Three Steps to Summer Redux

James HoganLeave a comment

Happy Wednesday friends!! During my drive over to work, I listened to a quality old CD I burned oh…five years ago? As I prepared for summer in Scotland? Wow, was it really five years ago? Anyway – great music, even though apparently my mix CDs were even more random back in the day! Andrew Belle, Lost Prophets, Needtobreathe, T-Swift…and of course – Hope Bible Church! Anyways, one of the songs there brought some good verses back to mind and thought I would share…

So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord,
is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to
them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has
fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of
the earth.”

And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were
looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they
were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men
in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee,
why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken
up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have
watched Him go into heaven.”
-Acts 1:6-11

Two points. Firstly, do we oft consider that we have the power of the Holy Spirit in us? We are the witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have received the Holy Spirit. We are imbued with the very power of God. Secondly, Jesus is indeed coming again – in a physical and most real sense. Let us long for that. But – let us not be melancholy and tarry our days away in mournful anticipation. Let us be filled with joy and do the deeds of the Lord as we walk upon this earth! We are the witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is who we are, now.

And one day, we will witness the return of the Lord to this earth and we shall see Him face to face. And then we will be with Him, forever.

At that, our hearts can only be full of joy, continually. At that thought, I bow my head in worship.

Have a most lovely day, dear friends.

the City of the Wind

James HoganLeave a comment

For to receive the grace of God in Jesus Christ means not
only that my sins are forgiven because of His death for me on the cross on
Calvary’s hill, but also that I have been given a new life and a new nature. It means
that Christ is being formed in me, that I have become a partaker of the divine
nature, that old things have passed away and all things have become new. It
means that Christ is dwelling in me, and that the Spirit of God is in me. The
man who has been born again, and who has the divine nature within him, is a
man who is righteous and his righteousness does exceed that of the scribes and
Pharisees. He is no longer living for self and his own attainments, he is no
longer self-righteous and self-satisfied. He has become poor in spirit, meek, and
merciful; he hungers and thirsts after righteousness; he has become a peacemaker.
His heart is being purified. He loves God, yes unworthily, alas, but he
loves Him and longs for His honour and glory. His desire is to love God and
to keep and honour and fulfil His law. The commandments of God to such a
man ‘are not grievous’. He wants to keep them, for He loves them. He is no longer
at enmity against God; but he now sees the holiness of the law and nothing
so appeals to him as the living of this law and the exemplifying of it in his daily
life. It is a righteousness that far exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees.

Some of the most vital questions that can be asked, then, are these. Do you
know God? Do you love God? Can you honestly say that the biggest and the
first thing in your life is to glorify Him and that you so want to do this that you
do not care what it may cost you in any sense? Do you feel that this must come
first, not that you may be better than somebody else, but that you may honour
and glorify and love that God who, though you have sinned against Him grievously,
has sent His only begotten Son to the cross on Calvary’s hill to die for
you, that you might be forgiven and that He might restore you unto Himself?
Let every man examine himself.
-D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, page 182-183

One Day under the Rainbow

James HoganLeave a comment

It is beautifully cold outside this morning. It is fifty-nine degrees F. FIFTY-NINE. And it is May 24th! This is absolutely fantastic…to walk outside into the early morning and feel the crisp, late springtime air – oh frabjous day, callooh, callay! And now it is time to sit in peace and enjoy my most lusciously warm peppermint mocha. Farewell and happy Wednesday, dear friends.

Repose

James HoganLeave a comment

A crowning of clouds hugs the sky,
deep and lusciously does it lie,
a bit like a blanket atop the bed,
the type that makes you want to snuggle deeper,
never wanting to get out and up and start your day.

And as the eastern horizon slowly catches fiery light,
it seems to be an assumed fact that this day will
roll on like all the rest.
This may be assumed, I suppose – as most days do indeed roll on.
But what does this say of us that we have lost our sense of wonder
of the dawn?

And so now, see now,
we most diligently employ these fancy wrappers and this coiffed hair and these most proper accouterments
to carry ourselves as high and lofty persons,
but so now, see now,
though we style ourselves as a grand affair,
fragile and weak are we in and of ourselves for true,
and though we do a good job to hide that fact, our infirmities cripple us in a deeper sense
than merely what our eyes can see now.

Still I must acknowledge that our eyes lift to heaven and catch the dawning light
a bit like our flesh and bones and souls alike are crafted –
to the tune of that greater music
to the harmony of that more beautiful truth
to the song of that more truthful beauty.
and sweetly does that herald cry
of crowning glory from the sky.

Violently does the ocean Foam, Alone does the herald Stand

James HoganLeave a comment

So today I have just begun reading the Gospel of John – a truly glorious book, divinely inspired and penned as it was! And while I could spend hours pondering and thinking and writing on the beauties contained in only the first chapter of John, I’d like to focus on a few words. Let me set the scene – John the Baptist has been talking about the One whose sandals he is not worthy to untie. The One upon whom the Spirit descended like a dove. The One who existed before John – although John was born first. The very Son of God. And as John proclaims in his preaching – “the Lamb of God!”

Some of John’s disciples are naturally curious and so they decide to follow Jesus. Jesus sees them following and turns to them and what does He say? “What do you seek?” These are the words I want to hone in on. Apart from them being the very first words Jesus speaks in the Gospel of John, these are the words Jesus speaks to those who would “follow Him”. So to those of you who would desire to follow Jesus(or at least curious to know more about him?), that is the question that needs to be answered. What do you seek? Notice – Jesus doesn’t say “who” – He says “what”. We desire many things on this earth, most of them unhelpful and even dangerous for us – body and soul. Jesus – as very God – understands that our minds are warped and corrupted and He knows that apart from the grace of God our desires will be foolish and our seekings ill-conceived. So – what do you seek? Do you seek fame and fortune? Do you seek pleasure and gain? Do you seek comfort and self-gratification? Do you seek companionship and emotional fulfillment? Do you seek intellectual fulfillment? Do you seek a sense of identity or belonging that you think comes with “religion”? Do you seek moral stature and a cleansing of the conscience? Do you seek love? What do you seek?

I would say that to desire to be a follower of Christ…that question must be answered. Consider in your own life what it is you truly desire and long for. And then consider who Christ is. Think – these men following after Jesus didn’t know who He was at this point. They understood John had been making grand proclamations about Him. But they did not truly know Him. They wished to know Him more. But what did they seek? This was the question Jesus asked them. And how did these men answer Him? They didn’t answer him directly – maybe because they did not know what to say – but they asked where he was staying and Christ answered – “Come, and you will see.” That is the invitation Christ gives to all people – “Come, and you will see.” These men went to the house of Jesus and spent the day with Him and…began to understand who He truly is.

And who is Jesus? The Lamb of God. Indeed, as John had earlier said – “The Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” And now we finally come to the crux of the matter – because this is who Jesus is – the One who takes away the sin of the world. The One who saves. So what do you seek? Do you seek salvation? If so, this is what Christ offers. He offers freedom from sin. He offers life from death. He offers salvation from this hopeless life that without Him is empty and vain. What do you seek? The Lamb of God – the Savior – is at hand. And as you wonder if Jesus is truly all that…He says, “Come, and you will see.” Come in your darkness and in your shame. Come in all your dirt and filth. Come in your hopelessness. Come. Behold – the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

A Drink of Water on a most Hot Day

James HoganLeave a comment

Good morning friends! I have not long to write this day(the only reason I’m writing now at all – is that I fear I will not have time to write later on tonight!)…but just wanted to share a few verses that encouraged my soul this morning…be at peace and rest in God, dear friends.

And this I pray,
that your love may abound still more
and more in real knowledge and all
discernment, so that you may approve
the things that are excellent, in order
to be sincere and blameless until the
day of Christ;
having been filled with the fruit of
righteousness which comes through
Jesus Christ,
to the glory and praise of God.
-Philippians 1:9-11

Thus is my prayer this day. Thus is my song.

A Loveliness Upon the Horizon Waits

James HoganLeave a comment

A wonderful Sunday of peace and rest slowly winds to a close.

And deliciously-spiced chicken cooks on the stove in anticipation of a beautiful chicken parm dinner – it may be a slightly late 9 o’clock dinner, but all the better for the waiting. And now – shall I mar this evening with more writing? A plethora of words does not a masterpiece make. I shall just share a few words from my afternoon reading that warmed my heart…

The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places;
but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now
mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.
-J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, page 348

of Early Mornings and Other Things

James HoganLeave a comment

The music pops and warbles,
crooning smooth tunes
over the corporate approved radio
and the woman near me –
you’d expect her to have a bob perhaps, but no –
her hair is a riot
of darker brown with lighter pink
and a few beaming golden tresses ties it all together
and as the espresso steams and the lights dim and
fragrance of peppermint fills the air,
her smile dazzles more brilliant still.
Let’s dance the charleston now and forget
what lies behind
what lies ahead is far better.
Let’s dance my love,
let’s dance.