness, pride and conceit. At first, the slide is slow, we can see his shift from doing it for God to doing things for Solomon. God gave him all these resources, but did He mean for Solomon to use them in such extravagance? To seat himself on a throne high above any other in the world? To drink from cups of gold? To live in huge mansions? To import apes for no reason? To make shields of gold that were useless?

Were there other ways Solomon could have used his God-given blessing of wisdom and riches? Maybe to help people, perhaps provide for the poor or support the widows and orphans. It says later that Solomon taxed his people heavily and was a hard master extracting harsh labor demands on his people. (1Kings 12:4 NLT)

Why would a man who desired nothing but the ability to rule God’s people with wisdom and compassion fall to such levels of cruelty? Why would a man who loved God with all his heart and desired nothing but to follow in His ways, do evil in the sight of the Lord his God? What would cause a man who received amazing blessings, to slide so fast and fall so far down the slippery slope of sin?

After all Solomon had been warned twice, once by his father David, and once by God Himself, to always follow God and obey His commands and decrees or dire consequences to the nation of Israel would follow. So why would a king who had everything he could want and desire turn his back on the God who had promised to always be with him?

I’ll tell you why! Disobedience to God’s word. He did something God had clearly told the people of Israel NOT to do. He loved something God warned him to stay away from. And he refused to give it up.

God said “You must not marry foreign women for they will turn your heart to their gods. Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway.” (1Kings 11:2 NLT)

It started with just one. Just one woman, the daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh. The people who had held his ancestors in captivity for 400 years! He must have thought, “Just one won’t hurt. After all, I do everything else God’s way.”

Or maybe he didn’t think at all.

It didn’t stop at one, however, soon he had wives who had royal blood, princesses, from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and the Hittites. Sound familiar? All Israel’s old enemies. The enemies Joshua conquered and chased out of the land. Enemies that David fought hard to trample and vanquish from the country. Maybe Solomon thought he was being diplomatic in foreign affairs. Maybe like a politician he was trying to keep peace with the world. I think he just loved women, lots of them, exotic women, different women, beautiful women. And he decided he would do it his way. Not God’s way.

He had 700 wives from royalty and 300 concubines! One thousand women! Wow! No wonder he fell. He didn’t just slip a little on that slippery slope, he shushed all the way to the bottom!

These women did indeed turn Solomon’s heart away from the Lord God almighty.  “In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father David had been.”(1Kings11:4 NLT)

He worshiped many false gods and even erected shrines to these detestable gods on the Mount of Olives in the city of David for all his wives, and using burnt incense, he sacrificed to and worshiped these gods.

“The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the Lord’s command.”

So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed My decrees, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants.” (I Kings 11:9-11 NLT)

And this is exactly what God did, eventually. But He also raised up three adversaries to trouble Solomon. No more peace for this peaceful king. No more easy street for this wealthy man. All of a sudden, there was rebellion in the land. Trouble and turmoil came against Solomon until he died.

God set it up so Solomon’s servant, no less, would become King of the Northern kingdom of Israel, but the descendants of David continued to reign for a time in Jerusalem in the Southern kingdom of Judah. The nation God had built for His own people, who were as numerous as the sands on the sea shore, would soon be torn in two, never to be so great on this earth again.

It says many times that “David followed God completely.” Now we know that David sinned, but he always repented and turned back to God. David was a man after God’s own heart.

Do I worship God exclusively? Or Do I let things, people or money turn my heart away from my God?

Have I put myself on a high throne? Or is God ruler of my life?

Am I following God’s ways completely? Or am I doing what is pleasing in my own eyes?

One toe dip into the world, just one act of disobedience, starts the slide. One unconfessed sin is grease to the slippery slope. More sin added to the scale will unbalance even a king. Disobedience to God will topple the greatest king. How about you?

In the end it didn’t matter how many great buildings Solomon built or how many riches he had, what really mattered was how much he loved his God.

God doesn’t really desire grand buildings or gold or even great service, what He wants most is our devotion and our obedience. What God really desires is our hearts.

All the king’s men and all the king’s horses couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty together again.

“Come My children, and listen to Me, and I will teach you to fear the Lord.

Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous?

Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies!

Turn away from evil and do good.

Search for peace and work to maintain it.

The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, His ears are open to their cries for help.

But the Lord turns His face against those who do evil, He will erase their memory from the earth.

The Lord hears His people when they call to Him for help.

He rescues them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the broken hearted.

He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.

For the Lord protects the bones of the righteous, not one of them is broken!

Calamity will surely overtake the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be punished.

But the Lord will redeem those who serve Him.

No one who takes refuge in Him will be condemned.” Psalm 34:11-22 NLT

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Posted in disobedience, Following God, King Solomon, slippery slope, Solomon's fall, Worship God only | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

THE SON part 3

Posted on December 19, 2016 by Wendy Kleker

THE SON

part 3

MORNING LIGHT

“Because of God’s tender mercy the morning Light from Heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death and to guide us to the path of peace.” Luke 1:78-79

The stable that was under the living quarters of the house was quiet. Now and then an animal shifted in the straw and dim light shown throughout. Mary’s father sat leaning against the far wall and dozed in the stillness. Joseph sat by Mary holding her head in his lap and every so often wiping her sweaty face with a cool cloth.

Joseph had no idea that birthing would be so hard, but Mary labored much and once in awhile a soft moan would escape her drawn lips. He was happy Mary’s mother was there to attended to her needs. He would not have known what to do. It was all he could do to watch her in such pain. In between the contractions she would look at him and smile assurance while he wiped the sweat from her forehead. His heart swelled with love for this young, strong woman who God chose to deliver His very own Son to a dying world.

In the wee hours, when the night is the darkest and when the evil one is prowling the earth to see what havoc can be wreaked, a soft light bathed the house where Mary lay.

In the dark sky a great star burst forth, with bright light upon the black night. The evil one screamed in anguish and ran from the legion of angels surrounding the house.

In the dim room filled with the smell of cows and donkeys and musty straw, a lusty infant cry broke the stillness. Mary’s father jerked as his head came up. Joseph stared as his mother-in-law held the kicking baby boy in both her hands.

“Here he is, Mary,” she said with a grin, “healthy and ready to face the world!”

Joseph helped Mary to sit up, then her mother placed the squirming baby in her arms.   After examining fingers and toes, and wiping his tiny body clean, Mary wrapped him in the swaddling clothes she had brought. Then she grinned at Joseph who couldn’t take his eyes off the tiny baby in her arms.

“His name is Jesus,” he said and Mary nodded as she leaned against her husband, content with her baby secure in her arms.

Mary’s exhausted heart swelled with love, as she gazed at the tiny face and hands. Was it true? Would this baby of hers really grow into a mighty king? Would those tiny hands really save the nations? And was He truly the Son of Almighty God? But He had to be, how else could it have happened that she would have been with child before knowing a man?

This miracle baby of hers seemed so normal, like so many other babies she had seen. She glanced around the dim, dirty room that housed the family’s animals and realized for the first time that she had delivered her baby in a stable, on the dirt floor, and the only place to lay him was a straw filled manger. Not a fit place for the King of Kings to enter the world. What was God thinking?

Mary laid back on the straw and robes that had been put on the floor and snuggled the baby close to her breast. Joseph tucked robes in around his son and wife then huddled near by to shelter them from the cold draft.

Just outside Bethlehem a group of shepherds who kept their flocks of sheep together in a fold at night for protection, slept around a fire. Two or three were awake, sitting by the fire trying to stay awake to keep the night watch. Their heads dropped between their knees in the wee hours of the night as sleep overtook them.

Suddenly a bright light shone all around them. The watchmen sprang to their feet. The sleeping shepherds sat up and looked around befuddled. The light came out of the sky and was so bright they covered their eyes. They had never seen such light, it pulsated with brilliance. Terrified of what this could be, they lay prone upon the ground.

Out of the light they could just make out a figure. The tall, commanding being that seemed to be made of the light spoke.

“Don’t be afraid!” A voice boomed out of the light, “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people! A Savior–yes, the Messiah, the Lord–has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize Him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth lying in a manger.”

Suddenly the dark sky was filled with many angels, the armies of Heaven, all glowing in great light and singing this heavenly song.

“Glory to God in highest Heaven and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased!” Luke 2:14 NLT

The glory of God illuminated the night and the hills surrounding Bethlehem. The shocked shepherds stood with their amazed eyes turned upwards to the glorious sight of thousands of brilliant angels singing and praising God. Their mouths hung open and their hearts swelled with joy.

The shepherds were the lowly of the working men. They lived in the hills with their sheep, they had no homes, no beds, eating only what they killed or found. They were hard working men who preferred to be in the open country rather than a warm house. They would rather have the company of their sheep and dogs and sometimes each other instead of other people. They were considered outcasts, socially inept, poor and downtrodden.

Yet God chose these men to be the first to see His Glory that night. He chose the lowly and humble, not the high and mighty, to be the first to welcome His Son. God chose a peasant girl and a common carpenter to be the parents of His only cherished Son. He decided the Prince of Heaven would be born not in a palace warm but a cold drafty, dirty stable with cows and donkeys and maybe goats to witness the birth.

Every year when I read this story it amazes me that the God of the universe would use such common people and simple surroundings to execute His great plan. Why God even planned for His Son to born amongst the very animals He had formed with His own hands! Animals who warmed His tiny body with their heat and gave Him their own bedding. Did the cows look on with wide eyes and moo softly as the birth took place? Did the donkeys and goats and maybe a dog or cat know who was in their midst and eagerly try to get a glimpse?

This whispers to me that God will use me, a common person living in a simple humble home surrounded by His creation and even the animals He put on earth, to bring about His glory! If only I, like Mary and Joseph, have a willing heart. If only I am eager to follow His will, even if the road leads up steep, difficult mountains and things seem to go all wrong.

Tired and worn the shepherds came. The light of the star marked the house. The back country men filed silently inside and stood reverently looking down at the sleeping Mary with her baby snuggled close to her side.

Mary’s mother and father, wrapped in robes by the other wall, slept on undisturbed. Joseph, who lay beside Mary, jerked awake and jumped to his feet. The shepherds smiled and softly told him of the angel’s visit. Joseph, who wasn’t surprised at all, motioned for them to sit and they knelt on the dirt floor. Mary’s eyes fluttered open and after a startled glance at Joseph who nodded, she held out the sleeping baby.  As the rough, crusty shepherds took turns holding the tiny newborn, Joseph and Mary shared their stories of visits from angels.

In the cold dawn of a new day, the rough, dirt-crusted, outdoor men bowed their heads and worshiped Heaven’s Prince, the Savior of the world.

The Morning Light had come!

The Morning Light from Heaven burst upon a dark and dying world over 2000 years ago. The world we now live in is still dying, and dark. Evil reigns.

Blackness is creeping into every crack and extinguishing all light. So it seems.

Nevertheless, the Light from Heaven has not been put out. The evil one could not extinguish the Flame of Grace. Jesus who lived and walked on this earth and who died for you and for me, now lives!

He is a Light that is brighter than that star that shone down on Bethlehem that night. He is a song that is sung sweeter than Heaven’s armies singing in the night. He is more radiant than God’s Glory shining bright in the Bethlehem sky.

He is the Prince of Heaven, the Morning Star, the Commander of Heaven’s armies, the great I AM! He is the Lover of your soul. The Light in your darkness. The cleanser of your heart.

He will wash away your sins. He will give you new life and life eternal forever and ever in Glory with Him. He walks beside you, He lives within you, He stands between you and the evil one.

He is my strength, my shelter, my everything. I can not walk a single day without my Jesus by my side.

When darkness comes, He is my Morning Light. When a storm blows into my life, He is my Refuge. When all else fails, He is my Strong Tower.

He supports me. He carries me. He puts me on the Rock that is higher than I.

He will never leave me. He will never forsake me.   He is my Savior, my Friend, my life.

He was born a baby in a stable. He died as a criminal on a cruel cross. He is now the Prince in Glory. He will return to Earth as the King of the nations.

Jesus Christ our Lord.

He is the Son of the Almighty God.

He came as Light, bursting upon a dark night.

He brings Hope to a cursed, sin filled planet.

He gives Salvation to mankind, who live in the shadow of eternal death.

He is the Morning Light in your heart.

His light illuminates sin.

Yet He washes them all away.

All you have to do is ask.

           He stands at the door of your heart and says,

             “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear My voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.” Revelations 3:20 NLT

Posted in Angel Gabriel, Angels, Birth of a Savior, Birth of Jesus, Celebrate the King, Jesus is the Light, King of Kings, Light, Mary, Mary and Joseph, Merry Christmas, Refuge, Shepherds, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

THE SON part two

Posted on December 12, 2016 by Wendy Kleker

THE JOURNEY

“Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead be very glad for these trials make you partners with Christ in His suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing His glory when it is revealed to all the world.” 1 Peter 4:12-13 NLT

Mary:

I draw in a deep breath of the fresh morning air as I walk beside the donkey Joseph is leading. It is a fine day. The sun, not far on its journey, shines brilliant in a bright blue sky. The friends and family we travel with, sing a merry song as we march, only a few hours into the journey to Bethlehem to register for the census.

The heavy robe I had worn at the start of our journey in the chilly predawn hours is now tied to the pack on Josephine, my father’s borrowed donkey.

I chuckle remembering the teasing I mercilessly gave Joseph as he was tying our belongings to the pack. “Well, guess we have two Joes now,” I said with a smirk referring to my pet name for Joseph, who only grunted and hid a smile. “Well guess I could call you Joey instead, but that’s what I usually call Josephine.” I chuckled at his disgusted look. “Not a good idea, huh?” Laughing out loud, I made my waddling way back to the house for another load of meager belongings.

Joseph had said I could ride Josephine, and he would carry the pack. He is perfectly capable of doing that, he said. I assured him that I was perfectly capable of walking and should be able to make the three day journey on foot, if we didn’t go too fast.

Now, even though I am extremely heavy with child, there is a spring in my step and I feel vigorous and strong. My eyes scan the surrounding open countryside with scattered scrub brush which is mostly in the bottoms of the arroyos the trail occasionally dips into. Leaves are changing on the occasional trees that grow along the Jordan river we follow most of the way, causing a splash of orange or yellow in the brown landscape.

When Joseph first told me we must make this journey, I was afraid and positive that at nine months pregnant I would not be able to make it. However, he did not want to leave me behind since he knew the child would come while he was gone. Not only that, if I was away from the village at the time of the birth the discrepancy in the time of pregnancy would not be so obvious to anyone keeping track. And I am quite sure there are those who are counting months since Joseph and I were married. Was this order from Augustus, the Roman Emperor, to register for this census in our ancestral towns, actually God’s hand at work?

As the time drew near and I packed things needed for the baby, I was filled with fear. What if I gave birth on the trail? What about the dirt and what if there was no water to wash or fire to heat the water or shelter if it should rain? My hands shook as I folded the swaddling clothes and tears threatened.

Arms came around me as Joseph covered my abundant belly with his strong capable hands. “Don’t worry Little One,” he whispered in my ear always sensitive to my moods. “God will be with us. He will take care of us all, especially this child. ”

Of course, I knew this, but still the fear threatened to overcome my good senses. Then the night before we left, as I lay awake next to my snoring husband I prayed to God to take away the fear and give me strength for the journey.

Suddenly my heart was filled with warmth and quiet stillness.

All will be well, My child. Have no fear.

Amazingly the anxiety fled and in its place was–how do I explain it? Peace, assurance and an enveloping love that seemed to fill every crack of my heart. I am sure that the strength I feel now even after hours of walking is only from my Father God.

Once the sun goes down, we make camp beside the river. There are several families, some with young children traveling together, since it is not safe to travel alone. Joseph sees to Josephine, leaving her in the care of some young boys who watch the animals while they graze before night, and then he starts a fire. I bustle around pulling out food that was prepared ahead that can be warmed by the fire.

I am tired but not exhausted, my feet do hurt a bit and my lower back aches. Pretty normal for a women in her ninth month of pregnancy who has walked all day, Joseph assures me, as he rubs my back under the cover of our robes before we fall asleep. I fall into a deep dreamless sleep instantly and hardly move until Joseph is holding me and whispering in my ear that it is time to wake up.

A hasty cold breakfast is eaten, gear packed and loaded on Josephine and we are on our way before the sun shows its face. Streaks of pink and gold stripe the eastern horizon and the sky is turning to a light gray as I once again trudge beside Joseph. I am a bit stiff this morning, not feeling quite as vigorous as yesterday. But as the sun peeks out and the birds sing from the trees, I feel my muscles loosen and my spirits lift.

It was a tough day. The country grew more rugged and there were many coulees, which meant going down steep hills and climbing back up on often loose gravel and rocks. One time going up a hill my feet slipped out from under me and I landed on my hands and knees. Joseph was immediately beside me, helping me to my feet.

“You can ride the donkey,” he quickly said.

But I was stubborn and after catching my breath and rubbing my knees, I insisted I was fine and could walk. And walk I did but every step was an effort of my screaming muscles and my dragging steps slowed us down so that Joseph and I came into camp at dusk. Joseph’s brother and cousin stayed with us to make sure we got there safely.

That night I had no energy to even get food out and I wasn’t sure how I would go on for  one more whole day. Joseph, bless his heart, insisted I lay on the bedroll and rest while he did everything around camp. I fell asleep soon after eating a little and drinking some tea and was barely aware of my husband wrapping robes around me.

The next morning I was sore and stiff and the ache in my back was worse and very low. I walked for awhile but soon started getting cramps in my midsection that radiated to my back. Some of the older women in our group, my mother included, said it was the first stages of labor, but it would probably be many hours before I would deliver.

Joseph insisted I ride but after a while the jarring and swaying of the donkey’s gait along with cramps tightening in a band across my stomach, became unbearable. I would walk for awhile, often stopping and leaning on blessed Josephine’s side when a contraction would hit. We made slow time and most of the party went on ahead at Joseph’s insistence. Only my parents, his brother, Jesse, and cousin, Obed, stayed with us and as the sun set behind the distant hills, I knew Joseph was getting tense.

He thought we should stop and set up camp for the night, but I insisted we keep going. I knew it was unsafe for such a small party to be out after dark and not only that, I did not want my child to be born out in the open countryside with no protection or shelter. I wanted a bed to lie in and a warm fire to take away the chill, which I was sure would make a tiny newborn sick.

I was near panic as the night came on and darkness fell around us, but I gritted my teeth and said not a word. The cramps were getting so intense that I barely could hold back a groan and my mother walked beside me with her hand on my leg murmuring soft words of encouragement. I could see Joseph’s mouth moving in silent prayer as he walked on the other side and his brother led Josephine in a fast walk.

I thought we would be stuck in this dark world of pain forever as Josephine’s short quick strides jerked on and on.

“Hang on my sweet, we are almost there,” Joseph’s words penetrated the pain fog and when I looked up I could see lamps burning in nearby windows.

“Oh thank the Blessed Father above,” I murmured, not even carrying now if it was the ground I lay on as long as I could get off this blessed donkey.

We made our way to Joseph’s distant relatives, people we didn’t even know, but who would surely give us shelter. They only shook their heads saying there was no floor space left, even in the stable, which was, below the living quarters of the house. We trudged through the small village to a house of distant relatives of my father’s but they too said there was no room. None at all. There was no room for my baby to even lay his head.

“Why oh why, Father are You letting this happen?” I screamed silently, “Why is there no place for your Son to be born!”

Another cramp hit me, harder this time than ever before and I swayed forward and moaned. “I must get off,” I groaned. My mother said that my time was coming near.

Joseph reached up and lifted me gently off the donkey, but my legs would not hold me and I slumped against him. Joseph picked me up in his strong arms and told Jesse to go to the nearby house and tell them we would take any space they had to spare. I could feel Joseph’s fear in his tense muscles.

“I can walk, Joseph,” I whispered, even though I barely had strength to lift my head, “you can put me down.” But he carried me towards the house.

I saw a man open the door his brother knocked upon and peer out. After listening to Jesse’s plea, my heart dropped when the man shook his head. Then, as Joseph approached the door, the man’s eyes met mine.

“She is about to give birth,” Joseph pleaded.

The man’s mouth fell open, “Oh Father God,” he said, then opened the door.

Joseph ducked into the lower level of the house where the animals, a couple of donkeys, a milk cow and some goats were bedded down in straw. My father led Josephine in with my mom and Obed following and the small space was crowded indeed.

The man scurried around getting straw to make a soft bed in an open space near the wall where there was a manger full of hay. Joseph let my feet sink to the ground but he kept a firm hold around my back. Jesse and Obed murmured that they would find another place to stay and quickly went out.

When the bed of straw was ready, Joseph helped me to it and I sank down into its blessed softness. Oh, the bliss of stretching out and letting my tense muscles relax. Until the next contraction hit, that is. Joseph asked for hot water and rags.  My mother knelt beside me and Father brought in our pack. The animals shifted to make room.

I was too tired to worry about the dirt or animal manure, only very thankful for the warmth from the robes tucked around me and the soft light from the lamp that the man brought, along with food for the others.

Through the fog of pain, I was aware of a warm glow that seemed to fill the small stable. The animals stilled and it seemed the whole earth waited in the cold darkness.

The angels held their breath and all of creation seemed poised for the dawning of the new age.IMG_3370

Sometimes our journey through life is a difficult march through a cold dark desert. Like Joseph and Mary, our trip through the wilderness is no lark. We have many steep hills to climb and sometimes we fall. We get up and trudge on, one weary step after another. The journey drags on and on in the cold and one thing after another goes wrong.

We wonder if this trip we’re on is really God’s will. Surely if it was His will, all would go smoothly and be a walk in the park. There would be flowers and birds and blessings along the way. Wouldn’t there be? You would think God would smooth the bumps out and make the road easy. Wouldn’t He?

But wait! How did He orchestrate the birth of His Son? Who would have thought that God of the universe would allow the Emperor of Rome to make such a decree just before His Son was about to be born on planet Earth? You would think that a God who controls everything in His creation would have caused an easier way for the parents of His Son. You would think that the Almighty God of the universe would have gone on ahead and prepared a clean, comfortable place for His only begotten Son, the Son who stood by Him when they created the world, to be born. Wouldn’t He?

Oh but He didn’t! He allowed it to be tough and dangerous for the ones He used to fulfill His most important plan. He let Mary be in pain and discomfort. He let everything that could go wrong, go wrong. Yet not quite. He was there. He strengthened, He indeed prepared, He protected, and in the end He provided.

Mary and Joseph grew strong in their faith, they learned to lean on Him, they depended on His guidance. They learned to trust Him no matter how hard the journey.

So friends, He works the same in our lives. Does He not?

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for GREAT joy! For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” James 1:2-4

Let it Grow!

Posted in Birth of Jesus, Endurance, God's plan, God's Son, Hardship and trials, Hope dawns, I will rejoice, Journey to Bethleham, Mary, Mary and Joseph | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

THE SON part one

Posted on December 6, 2016 by Wendy Kleker

THE SON,

part one

            We tend to glamorize the birth of Jesus. To romanticize the betrothal and marriage of Joseph and Mary. To think of the journey to Bethlehem as a walk in the park or should I say wilderness. To whitewash the stable with clean straw and lovely smelling cows. To recreate a beautiful sparkly night with twinkly lights and a balmy breeze and Heavenly music.

Where I believe it was all of these things to some extent, it was also reality for Mary and Joseph. It was the real deal, where the rubber meets the road, so to speak, and their lives were turned upside down by one short message from God. A message delivered by the mighty angel Gabriel to a young peasant girl in a small out of the way village in Galilee.

Have you ever wondered what it was really like for Mary? That blessed, glorious experience of giving birth to the Savior of the world. How did a young peasant girl really see it? This is how I imagine it might have been.

The Message

            One day I was washing dishes after breakfast and singing one of my favorite Psalms, when suddenly there was a tingling down my back. You know it’s when you get goose bumps on your arms and you know something great is about to happen. But what? I can’t imagine since I’m just a plain peasant girl from a small village in Galilee, of unimportant birth. Except that it is said my family line has come down from David. Does that mean anything? Not that I know of. My betrothed Joseph is also from the line of David so when we are married our humble house of a simple carpenter will be of Noble blood. Ha! Something to tell our children when we tell them the stories of our ancestors. Of Abraham and Jacob and King David and all the glorious things God did back then.

Oh I think it would be so grand to hear from God or see Him work in a mighty way. Don’t you? I mean we talk about it, we see the memorials, we remember the stories. Like the stones Joshua placed near the Jordan after the Children of Israel crossed over to the promised land on dry ground. But that was so long ago and God has been so silent and they seem like fairy tales that are not real. I would just love to feel God’s presence and know He is real!

Just as I was dreaming about this with my hands in the warm soapy water, suddenly there was a bright light filling our small humble living space. A light like I had never seen, brighter than the brightest sun rays and I covered my face with my arm, as I turned around. Slowly lowering my arm, I saw a bright, glistening being, tall and commanding. Dare I say an angel of God? My heart began to pound, yet for some reason I was not afraid, only filled with such awe I could not move or speak.

“Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” The angel’s voice filled the room and my mind.

I was confused. Favored woman? God is with me? Me? What could that mean?

“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel said, and I wasn’t sure if he really spoke or the words were only in my head. My mother who was in the back room at the time, said she never heard a thing. “For you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever. His Kingdom will never end!”

I stumbled back against the counter. This was too much to take in! “Wait a minute how can this happen? I have known no man, I am a virgin!” I cried.

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,” the angel explained, “and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy and He will be called the Son of God.

Then he went on to explain that my cousin, Elisabeth, who was in her old age and had been barren all her life, was also with child, given to her from God for His purpose.

“For nothing is impossible with God.” The angel firmly stated.

My surprise knew no end. I was shocked and could only stammer the first thing that came to my mind. “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” I mean what can you say to an angel? Right? Then the angel left. (from Luke 1:26-38)

My legs felt like the dishrag I had dropped in the dishpan and I had to sit down. I sat on a cushion and putting my elbows on the table I buried my face in my hands.

Was this true? Did this really happen? Was I really going to have a baby? But I had no husband! Just my fiancé Joseph, and we were only engaged! What will happen to me if I become pregnant?

Those tingles I talked about before, spread down my back and across my arms. I felt suddenly warm all over and funny, like I was being pulled from my body. A glow came before my closed eyes, and I was filled with great peace. I breathed slowly and felt a deep assurance that all would be well. God, my God, the God of my ancestors, would take care of everything.

Great joy filled my heart. I, just plain Mary, had heard from the Almighty God of the universe!

I floated for days on this feeling of joy and assurance. Sometimes I felt as if I was floating above the ground. I went to visit my cousin, Elizabeth, in the hill country of Judea and was so excited to find it all true. She was indeed with child!

I hadn’t know for sure, before seeing her, if what the angel said was true. But it is! Elizabeth called me the mother of her Lord! She knew I was carrying a child, even before I told her about the angel’s visit. Wow! I am amazed!

This feeling is nothing like I had ever felt before! I can only call it exhilarating! Like standing on a mountain and seeing a vista of grandeur and majesty spread at my feet.

“Oh how my soul praises the Lord! How my spirit rejoices in my Savior!” I said to Elizabeth. “For He took notice of His lowly servant girl and from now on all generations will call me blessed. For the Mighty One is holy and He has done great things for me.

He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear Him. His mighty arm has done tremendous things!” (Luke 1:46-51)

I am just so amazed and blessed to see God working and to actually hear from His angel!  I am so greatly humbled that He would choose lowly me to carry out His great promise to His people.

So I stayed with Elizabeth about three months and by then I knew I was indeed carrying a child. Of course I had been with no man so I knew without a doubt this child was indeed the workings of Almighty God. However what would I face when I returned home?

Soon after getting home I told my parents all that had happened. At first they didn’t believe me. My mother swore up and down that she never saw or heard an angel that day. Surely, she said, she would have since the house is not large. Well I couldn’t explain that but I told them again and again that I had not known a man in an intimate way.

Finally my father traveled to Elizabeth and Zechariah’s village and found out for himself that a miracle had indeed happened to his aged niece, who was about to finally give birth to a child. Also Zechariah could not speak because he had not believed the angel, Gabriel, who had given him the message of the son his wife was carrying. This Zechariah wrote out explaining all, with great excitement, to my father. So having heard this with his own ears, he and my mother were more inclined to believe me.

However it soon came time to tell Joseph my betrothed that I was with child. Oh my! What a time. We took a quiet stroll outside the village and I explained all that had happened. His expression was incredulous.

“What?!” he cried in his calm controlled manner, “Let me get this right. You are with child, but you say this child came from God not a man?”

I nodded, “It’s true, really!” I explained about Elizabeth and her child but I didn’t really expect Joseph to believe me. I mean who would? Joseph is a simple man, a practical man who believes in God and the scriptures, but to swallow such a wild tale from your young fiancé, I mean that would be hard for any man. In these days we don’t expect visions of angels and messages from God. Who would since none have been known in such a long time. How long since anyone has heard from God, we do not know.

Joseph was silent for along time, walking along with his head down and his hands folded in front of him, inside his long sleeves. I walked beside him, my stomach sick and not due to the pregnancy either, and prayed that God would please talk to Joseph’s heart. I wasn’t sure if I loved Joseph. I had known him for a long time, and he was a good man. I would need a man by my side to raise this child. Without a husband the child would grow up in disgrace and how could God’s Son do that?

Before we entered the village again, he stopped and looked at me with sorrow in his eyes. I knew he thought I had betrayed him and my heart broke for him.

“Oh Joseph!” I cried, “Please don’t think I would hurt you in any way! Oh please believe what I say is true!”

He lowered his head but before he did I saw the sheen of tears in his eyes. “I will have to think on this, but believe this, I will not disgrace you publicly. I will probably break our engagement, but will do it quietly. How you will explain a child, I don’t know, but I just don’t think I can accept your story.”

Then he walked away, his head bowed, his steps dragging. My heart broke into a thousand pieces. It was then I knew I loved this man who had been more like a big brother to me than anything. “My God!” I cried, “Please make him see the truth.”

I made my way home and later fell into bed but not into sleep. My soul and mind were troubled indeed. I felt sick to think I had hurt such a gentle, caring soul as my Joseph.

“How can you do this God?” I cried. How could He bring such turmoil into my ordered life? Everything was going so good, just as it should. I am of a good age to be betrothed. The engagement would last a year or two until I am more mature and better able to handle being a wife and have children, so my mother explained. Joseph and I would see each other often, every day usually, and get to know each other as friends. It’s the way it should be. The way it usually is with our people. But now!

“Now God my life is all messed up! Joseph is hurt and feels betrayed and I will be disgraced and the child, God your Son will have such a hard time!”

“It is ok, Child, I will take care of you and Joseph and my Son. Nothing is impossible for Me.” These words came into my head and I felt such peace fill my heart. I knew it would indeed be ok. God was in control and He would handle everything. With that I fell into a deep sleep.

That night Joseph lay in his bed and tossed and turned. Thoughts of what Mary had told him going around and around in his head like a butter churn. He just couldn’t believe an angel had actually spoken to her. Had she gone daft? He knew she was given to fanciful thinking and romantic day dreaming, but this was far beyond anything normal for a young woman. Wasn’t it?

He could hardly pray. His befuddled mind could only find the words, “Help me God to know what to do!” As he was whispering these words over and over he finally fell into a troubled sleep.

He had a dream where a shinning angel stood before him and spoke to him, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus. For he will save his people from their sins.”

And in a half sleep state Joseph remembered the words of the prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel, which means God is with us.” (Math. 1:20-23)

When he woke up, Joseph whispered, “The Messiah! Mary is giving birth to the promised Messiah!”

Jumping out of bed, Joseph donned his robe and sandals and rushed over to Mary’s house. He burst upon her family’s breakfast and rushed over to Mary. Her parents were surprised at the behavior of this stoic man but Joseph ignored them and knelt before Mary.

Taking her hands in his he said, “Mary forgive me for not believing you, but I have had a dream and God has confirmed all that you have said. I will marry you, if you will still have me.”

Tears sprang to Mary’s eyes and she threw her arms around his neck nearly knocking him over backwards. “Oh yes! Yes I will marry you! Thank God! Thank God!”

This was not, I’m sure, how Mary had dreamed her marriage would be. A quickly planned affair brought on by an unplanned pregnancy! Her world was turned upside down and inside out with Gabriel’s message. One little message from God.

Yet, God used the miracle of Elizabeth’s pregnancy to confirm for Mary and others that what He was working in Mary was indeed from Him. He usually does this in my life. If He gives me a message, or a direction, it is always confirmed by other means.

Turmoil and trouble came into Mary and Joseph’s world all because of God’s plan. Because of God working His will in their lives they experienced confusion, doubt, stress and pain. But through it all I’m sure they had peace. God was with them and He gave them the strength and all that they needed to go through it.

In the same way, God’s will, His plans don’t always make my life great! In fact, sometimes God’s will brings turmoil and trouble. Often times when God works in my life there is confusion, stress and pain. However, God is working for my good and for the good of others around me. This I know, this I trust. He always gives me His peace, His joy and His strength through it all. I just need to trust and lean on Him in the worst of times. And, like Mary, I will praise my Lord!

“Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy! I look to You for protection. I will hide beneath the shadow of Your wings until the danger passes by.

Be exalted O God, above the highest heavens! May Your glory shine over all the earth!” Ps. 57:1, 5

Posted in Angel Gabriel, Birth of a Savior, Birth or Jesus, God's plan, Mary, Message from God | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

THE KINGS part 1 Solomon

Posted on October 11, 2016 by Wendy Kleker

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ALL THE KINGS HORSES

Solomon’s Reign

Humpty Dumpty Sat On a Wall

“Those who trust in the Lord are as secure as Mount Zion. They will not be defeated but will endure forever!” Psalm 125:1 NLT

 Once upon a time there was a great king This king was the most powerful ruler in all the land and the greatest king to ever rule Israel. He had a vast kingdom from the Euphrates river in the North to Egypt in the south and as far west as Gaza.

            David, his warrior father, had conquered all this great kingdom and the peoples of the land served King Solomon and sent money to him all of his life time. His subjects, the people of Judah and Israel, were as numerous as the sand on the seashore and each family had its own garden and home. There was peace in the land and the people lived in security and safety.

On his death bed, David told his son to always walk with the Lord and obey God’s commandments and God would bless him and his descendents forever. This king was a good son and obeyed the words of his father, even after the mighty David had gone on to Glory. Solomon loved the Lord and followed all the decrees of his God, and he offered sacrifices at the local places of worship.

One night God came to him in a dream, “Solomon,” God said, “What do you want? Ask and I will give it to you!”

Without hesitation young Solomon answered, “You showed faithful love to your servant my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to You. Now O Lord, You have made me king instead of my father, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. Here I am in the midst of your people, a nation so great and numerous they can not be counted and I am lost! I don’t know what to do. So, Please give me an understanding heart so that I can govern Your people well and know the difference between right and wrong.”

God was very pleased that Solomon had asked for such a wise and selfless thing when he could have asked for all the riches in the world.

God replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing My people with justice and have not asked for long life or wealth, I will give you what you asked for. I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have! And I will also give you what you did NOT ask for, riches and fame! And if you follow Me and obey My decrees and My commands as your father did, I will give you a long life.”

So the young king began to rule with much wisdom and understanding so much so that his subjects began to nod their heads and feel confident in their new king.

One day two women who were prostitutes, came to the king to have him settle an argument between them. “Please my lord,” one of them began as they kneeled before the king, “this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a baby while she was with me. Three days later this woman also had a baby and there was only the two of us in the house. Her baby died during the night when she rolled over on it. Then she got up and took my son from beside me while I was asleep. She laid her dead child in my arms and took mine to sleep beside her. You can imagine how I felt in the morning when I woke up and my child was dead! However when I looked at him closely I could see it was not my son at all.”

“It certainly was your son!” The other woman interrupted, “this one who is living is mine!” She rocked the baby in her arms.

“No!” cried the first woman, “I know the living one is mine, I know my own son. The dead baby is yours!” So they argued and shouted back and forth to each other.

Oh my what was a king to do! “Lets get this straight,” King Solomon said, “both of you claim the living child is yours and each says the dead child belongs to the other.”

Amidst the clamor of their shouting, the king raised his hand, “All right, bring me a sword!”

Suddenly the two women became silent as with round eyes they watched a servant bring the king a big sword and at the king’s command take the child from the woman.

The king’s voice rang in authority as he said, “Now, cut the living child in two, and give half to one woman and half to the other!”

The first woman gasped and tears began to roll down her face, “No! No! My lord!” she cried, reaching both hands to the king. “Please don’t kill him! Give the baby to her.”

The other woman merely nodded and said flatly, “Fine then, he will be neither yours nor mine, divide him between us.”

“Do not kill the child!” The king commanded, “Give him to the woman who wants him to live, for she is his mother!”

When the people heard of this they were in awe of the king for they saw the wisdom God had given him for rendering justice.

So King Solomon set up his kingdom and his government. He amassed much wealth and power. He owned no less than 12,000 horses and many chariots. He was richer and wiser than any other king on earth! God gave Solomon very great wisdom and understanding and his knowledge was as vast as the sands on the seashore. In fact his wisdom even exceeded all the wise men of the east and the wise men of Egypt.

Solomon composed 1,005 songs and wrote 3,000 proverbs. He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants, from the great Cedars of Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows from the cracks in a wall. He also knew about animals, all creatures great and small, and fish of the sea. Since there was no Google, the kings from every nation sent their ambassadors to learn from the wisdom of Solomon.

David, Solomon’s father, had said, “I live in a fine house, but the Almighty God dwells in a tent.” He wanted to build a temple for his God. But God told him since David was a man of war, he could plan the temple, but his son, who would be a man of peace, would actually build the temple.

So 480 years after the people of Israel were rescued from their slavery in the land of Egypt and actually became a nation, King Solomon began construction on the Temple of the Lord. It was a great temple, very large with complex rooms that were three stories high. It was constructed of cedar beams, stone and marble and the inner rooms were paneled with cypress and cedar. All of the interior was overlaid with solid gold including the altar and the floor. The walls, doors, doorposts, beams, and columns were decorated with many intricate carvings. I really wish I could have seen that building!

The temple took seven years to complete and was a sight to behold. When it was completed, the king of all the people of Israel dedicated the Temple of the Lord with burnt offerings. The bronze altar in the Lord’s presence was too small to hold all the burnt offerings, grain offerings and the fat of the peace offerings.

Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire community of Israel and lifted his hands toward Heaven and prayed, “Oh Lord God of Israel there is no God like You in all of Heaven above or on earth below.” And so on for a long prayer. Then Solomon and the people celebrated 14 days and afterwards the people went home joyful and glad because the Lord had been good to his servant David and to his people Israel.

All was well in the land.

Later God appeared to Solomon a second time and said, “I have heard your prayer and your petition. I have set this temple apart to be holy, this place you have built where My name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it for it is dear to my heart.” 1 Kings 9:1-3 NLT

God was pleased with the great building Solomon had built to honor His name. However the hearts of His people meant more to him than this great tribute.

He said to Solomon, “But if you or your descendants abandon Me and disobey the commands and decrees I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, then I will uproot Israel from this land that I have given them. I will reject this temple that I have made holy to honor My name. I will make Israel a mockery and a ridicule among the nations.” 1 Kings 9:6-7 NLT

No one in the world would know more about building a house than Solomon. No one had more wisdom and understanding than Solomon. When reading this story in my One Year Bible, I saw the parallel Psalm was about building a house and it was written, no less by Solomon!

“Unless the Lord builds a house the work of the builders is wasted.

Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.

It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night anxiously working for food to eat, for God gives rest to His loved ones.” Psalm 127:1-2 NLT

I ask myself, “Am I building my house or is God?

Am I guarding my gates or is God?

Am I anxiously working from morning till late at night for food to eat?

Or am I resting in My God?

“Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people both now and forever.” Psalm 125:2img_0497

Story taken from 1 Kings 2-9 more about Solomon coming up!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Build God's Temple, Following God, King Solomon, Obey God, Unless God build the house, Walk with God, Wisdom, Wisdom from God | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments