martha vancise

A Thousand One …

by martha vancise | AugSun2014 | SIGNPOSTS

“So he made a whip out of cords…”

A thousand one plait
A thousand two plait
A thousand three plait
A thousand four plait
A thousand five plait
A thousand six plait
A thousand seven plait
A thousand eight plait
A thousand nine plait
A thousand ten plait

“Get these out of here!
How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”

Jesus cleansed the temple at the beginning of his ministry and near the end of his ministry. Both actions were deliberate actions. He took time to make a scourge during the first cleansing; the second time, Mark tells us that “Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.”

Mark’s narration continues with “The next day … Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there.” For Jesus, anger was not a sudden emotional release valve. His anger was a deliberate response to theft, injustice and desecration of the temple.

Christians sometimes justify angry tirades by saying, “Well, Jesus got angry.” Counselors of every faith and non-faith persuasion have told people, “Don’t hold it in. Let it out!” In a world so full of anger and volatile reactions we would do well to consider the advice of past generations to, “Count to ten (slowly) before expressing anger.”

Remember:
A gentle answer can turn away wrath (Proverbs 15:1)
…be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. (James 1:19-20)

Martha Hawn VanCise ©

TRUST

by martha vancise | AugSat2014 | SIGNPOSTS

Trust in You is paralyzing

I cannot worry
I cannot spend time imagining the outcome
I cannot act on my own understanding

Trust in You is demanding

I must rest
I must be quiet
I must wait

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you (I Peter 5:7 NIV)

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5)

In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength (Isaiah 30:15)

Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him. (Psalm 62:5)

Martha Hawn VanCise©

Πνεῦμα (pneuma)

by martha vancise | JulFri2014 | SIGNPOSTS

A breath of air has stirred
and moved over me
in a soft refreshing touch.
And now … it is gone.
I did not see it.
I don’t know where it originated,
or why it came,
or where it has gone.
It came as a welcome and refreshing surprise
on this humid, sweltering morning.

Πνεῦμα : movement of air; Holy Spirit

In an article titled “The Lord’s Surprise Visits,” Oswald Chambers said, “The element of surprise is always the note of the life of the Holy Ghost in us. We are born again by the great surprise—“ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. (John 3:8 NKJV) “Men cannot tie up the wind, it blows where it lists; neither can the work of the Holy Spirit be tied up in logical methods. Jesus never comes where we expect Him …”

You breathe on our spirits in unexpected moments. We seldom understand why. We just know that when your Spirit comes and gently passes over us anxieties loosen their grip and often drift away.

Martha Hawn VanCise©

The Greatest Outlet of Power

by martha vancise | JulThu2014 | SIGNPOSTS

According to S.D. Gordon in Quiet Talks on Prayer,* the outlets of Power are Being, Speaking, Doing, and Giving, but the greatest outlet of Power is Prayer.

Gordon writes, “The power of a life touches just one spot, but the touch is tremendous … yet its power is limited to one spot where it is being lived. Power through the lips depends wholly upon the life back of the lips…. Power through service may be great, and may be touching many spots, yet it is always less than that of a life. Power through money depends wholly upon the motive back of the money…. But the power loosened out through prayer … may touch not one spot but wherever in the whole round world you may choose to turn it.”

The outlets of “being, speaking, doing, and giving,” are limited by time and space. We can only be in one place at time. While technology enables us to be heard beyond our location, technology also allows listeners to turn us off or ignore us.

Prayer is the only power that can reach a son or daughter in a dangerous situation, or in another hemisphere; prayer is the only power that cannot be turned off by friends who brush aside our efforts to lead them to Christ; prayer can heal bodies and minds and give hope when all medical help has been exhausted; prayer can supply daily needs when money has vanished.

Gordon said, “The greatest thing anyone can do for God and for man is to pray. It is not the only thing. But it is the chief thing…. The great people of the earth today are the people who pray. I do not mean those who talk about prayer; nor those who say they believe in prayer; nor yet those who can explain about prayer; but I mean these people who take time and pray. They have not time. It must be taken from something else. This something else is important. Very important, and pressing, but still less important and less pressing than prayer. There are people that put prayer first, and group the other items in life’s schedule around and after prayer. These are the people today who are doing the most for God.”

Quiet Talks on Prayer by S.D. Gordon is now in public domain. You may download it and other great religious classics at http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13196/13196-h/13196-h.htm#ch01-1

Is it Worse Now?

by martha vancise | JunWed2014 | SIGNPOSTS

Jesus mentioned that an increase in wickedness would mark the End of the Age. Is wickedness increasing or do we just have better media coverage? Some friends say they don’t watch the news anymore because it’s too depressing, but part of my morning routine is checking breaking news. Jesus’ admonition to “keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come,” reminds me to keep an eye on what is happening in the world.

Some weeks the world is so calm that reporters must beat old stories to a mushy pulp or else inflate a politically incorrect word or statement in order to fill air time. Other weeks, the world seems to explode with stories of wickedness involving children, families, schools, cities, and nations. Gangs, dictators, warring ethnic groups, and creators of violent movies and games astound us with their creations of here-to-fore unimagined evil.

When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians about the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, he said, “For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.” I wonder … are we seeing the “One who holds back the wickedness,” beginning to occasionally lift a hand off our world for a day or two so that we can see how really bad this world will be when Christ returns, takes out the righteous people, and leaves only the wicked?

I wonder … is wickedness, gaining momentum? Are we occasionally seeing the Hand lifted?

I don’t know, but these are days to be alert and watchful. We must be alert to both how the devil is prowling around our individual lives and how the devil is expanding lawlessness to prepare the way for the revealing of the Lawless One. (II Thessalonians 2:1-12)

Jesus repeatedly said, “Watch!”

Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man. Luke 21:36

What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’ (Mark 13:37)