Tag: devotion

Little Children

James HoganLeave a comment

How lovely it is to know and be known by God. This morning I rest in Him, knowing that I am safe and secure in His care, knowing that my future is bright beyond all imagining. And I do not count my future bright because I tabulate up the money or prestige that may one day be mine, nor because I consider all the love that comes my way from those whom I love deeply. Nay, I count my future bright because I look forward with sure hope that I shall one day be sitting in the presence of my God and for all eternity be living in perfect harmony with Him. This eternal life is my hope and my song all the day long. And I do not say it is my hope because of the length of life – if eternity can be defined in length – and the absence of death. That would not be enough. I could not count eternal life my supreme good if this life did not consist in communion with God. Of course, absence of fellowship with God could not in actuality be called life at all. It would be something far worse.

So I circle back and say that this eternal life to which I pin all my hopes and dreams – in realistic fashion since they are based on that real life which was pinned to that real tree oh so many years ago – is a life that fills my heart with song since I know this life will be me sitting at the feet of my Lord in bliss and endless joy. The Spirit within me sings this song and it knows this song since it was the song that it is has written. I know this song because I know the love that my Father has bestowed upon me calling me his very child! Oh such I am! And I know my Father because I know His Son who sweetly calls me every day into deeper fuller communion with Himself in the most perfect symphony of love and grace and sovereign compassion. I know this symphony that I now shakingly lift my voice to sing a minor part because I know Jesus Christ. He is my Shepherd that calls my name and bids me walk along this eternal path towards my home that has been prepared for me. Jesus is the bread that I take and eat in awestruck love knowing what it means that He died for me. Jesus Jesus is my song for now and for all eternity.

Ostrakinos

James HoganLeave a comment

And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all. And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach
The gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release
To the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
To proclaim the favorable year of
the LORD.”
And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Wow. That must have simply amazing to be one of those there and hear those words from Jesus’ mouth, stating that prophecy had been fulfilled that very day and declaring Himself to be the prophesied Messiah, the Saviour of His people!! I read this passage recently and it just struck me quite strongly, how amazing a thing it was for the God of the universe to come down to this earth, to fallen ones like us. And one day, He shall come again! And this next time, He will come in all his power and might and it will be glorious!! And I feel quite humbled knowing that we have such a Saviour and such a Father and such a Mediator and such a God. And now that I have talked quite a bit, I feel like quoting some other passages that I’ve much enjoyed recently, but it would be a bit awkward to quote the whole book of Hebrews. Aw, you all don’t mind, right. Right?? Well, I will quote one of my favorite bits then:

Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying,
“This is the covenant that I will
Make with them after those days,
says the LORD:
I will put My laws upon their heart,
And on their mind I will write them,”
He then says,
“And their sins and their lawless deeds
I will remember no more.”

Amazing. And…

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

And….

I sought the LORD, and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will never be ashamed.
This poor man cried,
And the LORD heard him
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the LORD encamps
Around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.

O taste and see that the LORD is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

O look to Jesus! Look to Him and be saved!!

And…I may have been carried away a tad with all the quoting(Luke 4:14-21, Hebrews 10:11-17, Hebrews 12:1-2, Psalm 34:5-8). My bad.

But I couldn’t really help it.

Sometimes I feel like I should write more of my earthy feelings and sensual emotions…but I can’t keep from writing what is on my heart and in my soul!! In the balances of eternity…all else is but rubbish. Just let me leave you with one of my all-time favs…

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the
GLORY OF THE LORD,
are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from
the LORD, the Spirit.

Stars in the sky

James HoganLeave a comment

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ,
if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit,
if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded,
having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.
Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests
but each of you to the interests of the others.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
EVERY KNEE SHOULD BOW,
in heaven and on earth
and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed
—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—
continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Do everything without grumbling or arguing,
so that you may become blameless and pure,
children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.
Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky
as you hold firmly to the word of life.
And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ
that I did not run or labor in vain.
But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering
on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith,
I am glad and rejoice with all of you.
So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
-Philippians 2:1-18

So yeah, couldn’t really cut that short. Beauty? Glory? Inexpressible joy? Yes, yes and a thousand times yes. And I really don’t think I can write any further thoughts on this…so let me just ask y’all to read that again and let yourself be washed in the glory of the Word. Bask in its beauty. Live in its joy. And let’s abide in Jesus. Forever and always. Because despite all that we do to tear away from Jesus, He holds us tight…nothing(not even ourselves!!) can take us from His almighty hand. And that, my dear friends, is joy indeed. Joy inexpressible and full of glory. And we sing!! Oh do we sing!

Light infused

James HoganLeave a comment

Of good bacon and sweet coffee and loveliness…as I take this amazing Friday morning and glory in the beauty of the day!!! I’ve started a Friday tradition of waking up a bit earlier(around 5-ish instead of 5:30-ish) and making bacon along with coffee…and having a nice extended time to read and relax before I go off to work. And that means I *won’t* be spending much time writing…sorry, I know you all are terribly disappointed. Looking outside the window here as the sky slowly lightens…

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time
are not worthy to be compared with the glory
that is to be revealed to us.
-Romans 8:18

Tea and a pen in hand

James HoganLeave a comment

And a lovely Thursday night to you all!! It’s approaching the time when I should be going to bed…but no, writing a bit would be *far* more fun! Tonight is the first night I’ve had by myself in quite some time…and that’s not a bad thing, but a little rest and relaxation is most definitely appreciated!! And so you may be wondering what I’ve been up to these past few days…but before I get to that, time for a little announcement. I have my USA return date…April 4th it will be! And sadly there won’t be any time to visit Florida, but I WILL have an approximately six hour layover in Houston! So any of you in Houston that have a few spare hours that day…just saying. Oh and wait a second. I never mentioned where I’m going, did I? Well, Oklahoma City it is! At least…for a few months. Apparently on May 2nd I’ll be receiving word on where my more “permanent” assignment is. But it’s a bit odd…a few months ago I was thinking that I was definitely looking forward to being back in the States…but now that I have my departure date, I feel strangely sad. Or maybe not so strange! Just thinking about leaving Aberdeen now…and not leaving the city, really, but the people. I mean, sure – I’ll miss the sweet narrow streets of Aberdeen embracing me close and the way the sun sets through the perfectly blue northern sky and the chill air’s touch on my cheek and the twinkling of the morning star as I drive in to work…and being reminded every time I step outdoors of the beauty of the earth that the LORD has made…but that is not all. And see, I’m trying to postpone my sorrow at leaving by not writing about what I’ll miss the most. I’ll miss the friends that the Lord my God has given me here…the church so providentially placed before me…the late nights and the early mornings and the coffee conversations and the cinema moments and the wonder and joy at sharing my life with such dear friends…Aiysha in her many distracting ways(I’m pretty confident in saying that we’ve had some pretty radically awesome conversations..)…Steven in his total awesomeness(we may have far too much fun together, but is that a bad thing, hm??? Oh God’s blessed me with his friendship)…Anna in her sweet intensity and joy(oh but we have a glorious time discussing the goodness of the Lord together….that He would bless such fallen ones as us!!)..and well…I could keep going, but it would take a while to get through everyone! Just know this – God is good. And He has blessed me exceedingly. As always. And then…well my church. Gilc is a place filled with people longing to glorify God and teaching the Word and reaching out to Aberdeen around…and it is beautiful. A place where the truth is preached mightily(went through the first half of Jeremiah 7 last Sunday evening. Yeah. That was a bit intense…Jeremiah was told to stop praying for the people…because God would not hear him, for His people had abandoned Him for that which does not save and for gods which do not move and for things which do not satisfy. And so the God of the universe prepares His wrath. Although his patience is exceedingly great, it will not last forever. And..yeah). A place where our glorious Jesus Christ is exalted.

And new paragraph time, neh? Because I did intend for this to be an actual update of what I’ve been up to lately…and I’ve failed miserably at that and instead turned it into random musings! But, I should stop thinking about leaving Aberdeen, since I have a good month and a half before I have to go! And that time will be spent glorifying the Lord, I so declare. And enjoying His goodness!

And now I have very little energy left for writing(or rather, little desire…since my writing muse has been used up on the previous! And my emotions are spent…), so it appears that the afore promised update will be a bit…er, short. ANYWAYS. Last Friday night, went down with some of the guys to Arbroath, where we were having our Gilc Young Adult Weekend Away trip, huzzah!! We started off having a good dinner together(must have been about 30-40 of us? I’m rubbish with estimating head counts) and then playing some intense challenge-type games. We were all in teams and each competed in separate tasks. Mine was to roll marbles across a table trying to catch the sticky tape at the end. Yeah. It’s harder than it sounds. Anyway, my team fell behind quickly, but came back to make it 3rd(out of 8 teams). Good show. And after that, a few of us stayed up for a while talking and chilling…

Next day, I meant to get up early! Alas, this did not happen, but made it down to the dining room for breakfast(the food all week was ridiculously good. Seriously. For Sunday dinner we had roast beef, potatoes, vegetables, Yorkshire puddings…cobbler…ice cream…and that was just one meal) and then later saw Steven and Anna! They couldn’t come the night before because of work so was most glad to see them arrive. We then had our first seminar…and to save time, I’ll try not to give you a blow-by-blow account of his teaching, but it was a most encouraging and exhorting time of realizing how important theology is to our walk with Christ(a good theology is critical in three areas…our sanctification, our service towards others, and our worship – yeah, that pretty much covers everything). Later that day, a bunch of us went on a walk along the coast of the North Sea…and oh it was beautiful. I can’t really describe it…other than to say that looking at the sea lap up to the cliffs below our feet as the clouds descended upon the distant horizon in splendor…I could have spent all afternoon sitting on the edge of the cliffs watching the sea(me and Steven climbed down to the edge to the great chagrin of some of the girls there…) but alas, I was with a group and so had to rejoin the party soon enough..

And walking back along the coast as the sun began to set and making sweet conversation with Anna, praying mightily and rejoicing in the goodness of the Lord. That’s a pretty good afternoon, no? After getting back to the conference center, Anna owned me in ping-pong(yes, I will admit it. 21-14, 21-18 I believe. Ow) That evening was more fun times engaging in costume hilarity(the theme was “Farm”. I was wearing my Iowa Hawkeye jersey shirt. Get it? Iowa? Farm? Yes? Yes) and more games. Stayed up late again…got some pool in and more talking. The next Sunday morning was our last breakfast together…then worship service time! And finally we all had to make our way home. If you’ll notice, I accelerated near the end there, but be assured that there was much more awesomeness than I’m revealing here!!

And now we come to Sunday afternoon, where we got back home to Aberdeen about 4pm or so. Made it to Gilc for evening service(for the aforementioned Jeremiah sermon of sobering intensity) and rejoicing with my fellow brothers and sisters(sidenote – read Psalm 130 that morning..sang it in the evening…oh God is awesome!)…and then me and Aiysha hung out for a bit(first time we’d seen each other in ages!!). The next day I was quite exhausted(work was tough, I’ll admit. My body cried for sleep). But Monday night did I sleep? Of course not!! When do I ever listen to my body, anyway? Steven came over for some Unit-watching action(Unit = an amazingly awesome special ops Army squad show. How did I miss out on this one??). Steven has the German version but thankfully we’re able to hear it in English. Anyways, we finished Season 1 on Monday and started in on Season 2, all the while enjoying some classic chicken caesar salad action…

So Tuesday night did I go to bed early? Of course not, once again! I think I mentioned this in my previous entry, but me and Aiysha hit up the cinema that night. Wednesday night was my weekly Starbucks dinner night(and by dinner I mean coffee. Shhh) and then worship/study/prayer at Gilc! We went over Romans 8:22-39. Just saying, Romans 8-11(particularly 8) have been some of my favorite chapters EVER these past few months(one of these days I’ll have to actually write up a mini-essay on that chapter..)…and so yet again, my Father continues to bless me. It was a glorious night.

And tonight? I rest. Can I write more? I can. Should I write more? Hm…if I actually want sleep, maybe not! Do you all want me to write more?? (No answer required)

But as I sip my mint chocolate tea and ponder on my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…I can’t help but give glory. And I think I shall do a bit more of that in the privacy of my own head apart from this coldly glaring computer screen.

Love y’all.

The Kingdom

James HoganLeave a comment

Oh, the depth of the riches
both of the wisdom and knowledge
of God!
How unsearchable are His judgements
and unfathomable His ways!
For ‘Who has known the mind of the LORD,
or who became His counselor?’
Or ‘Who has first given to Him
that it might be paid back to Him again?’
From from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.
To Him be the glory forever.
Amen.
-Romans 11:33-36

So yeah, reading Romans 8.5 through 11…and I’ve decided they’re pretty much my favorite chapters right now. So so so amazing. And apparently Paul agreed with me as to the awesomeness of these chapters because the above passage is how he concludes! I want to write more to express my adoration for the Father…but my wonder at His love really can’t be much better stated than in the above verses. Anything I would add would just be rubbish…

Have a most glorious day, y’all!!

Bird of Prey

James HoganLeave a comment

Remember this, and be assured;
Recall it to mind, you transgressors.
Remember the former things long past,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is no one like Me,
Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things which have not been done,
Saying, ‘My purpose will be established,
And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;
Calling a bird of prey from the east,
The man of My purpose from a far country
Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.
I have planned it; surely I will do it.
Listen to me, you stubborn-minded,
Who are far from righteousness,
I bring near my righteousness, it is not far off;
And my salvation will not delay
And I will grant salvation in Zion,
And My glory for Israel.
-Isaiah 46:8-13