FATHER'S CHARGE

 

Soul's Surrender by Greg Collins

Long ago,

When you lived in my arms

You wanted to fly

In the vast expanse of the skies.

I gifted you wings,

And promised I would

Teach you to fly.

Just remember, I am here, but

It is your turn now,

To rise.

 

-      Cathryne Allen 

THE DOERS OF THE WORD

 

(Art: Daniel's Answer to the King by Briton Riviere 1890)

I don’t think we understand how important we are in making the Plan of Salvation work to everyone’s advantage. When we read scriptural prophecies we tend to think that God will miraculously make things happen or that someone else will suddenly appear to fulfil the promises God has made when in fact it is the ordinary people like us who are ‘the doers of the word’ that are instrumental in God’s hands of making marvellous things come to pass.

Daniel of the Old Testament is a good example of making things happen. Daniel lived in Babylonian captivity in service to heathen kings for most of his life. He was very much devoted to the God of Israel and had Israel's welfare at heart. He eagerly hung onto the Lord's promise that Israel's captivity would last only 70 years (Jeremiah 29:10).

I mentioned in my previous post on Cyrus that historians attribute Daniel with the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy (Isaiah 44:28-45:1-5). Imagine this man who loved God, being so familiar with the scriptures and knowing of a man called Cyrus who would free the Jewish nation, see him walk through Babylon’s gates! How could he not use his position in government to tell him of the prophecy that contained his name?

When Cyrus sent the first wave of the Jews to Jerusalem and they began rebuilding the temple, they encountered bitter opposition from the Samaritans who reasoned that they should be involved in the project. Samaritans were Assyrians who intermarried with left-over Israelites in Samaria, following the conquest of the Ten Tribes. Because they were not pure Israelites and had practiced a variant religion of Jehovah worship heavily intermingled with pagan and other unauthorized religious practices, the Jews refused.

 

In retaliation the Samaritans influenced the Persian kings who succeeded Cyrus to halt the rebuilding project for 17 years. In steps Daniel again. In the first year of King Darius, Daniel again petitioned the Lord about Jeremiah's prophecy. Daniel 9:17-19 shows Daniel's prayerful concern for the unfinished temple and the city of Jerusalem. The Lord answered Daniel and raised two prophets in Jerusalem: Haggai and Zechariah.

 

You might wonder how prophets could finish construction of anything. You might wonder why God didn't send someone with political clout, negotiation expertise or even military power....but instead he sent two of his servants to finish the job....and finish they did....Haggai alone showed the Jews exactly why they were not able to finish the project. He taught them that all temporal problems arise out of spiritual weakness and that if they would put God first, they would extricate themselves from abject poverty they were in which was their main problem.  It makes for compelling reading.

 

These two prophets instructed the governor Zerubbabel, the high priest Jeshua and the Jewish people how to complete the temple in spite of persecution, poverty and governmental red tape (Haggai 1:1-5, 12-14; Zechariah 4:9, Ezra 6:14). Even though these two prophets got the job done, in reality, this began with Daniel, the doer of the word.

 

“By small and simple things are great things brought to pass……[and] by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.”  (Alma 37:6,7)

 

We might be the small and simple things but He is the mighty one who fulfils……

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

TO BE LIKE HIM

 

Divine Faith by Greg Collins

In the beginning,

When the worlds came to be

I created everything needful

For you to become like Me.

 

I planned, I considered,

I knew each of you separately,

And I hoped against hope

You would want to become like Me.

 

Now I hear each plea

And answer it carefully,

Leading you gently to

Your own Gethsemane,

To become like Me.

 

-       Cathryne Allen 

CYRUS THE GREAT

 

“When we say God has a plan, He truly has a plan – not simply a grand scale, but for each of us as individuals, allocating some special talent to this dispensation and some to another. I regard God as the perfect personnel manager, even though He must work with and through all of us who are so imperfect.

“I assume, gladly, that in the allocation to America of remarkable leaders like Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln, the Lord was just as careful. After all, if you’ve got only one AbrahamLincoln, you’d better put him in that part in history when he’s most needed – much as some of us might like to have him now.”

-          Neal A. Maxwell, Deposition of a Disciple, p 46

God uses people with talents and skills that He needs to accomplish His purposes and whom He can trust to do so, whether they be His followers or not: “God the father of us all, uses the men of the earth, especially good men, to accomplish his purposes. It has been true in the past, as it is true today, it will be true in the future.” (Elder Ezra Taft Benson, In Conference Report, April 1972, pp 48-49)

Cyrus, the King of Persia, who conquered Babylon in 539 B.C., and inherited the exiled Jews, whom the Saviour called ‘my shepherd’ and ‘my anointed’ was one such person whose destiny was planned by God of Israel himself and who has used him for His purpose. Cyrus was born between 580-590 B.C. The destruction of Solomon’s temple and the final wave of Judah’s exile into Babylon happened in 586 B.C. One hundred and forty years before the exile and before Cyrus was born, prophet Isaiah prophesied of his specific earthly mission for which God would raise him up, to liberate the captive Israel after 70 years of servitude (Isaiah 44:28-45:1-5).

“To trace the life of Cyrus from his birth to his death, whether he knew it or not, it looked as he lived by inspiration in all his movements. He began with that temperance and virtue which would sustain any Christian country or any Christian king….Many of these principles followed him, and I have thought many of them were worthy, in many respects, the attention of men who have the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” (Wilford Woodruff, Journal of Discourses, vol 22, p 207)

The military conquests of Cyrus were nothing short of remarkable. Empires virtually fell into his hands and by the time he reached Babylon, he was considered a liberator and not a conqueror. The citizens of Babylon welcomed him with open arms because of his intended reforms that would make life better and easier for the common man. Babylon that was a fortress to be reckoned with was overthrown in one night as the city opened its gates to him without a battle and this is why:

“Cyrus was a born ruler of men. He inaugurated a new policy in the treatment of conquered peoples. Instead of tyrannizing over them and holding them in subjection by brute force, he treated his subjects with consideration and won them as hie friends. He was particularly considerate of the religions of conquered peoples. The effect of this policy was to weld his subjects to him in a loyalty which made his reign an era of peace.” (Elmer W.K. Mould, Essentials of Bible History, pp 348-49)

Numerous commentators have denied that Isaiah named Cyrus as the liberator of the Jews so many years before he appeared. They have argued that his name was added to Isaiah’s prophecy after his conquest of Babylon and the help he gave to the Jewish nation. Josephus, the Jewish historian, recognized Isaiah’s prophecy to be valid by quoting letters from Cyrus confirming the prophet’s predictions (see Josephus, Antiquities, XI, 1,2).

Cyrus not only had respect for the people he governed but he had respect for God whom he acknowledged as the fountain of his success. The God of Israel worked with this man to ensure he fulfilled his purpose:

“…the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying: Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, the Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? His God be with him and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, HE IS THE GOD……”  (Ezra 1:2,3)

If only all of us were so willing to obey and to acknowledge God as the fountain of our blessings…..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Cyrus the Great by Unknown)

SENTRIES OF THE HEART

Like Israel of old

I foolishly sought man’s protection

And trusted in the arm of flesh

Until you showed me the strength

Of Your invincible arm

And how much easier You can make

My journey’s difficult path.

How foolish I was to trust in man’s might,

How foolish to seek mortal comfort

And settle for feeble sentries of the heart.

- Cathryne Allen 

(Art by LDS Bookstore)

 

THE COMFORT OF BONDAGE

 

 

It always amazes me how the Saviour never washes His hands of Israel no matter how unfaithful they have been. Even when they fall into captivity, He plans and puts into place the process of rescue well before it is supposed to take place. He is a God of order and success.  The return of the Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem 70 years after their captivity began, as predicted by Jeremiah in his book (25:11,12; 29:10) is the prime example of this.

Behind the fulfilment of this prophecy was a Persian king that Jehovah prepared who conquered Babylonians by the name of Cyrus. It is suggested by historians that when Cyrus conquered Babylon that he found Daniel there in his governmental capacity, and that Daniel pointed out to him the prophecy of Isaiah that was given 140 years before the fall of Jerusalem (Isaiah 44:28, 45). Adding seventy years after the fall, makes 210 years of prophecy before Cyrus even appeared in Babylon. Astonishing, isn’t it?

The prophecy states that the Lord would raise up a mighty king who would free the Jewish captives in Babylon and allow them to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and the holy city. Cyrus was so impressed with this prophecy about himself that he sent out the proclamation amongst the Jews in Babylon that ‘the Lord God of heaven had charged [him] to build him a house at Jerusalem’ (Ezra 1:2) and asked who among all of God’s people wanted to return. He actually offered freedom to anyone who wanted it.

Now this is the most astonishing bit. Approximately 50,000 people chose to return to Jerusalem while MOST chose not to return having been absorbed into the Babylonian way of life and the comfort of bondage. And this is why. In 605 BC King Nebuchadnezzar of the Neo-Babylonian Empire (now Iraq) was the beginning of Babylon’s greatness and glory. Using slaves from various areas of the empire, he inaugurated a massive building program to make Babylon the greatest city in the world. Opulence, greatness and glory was the object.

The grandeur of Babylon was incredibly impressive but with such opulence and wealth also came moral decay, wickedness and iniquity. Will Durant, a secular historian wrote that “even Alexander [the Great], who was not above dying of drinking was shocked by the morals of Babylon (Our Oriental Heritage, p 244).

Babylon became the antithesis of godliness. The very name of this city stood as the symbol for worldliness, spiritual wickedness and Satan’s kingdom. Scripturally it is known as: “the great whore” and “the mother of harlots and abominations (Rev 17:1; 5; D& C 133:14; 1:16; 1 Nephi 13:5-9; Babylonia and the Conquest of Judah, Old Testament Student Manual p 244).

There is one thing that stands out to me regarding Israel who fell into bondage with Babylon. God himself was in charge of this catastrophe promising Israel that He would bring a nation against them  because of their sins and rejection of Him as their God (Jeremiah 25:7-9). So this is what stands out…..He did not give them into bondage to just any nation but the worst there was, Babylon, a nation so spiritually corroded that it stands out as an obvious product of Israel’s idol worship.

In other words, if they wanted to worship false idols and gods, this is what they got…..spiritual decay and spiritual bondage. This is a classical example of cause and effect. You want other gods? You get what other gods can give you!

The name “Babylon” is today synonymous with ‘the world’. In Section 133 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the saints are commanded to ‘come out of Babylon’ in preparation for the Second Coming (v 5,7). So powerful is its grip that ancient Israelites did not want to leave it.  I wonder how many of us will heed the call this time…..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

HUMILITY 3

 

In Humility Our Savior by Jay Bryant Ward

It seems I cannot stop writing about this subject.

My close friend commented on one of my posts recently and pointed out how well it was done. I replied: “Of course it was because I’m a super-duper writer, a scriptorian and a spiritual giant!!! And the humility is off the charts!!!”  

We both laughed but the reality is that I AM a good writer because I went to the University and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in English; I AM a scriptorian, a miniature one but nevertheless….because I have studied the scriptures intently for the past 30 years; and I AM a spiritual giant because I have a gravitational pull towards the truth and anything of the spirit. I live for all three so I should by all means excel in all three.

Let me explain why this is important to me. I have come to my 60s feeling very inadequate about myself. I have written before about the reality of my upbringing in poverty in a socialist country. I was brought up with an ingrained idea that I am not as good as my friends who came from better households because their parents belonged to the communist party and were privy to jobs others could never get. Added to this was my generational poverty from ancestors who lived under the feudal system with overlords who subjected them to the idea that they can never rise above servitude. All this had an impact on me.

Fast forward to the age I became a member of Christ’s Church and His avid disciple at the age of 18. Since then my eyes have been opened to who I am and who I have always been as I have studied the teachings of the Church and the scriptures, endured many trials and difficulties which afforded growth and learning, and have had many revelations and insights into my pre-earth life and my character. I am daring to trust that I am much more than I was raised to believe.

I wrote in a previous post about the Saviour’s necessity to proclaim who He is, and to make His godly attributes and traits known, so that we can have faith in His saving power. Never at any time when I have read the scriptures did I get the impression that He was doing so out of pride. He was simply saying, this is who I am, believe in me.

We should, like Him, follow suit in recognizing our innate qualities and our growth. Most especially, following Christ and having a close relationship with Him, should lift us higher than our earthly flaws and humanity. We need to stand on higher ground so that we are able to lift others, like He has done. Humility should be just another attribute that we can be endowed with as we strive to become like Him.

Paul who called himself ‘the least of the apostles’ and the ‘chief of the sinners’ (1 Cor 15:9; 1 Timothy 1:15), became the greatest missionary in history because he knew who made a new person out of him and therefore he could say: “…but by the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Cor 15:10)

Humility springs in my heart

Like a well overflowing

With life giving water;

It quells the pride of my soul

And helps me see

I could never be the Me;

But for Thy grace

And Thy devotion

To make of me what   

I am meant to be. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN