Perhaps it may turn out a sang,
Perhaps turn out a sermon.

-- R. Burns Epistle to a Young Friend

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Christ Invictus



In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel. 
His abode has been established in Salem,
his dwelling place in Zion.
There he broke the flashing arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah
-- Psalm 76:1-3


God is known in Judah – in praise, and He abides in Salem – peace. 

You don’t have to read any further.  

 The last few days have been hectic, calls for help from every quarter, everybody needing something right now.  It is my nature to try and please everyone.  One of the things I say most often is, “Don’t worry.  I will take care of it.”  Sometimes I can’t.  It might be because there aren’t enough hours in the day, because I’m not Ironman, or Einstein, or Jesus. 

Jesus, however, is Jesus, and His power exceeds that of any genius or superhero as the oceans exceed a raindrop carried on the breeze.  I can, on occasion, evade my enemies and solve my problems.  The hero can win the battle.  Jesus gives us peace. 

The Cross destroys all of the enemy’s weapons, and renders both the adversity and its allies powerless.  Heroes are conquerors.  We are more than conquerors through Him who loves us.  Not on some distant battlefield resplendent with banners and trumpets, not in the hazy, honeyed realm of heavenly imaginings, but right here, surrounded by challenges and difficulties, amid our pain and hurt, our anger and anguish, our suffering and our fears, we are at peace. 

In the dust and dirt and decay of everyday life, we speak the praises of God and make His presence known to our circumstances.  As we are pressed, we are at peace.  We are in the light, though thick darkness may obscure the path ahead.  As we move forward, the light goes with us.  We are not the Light, but the Light abides in us, and we in Him, and the darkness cannot overcome us.


But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.  We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;  persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed … (2 Corinthians 4:7-9)



6 comments:

Rick said...

"There's never a better time to pray than the present."
~ Things Yogi Berra May or may not have said

Hope you're ok.

mushroom said...

Yes, even Yogi said he didn't say all the things he'd said, but I'm sure he'd agree with that one.

I'm doing fine, just really, really busy with multiple projects.

Rick said...

Glad you're doing fine.
And how is your wife? I may have missed a post on any news. Last I heard you were going to stay at home with her for a few weeks..

mushroom said...

I did take off work most of April, which may be part of the reason so much has piled up.

It was necessary, though, to be off that long. She is doing much better now. There are some things the doctors want to do. They never really came up with a diagnosis, and some have recommended that she visit a more advanced clinic.

But she was out riding the lawnmower yesterday, so she's come a long way.

Rick said...

That's fantastic!
Did she get an MRI?

mushroom said...

She had MRIs and CTs. And ultrasounds, but there was nothing conclusive.