Good morning,

Rosh Hashanah

Head of the Year

Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. (Leviticus 23:24-25)

On 6 September 2021, began the observance of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means, literally, “head of the year” or “first of the year.” Rosh Hashanah is commonly known as the Jewish New Year. The Jewish New Year is a time to begin introspection, looking back at the mistakes of the past year and planning the changes to make in the new year. The Bible refers to the holiday as Yom Ha-Zikkaron (the day of remembrance) or Yom Teruah (the day of the sounding of the shofar). The holiday is instituted in Leviticus 23:24-25.

“Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.”

The shofar is a ram’s horn which is blown somewhat like a trumpet. One of the most important observances of this holiday is hearing the sounding of the shofar in the synagogue. No work is permitted on Rosh Hashanah. Religious services for the holiday focus on the concept of G-d’s sovereignty.

This would be a great time to wish all our Jewish friends a hearty Happy New Year. It would also be a good time to reflect on our own lives. Are we keeping short accounts with God? When He reveals sin in our lives, do we confess it (1 John 1:9) and move on serving God? What does the blowing of the trumpet mean to believers in Yeshua (Jesus)? (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18) What does it mean that God is sovereign?

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

Study the ‘two pictures’ together, to see what grace can do for a man!

(J.R. Miller, “Daily Bible Readings in the Life of Christ” 1890)

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(You will find it helpful to listen to the audio above, as you read the text below.)

“He appointed the Twelve: To Simon, He gave the name Peter” Mark 3:16

In an art gallery in Europe are shown, side by side–the first and the last works of a great artist. The first is very crude and most faulty; the last is a masterpiece. The contrast shows the results of long culture and practice.

These two names, are like those two pictures:

Simon shows us the crude fisherman of Galilee, with all his rashness, his ignorance, his imperfectness.

Peter shows us the apostle of the Acts and the Epistles; the firm and secure rock; the man of great power, before whose Spirit-filled eloquence, thousands of proud hearts bow; the gentle, tender soul whose words fall like a benediction; the noble martyr witnessing to the death for his Lord.

Study the ‘two pictures’ together, to see what gracecan do for a man!

It is not hard to take roses, lilies, fuchsias, and all the rarest flowers–and make forms of exquisite beauty with them. But to take weeds, dead grasses, dried leaves, and trampled and torn and faded flowers, and make lovely things out of such base materials–is the severest test of skill.

It would not be hard to take an angel, and train him into a glorious messenger. But to take such a man as Simon, or as Saul, or as John Newton, or as John Bunyan, and make him into a holy saint or a mighty apostle–that shows great power and ability!

Yet that is exactly what Christ did with Peter, and has been doing ever since. He takes the poorest stuff, despised, worthless and vile–ofttimes the outcast of men; and when He has finished His gracious transforming work–we behold a saint whiter than snow!

The sculptor beheld an ‘angel’ in the rough, blackened stone which had been thrown away. And when he was finished–behold! men saw an angel cut from the rejected block!

Just so, Christ can take us, as rough, as unpolished and as vile as we are–and in His hands, our lives shall grow into purity and loveliness, until He presents us at last before the celestial throne, faultless and perfect! “For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son!” Romans 8:29

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Something to ponder

There is a very short distance between an ungodly man’s grave and his Hell!
“The rich man also died and was buried. In Hell, where he was in torment . . .” Luke 16:22-23
Thomas Shepherd, 1665-1739
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Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

The burning of these old Ephesian books!

(J.R. Miller, “Paul’s Message for Today” 1904)  LISTEN to audio!  Download audio

(You will find it helpful to listen to the audio above, as you read the text below.)

“Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number of them who had been practicing magic brought their books and burned them at a public bonfire. The value of the books was several million dollars!” Acts 19:18-19

One proof of the power of Christianity, was in the way these new believers at Ephesus renounced their evil ways and gave up their profitable sins. They saw the emptiness and folly of the things in which they had been trusting, and openly confessed the sinful deeds they had been doing. Many of them who had been engaged in the practice of magic arts, brought their books together and made a bonfire of them in the public square.

Always, those who follow Christ should be ready to part with whatever is sinful in their life and work, that Christ may be honored above all. Sins kept in the heart–poison the life, hide God’s face, and shut out blessing. No matter what it may cost, our sins must be sacrificed, or they will destroy us!

The burning of these old Ephesian books suggests that we should have bonfires of our evil books. There are many books which ought to be burned! They carry in them Satan’s poison! To read them is to debauch our own souls. To put them into the hands of others, is to ruin them.

In India, a man took down a book from the shelf–and a viper came out of the book and stung him to death! Just so, there are many books in which deadly vipers lie hidden! We should be most careful in choosing the books we read. A good book is a great blessing, but a bad book is a curse!

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Something to ponder

Martyn Lloyd-Jones: “I am not afraid of being charged, as I frequently am, of trying to frighten you, for I am definitely trying to do so. If the wondrous love of God in Christ Jesus and the hope of glory is not sufficient to attract you–then such is the value I attach to the worth of your soul, that I will do my utmost to alarm you with a sight of the terrors of Hell!”
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Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

A new eye!

(Thomas Watson, “A New Creature“)  LISTEN to audio!  Download audio

 (You will find it helpful to listen to the audio above, as you read the text below.)

“Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away, behold all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

The new creature is new all over. Grace, though it is but in part–yet it is in every part. Not a new ear or a new tongue–but a new man; there are . . .
  new dispositions,
  new principles,
  new aims,
  “all things are become new!”

In the new creature, there is a new UNDERSTANDING. The first thing an artist draws in a portrait, is the eye. When God newly draws us and makes us new creatures, the first thing He draws in our souls is a new eye. The new creature is enlightened to see that which he never saw before!

He knows Christ after another manner. An unconverted man, by the light of common grace, may believe Christ to be the Son of God. But the new creature knows Christ after another manner, so as . . .
  to esteem Him above all,
  to adore Him,
  to touch Him by faith,
  to fetch a healing virtue from Him!

The new creature knows himself better than he did. When the sun shines into a room, it reveals all the dust and cobwebs in it. Just so, when the light of the Spirit shines into the heart, this reveals that corruption which before lay hidden; it shows a man his own vileness and nothingness! “Behold, I am vile!” Job 40:4

A wicked man, blinded with self-love, admires himself. He is like Narcissus who, seeing his own reflection in the water–fell in love with it. Saving knowledge works self-abasement.

Has this day-star of knowledge shined on your mind?

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Something to ponder
Thomas Watson: “Take heed of abusing the mercy of God. To sin because mercy abounds, is the devil’s logic! He who sins because of God’s mercy, shall have judgment without mercy!”
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Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

The new birth!

(Octavius Winslow, “From Grace to Glory” 1864)  LISTEN to audio!  Download audio

(You will find it helpful to listen to the audio above, as you read the text below.)

“Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things have passed away; behold, all things are become new!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

How comprehensive the words—how vast the change!
The effect produced by the new birth is radical and thorough:

The HEART, once so hateful and hating–has now become a fountain of sweet waters, transmitting its pure and holy streams throughout the whole soul, changing the entire conduct of the individual, and working out, in its degree, a universal holiness of his whole being.

The WORLD he once loved–is now as a crucified thing.

The PLEASURES he once indulged–have lost their charm.

The SINS he once committed–are now loathed and forsaken.

The SOCIETY he once enjoyed–no longer attracts or pleases.
The new birth will be manifest in our Christlike temper and mind and spirit . . .
  the moroseness and churlishness,
  the pride and selfishness,
  the worldliness and frivolity,
  the levity and man-pleasing,
which cropped up so luxuriantly from the soil of our unsanctified heart–will now, in a great measure be supplanted by the fruits of righteousness springing from a heart which has been changed, sanctified, and occupied by the Spirit of God.

The walk and conversation of a renewed man, will be the outward and visible reflection of an inward and invisible grace.

As a parent, and as a child, as a brother, a sister–so let your light shine, so let your life evidence its reality, so let your religion be visible in its lowliness and gentleness, its lovable and loving spirit, as to command from all who see it the admiring exclamation, “Behold! he is a new creature; old things have passed away; all things are become new!”

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Something to ponder
“Let us aim to act, and speak, and live as if Christ were at our side!
 And so He is, though we may not be sensible of it.”  Mary Winslow
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Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

God can take the most sin-soiled soul!

(J.R. Miller)  LISTEN to audio!  Download audio

(You will find it helpful to listen to the audio above, as you read the text below.)

Queen Victoria stopped one day at a paper-mill near Windsor Castle, and was shown through it by the foreman. He did not know who she was, as she was alone and was plainly dressed. The queen was intensely interested in every process of the paper-maker’s art. She was conducted at last to a place where a number of rag-pickers were emptying out the dirty rags which they had gathered from the gutters and alleys of the great city. There was a large pile of these filthy, blackened rags, which looked as if they never could be made clean. The queen asked the foreman what he would do with these. To her amazement, he told her that he would make them into the finest, whitest paper.

When the queen had gone, the foreman learned who she was. Some days after, there was received at the palace–a package of the purest, most delicate paper, having the queen’s likeness stamped upon it, with a note from the foreman of the mill, telling her that this paper was made from the very rags she had seen on her visit!

In the same way, the Holy Spirit takes human lives, ruined and blackened by sin–makes them whiter than snow, and stamps upon them the holy image of Jesus!

No life is hopeless in its ruin, which the transforming grace of God renews.

God can take the most sin-soiled soul, and give to it radiant beauty!

“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were! But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
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Something to ponder
William Dyer:
“The Lord will give grace and glory!” Psalm 84:11
  Grace is glory begun–and glory is grace made perfect!
  Grace is the first degree of glory–glory is the highest degree of grace!
  Grace is the seed–glory is the flower!
  Grace is the ring–glory is the sparkling diamond in the ring!
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Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

Manifest the life of Christ in our daily living

(J. R. Miller, “Strength and Beauty”)  LISTEN to audio!  Download audio

(You will find it helpful to listen to the audio above, as you read the text below.)

True religion will manifest itself in every phase of life. We sit down in the quiet and read our Bible, and get our lesson. We know it now–but we have not as yet got it into our life, which is the thing we must really do.

Knowing that we should love our enemies, is not the ultimate thing–actually loving our enemies is.

Knowing that we should be patient is not all–we are to practice the lesson of patience, until it has become a habit in our life.

Many know the cardinal duties of Christian life, who yet have not learned to live them.
It is living them, however, that is true religion.

It must always be our aim, to live our religion–to get Christ’s love in our heart, wrought out in a blessed ministry of kindness to others. Christ lives in us, and it is ours to manifest the life of Christ in our daily living.

We worship God on Sunday, in order to gather strength and grace to live for God in the six days that follow. It is evident therefore, that it is in the experiences of weekday life, far more than in the quiet of the Sunday worship and the closet–that the real tests of religion come.

It is easy to assent with our mind to the commandments, when we sit in the church enjoying the services. But the assent of the life itself can be obtained, only when we are out in the midst of temptation and duty, in contact with others. There it is, alone, that we can get the commandments wrought into ways of obedience, and lines of character. This is the final object of all Christian teaching and worship–the transforming of our life into the beauty of Christ!

  Something to ponder

Charles Spurgeon: “Too many think lightly of sin, and therefore think lightly of the Savior. He who has stood before God, convicted and condemned, with the rope about his neck–is the man . . .
  to weep for joy when he is pardoned,
  to hate the evil which has been forgiven him, and
  to live to the honor of the Redeemer by whose blood he has been cleansed.”

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

We do not have to be crucified on pieces of wood!

(J.R. Miller, “The Wider Life” 1908)  LISTEN to audio!  Download audio

(You will find it helpful to listen to the audio above, as you read the text below.)

“I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship.” Romans 12:1

The godly life is not one of ease, pleasure and self-indulgence.

We are taught to present our bodies, as a living sacrifice unto God. Ancient offerings were brought to the altar, and presented dead. But the Christian sacrifice, instead of being poured out in a bloody oblation, is to be a living sacrifice of service, of love, of devotion.

The great sacrifice of Christ is both the model for all Christian life, and also its inspiration. We look at His six hours on the cross–as if that were its only act and expression. But the cross was not endured by Christ merely during those six hours on Calvary; it was in all His life, in every day and hour of it. Everything He did was in love, and love is always a living sacrifice. He was always sacrificing Himself. On Calvary, He only wrote the wordout in capital letters!

The cross stands not merely for the sufferings of Christ endured in redeeming sinners–but also for the law of love and of sacrifice in every department of Christian living. It is not enough to have the cross on our churches, as a symbol of redemption; or to wear it as an ornament around our neck; the cross must be in the heart–and manifested in the life!

We talk a great deal about the love of Christ; but we must strive to illustrate it and reproduce in our own lives, in our own measure–the sweetness, the charity, the kindness and the helpfulness of Jesus Christ. The cross is everywhere. The more of the ‘sacrificial’ quality we get into our life, the diviner and the lovelier our life will be.

We do not have to be crucified on pieces of wood–to bear a cross, and make a living sacrifice. The cross must be in the lives of those who follow Christ; not branded on their bodies–but wrought into their character, their disposition, their conduct, their spirit! We cannot live a Christian life for a day, without coming to points of sacrifice.

The cross of Christ does not take our own cross from us–Christ does not bear our cross for us. His cross becomes the law of our life, and makes it all sacrificial. Every sacrificial thing we do, reveals the cross. The Beatitudes are all sacrificial. No one can live the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians, and not crucify self continually.

All sacrifice at length, blossoms into Christlike beauty, sweetness and joy.

“Take me, Lord, and use me today–as You will. I lay all my plans at Your feet. Whatever work You have for me to do, give it into my hands. If there are those You would have me help in any way–send them to me, or send me to them. Take my time, and use it just as You will.”

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Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

An arm that can never be broken!

(J.R. Miller, “A Life of Character”)  LISTEN to audio!  Download audio

(You will find it helpful to listen to the audio above, as you read the text below.)

“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms!“ Deuteronomy 33:27

The picture suggested is that of a little child lying in the strong arms of a father who is able to withstand all storms and dangers.

At the two extremes of life–childhood and old age, this promise comes with special assurance.

“He shall gather the lambs in His arms and carry them in His bosom” (Isaiah 40:11), is a word for the children.

“Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He; I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you. I will sustain you and I will rescue you!” (Isaiah 46:4) brings its blessed comfort to the aged.

The thought of God’s embracing arms is very suggestive. What does an arm represent?
What is the thought suggested by the arm of God enfolded around His child?

One suggestion, is protection. As a father puts his arm about his child when it is in danger, so God protects His children. Life is full of peril. There are temptations on every hand! Enemies lurk in every shadow–enemies strong and swift! Yet we are assured that nothing can separate us from the love of God. “Underneath are the everlasting arms!”

Another thought, is affection. The father’s arm drawn around a child, is a token of love. The child is held in the father’s bosom, near his heart. The shepherd carries the lambs in his bosom. John lay on Jesus’ bosom. The mother holds the child in her bosom, because she loves it. This picture of God embracing His children in His arms, tells of His love for them–His love is tender, close, intimate.

Another thought suggested by an arm, is strength. The arm is a symbol of strength. His arm is omnipotence. “In the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength” (Isaiah 26:4). His is an arm that can never be broken! Out of this clasp, we can never be taken. “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish–ever! No one will snatch them out of My hand!” (John 10:28)

Another suggestion is endurance. The arms of God are “everlasting.” Human arms grow weary even in love’s embrace; they cannot forever press the child to the bosom. Soon they lie folded in death.

A husband stood by the coffin of his beloved wife after only one short year of wedded happiness. The clasp of that love was very sweet–but how brief a time it lasted, and how desolate was the life that had lost the precious companionship!

A little baby two weeks old was left motherless. The mother clasped the child to her bosom and drew her feeble arms about it in one loving embrace; the little one will never more have a mother’s arm around it.

So pathetic is human life–with its broken affections, its little moments of love, its embraces that are torn away in one hour. But these arms of God, are everlasting arms! They shall never unclasp!

There is another important suggestion in the word “underneath.” Not only do the arms of God embrace His child–but they are underneath–always underneath! That means that we can never sink, for these arms will ever be beneath us!

Sometimes we say the waters of trouble are very deep, like great floods they roll over us. But still and forever, underneath the deepest floods–are these everlasting arms! We cannot sink below them, or out of their clasp!

And when death comes, and every earthly thing is gone from beneath us, and we sink away into what seems darkness–out of all human love, out of warmth and gladness and life–into the gloom and strange mystery of death; still it will only be into the everlasting arms!

This view of God’s divine care is full of inspiration and comfort. We are not saving ourselves. A strong One, the mighty God–holds us in His omnipotent clasp! We are not tossed like a leaf on life’s wild sea, driven at the mercy of wind and wave. We are in divine keeping. Our security does not depend upon our own feeble, wavering faith–but upon the omnipotence, the love, and the faithfulness of the unchanging, the eternal God!

No power in the universe can snatch us out of His hands! Neither death nor life, nor things present, nor things to come–can separate us from His everlasting arms!

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Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

A most sublime consideration!

(Ezekiel Hopkins, 1634-1690)

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
 How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” Romans 11:33

The mystery of God’s providence is a most sublime consideration! Our reason is at a loss when it attempts to search into the eternal decrees of election, or the entangled mazes and labyrinths in which the divine providence walks. It is impossible to conduct ourselves into that secret place, that pavilion of clouds and surrounding darkness, where God sits holding the helm of the world!

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:29-31
 
Notice how particular God’s providence is. It is directed to the most trifling occurrences in the world: a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without the heavenly Father. His providence has even appointed . . .
  what branch it will land upon,
  what grains it shall pick up,
  where it shall lodge,
  where it shall build,
  and when it shall die.
Not one particle of dust moves on a well-traveled road, but God raises it, directs its motion, and directs it to the specific place He appointed for it.

Man can be very confident that God exercises the most accurate providence over him and his affairs. Nothing comes to pass without our Heavenly Father!

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Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors