Christian Unity
Dying, Death, and Resurrection
In Times of Trouble
God (As An Art Critic)
In God We Trust

Christian Unity
In Christ there is no East nor West, In Him no South nor North; But one great fellowship of love Throughout the whole wide earth. In Him shall true hearts everywhere Their high communion find; His service is the golden cord Close-binding all mankind. Join hands then, brethren of the faith, Whate'er your race may be; Who serves my Father as His child Is surely kin to me. In Christ now meet both East and West, In Him meet South and North; All godly souls are one in Him Throughout the whole wide earth. "Brethren of the Faith" by John Oxenham		There is neither Jew nor Greek, There is neither slave nor free, There is neither male nor female; For you are all one in Christ Jesus. Gal 3.28 There is neither Greek nor Jew, Circumcised nor uncircumcised, Barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, But Christ is all and in all. Col 3.11 By one Spirit we were all baptized into one body -- Whether Jews or Greeks, Whether slaves or free -- And have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 1 Cor 12.13

Dying, Death, and Resurrection
Sunset and evening star, And one clear call for me! And may there be no moaning of the bar, When I put out to sea. But such a tide as moving seems asleep, Too full for sound and foam, When that which drew from out the boundless deep Turns again home. Twilight and evening bell, And after that the dark! And may there be no sadness of farewell, When I embark. For tho' from out our borne of Time and Place The flood may bear me far, I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crost the bar. "Crossing the Bar" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson		And we are not afraid, but are quite content to die, for then we will be at home with the Lord. 2 Cor 5.8, LB Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. Ps 116.15 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth. After my skin is destroyed, this I know -- that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! Job 19.25-27 (In Heaven...) And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Rev 21.4

For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive! But each in his own turn... Christ, the firstfruits; then, when He comes, those who belong to Him. Then the end will come... when Jesus hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For Jesus must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death! So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is buried is perishable, it is raised imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. For the trumpet will sound! The dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed! For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: Death has been swallowed up in victory! Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? 1 Cor 15.22-26, 15.42-44a, 15.52b-55

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so; For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me. From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, Much pleasure—then, from thee much more must flow; And soonest our best men with thee do go, Rest of their bones and soul’s delivery. Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell; And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well, And better than thy stroke. Why swell’st thou then? One short sleep passed, we wake eternally, And death shall be no more; death thou shalt die. "Death, be not proud" by John Donne

In Times of Trouble
Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone. For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth, But trouble has enough of its own. Sing, and the hills will answer; Sigh, it is lost on the air. The echos bound to a joyful sound, But shrink from voicing care. Rejoice, and men will seek you; Grieve, and they turn and go. They want full measure of all your pleasure, But they do not need your woe. continued next column		Be glad, and your friends are many; Be sad, and you lose them all. There are none to decline your nectared wine, But alone you must drink life's gall. Feast, and your halls are crowded; Fast, and the world goes by. Succeed and give, and it helps you live, But no man can help you die. There is room in the halls of pleasure For a long and lordly train, But one by one we must all file on Through the narrow aisles of pain. "Solitude" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
King David was forsaken in times of trouble.		My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague, and my kinsmen stand afar off. Ps 38.11
The Apostle Paul was forsaken in times of trouble.		At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. 2 Tim 4.16a
The Lord Jesus was forsaken in times of trouble.		They all forsook Him and fled. Mk 14.5
Will you, too, be forsaken when trouble comes? Perhaps you will (by your fair weather friends). But forsaken by God? NEVER!		(God promises...) When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up--the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord your God Isa 43.2-3a For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom 8.38-39

God (As An Art Critic)

L'Envoi When Earth's last picture is painted, and the tubes are twisted and dried, When the oldest colors have faded, and the youngest critic has died, We shall rest, and, faith, we shall need it -- lie down for an aeon or two, Till the Master of All Good Workmen shall set us to work anew! And those that were good shall be happy: they shall sit in a golden chair; They shall splash at a ten-league canvas with brushes of comets' hair; They shall find real saints to draw from -- Magdalene, Peter, and Paul, They shall work for an age at a sitting and never be tired at all! And only the Master shall praise us, and only the Master shall blame; And no one shall work for money, and no one shall work for fame; But each for the joy of the working, and each, in his separate star; Shall draw the Thing as he sees it, for the God of Things as They Are! Rudyard Kipling

Biblebell's Musings My High School English teacher required us students to memorize and recite several hundred lines of poetry each semester. L'Envoi was one of the many poems I recited to satisfy that requirement. I loved that poem (still do) even though I was not then a Christian. On the other hand... Concerning the 5th line of the poem - To be correct, it should read: "And those that were saved shall be happy..." I thank God that "good" isn't the right word; else none of us would ever get to sit in that golden chair, right? Concerning the 9th line - When my kids were toddlers they often brought home their "art work" from school. My wife and I treasured every one of those drawings, although they were often just undecipherable blobs of color. Even if you don't draw so good, your Master will never "blame." He will only praise! After all, He's your Dad. Halleluyah! Whatever you do for God -- if you sing to Him, or write a web page for Him, or give Him money -- WHATEVER! -- God will look at your heart. If your heart is right, your offering will be perfect and beautiful in His eyes!

And God said... The Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart! 1 Sam 16.7b

In God We Trust
From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind. From His dwelling place He watches all who live on earth. The eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love. We wait in hope for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in You. Psalm 33.13-14, 18, 20		The year's at the spring And day's at the morn; Morning's at seven; The hillside's dew-pearled; The lark's on the wing; The snail's on the thorn; God's in His heaven -- All's right with the world! Robert Browning

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