When a teen, George Matheson learned his poor eyesight would end in blindness. He nevertheless graduated from Glasgow University. His life plummeted to the depths when his fiancé returned his ring, saying she couldn’t be married to a blind man. He never married. When a sister became engaged, her fortune reminded him of his misfortune. But from his depths emerged a song that spoke of endless love: O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go.
Weak-eyed Leah, sister of Rachel, whom Laban substituted for Rachel on Jacob’s wedding night, gave birth in rapid succession to four sons. Each time Leah felt confident Jacob would love her instead of Rachel. Each time Jacob disappointed her. On the birth of her fourth son, Leah seems to have accepted her inferior role with Jacob. She praised God, calling her son Judah, a word likely derived from the Hebrew. Both Matheson and Leah felt the shock and humiliation of lost human love—to be replaced by a “Love that would not let them go”—the song Matheson wrote in triumph and Leah spoke into human language. We cannot sing the song, or appreciate the word Judah without sounding the depths of faith in, peace with and commitment to God. Sometimes God in mercy will remove all we think necessary to us, leaving only himself. If he does, we’ll discover: when GOD is all we HAVE, we find that GOD is all we NEED!
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Note: information for this blog gleaned from Tom Murrow’s column The Paper, a free weekly in San Diego County. V.
The Golden Age in America for: Newspapers and Magazines – late 1800’s to 1950. Automobiles – 1920’s – through 1970’s. Radio – late 1920’s – through 1940’s. Allowing some flexibility in Murrow’s calculations, his column offers entrée into this blog. What is the golden Age of Preaching?
The late Dan Rios, newspaper photographer for San Diego County papers, began saving negatives of those papers when editors decided to discard them. He learned three lessons from his college professor about the negatives: never …
When, way back in the middle 1950’s to middle 1960’s—I crammed a 7-year under-graduate and graduate education into 9 years—I learned the value of preaching, with Lincoln Christian College known for producing Bible Preachers. It consisted of a SINGLE rule: when you preach, preach Christ. Whatever he demanded, said, inferred, claimed, proved…never stop preaching Christ. Never overlook in any text, Old or New Testament, the presence of Christ in prospect or retrospect. Never harden his compassion or soften his authority. Never stop believing a preacher has the highest calling in life. Never let culture intimidate you in weakening or compromising Christ’s Presence as He Lived It! And on and on. But this gives you an idea of what I think of Living, Writing and Preaching Jesus Christ! V God called many mortal servants to his service in their generation. Those who possessed a personal faith in him became an example of Beneficence. All who failed to have personal faith became an example of WARNING. Abraham became the spiritual father of all believers in every age. Pharaoh the man who warns all opponents of God that his wheels of justice grind slowly, but they “grind exceedingly fine.”
All who served well prayed, prepared and pursued their calling—and approximated God’s perfection. Then Jesus came and EMBODIED God’s perfection. It’s no insult to us that our best service will only barely approximate God’s person. It’s an eternal compliment to Jesus that from his first infant cry to his final shouted Calvary confession, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” Luke 23:46, Jesus EMBODIED God’s Person. A perfection that deserves adoration, surrender and worship of him as GOD the SON. For him, ALL GLORY. For us, the privilege and pleasure of doing our best to emulate his life, knowing our best, and his all-covering Grace, completes our lives in his will. To all blog readers, this update on my ordeal. I fell on a walk about 3 months ago when I stubbed my right toe on a 3/4-inch-high curb over a sunken sidewalk.
I landed squarely on my left shoulder, and must have twisted my body, giving great pain to my left groin. (Had x-rays taken.) Both seemed to be improving until Saturday night, August 30. I awakened at midnight with the strongest pain ever felt—on my right side, above my rib cage. After several futile efforts to reduce the pain, I had Judy call 911. Went to E.R. at the new Kaiser Hospital, San Marcos. A cat scan and another test proved I had a big blood clot in my lung and one in my left leg. Now on blood thinner. Had I known I needed to walk through the pain after the fall, I would have continued my years-long walking habit. Ignorant of the need, I developed the blood clots by being sedentary. Spared certain death, I decided God still had work for me. One project is now underway—an update later. Sunday, October 1, I returned to the pulpit for the first time in a month. No diminution of energy from it. I ask for your prayers. Dr. Gale thinks I’ll have another 5 months on blood thinner. If God wills, I ask hm to more quickly accelerate the absorption of the clots. His will be done. As of October 1, 2023, I’m back to my regular walking schedule—slower but persistent, preaching, teaching Bible Study, blogging and writing. Please remember me in your prayers. Thanks. God Bless, Virg. |
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