THE GLORIOUS GOD OF ISRAEL

 

I am overcome this morning. Every time I study the Old Testament and revisit the magnitude of Israel’s exodus from Egypt I am overwhelmed with the power of our God. I cannot imagine the magnitude of this momentous undertaking. The census in the book of Numbers puts the number of men over 20 who were capable of engaging in war at 653,050 (Numbers 1:46). When adding women and children, it is estimated by historians that the total number of Israel’s congregation would have been close to 2 million. That number would have increased over the 40 years of journeying. Imagine this magnitude of people marching and camping for 40 years. Now imagine being in charge of the whole operation…… No wonder Moses exclaimed: I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me!” (Numbers 11:14). But Moses did bear it because of one reason only…..because of the God of Israel….who travelled with His chosen people and went before them in a cloud by day (Numbers 10:34; Psalm 78:14) and bade them rest by night (Numbers 9:21-23). 

 

I cannot adequately express in words what splendour the march of Israel conjured in my mind as I read how this was accomplished. The Saviour instructed Moses the congregation should march in groups of 4, with each group consisting of 3 tribes, on the west, south, east and north surrounding the tabernacle with Levites who were consecrated to the service of caring for the tabernacle and priesthood ordinances within, to be in the middle. The places of honour, at the head and immediately following the tabernacle and the Levites were held by Judah and Ephraim (Numbers 2). I imagine Judah because Christ was to come from that line and Ephraim because He is God’s firstborn:”…for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn” (Jeremiah 31:9) and because the 10 tribes will be crowned with glory at Ephraims’ hands (D&C 133:32). Those of you who are of this tribe should weep at such a statement. If you are, you are my people. It seriously sears my heart every time I read this. 

 

My only hope is that I was allowed to view the solemnity of Israel’s historic journey in my pre-existent state. Why does this touch my heart so?  Because the deliverance of our people Israel shows me the Saviour’s power of deliverance of my soul. My heart is filled with gratitude this day for the God that I worship. There is no feat He cannot accomplish, there is no power He does not have, there is no sin He cannot forgive, there is nothing He cannot accomplish with me. I want to sing the song of redeeming love and shout from the rooftops: glory be His forever and ever!!!!

Thou art our everlasting God,

Jehovah, our King,

Who has loved us and chosen us as Thine own.

We bow before Thee and bend the knee,

In solemnity, we offer our hearts to Thee.

Keep us as the apple of Thine eye,

Hide us under the shadow of Thy wings

That we might never stray again

And cause Thee sorrow;

And help us wait for Thee

In the dawning of tomorrow. 

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Second Coming by Jon McNaughton)

HIS HOLY WORD

 

 

The most exhilarating part of the Saviour's earthly life would have to be post resurrection. One can only imagine the hope and speculation that would have circulated in the midst of His followers as the news spread that He lived again. My favourite of the events recorded of that time is His walk with two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32). It is of great marvel to me that when the two men recounted the story of His crucifixion and resurrection with dubious narration, the Saviour did not reveal himself to them to prove the story was true. Instead He chose to expound all the scriptures concerning himself (Luke 24:27) because they testify of Him as the Messiah and the Saviour of the world (John 5:39). It was not until after the scriptures were expounded to them and the Saviour had departed, that the two disciples understood who He was. I have often wondered what the lesson in this was. What was the Saviour trying to teach them? Perhaps that having the scriptures is the same as having Him in their midst as with the scriptures comes the power of the Holy Ghost which testifies of His divinity. This is attested by the two disciples who proclaimed upon His departure from them, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he........opened to us the scriptures?" (Luke 24:32).

Who do you see when you study the scriptures? The brave Jeremiah, the poetic Isaiah, the obedient Nephi, the repentant Alma? It is hard not to see these prominent and prolific figures. The challenge is and always will be, however, to see Christ on every page; whether in prophecies, in doctrine, in His dealings with humanity or valuable lessons learnt through the characters enshrined in the holy writ. I will tell you what I see: in the Old Testament I see the merciful Jehovah; in the New Testament I see the loving Saviour; in the Book of Mormon, I see the promised Messiah;  in the Doctrine and Covenants I see the majestic Christ; and in The Pearl of Great Price, I see the pre-mortal God and the author of our salvation. We might not have Him with us still…..but really we have Him with us still….

 

 

Daily I stand in my holy place

As I feast on Thy holy word,

Ever hopeful I will meet You there

Thy Spirit to embrace

And the cares of this world to arrest;

To entreat a peaceful heart

To renew my might,

To dare to endure.

I reach for You in darkness

And step up to heaven’s door;

I am bathed in light

And am granted entrance to Your heart.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Road to Emmaus by Liz Lemon Swindle)

TO SUFFER THE BLOW

 

I have heard it said by some that the Saviour pressed on and performed the Atonement because of His love for us. There is no denying the love but the main reason He did so was because of His submission to do the will of the Father. Consider these scriptures among many that attest to this truth: “I have suffered the will of the Father in all things….” (3 Nephi 11:11); I am Jesus Christ; I came by the will of the Father, and I do his will” (D&C 19:24). 

 

Remember King Benjamin’s discourse on overcoming the natural man, part of which states that we need to be willing ‘to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict’ upon us (Mosiah 3:19)? “Inflict” is a hard word. The dictionary defines it as: to impose as something that must be borne or suffered; to impose anything unwelcome; to deal or deliver as a blow. 

 

What stands out to me the most about the Atonement is the Saviour’s complete willingness to suffer ‘the blow’. Before facing the agony of Gethsemane, Jesus said to His disciples that the hour was coming when they would be scattered and go their own way leaving Him alone and then He said: “….yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me” (John 16:32). On another occasion He clarified this by saying: “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29). These statements indicate that He had confidence in Father’s assistance for the duration of His upcoming crucible because He was willing to do His will. Imagine His surprise when that assistance was withdrawn; when He became ‘sore amazed’ (Mark 14:33) to the point of asking: “My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Did He have the power to come down from the cross when that question crossed His lips? Yes He did. But even when He felt abandoned, He pressed on submitting to Father’s will, no matter how gruesome the inflicted ‘blow. And then He was able to say prior to His last moment: “….Father it is finished, thy will is done….” (JST Matthew 27:50a)

 

We might have to suffer some blows in this life. And we might have to suffer them alone. But fortunate for us Christ has suffered the greatest blow of all. By virtue of our discipleship, we have access to His  reservoir of endurance, strength and power that is offered to all the faithful. May we be able to say, without trepidation and fear: “I do always those things that please Him”, following the example of Him who submitted to it all that He might overcome all and make it possible for us to bear it all.

 

I marvel at Thy willingness

To descend from the regions of bliss

That was Thy heavenly abode

To become a refuge from the billowing storm,

To pay the ransom for my soul.

 

You lift me up and carry me

Upon Thy wings of hope;

You wipe the tears from my face

And tell me I am strong enough to cope.

 

You are my treasure

My love and my all,

I bow in reverence 

before the foot of Thy throne.

 

 

 - CATHRYNE ALLEN

ART: Behold the Man by Christopher Young

GUIDANCE OF THE HOLY GHOST

 

 

“Our Saviour and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, will perform some of His mightiest works between now and when He comes again….But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.” (President Russell M. Nelson, “Revelation for the Church, Revelation of Our Lives”, General Conference 2018).

 

We read in the Parable of the Ten Virgins that only five virgins had enough oil in their lamps which illuminated their way to find and greet the Bridegroom who came unexpectedly (Matthew 25:1-13). Obviously the oil was significant and necessary because it provided light for them to see their way. Here is the real significance of the oil that is worthy of OUR notice. Oil was used in the scriptures to symbolise the Holy Ghost (D&C 45:56,57). This is the guiding influence of which President Nelson spoke. Will we allow the light of the Holy Ghost to guide us through the many untruths and opposition to the Gospel doctrines of our day? Is he illuminating our way to the wedding feast, as we speak, to meet the Bridegroom when He suddenly comes? When the day comes, it will be too late to accumulate enough light. The time is now.

 

I would gladly give you some oil

Your empty lamp to fill,

If you could glean the sweat

From my furrowed brow

As I worked on the oil press

So diligently until now.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

THE CRUCIBLE OF HIS LIFE

 

 

As Easter approaches and many of us are struggling with ever increasing hardships, may we reflect on all that the Saviour suffered in HIS hard life:

• Members of His family did not at first accept Him as the Messiah (John 7:5);
• People in His home town sought to kill Him (Luke 4:16-30);
• His countrymen rejected His Messianic calling (John 1:11);
• One friend betrayed Him, another denied knowing Him (Luke 22:48, 54-62);
• In the end all His disciples forsook Him and fled (Matthew 25:56);
• His enemies demanded His crucifixion (Matthew 27:22-23)

We all know how the story ended.....the climax of His life, the crucible of Gethsemane and Calvary.....surely He who has 'borne our griefs and carried our sorrows' (Isaiah 53:4) has the ability to empower us to weather our storms and bear us up to endure the vicissitudes of life in these the last days.....

 

Be strong no matter what happens and believe……

 

I was tempted my problems

To lay to Your charge,

I considered them acutely unfair;

Then You opened my heart

And showed me Your godly task

Beyond human capacity to bear.

Knowing where you had gone

I would never need to go,

I sorrowed and sought my arrogance to bury;

In humility I assent ,

Your mortal burden:

So valiant, so holy

I would never in this life have to carry.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Jon McNaughton)

THE LAMB OF GOD

 

The year I studied animal sacrifice in depth, I came to understand the Atonement at a deeper level. I was absolutely mesmerised by this practice and longed to witness it in the flesh because I am a highly visual person and I love symbolism. Understanding animal sacrifice has made me see the necessity of the principle of consecration in my life. 

 

This is what touched me the most: A part of the animal sacrifice ceremony included the priest applying a small amount of animal’s blood to the tip of the right ear, the right thumb and the great toe of the right foot of the person to be consecrated.  This is what it meant:

 

·      On the tip of the ear: sanctifying the organ of hearing God’s word;

·      On the thumb of right hand: sanctifying the organ of action; 

·      On the great toe of right foot: sanctifying the organ of walking and following God.

 

I tremble at the thought of having such highly significant symbol of Christ’s sacrificial blood being applied to me. When I read this I wondered how I could apply this symbolism to my personal consecration and it came to me that just as Christ sacrificed Himself totally and completely for my sake, my sacrifice to Him must be through: my thoughts, my speech, my attitudes, my beliefs, my desires, my intents, my actions. My mind is taken back to His sacrifice in my daily prayers as I promise to consecrate myself to the Father in thought, word and deed and promise to walk in paths of righteousness. I cannot utter these words without the image of the priest applying sacrificial blood to my ear, thumb and toe.

 

The Saviour expects nothing of us that He himself did not do. Consider His total consecration to the Father which made Him ‘the lamb without blemish’ (1 Peter 1:19): “Had there been one thought in the mind of Jesus which was not perfectly given to God; had there been but one affection in the heart of Jesus which was not yielded to His Father’s will; had there been one step in the walk of Jesus which was taken not for God, but for His own pleasure; then He could not have offered Himself or been accepted as a ‘whole burnt- offering….but Jesus gave up all: He reserved nothing. All was burnt, all consumed, upon the altar.” (Jukes, Law of the Offerings, pp 63-64).

 

This Easter as we contemplate His total consecration to God on our behalf, may we commit to consecrate ourselves each day to walk in His footsteps and be deserving of every drop so precious and pure that paved the way to Calvary.

 

Thy infinite mercy

Thy limitless goodness

Thy bountiful compassion,

A gift to him who loveth Thee;

Trailing from the cross of Calvary,

Sealed with Your hour of agony.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Artist unknown)