A Charge to Keep I Have

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1 A charge to keep I have,
a God to glorify,
a never-dying soul to save,
and fit it for the sky.

2 To serve the present age,
my calling to fulfill,
O may it all my pow’rs engage
to do my Master’s will!

3 Arm me with watchful care
as in Thy sight to live,
and now Thy servant, Lord, prepare
a strict account to give!

4 Help me to watch and pray,
and still on Thee rely,
O let me not my trust betray,
but press to realms on high.

Charles Wesley was an English Anglican cleric and a principal leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. 

Born: December 18, 1707, Epworth, United Kingdom

Died: March 29, 1788 (age 80 years), London, United Kingdom

The Armor of God

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by Sharla Guenther

In biblical times soldiers would wear very heavy armor.  In fact, when David went to fight the giant Goliath he couldn’t wear the armor because it was too heavy.  These days, soldiers don’t wear armor, but you might find it interesting to know that many Christians wear armor everyday and it would be a good idea if you did too.

How can you wear armor?  This armor is so neat; it’s like having special powers that are invisible!  When you imagine yourself putting on the armor of God each day it will help you against the devil as well as the things you shouldn’t do.  However, the only way this armor will work is if Jesus lives inside you.

The devil wants us to mess up and do things God doesn’t want us to do.  He might try to do that by getting you interested in violent video games, shows on TV or movies that show people doing things that are sinful and try to make them look like fun.  You might also be pressured by other kids to do things that we know God wouldn’t want us to do.

These are some of the ways that the devil tries to trick you into doing things you shouldn’t (this is called sin).  By putting on the armor of God, you will be able to stand up to these things and do what is right.  The armor will give you God’s help to fight against the bad in the world.

We are going to start with the Belt of Truth.  We need to put this on first to be truthful and remember the truth we know about God.  We can know the truth by reading the Bible, the Spirit telling us (giving us a conscience), or learning from other people who believe in God the same as us.

Next is the Breastplate of Righteousness.  If you play hockey you probably have something that protects the part between your neck and tummy.  This piece also protects your heart.  We can protect our heart by confessing any sin we have, or saying sorry to God for things we’ve done wrong.

Now we put on the Sandals of Peace.  First, we need to protect our feet and go where God would want us to go.  Our feet would get sore if we walked around with no shoes on, so we need to avoid places we know we shouldn’t go to keep our protective sandals on. Second, we need to be peaceful with others.  If there is someone you’re fighting with or if you’ve hurt someone’s feelings you need to go ask for their forgiveness, or forgive those who have wronged you.  Third, if you find things are a little hectic God is the peacemaker, and if you ask He can give you all the peace you need.

The next piece of armor you don’t have to wear; instead, you hold it.  It’s the Shield of Faith.  Just think of what you could do with a real shield.  If someone throws a snowball at you, you can lift the shield so it doesn’t hit you at all.  We can use the shield in the same way when bad things come our way like temptations or doubt.

Sometimes the devil will try to make us think that there isn’t a God, or that he doesn’t love us because we’ve done something wrong.  We need to hold up our shield and stop these thoughts when this happens and remember that God loves us no matter what.

The Helmet of Salvation is the next piece.  This is what we use to protect our minds.  Sometimes we need to remember that we’re God’s children and He loves us and will help us.  We also need to remember what we’ve read in the Bible and learned from our parents and church about God.  That will help us make the right decisions.

The next piece of armor that we hold is the Sword of the Spirit.  The sword is both the Bible and having the Spirit of God work in us.   We can cut anything off that isn’t good in our lives.  By remembering God’s word (the Bible) we will be able to tell what is good and what is bad.

Prayer is the last piece of armor.  This isn’t a particular piece of armor but kind of holds all our armor together.  By talking to God we can do amazing things.  Nothing is too big or impossible with prayer because God can do anything that He wants to.  That doesn’t mean that he will always answer the way we want him to, but he will answer the way He knows is best.

When we pray, we need to remember that we don’t always need to ask for things.  God also wants us to pray for others (for people that don’t know Him, for people we don’t like, for people that are sick, etc.).  He also wants us to thank Him for whatever we are thankful for (being good at something, family, friends, toys, etc.)  He blesses us with these things so we should thank Him.

A good way to help you remember the armor is to put it on each day when you get out of bed or before you go to school.  Pray that God will help you remember that the armor is there and what it’s used for so you can fight the bad with the good.

Friday Quote

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“Almost certainly God is not in time. His life does not consist of moments one following another…Ten-thirty– and every other moment from the beginning of the world–is always Present for Him. If you like to put it this way, He has all eternity in which to listen to the split second of prayer put up by a pilot as his plane crashes in flames.” ― a quote from C.S. Lewis

As if Full of Fire

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It was my observation when working my way through the first chapter of Ezekiel, this passage of interest is our first glimpse of the most high. All of the parts of the vision described in the previous essays on chapter one was no more than an introduction to this portion of the vision. This is the main event. Why? because now we discuss the image that appears above the throne, the figure that was like a man.

Ezekiel 1:26-28 says — Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man.I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking [NIV].

In this vision God establishes himself as the Lord of angels and overseer of events in the world, thus it is easy to postulate — whatever God either promises (positive or negative); he is able to accomplish.

Angels are presented as his servants; we mortals are his tools. Knowing he is not silent, we look above the wheels, the angels, and the platform to the throne, to the one true living God. We expect a message. Why? Because he is the one true living God who communicates that plan. He is not silent.

In other throne room visions we get the same message. God is not silent. John in Revelation 1:12-13 hear a voice, and again in Revelation 19:10 John speaks of the testimony of Jesus.

We should also note the Glory of God was above the heads of the angels. His position commands reverence and respect. The angels were under his feet as we have read in 1 Peter 3:22 that angels, principalities, and powers are made subject to him. This brings to light the amazing depth of God’s grace. He lives above the angels in this vision, but in his role as our ransom, he chose to become a little lower than the angels (see Hebrews 2:9).

When Ezekiel saw God, he was shroud in light, the color of amber, covered as with a garment. And so, in this vision, he appears in the likeness of man. Notice his lower section gave the appearance of fire, reinforcing the notion that God is a consuming fire. There were rays coming out of his hand (Habakkuk 3:4) that suggest the shielding of his full power. In Revelation 4:3 we also see a rainbow, most view this rainbow as a display of majesty, a cooling of the heat, God’s mercy and kindness, a display of graciousness (implied in Genesis 9:16, Leviticus 26:42) [NIV].

We should note that Ezekiel does not say this is how God himself appears. Rather we are looking at his glory, a translucent image, lest we see God and die. We see a mere shadow (implied in Hebrews 10:1). When he saw this image, he fell upon his face. Ezekiel was overpowered, He knew the distance between himself and God, distance caused by sin. Ezekiel went prostrate on the floor in humility and respect. He prepared himself to hear the message from God. The plan, expressed by God, was overwhelming.

I have come to know — the more we humble ourselves; the more God will make himself known to us. Everything Ezekiel saw to this point served one purpose. Prepare his heart to hear the message. Prepare his heart to hear the plan. We are taught by words from the Spirit of God and then the message is written on our heart with the blood of Jesus. Review Matthew chapter 5, make no mistake, God delights in teaching the humble to be humbler. We benefit. Prepare your heart. Embrace the fire. I choose Jesus.

By the Rivers of Babylon

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It was my observation browsing through Ezekiel, this vision in chapter 1 is not like any other message I’ve ever read in scripture. Ezekiel is very precise about his calling. He was sitting by a tributary of the river of Babylon (Euphrates), known as the Kabar River. It did not go unnoticed by me that the Euphrates is one of the four rivers that’s connected to the Garden of Eden. It also did not go unnoticed to me that Bob Marley wrote about this river in his landmark song by the Rivers of Babylon. We all know that Bob pulled his references from Psalms 137; but it was humorous to me that Ezekiel was hanging out on that same river that Bob spoke about. I’m not saying in any way that Bob’s writings are prophetic. In fact, he got the intent of Psalms 137 wrong. But I am observing that you find the most interesting things when you allow God to muse a bit with you. And so, we begin.

Ezekiel 1:1-3 says — In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. On the fifth of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin— the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians [NIV].

In this opening statement from Ezekiel, we find the circumstances of this prophecy. The first few verses define who was involved and they define the audience. The entire 1st chapter is a vision of God. I’ve read this chapter 15-20 times. I’ve done audio playbacks; I’ve tried to draw pictures of what the vision shows. This initial vision is the most profound thing I’ve encountered in a long time when reading the scriptures. Of course, this vision will have some competition for that prize once I finally get to evaluating Revelation. On the other hand, there is Ezekiel 10 and Ezekiel 37. We will see.

The glory of God (the vision) starts with the discussion of the four angels with extended wings, supporting him. There is a strong loud continuous sound of thunder accompanied by lightening. And it outlines the wheels that they stand upon and the platform that they hold up with their wings. Then the throne and the one true living God is described. When you try to make a picture from this vision, God’s glory speaks loud and clear. You are foolish to approach this without reverence, I think we would be at peril if we disrespect this vision. We see the throne through a veil, we are given but a glimpse.

We can glean from these initial few verses the approximate time when Ezekiel started his ministry. He was about 30 years old. He was at the age to be called into priesthood. But we should note Ezekiel is in Babylon. There are no temple services. God calls him to be a prophet to the people that have rejected the covenant law and temple ordinances. Later, God tells Ezekiel that he will need a forehead made out of flint. Why? Because the message he is to deliver will cause people to reject him aggressively.

The deeper truth. Most everybody I read agrees that this calling came to Ezekiel on the sabbath day. John’s Revelation also came on the sabbath day (see Revelation 1:10). Then we read in Lamentations 1:7 — In the days of her affliction and roaming, Jerusalem remembers all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the enemy, with no one to help her, the adversaries saw her and mocked at her downfall [NKJV].

The footnote in NKJV for Lamentations 1:7 suggests the Hebrew term underneath the word ‘downfall’ refers to the mocking of sabbaths. Do you think that it was an accident the initial message of Ezekiel and message of Revelation were delivered to the prophets on the Sabbath? I think not. Both messages have been mocked by men. I choose Jesus.