Clothed with Glory

"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." 

In these verses Jesus compares our garments against the innate Beauty of lilies. Nothing is more earthly beautiful than nature, and we need light to see nature's beauty. Nothing reflects beauty in darkness.

In ancient times, King's robes were elaborate, ornate, made of silk and valuable textiles, embroidered with gold and silver. King's robes were beautiful works of art. The wisest king who has ever lived, King Solomon, was not clothed as perfectly as the lilies of the field. Why? Because God clothes the lilies. 

God desires to clothe us, too, but not with silk and linen, or with gold, silver, pearls and precious jewels, but with the very presence of the Glory of Jesus: "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee."

~dkg

"Upside Down" Cross

"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." I Corinthians 1:18

It is commonly believed that an upside cross is a symbol for Satanism. It is traditionally held that St. Peter was crucified on an upside down cross.* Was St. Peter crucified for Satan? No.

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree..." Galatians 3:13

The above verse reads, "Christ...being made a curse..." 

Is the cross cursed? Is an upside down cross cursed? The person of Jesus Christ became a curse; the cross did not. The cross is not a curse and an upside down cross is not a curse. Either way the cross is not a curse. The cross is a dead TREE.

Again, St. Peter was crucified upside down. When I see an upside down cross, I think of him and his martyrdom for our Lord Jesus Christ.

~dkg

*

The Fear of the Lord

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."

We know that we exist, we know our thoughts, we know who our family members are; we think we know who are friends are. We think we know where we are now, and where we are going in life.

All of the above can change in an instant! We could suffer a mental breakdown and lose sight of who we are. We could discover that our parents are not our biological parents. Our friends could betray us and "stab us in the back." We could lose all that we planned for ourselves in a single mishap or accident. Our dreams could come crashing down in a natural or man-made disaster. We could become maimed by disease. Everything we know could disappear overnight in a number of different ways, including death. There is no guarantee of anything temporal.

There is one thing that never changes: The eternal God. We need to fear God because He is God.

When we know God, we fear Him. In His Holy Word, the Bible, we learn of God's deep love for us, and also of His intense hatred of sin. We learn that God keeps His promises. He promises to save His people from their sin through the blood of His son Jesus Christ (trust Him). God promises to eternally punish those who reject His son Jesus Christ, and eternally reward those who accept Him (believe Him). Believers are motivated by love and fear of God, not on account of what they have to fear themselves, but on account of what unbelievers are unknowingly facing. Christians are afraid for the unbeliever and what they will suffer when they die without knowing Jesus Christ. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

Please tell others about Jesus. Pray that the lost will sense the urgency of the gospel and fear God. The gospel is "good news" because of the "bad news." The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowing God. When we know God, we will know Him forever. The Lord Jesus Christ reassures Christians that we do not need to be afraid of His wrath. "There is no fear in love; for perfect love casts out fear."

When we see that the road's bridge is out, it is our moral responsibility to warn others who are walking and driving straight toward it, especially in this midnight hour!  

~dkg