Life with the Lord - Then and Now

The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house for three months, and the Lord blessed his household and everything he had.

1 Chronicles 13:14

In today's daily bread Bible passage (1 Chronicles 13), we see the Lord moving to the house and staying there three months only to bless his household and everything he had, an epidode that took place about 3000 plus years ago.

In Hebrew Obed Edom has the meaning of 'servant of Edom'. In the Bible Edom which in Hebrew means red for Edom Jacob's less favorite (or even disfavored - Malachi 1:2,3; Romans 9:14 - ) son sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of lentil (red-colored) soup. The Gittite represents the Philistines, the Gentiles. Yet, during his stay for three months the Lord blessed (not cursed) the house.

This reminds us of the word of the Lord saying: "Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." John 15:4,15

What does 'remain' mean? According to Merriam Webster as a verb it means: to be a part not destroyed, taken, or used up; to be something yet to be shown, done, or treated...; to stay in the same place or with the same person or group; to stay unchanged. In Hebrew, the word remain reading Yashab (יָשַׁב) means to dwell, sit, or abide.

During the three months Obed-Edom enjoyed the fellowship with the Lord. After the three months the Lord left, so the honeymoon period was over. 

To the angel of the church of Laodicea (after a sharp rebuke in Rev 3:14-19) the Lord says, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." 

Vision Care

Today is a fine day of May with a clear sky, the air quality crisp clear. As I drove down from Igo to Redding, an 18 mile journey to Shasta Family YMCA around 8 a.m., I enjoyed the drive every mins and seconds, for with my new eye glasses (progressive) everything looked brand new - mountains, trees, sky lines, road signs, everything. 

About a month ago while working outside at the Peace Camp I misplaced my eye glasses, and since then I could not find them. I looked everywhere but nowhere were they found. Finally I gave up, ordered a new pair. In two weeks the glasses were ready. And I am now wearing them. And with the new eye glasses life looks brand new! They cost me close to $500! Without eye glasses I drove up and down between Rocklin and Redding, and all looked dim and blurry. But now different! The old is gone; the new is come!

And only after getting the new pair, that is, yesterday morning, was I able to find the old eye glasses! It turned out that I had dropped them (perhaps they fell off of the chest pocket of my working jacket) in a grassy area on the pathway near the swimming pool! Due to the late spring rain the grass/weeds over grew, making the glasses that had fallen into hard to see. As I tried to pull out some weeds, something crashed under my sandals! And there were the eye glasses - with a broken leg (ear piece), left hand side glass popped out! Poor eye glasses! With Super Glue, I glued them back but it turned out that they are hardly wearable, for they got crooked and twisted so bad! Perhaps I need to keep them only as a souvenir!

Lesson: take a good care of your eye glasses! Carry them in a secure case, and do not treat them for granted! 

Watch out for seven bad habits!  <<<<< Click here for what Aimee wrote as well!

About the Author: Aimee Rodrigues has many years of editorial experience in consumer publishing, with an emphasis on the health, pharmaceutical and beauty fields. Previously she was the executive editor for this website and wrote articles on eye conditions, sunglasses and other topics - Are you a night owl, fast food lover or sun worshiper? Chances are you're prematurely aging your eyes — inside and out! Here's how...[To make it sure everyone keeps what she says I quote fully the article, for so far I neglected on all of the seven habits!] Thank you Aimee!

Rubbing Your Eyes

The skin around your eyes is one of the first areas on your face to show signs of aging. Rubbing your eyes can break tiny blood vessels under the skin's surface and cause dark circles and puffy eyes, as well as premature crow's feet and drooping eyelids.Botox injections and cosmetic eyelid surgery can rejuvenate the eye area, but prevention is best: refrain from pulling and tugging at the skin around your eyes.

Forgetting Your Sunglasses
Exposing your eyes to the sun's harmful UV and high-energy visible (HEV) rays is a surefire way to prematurely age and damage your eyes and eyelids. Extended sun exposure leads to: sunburn of the front surface of the eye (photokeratitis); cataracts; macular degeneration; pinguecula and pterygium (unsightly growths on the eye); and even cancer of the eyelid. Wear sunglasses that block 100 percent of UV rays and the most damaging HEV rays — even on overcast days!

Smoking
Smoking harms just about every organ in your body — including your eyes. Research has linked cigarette smoking to sight-threatening eye diseases such as cataracts, macular degeneration, uveitis, dry eyes and diabetic retinopathy.In fact, smokers are up to four times more likely to go blind, compared with non-smokers. The good news is that quitting smoking, no matter what your age, can reduce your risk of developing a serious eye condition.

Eating Poorly
Eating too much fast food and not enough fruits and vegetables? Then you're probably not getting the necessary vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids for optimum eye health.Leafy greens, colorful fruit and vegetables, and wild-caught fish such as salmon can help prevent or manage many age-related eye diseases. Eye vitamins can fill in nutritional gaps, but a healthful diet, daily exercise and watching your waistline are more effective ways to keep your eyes in top shape.

Not Getting Enough Quality Shut-Eye
It's called beauty sleep for a reason: not enough sleep can accelerate aging, and your eyes may be the first to suffer! Lack of sleep causes red, bloodshot eyes, dark circles under the eyes, eye twitching, dry eyes and blurry vision.

Not Drinking Enough Water
Not getting the recommended eight glasses of water a day and eating a high-sodium diet can cause your body to dehydrate and in turn not produce enough tears to keep your eyes moist and properly nourished.Eye-related symptoms of dehydration include dryness, redness and puffy eyelids.

Not Seeing Your Eye Doctor
Regular eye exams can detect vision problems, eye diseases and general health problems before you're aware problems exist.Sight-threatening diseases such as glaucoma often have no warning signs until there is a permanent, irreversible loss of vision. Inform your eye doctor of your family's eye health history to help determine if you have a high risk for a particular eye disease or condition. If you don't already, start scheduling regular eye exams for you and your family.

- End of quote - 

My experience on eye glasses last and this month strengthens me of the equally (perhaps more so) important need for the spiritual vision care, for the perception of the look on life both present and future depends on the spiritual vision, as is said, "[I]f your vision is poor, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the  light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness? Matthew 6:23

Physically I am past age 70, and often times (more frequently than ever) am hit with what Moses says, "The length of our days is seventy years-- or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away." Their span is BUT trouble and sorrow!
Further, the Scripture says, "Where there is no vision there is no hope [or people perish]". Prov 29:18

Yet there is hope of participating in the life that is as glorious as that of our Lord Jesus, as is written:
"It is in this hope that we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?"  Romans 8:24

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11)

But the vision can go blurry if one faith grows weak, and the hope can go dead when one loses faith! Just as one can lose eye glasses he can lose spiritual eye glasses as well! 

Why does anyone lose faith?

Derek J. Brown carries an article on line entitled, "9 possible reasons for your spiritual drought" [9 possible reasons for spiritual drought] where he lists up: unchecked lust; pride; love of money; lack of bible reading, meditation, and prayer; too much time indoors; lack of exercise; neglect of responsibilities; morbid introspection; forgetting the gospel and living in legalism; a few other thoughts (sore of catch all category that may be many more). Add to the list, I would say, the old saying: "Use or lose" or simply put: lack of care.

Joy Unspeakable

In today's daily bread bible passage (Chronicles 1), the author of the Chronicles (Ezra) listed the family line beginning with Adam...Noah...Abram (that is Abraham)...Isaac...Judah (of whose line Jesus, the Savior of the world came.) As I read the passage, it occurred to me that this line is the line of the people of faith who carried the promise of the Savior to come in each of their generations, just like the Olympic torch light carrier.

 

In what state of mind must they have been living? I think despite the hardness of their life in their own generations, due to the faith in the Savior (coming) they received joy and comfort from the Father.

This is seen in one of the study made by Pastor Chuck that is the Hebrew meanings of the names of the (gospel torch light) carriers of faith (as Ezra listed).

Hebrew	English
Adam	Man
Seth	Appointed
Enosh	Mortal
Kenan	Sorrow;
Mahalalel	The Blessed God
Jared	Shall come down
Enoch	Teaching
Methuselah	His death shall bring
Lamech	The Despairing
Noah	Rest, or comfort.

Here is a summary of God’s plan of redemption, hidden here within a genealogy in Genesis! You will never convince me that a group of Jewish rabbis deliberately “contrived” to hide the “Christian Gospel” right here in a genealogy within their venerated Torah!

http://www.khouse.org/articles/2000/284/

The same joy is with us, for: no. 1., Abraham serves as the father of 'many' nations; no. 2., Jesus the Savior of the world, commanded his disciples to make disciples (believers in the Lord) of all nations,  no. 3., the Apostle Paul whom the Lord appointed as the apostle sent out to the Gentiles (like Koreans and Americans, etc.), states, "Mystery of God is the Christ (Jesus) [Col 2:2] and Mystery of Christ is one new person [Eph 3:1-6; Romans 4:16; :12]; no. 4., regarding the joy of (salvation) Jesus said, "Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad." [John 8:56] and finally the Apostle Peter said of the joy of the Gentile believers stating, " Him you love, though your eyes have never looked on Him. In Him, though at present you cannot see Him, you nevertheless trust, and triumph with a joy which is unspeakable and is crowned with glory, (1 Peter 1:8)

Anti - aging pills?

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom... for through me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life. Prov. 9

In today's searchlight newspaper they carried a paid advertisement entitled "Discovery of stem cell organ reveals cure for old age."

And the ad talks about the 'organ' called the Interstitium.

The ad promotes the product labeled, "Primal X Plus". 

I googled on aging and found an image stating that aging/anti-aging involves five factors like hormones, body, mind, detoxify, and nutrition, missing spiritual factor, that is, the Spirit of the Lord, for our Lord Jesus, the author of life, says "The Spirit gives life to man, flesh counts for nothing."

But remember even a fake bank robbery can go sideways.

Fake Bank Heist Can Go Sideways  <<<< --- Click here.

But not so with the life that puts trust in the Lord, for the Lord (speaking through the Apostle Paul) says: "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is the word of faith we are proclaiming: that if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord', and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are  justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved, as the Scripture says, 'Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.'" Romans 10

M. and Scott (Wedding)

Bride: M. Kwon

Bridegroom: Scott Gordon

May 11, 2019

Lake View Terrace, California

The Way of Salvation (Cal State Northridge Sunday Worship)

"The way of salvation"

Sermon by: Dr. Abraham McELhinny, and Msn. Isaac G. Kim
May 12, 2019 at CSUN UBF Bible Center

Word:

"If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of alland richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”