Thanksgiving.

"In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."  1 Thess. 5:18

This verse keeps running through my mind.  It is God's will that we be continually thankful.  I have read this verse may times, even memorized it--and yet it took me awhile to recognize the word that makes continual thankfulness possible.  The word is "in", it is not "for".  In everything give thanks, not for everything give thanks.

I am not thankful for the agony that Ken had to go through.  But "in" it there were so many things to give God the glory for.  Ken's life in Christ was remarkable.  Everyone who came by the house, actually everyone in Pryor, knew where Ken was going.  His friends were there.  His children.  He slept in the comfort of his own bed until he drew his last breath.  Dozens of loved ones helped him during the final steps of his journey.  He was surrounded by love.

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me…" Psalms 23:4a

Ken was absolutely fearless in the valley he went through.
                                                                                             

Ken was always deployed.  To Cuba, Spain, Italy, Japan, Korea, The Philippines, Okinawa, Vietnam.  I never got to go with him.  Wherever we were living at the time, the children and I would wait until he returned.   There was a "saying" among Marines that if the Marine Corps had wanted you to have a wife, they would have issued you one.

And now, he has been deployed to heaven.   There will come a day when I fully comprehend that he won't return from this deployment.  But on this deployment, this time, I will someday get to join him.

I will write about him for awhile.  Bear with me.

During this season of his departure, he would look at me and say, "I know two things for sure.  I know that I love you, and I know that God loves me."  I was always humbled by his complete faith in God's love.

As the children's song goes:  "Jesus loves me, this I know,  For the Bible tells me so…"

God loves us.

If I were not a child of God, and a joint heir with Jesus Christ, I don't know who I would be right now.  I am going to have to reinvent the rest of myself.  I was my father's daughter, and then I was Ken's wife.   Now, I am on the first day of the rest of my life.

The service was unbelievable.  A tribute to his life.  Marine guards standing at attention, then the folding of the flag with a presentation to me, a brilliant sermon from a young man that Ken had led to the Lord.  "Eternal Father Strong to Save" sung by the Marine Corps choir.  A full auditorium.  Then a fly over of planes-actually a recording of Corsairs returning from a mission.  And Ken.  In full Mess Dress.  Dark blue, red, with gold braid medals and wings.  Lt. Col. E. Ken Jacks.  Looking exactly like the commanding officer of a fighter squadron--which he was.  Three times.  If you get one squadron command in the Marine Corps, you are very lucky.  His achievements were not luck.  He was truly a great man.

We honored his life.

He honored mine by choosing me.   I have loved.  I have been loved.  What more can we ask for in this life.  Fifty seven years, three months, and one day.

I will see him again.

November 19, Ken left for heaven at 12:55 in the morning.   The last words we had were when I said, "Ken, you are going to God."  He said, "Maybe God is coming to me."  And He did.

He will be buried at Arlington with full military honors.

Strange things happen.  A new couple moved to Pryor, two doors down from our house.  This evening, the man knocked at our door with a  newspaper clipping from 1945.  Seems that although he and Ken had not met in over 65 years, they had played football against each other in high school. The man heard Ken's name and found out we were neighbors.  And brought a copy of the clipping.

Ken got a kick out of me reading the clipping to him.  Pryor against Pawhuska.   They are old men over 80 now, but both of them were once young and remembering the past was a nice thing.  Both of them are veterans.  Korea, Vietnam, and WW2.  

I really enjoyed watching the two of them visiting and remembering.  God bless the men and women who were willing to go war, to serve their country.  All of you out there, thank you for your service.

Ephesians 1:7, 9-10b  "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;…Having made known unto us the mystery of his will,, according to his good pleasure which he has purposed in himself,…..That he might gather together in one all things in Christ…."

Redemption, blood, forgiveness, grace, mystery, purpose…all in order to gather us all together in Christ.  Paul could say more in one sentence than any other writer I know.

One of Paul's themes deals with the word "mystery".  I will elaborate on this when I write again.

They put Ken on oxygen today.  He is holding his own.  He has won the victory, but keeps losing the battles.  Thank you for your prayers.

There are controversial verses of scripture.  Ephesians 1:3-5 is an example.  "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:  Having predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of this will."

Predestined.  There are two arguments.  The first says that only a few were chosen.   This contradicts other scripture:  John 3: 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him might have everlasting life."  There are dozens and dozens of other verses in the Bible that tell us that we are all included in his plan.  His salvation was for all mankind.


The second argument says that God had a predestined plan to adopt us even before the world was formed.  Naturally, if we are to look at all the letters of Paul, we know that he believed the plan of God was for everyone.  He was a Jew, but he called himself the apostle to the Gentiles.

Of course I believe the second point of view.   I believe God told us to share his plan of salvation with the world.  I have a 'driven' desire in my heart to do just that.   I want all of you to be 'driven' too.  I want everyone to know that Jesus died for our sins.  Without that, the entire future is hopeless because we have all come short of God's measuring stick.  As long as I measure myself against other people, I can come off looking okay.  But when I measure myself against Jesus, I am doomed.

Thank God He loved us enough to sacrifice himself for our sin.

  

In the New Testament there is one book of history.  Acts.  The first four books, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are testimonies of the life of Jesus from four points of view.  The book of Acts tells us what happened next in the lives of the people who were Christians at that time--after the death of Christ Jesus.  It is a very interesting book.

Then we get to the letters of Paul.  A rich treasure trove of personal letters that he wrote to different churches that he had started after he accepted Jesus as the Messiah.  Paul's passion spills forth in each letter.  Paul has found the Christ, and he wants everyone to know the truth.  He wants everyone to know that he was wrong about Jesus, and that he has been converted to Christianity.  To Jesus.

Probably the most important letter he wrote was to the Romans.  Ken, my husband, says that if he could only keep one book of the entire Bible, it would be Romans.

Romans, I Corinthians and II Corinthians are lengthy.  Then there are four short letters.  The first is to the Galatians.  It is not a happy letter.  Paul is unhappy with the Galatians.

Then comes Ephesians, Philippians, and  Colossians.  Very short.  These are an easy read.  I am going to give an overview of each.

In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul gives his credentials.  Ep. 1:1 "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus."

 Paul said that he was an apostle--by God's will.  Equal in every way with Peter, James, John, Thomas….and the others.  But his mission was not to the Jews.  There were eleven apostles to take care of that back in Jerusalem.  His mission was to tell the Gentiles that they were included.  Not only was he writing to them, but he was writing to us.  The faithful in Jesus Christ.   You are one of those.

My favorite books in the Bible are the ones that Paul wrote.  I have given you a little overview of the manner in which James and Peter wrote.  But Paul.  That is an entirely new level of writing.  Paul had such an advantage over the other New Testament writers.

He was a Roman citizen.  He had studied at the very best "universities" of his day.  He was an expert in Jewish law.  He was extremely respected by the Jewish leaders of the day.  And he hated Christianity so much that he had given his life to killing them.  In his mind, Christians were a threat to the one true God.  The one true religion.  Judaism.   His plan was to stamp out all the Christians and thwart the movement that declared that Jesus was God.  The Jewish Messiah.  Paul even held the coats of the people who stoned Stephen.

But he didn't take into consideration the power of the Holy Spirit.  Until, one day, as he was traveling to Damascus to carry out his reign of terror, he was struck blind. Cut down by a Holy God.

Acts 9:1 "And Saul, (Paul) yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went into the high priest, (Jewish) And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, (Jewish) that if he found any of "this way", (Christians) whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem."

He got the official papers, set out on his journey, and when he was almost there he was blinded by a light from heaven and a voice:  "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"  Saul asked who He was, and received a life changing answer.  Verse 4b:  "…I am Jesus who you persecute…"

The rest is history.  Saul began to tremble and asked the eternal question of Jesus:  "…Lord, what will you have me to do?"  When you meet Jesus, that's a very good question to ask him.

 

Peter ends his first letter with a blessing.  1 Peter 5: 10,14  "But the God of all grace, who has called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that you have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you…..Greet you one another with a kiss of charity.  Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus.  Amen."

Don't you just love Peter!  He is such a changed man.  He looks at life, people, and his own purpose in life with such love and care for others.  He was concerned about the Christians who were being persecuted.  Who were suffering for the faith.

He called on the God of Grace to make us perfect.  To establish and strengthen and settle us.  He reminded us that we have been called into God's eternal glory because of Jesus.  What a marvelous thought.  Eternal glory.  Peter gave us hope.

But he reminded us that until that time comes, we will suffer.  I don't know why we think we will be excused from troubles and trials.  They come to us all.  But we have each other.  Hug someone.  Pray for someone.  Peter says give each other the kiss of charity.

I have been so humbled by the number of people who have given me a hug and said that they are praying for Ken and also for me.  It is a comfort.

Aren't you glad you have friends.  Aren't you glad you have a church family.  There is a song that says, "Make me a blessing…to someone today."  Everyone needs a blessing.  I know I do.

Peter ends his letter by saying, "Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus."  That's us.

I'm getting further and further behind on blogging.  I just haven't been able to get it done in the morning.  I'll try to do better next week.

I have all this knowledge in my head about old glass that is of no use at all anymore.  Every girl wants the stuff her grandmother had, and depression glass was the thing my grandmother had.  Nobody wants depression glass anymore.  Girls today want Tupperware because that's what their grandmother had.

My grandfather had a little grocery store.  Griffin tea gave you a tall green stemmed glass when you bought tea.  Many people bought the tea and left the glasses, so Gran had dozens and dozens of them.  We all drank out of them until we realized they were selling for 25 dollars apiece. We still drink out of them but are a little bit more careful.  

Things have value because someone you love gave them to you, or because they are rare.   One of the favorite things I have is a small valentine candy box.  Empty, except for the memory of my dad giving it to me on Valentine's day way back in the forties.  We certainly didn't have the money, but somehow he managed.  It's just red cardboard, but I see it every day--and feel special.  Daddy thought I was.

Just think of the precious people who wrote to us long ago about Jesus.  People like Peter who gave his life to telling the story that he had personally witnessed.  We have those pages in our hands.  We can read the actual words that Peter wrote.  What a treasure.  They believed that all of us who read their words were special.  God's children.

Twelve Jewish men, (Including Paul).  They knew what they were looking for.  A Messiah as prophesied in the books that Moses and Isaiah, and dozens of others wrote.  And Jesus fulfilled all the prophesy of the Old Testament.  Someone told me that there were over 70 prophesies that Jesus fulfilled.  I've had a few, (a lot) of statistics classes.  The chance of that happening is in the stratosphere.  Jesus was God.  No way around it.  He was the Messiah.  The Jewish Messiah.  And he included me.  And you.     

The third chapter of first Peter is about how wives and husbands should interact with each other.  You can read that part yourself and decide what you need to work on.  Chapter four is general instructions.

Peter 5:6-8  "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:  Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you.  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion walks about, seeking whom he may devour:

The roaring of the male lion scares prey to move toward the pack of females who are ready to make the kill.  They used to think the males had no part in the hunt.  But further study showed that he put fear in the hearts of the prey and caused them to move away from him and into a trap.

The devil himself is the roaring lion who is out to move humans into a trap.  Peter knew about lions.  He used this analogy to explain the absolute necessity to be vigilant.  The devil wants to eat you.

But God, with his mighty hand desires to exalt you.  He requires two things.  You must be humble, and you must cast all your care on Him.

Lately I have been burdened with cares.  As Ken gets weaker,  I can no longer lift him.  But God is watching.  He knows my needs and one at a time my four children have taken turns staying with me.  Yesterday, Pat, my eldest, decided to move in Monday through Fridays for awhile.  Her husband Tom  understands.  He takes care of his parents.  On the weekends, I have a helper that comes in.

God is really good.  I have four children that want to be the ones to take care of their father.  We will do this.  For awhile.  For a while longer.  Ken has no idea how to give up, or quit.  He just keeps on keeping on.  I really don't know how he does it.  God must have a plan that He hasn't shared with me yet.

I had cataract surgery yesterday.  Amazing…"I was blind but now I see…." is what the Bible says.   I just didn't know I couldn't see.  I have to wait a month for the other eye.  Now that I know how bad my sight was, I can't wait to do the other eye.  It is exactly like people who don't know Christ and then find Him.  They don't know the condition they were in until Christ comes into their lives and hearts.  It changes everything.  You aren't spiritually blind anymore.

There is a verse in the third chapter of Peter that I memorized a long, long time ago.  It is a perfect description of what becoming a Christian is all about.

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:"

1.  Sanctify God in your heart.  Give God supreme  control of everything you are.
2.  Be ready.  You personally have to prepare and fortify yourself with scripture.
3.  To give an answer.  You have to have the answers in your heart.  You can't help someone if you left   your Bible at home and if you wouldn't know where to look anyway.  Put God's words in your heart.
4.  To anyone.  Sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone.
5.  That asks why you are so hopeful.  Jesus is for everyone.  He alone gives us hope.
6.  With meekness and fear.   Have a tender heart.  Listen to what people are saying to you and look for a connection with them.  Share Christ, knowing that you may be rejected.

I am not afraid of rejection.  They aren't rejecting me, they are rejecting God.  I just keep putting Bible stuff in my head hoping that the question someone asks me is a question I have prepared myself to answer.  It is a lifetime commitment to Sanctify God in your heart.  Join me.

Peter had a hard time growing up in the faith.  As a Jew, he had a lifetime of learning to obey hundreds and hundreds of Jewish law.  After Christ arose, Peter understood that Jesus was the Messiah.  But the idea of God including everyone in his plan of salvation was foreign to Peter.  He couldn't imagine that Jesus came to save Gentiles.  He wasn't alone.  There is some indication that James seemed to think that you had to become a Jew before you could be a Christian as well.

You remember that God let a blanket come down with all kinds of forbidden meat in it and told Peter that he was to eat.  Peter refused because some of the animals were forbidden under Jewish law.  God told him, "...what God has cleansed, don't you call common."  Three times.  God had changed everything with the sacrifice of his son.   Peter finally got it, did what God said, and went to share Christ with a Roman Centurion.  A Gentile.  You would think that would be the end of it.  But, no.  It wasn't.  Peter still had a problem with Gentiles being as good as Jews.

When Paul found Christ as his Savior (on the road to Damascus) he went to Jerusalem to meet James, John and Peter who were looked upon in the church as leaders.  They were afraid of Paul, because Paul had been killing Christians.  Barnabas interceded and assured them that Paul was indeed preaching Christ to the Gentiles. They compared notes and agreed that they were all on the same page as far as the truth of the gospel was concerned.  Christ, and Christ alone saved you.

But fourteen years later, Paul returned to Jerusalem because of a conflict that he had with Peter's behavior when Peter had visited Antioch.  Paul  condemned Peter for his hypocrisy, and implicated James and the others as well.  They had a conference and finally,  after fourteen years, Paul, Peter, James and John got their ducks in a row concerning the necessity of obeying Jewish law.  Galations 2: 1-21.  Please read the chapter.  It shows the total humanity of a group of men who were trying to do God's work.  And settled the issue of salvation for Gentiles.  The gospel was for everyone.

There is hope for you and me.  If apostles could fail and admit their faults and be forgiven, so can you and I.  Thank goodness.

Peter doesn't write like like Paul.  Or James, or Matthew, or Luke, or John.  Peter is not exactly my favorite writer, but he is definitely one of my favorite people in the Bible.  What you see is what you get.  He is just so very, very real.  He just says what he thinks.  He tells it like it is.  And he knew his scripture.

1 Peter 2:25 "For you were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd…of your souls."

This is a reference to Isaiah 53:6 "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

This scripture (from Isaiah) was what the eunuch was reading when God told Phillip to "Go and join himself to this chariot."  When Phillip explained the verses to the eunuch, the man understood what he was reading and asked Phillip, "See, here is water; what hinders me from being baptized?"

Phillip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may…"  Acts 8:37a

First you believe. Then you are baptized.

Sheep are stupid  They need a shepherd.  With a staff that has a crook on the end to reach out and hook us by the neck when we stray.  Dumb sheep.  That's us.