The Time of Thy Visitation

It was a day of great rejoicing. The crowds were shouting the praise of the One whom the disciples called their Master. He was in a perfect position to accept the throne of Israel. What a glorious day! As Jesus rode on a colt, the disciples prepared the way for Him by spreading their coats on the ground for a pathway. Was there ever a brighter day in the history of Israel?

And suddenly, when the procession reached the Mount of Olives, it all came to a stop. Jesus beheld the city of Jerusalem in all its glory. The majestic temple with its huge marble walls, glistening in the light of a setting sun… The many pilgrims from foreign lands who had come to celebrate the Passover…

We are told that “when He was come near, He beheld the city, and wept over it.” Why did He weep? Not for Himself, although He well knew that His way would soon lead Him into the valley of the shadow of death. Not for His disciples, although He knew that they would be sorely tried by the events of the next few days, and one would abandon his integrity so far as to betray his Master. It was for the inhabitants of the glorious city of Jerusalem that Jesus wept.

“If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes… For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.”

All that Jesus predicted about the destruction of Jerusalem came true, although no one believed Him at the time. It came true in a far more dreadful way than anyone supposed was possible. Why? How could this happen to Jerusalem, and the temple??? The pride of the entire Jewish nation… After all, was it not God’s own temple? How could God let something so terrible happen to His own temple?

Because Jerusalem knew not the time of her visitation…

Maybe there’s a lesson for us today…

We have seen a great light… Shall we follow it, or turn away?

History repeats itself because we don't learn from it… Must it happen again?

His ways...

“My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are My ways your ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8, 9)

When we don’t understand why… when we wonder why God lets innocent people suffer… remember this:

“God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning, and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him.” DA 224, 225

Never question His love. He knows what He’s doing. And though you don’t always understand why… Trust Him still… His ways are higher than our ways. How could mortals expect to fully comprehend Omnipotence?

He has plans for you that are higher than the highest human thought could reach… And He has plans to bring something beautiful out of a situation where our finite minds can see only chaos and distress.

Everything is clearer in the light of eternity.

Trust Him…

He’ll never let you down…

It's your own choice!

What do you look for in life? Prosperity? Money? Happiness? Good friends? A “good time”?

Are these the most important things in life?

No…

Are these bad things?

No…

Should we spend our life seeking these things?

No…

So how do we get them?

Will God give us these things if we’re faithful to Him?

Yes!!! He might not choose to give these things to us when we think we need them, but He will provide in His time… He’s promised…

“That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace;

That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store; that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets:

That our oxen may be strong to labor; that there be no breaking in, nor going out; that there be no complaining in our streets;

Happy is that people, that is in such a case; yea, happy is that people, whose God is the Lord.” (Psalm 144:12-15)

Now that’s an attainable goal! It’s your own choice if your God is the Lord! You can’t always choose if you have money, or prosperity, or fun, or good times… but you can always choose for your God to be the Lord!

It’s a sacrifice…

But you’ll never regret it…

The True Sign...

The church leaders came to Jesus, asking for a sign of his Messiahship. “Show us a sign,” they demanded. Christ wrought no miracle in response to their request. Why? Wouldn’t it have been to His advantage to win the most influential rabbis in the nation to His side? Certainly His life would have been easier had He fulfilled their expectations. But He had come for a higher mission than to gain the applause of crowds. He had not come merely to attain to earthly glory… indeed, He gave up inconceivable heavenly glory when He became a man. And besides, no miracle that He would show someone with that attitude would have convinced them that He was truly the Messiah. Nor would He work a miracle for His own benefit. His Father had given Him power to work miracles to relieve suffering, to bless men, and to give evidence of His divinity, but never for His own personal benefit.

Is there no miracle to prove the Gospel then?

Yes there is a miracle… in my own heart.

The miracle of a changed life… Old things are passed away… behold, all things are become new…

A changed heart… A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart from out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh… Ezek. 36:26

“Is it not a miracle that we can break free from the bondage of Satan? Enmity against Satan is not natural to the human heart; it is implanted by the grace of God. When one who has been controlled by a stubborn, wayward will is set free, and yields himself wholeheartedly to the drawing of God’s heavenly agencies, a miracle is wrought…” DA 407

The most powerful evidence I have for the Gospel is the miracle it has wrought in my own life. If it were not for the saving power of my God, I tremble to think of where I would be today.

It’s a journey… and I have committed to hold on no matter what. I may stumble and fall… I may slip and slide… but I have a commitment that I will press on.

And if you share my commitment… if you’re on that upward path… pray for me… We are stronger when we unite under the banner of truth…

Allegro Soleme

Here's the last movement of La Catedral: Allegro Soleme.

The Cathedral, 1st and 2nd movments

Here's another song I'm practicing for my recital in April... La Catedral by Agustin Barrios Mangore. This video is of the first two movements: Lento, and Andante Religioso. The third and final movement, Allegro Soleme, is very difficult compared to the first two movements... Its video is coming soon (I recorded all of these videos the same day, by the way, so I'm just editing them... )

With this song being La Catedral, meaning the Cathedral, I just couldn't resist putting some cathedral-style echo on it... :) So in case you were wondering... my room isn't that impressive acoustically! :D

Here is one of my latest videos... practicing Prelude No. 2 for guitar, by Heitor Villa-Lobos. I'll be playing it at a recital in about a month and a half. Yes, it needs some work, but it's not that difficult of a song in general.

The Master Potter...

Isaiah 64 presents a bleak picture of an apostatized nation. They are all unclean… Their own works, which they think are righteousness, are as filthy rags… No one calls on the name of the Lord, because the Lord has punished them for their iniquities. And they all know that God has great power, since He’s done great things in the past; yet they are afraid of what He will do to them because of their sins.

The holy cities are a wilderness, Zion a wilderness, and Jerusalem a desolation. The temple is destroyed. It seems that everything that could go wrong, has gone wrong.

Yet a light is at the end of the tunnel… a glimmer of hope for a nation in darkness…

“But now, O Lord, Thou art our Father; we are the clay, and Thou our Potter, and we all are the work of Thy hand.”

Think about clay and potters for a moment. Which determines the final outcome of a pot? Or, more precisely, who needs special skill and ability to make a quality product? The potter. The clay has very little to do with it. In fact, the clay has almost nothing to do with it. All the clay has to do is submit to the potter. The potter is then responsible for the outcome of the pot. No skill or talent or beauty that the clay has will make any difference in the outcome.

We are the clay, and Thou our Potter...

Our skills and talents are not what qualify us to make good pots in God's hands. Our only qualification is to be moldable, flexible, and willing to submit to the Master Potter.

We all are the work of His hand…

He wants to make us masterpieces…