Author: Quanny Ard

Worship VII Day 6 Sweet By And By

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Read His Words Before Ours!

John 14:1-7
Revelation 14:1-5
Revelation 21:3-4

Worship VII, Day 6

“There’s a land that is fairer than day,
And by faith we can see it afar;
For the Father waits over the way
To prepare us a dwelling place there.

In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore;
In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore.

We shall sing on that beautiful shore
The melodious songs of the blessed;
And our spirits shall sorrow no more,
Not a sigh for the blessing of rest.

To our bountiful Father above,
We will offer our tribute of praise
For the glorious gift of His love
And the blessings that hallow our days.”

I adore hymns.
They surround my earliest memories of church and worship. The words and melodies introduced a solemnity to the service and carried a sacred whisper when I sang them.

As a child, I didn’t always understand the hymns, but somewhere along the way, a transition happened. The songs I sang by rote for years have now become sources of strength and help, holding me up in various challenging situations. I find myself singing them often, especially now, when face-to-face church fellowship isn’t possible in the way it once was because of Covid-19.

In the Sweet By and By has a special place in my heart because of the longing it creates for heaven. When did you first learn about heaven? I remember hearing about it as a little child. Though I wasn’t able to process the full scope of heaven at a young age, my vivid imagination envisioned it as THE BEST place a child’s mind could create. To be honest, it probably looked more like a gigantic toy store than the Biblical description of heaven. (Revelation 21:9-27) Regardless of age, as we read the Bible, we begin to understand no matter what picture of heaven our earth-bound minds have imagined, it doesn’t compare to the real thing.

“But, as it is written,
‘What no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived–
God has prepared these things for those who love him.’”
(1 Corinthians 2:9)

What makes heaven so special?
There are an infinite number of reasons for an infinite number of believers, but one of my favorites is God preparing a place in heaven specially for us. (John 14:2-3) God loves us so much He designed and built a place for us beyond comparison! (Hebrews 11:10) Heaven is a city of gold with foundations made from precious jewels. (Revelation 21:18-21) I cannot fathom what such magnificence must look like!

Composer Joseph P. Webster was well-known for his performances and patriotic songs in the antebellum (pre-Civil War) and Civil War period. But by the end of the war, he lost his ability to perform and, instead, turned to compositions, mainly ballads and hymns. It was during this time he met Mr. Sanford Bennett, who wrote the lyrics to what would be Mr. Webster’s most popular and widely known hymn, In the Sweet By and By.

After such a dark period in our nation’s history, I can imagine there was a need for hope, a call to place the longing for home in an enduring location. (Hebrews 13:14) The amount of grief, loss, and separation experienced during that time was unparalleled . . . until now. The news echoes the tragedies faced by millions not just in our nation, but also across the globe because of the rampant coronavirus. The second stanza of this hymn reminds us there is a place where sorrows will be extinct.

Revelation 21:4 gives us this promise:
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
Grief, crying, and pain will be no more,
Because the previous things have passed away.”

What hope! We won’t even remember our pain. (Isaiah 65:17)

When we get to Heaven, among many other things, there will be the glorious sound of singing. It will be the song of those who know Who their Savior is and how He has redeemed them. (Revelation 5:9-10) The gift of God’s love is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins so we can return to our heavenly home. (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 6:23; John 3:16)

This is the sweet by and by.

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Kaleidoscope Day 3 The Kindness Of Love

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Read His Words Before Ours!

1 Corinthians 13:4-9
Galatians 5:22-26
Proverbs 21:21

Kaleidoscope, Day 3

When was the last time someone was kind to you?
How did it make you feel?

Webster’s dictionary states that kind, as an adjective, is defined as:
“having a sympathetic nature, gentle,
characterized by sympathy or forbearance;
to give pleasure or relief, affectionate”.

In 1 John 4:8, the Bible defines God, at the very core of His essence, as:
Love

Love finds its multi-faceted definition in 1 Corinthians 13, and tucked in verse 4, this love flowing from the heart of God is kind.

The thread of God’s loving kindness is woven throughout the Bible. When I think of love being described this way, I can’t help but be moved to tears by the examples to our biblical ancestors and to us each and every day.
Journey with me and see what I mean….

In the Old Testament
In the Garden of Eden at the dawn of creation, God used His own hands to carve out our frame rather than speak us into existence as He had for every other act of creation.
How gentle and sympathetic of Him to put a personal touch on mankind.

“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”
Genesis 2:7

It was love that initiated our creation, but it was kindness that drew our Creator close!
The intimacy that was intentionally and immediately established in that sacred moment, planted within us a deep connection to and with God.

The kindness shown here was just the beginning of a love story that would span multiple generations and beyond.

In the New Testament
It’s one of my favorite stories precisely because it displayed Jesus’ unfathomable kindness. There was the woman brought to Jesus because she’d been literally caught in the act of adultery in John 8:1-11.

Her accusers were bent on using her as a way to trap Jesus in a philosophical and theological debate, but Jesus knew their hearts.
Rather than engage her accusers, Jesus addressed the woman who was desperate for love. This woman, embarrassed and full of shame, stood before Him exposed.

Jesus spoke to her, not with condemnation for her past, but with love. He acted with a kindness she had likely never experienced without strings attached.
Her forgiveness and freedom were delivered through the kindness of Jesus, as He removed the weight of condemnation she was crushed beneath before weighty stones sentenced her to death. Praise God for Jesus’ kindness!

At the Cross
The cross was kindness personified. Here was the culmination of a promise made long ago in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15) to restore mankind to a right relationship with God by forever crushing the head of the enemy, Satan. We were crafted for Eden as sons and daughters of God, but because of sin, the connection we had with the Father was broken (Isaiah 59:2).

But the kind heart of God is for us!
Before sin entered, a plan was already in place.

While we were in the midst of our sin, Jesus endured the cross.
I love how the Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA) version of Romans 5:8-9 describes this phenomenon, “But God commendeth his charity towards us; because when as yet we were sinners, according to the time, Christ died for us…”

And guess what friends? That word charity?
You guessed it; it’s a synonym for kindness.

In My Life
I have countless examples of the kindness of God in my life, but my educational journey is just one such example. I am finishing up a doctoral degree, while in the throes of “wife-ing”, motherhood, entrepreneurship, and other interests.

To say I am busy is an extreme understatement. But here’s the thing, friends.
I have seen God’s kindness!
Through various professors, peers, dissertation committee members, and my overall institution His kindness has been made known in ways that have truly blown my mind.

Extensions for papers, last-minute revisions of policies from which I have benefited, scholarships, etc. I know the kindness of my God because I have experienced it!
I can look back and see an unbroken thread of tender, loving-kindness serving as both the foundation of and structure to this process of growth for me.

Be Ye Kind
In being kind, we are exhibiting the very likeness of God through His character at work in us. We are admonished in Ephesians 4:32 to be kind and compassionate, just like God.

You may or may not be able to relate specifically to my testimony, but I know I’m not alone in witnessing the kindness of God in my life. If you look back or even around, I’m sure you too can identify a pattern of Divine kindness at work.

Just take a moment to do so, right now.
What areas of your life come to mind?
How can you, in turn, show this loving kindness of God to others?
To whom will you be kind as you mimic the Savior?!

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Glimmers Day 5 Hope Of A New Covenant

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Read His Words Before Ours!

John 15:12-17
Exodus 20:1-21
James 2:8-13
1 Peter 1:14-21
Matthew 26:26-28

Glimmers, Day 5

What comes to mind when you think of the Ten Commandments?
Laws?
A list of do’s and don’ts?
What about considering them in terms of a covenant?
A bond between God and His people.

The Ten Commandments are God’s covenant in the form of a gift given to a prince-turned-shepherd (Moses) for a people (Israel) He called to Himself.
Although we don’t typically think of a connection between these Ten and Christmas,
the link is one we should rejoice in, especially during Christmas.

The commandments were intended to draw the hearts of the children of Israel back to their God. After hundreds of years of slavery, the people had forgotten Yahweh and His covenant with their ancestor Abraham. The commandments served as a legal “contract” between them and God by giving the boundaries within which they would live as His children in the new land He had already promised them. The covenant God had made with Abraham, which was sealed by God’s Word and acted upon by Abraham’s faith, not his performance, was fleshed out by these ten laws.

The Ten Commandments provided the boundaries for Israel’s pattern of living.
They would distinguish God’s people, identifying them by how they lived according to God’s Laws. Israel would be markedly set apart from pagan nations around them.
Through their obedience and adherence to the laws of God, the children of Israel were to be a living, breathing witness of the character of God to these nations; nations that had long ago rejected God through choice or tradition.

God has always had a calling on His people.
In John 15:16 God the Son, Jesus, plainly states, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.”
Before we even knew to choose God, He had already chosen and ordained us to bear fruit that would be lasting. This was one of the primary objectives for the Israelites living in the Promised Land, to restore the name and glory of God among those who didn’t Him.
They were to bear fruit in a spiritually desolate desert wasteland.

Although the commandments served as a standard by which to live (God’s holy standard), we as sinners are unable to keep the law perfectly. The Israelites broke the law immediately after receiving it.

“When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said,
“Come, make us gods who will go before us.
As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt,
we don’t know what has happened to him.”
{In brief, Aaron (Moses’ brother) says, okay! Bring me all the gold jewelry you can find. Aaron melted it down and fashioned a golden calf, presenting it to the people saying….}  
“These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
{Then Aaron announced…}
“Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.”
So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt.
They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’  (Exodus 32:1-8)

Friends, can you imagine the horror when Moses heard from God and reached the based of Mount Sinai to find this scene?
Can you imagine God’s horror?
To break even one of these commandments is to break the covenant with God in its entirety (James 2:10) and leads to death (Romans 6:23).
But God, full of gracious love and tender mercy, knew we needed hope.
Hope by giving us a Savior to kill death for us, and give us righteousness where we had earned death because we had broken His covenant.
Hope that would bring freedom; not just for Israel in the desert, but for all of us, lost in the desert of sin, who would enter into the new covenant through the blood of Jesus Christ for all eternity. (1 Peter 1:17-19, Matthew 26:28)

Jesus is the Redeemer that freed both Israel and us.
The commandments and subsequent Mosaic sacrificial system were an ever-present reminder of our need for a Rescuing Savior.
The commandments provided the Glimmer of Hope.
Hope personified through Jesus Christ, born as God wrapped in flesh.
Born to die as a substitutionary atonement for all sinners.
Born as the only solution to the wages of death brought on by breaking God’s law and covenant.
We are the breakers of this law. Not just Israel, us.
We are the ones in need of a Rescuing Savior. Not just Israel, us.

Christmas and the Ten Commandments?
Absolutely!
The baby in the manger is the Rescuer we desperately needed because we are incapable of keeping the law of God.
Praise God for being both Law-Giver and Law-Fulfiller!
Praise Him for being our Hope!

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

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Prayer Day 8 Forgive Us

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Matthew 6:12-14
Matthew 9:1-8
Psalm 32:1-7
Exodus 34:6-8
Ephesians 4:31-5:2 

Prayer, Day 8

“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12) 

There are some concepts that are easily grasped, and there are others that are difficult and may take quite a bit of additional effort to adopt.
In my humble opinion, forgiveness is at the top of the list.

A friend of mine asked a very important question regarding this concept,
“Why do some people find it hard to forgive?”
Well, forgiveness isn’t always straightforward friends; it is as nuanced as the individuals involved on either side. Forgiveness takes effort and intention, often meaning that the end result may simply take time.
Maybe if we let ourselves off the hook by thinking of forgiveness as a journey,
rather than a destination to be reached,
we can release some of the difficultly associated with it. 

Our central verse is at the heart of a teachable moment Jesus is having with the disciples who have just asked him how they should pray. The prayer ends with Jesus’ plea for forgiveness of debts, but not just forgiveness on its own.
It is coupled with,
and dependent upon,
the action of the pray-er.

“And forgive us of our debts,” Jesus says,
“as we have also forgiven our debtors.”

Jesus has instructed His disciples to
1.) forgive others
2.) then ask God for our forgiveness
3.) repeat as necessary.

Forgiveness is one of the bookends of the model prayer,
which places it at a high importance for how we should model our lives.
Why exactly would Jesus end the prayer with forgiveness rather than begin with it? Maybe He wanted it to be the last thing they heard.
Maybe it held the greatest weight.  

Forgiveness is mentioned in various forms (forgive, forgiven, forgiveness, forgiving) in the Bible many times (at least 150 times).
Why?
Because forgiveness is at the root of restoration and healing.

A man who came to Jesus for physical healing, found himself hearing that his sins had been forgiven (Matthew 9:2).
A woman caught in the act of adultery and brought before Jesus, realized she had been restored, when He told her to “go and sin no more” (John 8:11, ESV).
Jesus Himself embodied and represented to us the ultimate act of forgiveness in our restoration at Calvary, when He pleaded with His Father to “Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”. (Luke 23:34) 

Forgiveness is also about relationship.
Peter needed some clarity on this also. In Matthew 18:21 (NIV), he asks Jesus how many times he must forgive someone (most translations say brother or sister) who has sinned against him. He throws out what he probably feels is an acceptable number: Seven. Jesus counters back and astonishes all within earshot, that he would need to multiply that number times 70 (verse 22).
Why?
Because we shouldn’t be able to keep count of the times we are called to forgive others, unless we are willing to have God do the same for us. 

Forgiveness is the work of a lifetime, and it frees us from emotional bondage. Sometimes it is immediate, and sometimes years pass before we can admit to ourselves, and to others, that we have forgiven them. I must raise my hand and admit that I am still struggling with how this practically looks and feels in my life. This rings especially true in areas of great vulnerability for me such as friendships and family relationships.
I have given myself grace, because that’s what God does for me. 

Just as Jesus calls us to forgive others before we ask forgiveness for ourselves, He reminds us that we are only able to forgive because we have been forgiven much. Our sinful nature places us precariously in the line of righteous judgement, but God through the blood of our advocate Jesus Christ, extends forgiveness to us.
How can we not do the same for others?

We would be no better than the wicked servant Jesus describes in
Matthew 18:23-35.
The man was forgiven much more than he could repay,
but refused to offer that same forgiveness to his brother, who owed him little. 

Sisters, I do not in any way want to trivialize the hurt we encounter along life’s journey.
I want you to know God doesn’t either.

In fact, Psalm 56:8 lets us know how important our pain is to Him.
He keeps track of our sorrow,
He collects our tears in a bottle and records them in a book.
What a loving God! 

There are some events and people that may seem beyond forgiveness,
yet forgiveness isn’t just for them, it’s also (often to a great degree) for us.

I can tell you what un-forgiveness is like.
It’s a prison of your own making.
Work toward forgiveness daily, being mindful of how you have been forgiven,
and renew your commitment to forgive even if it hurts – actually as often as it hurts.
We’re in this together! 

Forgiveness is still working in and through me seventy times seven.
What about you? 

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Shepherd Day 13 In Pursuit

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 23:6
Psalm 142:6
Ezekiel 34:11-15

Shepherd, Day 13

I have a two-year-old daughter who enjoys following me around the house. She pretends to cook and clean, and is always eager to “help” me with things that need to be done. Most of the time, it is amusing and delightful to have her tag along behind me; however, she is so close that she usually bumps into me when I stop moving. I turn and look at her in amazement that she isn’t bothered by the lack of space or that she isn’t clamoring for me to slow down.
I hope she never loses her desire to be close, or follow in my footsteps,
although I’m sure one day the situation will be completely different. 

To pursue is to:
–       to follow close upon
–       to follow in order to overtake, to chase 

God’s goodness and faithful love are just like my daughter. They chase us with the sole purpose of overtaking us, following us relentlessly, day in and day out. They are personified characteristics of God, examples of His heart and intention toward us. Just like the shepherd who chases down a stray sheep with the intent to overtake it, and brings it back to a place of safety and assurance, our Shepherd does the same.  He wants His character to completely overtake ours, so that we are no longer naive in our sin, but fully aware of Whose we are. 

David, the author of many psalms wrote passionately about his relationship with God.
He was well acquainted with being pursued. 

In Psalm 142:6, David cried out for God to rescue him from those who were pursuing him, stating that they were too strong for him. King Saul despised David. He recognized the calling on David’s life long before he ever reached the throne. Although David wasn’t in competition with Saul (it was God who made David king and nothing would change that), it was Saul’s intent to overcome David and take his life in an attempt to hold tightly to something that God has already removed from his grasp. We too have an enemy that is set on our destruction, but God has ordained us for a purpose as well, and we will not be undone.

In vast contrast to this story, we have the good Shepherd changing the narrative for us. While the enemy of our hearts may be stalking and seeking to devour us, God’s goodness and faithful love are formidable opponents and are in even greater pursuit. 

In John 10:14 Jesus calls Himself the good shepherd. He knows His sheep and His sheep know Him. He laid down His life for His sheep (John 10:15).
His faithful love and goodness follow us just as a good shepherd would chase after his sheep.

What does it look like to have the goodness and faithful love of God following you?
Let’s allow God’s Word to answer for us: 

I myself will search for my flock and look for them. As a shepherd looks for his sheep…so I will look for my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and total darkness. Ezekiel 34:11-12
His rescue knows no bounds, Sisters; 
His pursuit to free us from the darkness of sin is relentless.

 I am the Lord your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. Psalm 81:10
He is good and will provide for us. His provision is both something we receive and something we experience. 

Give thanks to the Lord because he is good. His love continues forever. Psalm 136:1
His outpouring of faithful love has no expiration date; it extends beyond what our minds can comprehend.   

Acknowledge that the Lord is God. He made us, and we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. (Psalm 100:3) 
We belong to our Creator. Our Good Shepherd will always save us, his beloved sheep. 

As I think back on the determination my daughter had to keep up with me, I can now visualize in my mind’s eye the goodness and faithful love of God as two friends, chasing me down with joy.
I am their intended mark,
the beneficiary of their obedience.

That makes me feel valued, protected, cared for.
Whatever you may be facing, remember that you too have a Good Shepherd.
One who is well acquainted with your story,
and is faithfully pursuing you with His faithful love and goodness! 

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

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