Good News

A star
peasants
Angels!!!
a stable
a baby

Good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people

God with us

He is LORD!

Jesus Christ
the bread of life
the water of life
the satisfier of soul

the new birth
the new life
spiritual life

for all people
all nations
all ethnic groups

He is King of Kings
and Lord of Lords

Sad Farewill

I will no longer be posting to this blog
Three blogs and a website are too much to keep up with
Thanks to faithful readers

My opinions, humble and otherwise, will continue to be posted at Grandma Jean's Opinions

Spring Beauties are Blooming in WV

Got outside to walk today
First time in a while because of pollen and allergies

Walked several laps in light rain
(trusting the rain to rinse the air)

The Spring Beauties are blooming everywhere

And Again I Say

Jesus Christ is Lord!
He is risen from the dead
and He is LORD of all

Every knee shall bow
every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is LORD!

For God has given Him that name
the Name above all Names

The Scandal of Morality

Not only the scandal

of the incarnation
of the cross
of particularity

but there is the scandal of absolutes
of moral demands

God actually presumes to say
"Yes, there are absolutes. And here are some for starters."
like, for instance

There is One God*
worship Him only
and don't try to make physical representations of Him
(and to some, that "Him" is a scandal in itself)
take Him seriously
take time for worship of that One God
take care of your parents

and it gets worse
don't steal
don't commit adultery
don't kill
don't tell lies and spread gossip

don't covet what someone else has

Furthermore,

He has the expectation of transformation
of changed lives because of our experience
of His love and grace

For instance
"For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do-- living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry."
1 Peter 4:3, New International Version

And consider
"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 NIV


*Exodus 20

Restoration Project

An old Italianate-style mansion*
Old 1920s era oil paintings

canvas, glued to the wall in the dining room
dark, dingy, dismal, detail obscured by the years

a girl** moves in with
ladders
lights
bottles
swabs
brushes

she tests the surface
chooses solutions
gently begins to swab the surface

Behold!
the beauty of the original emerging
light
color
delicate detail

Old Roman ruins
fountain
exotic birds
a vase of flowers in the foreground
intricately ornamented

"I'm removing layers of
dust
soot
old yellowed varnish"

"I tested to see what was on the painting
so I know what solutions to use to restore"

"I have to swab very gently and continually watch that I'm not removing color"

As she works
the beauty of the artist's creation appears

My mind begins to draw parallels

God has a similar restoration project going on
on a vast scale

He is working to bring back all of creation
to its original beauty and purpose

To restore what was damaged in the rebellion against His intentions

To restore His image in the human race
each of us individually and particularly

He tests and tries us
He knows what the problem is
He has provided the solution

Redemption through His Son
Our Savior, Jesus the Messiah

Who brings us back into the relationship
for which we are intended
knowledge of our Creator
and fellowship with Him

And not only people
but all of creation
everything that has been affected by our sin and rebellion

Glory be to God on High
and Peace on Earth
Good will to men!


*St. Joseph Center, Wheeling, WV
(304) 232-8160
Sr. Mary Clark, Director

**Judy from
Trinity Artisans
(570) 474-5822