I have much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving season - as became evident when my car hit some ice coming down a steep mountain, slid off the road, and flipped completely over in a gulley. You feel very vulnerable when you are hanging upside down in your car, wondering if you will even be able to get out! Fortunately, no one was hurt - but it was scary and I'm waiting to see how much damage was done to my car.
“He may be considered one of
the most extraordinary characters that ever the heathen world produced: his
mildness, courage, perseverance, success, and, above all, his strict obedience
to the command of that God which neither he nor his fathers had
known, all go to prove that Isaiah was not mistaken when he called him by name,
as the Lord's anointed, to deliver the nations from bondage, to scourge and
subdue the greatest city and monarchy that have at any time existed on the
earth, and to restore the Jews, and rebuild their city and temple. Indeed, he
was one of those few whom the world never produces except for extraordinary
purposes. But let us hear the Prophet's own description of him, Isaiah, chapter
45: "Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I
have holden to subdue nations before him: and I will loose the loins of kings,
to open before him the two-leaved gates, and the gates shall not be shut. I
will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in
pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron. And I will
give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that
thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of
Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even
called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.
I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded
thee, though thou hast not known me: that they may know from the rising of the
sun, and from the west, that there is none besides me." In the 13th verse,
he says: "I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his
ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price
nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts." The reader will bear in mind that
Isaiah lived about one hundred years before the Jewish captivity, and one
hundred and seventy years before Cyrus caused their return.
Here I would pause and inquire, What
power but the power of the great God could enable one man to call another by
name, a century before his birth, and also to foretell correctly the history of
his life? What must have been his wonder and astonishment, when, after many
years of wars and commotions, during which he marched forth, conquering and to
conquer, gathering as a nest the riches of the nations, he at last pitched his
camp near the walls of the strongest hold in all the earth? He gazed upon its
walls of upwards of three hundred feet in height, with its gates of brass and
its bars of iron: the people within feeling perfectly safe, with provisions
enough to last the inhabitants of the city for several years. How could he
think of taking that city? Who would not have shrunk from such an undertaking,
unless inspired by the great Jehovah? But, turning the river Euphrates from its
course, and marching under the walls of the city, in the dried bed of the
river, he found himself in possession of the city, without any difficulty; for
Belshazzar, the king, was drinking himself drunk, with his nobles and
concubines, and that, too, from the vessels of the House of the Lord which his
father had taken from Jerusalem, and his knees had already smote together with
horror, from the handwriting on the wall, which Daniel had just been called in
to interpret, giving his kingdom to the Medes and Persians. Having subdued this
great monarchy, he seated himself upon the throne of kingdoms; and, becoming
familiar with Daniel, he was, no doubt, introduced to an acquaintance with the
Jewish records, and then the mystery was unfolded: he could then see that God
had called him by name, that the Almighty hand girded him for the battle, and
directed all his work; he could then understand why the treasures of the earth
poured themselves into his bosom, and why the loins of kings had been unloosed
before him, and why the gates of brass had been opened, and the bars of iron
burst asunder. It was that he might know that there was a God in Israel,
and none else, and that all idols were as nothing; that he might also restore
the Jews, and rebuild their city and temple, and fulfil God's purposes upon
Babylon. He accordingly issued his proclamation to the Jews to return, and
for the nations to assist them in rebuilding, "for," said he,
"God hath commanded me to build him an house at Jerusalem." Ezra,
chapter 1, 2, 3, says: "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 Judea. Who is there among you of
all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is
in Judea, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, he is the God which is
in Jerusalem."
What powerful argument, what
mighty influence was it which caused Cyrus to be convinced that it was the God
of heaven who dwelt at Jerusalem, who alone was God, and who had done all these
things? He had not been traditioned in the belief of the true God, nor of the
holy Scriptures. Nay, he had ever been very zealous in the worship of idols; it
was to idols he looked for assistance in the former part of his life. I reply,
it was the power of God, made manifest by prophecy and its fulfilment; not in a
spiritualized sense, not in some obscure, uncertain, or dark, mysterious way,
which was difficult to be understood; but in positive, literal, plain
demonstration, which none could gainsay or resist. Isaiah says that this was
the object the Lord had in view when he revealed such plainness. And Cyrus
manifested that it had the desired effect.
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I absolutely marvel at:
It doesn't matter where Theo is - he is comfortable with his body as shown in this short video from Madrid, Spain. If everything seems upside down since he returned to Provo, it may because he did this too much.
And here is Cy in Madrid entertaining Nancy:
Felix, however, amazed us the most - how comfortable he was, going out by himself during the day or night, venturing around Madrid at only 14 years of age. It was a real blessing to be greeted by Bree, Collin, Felix, Theo and Cy when we arrived in Madrid. It made all the difference to helping us get comfortable traveling in Europe without being able to speak or understand the language.
Saturday, April 16th, I married Nancy Toth, who I would like to introduce to my family and friends. We are holding an open house from 6 – 9 p.m. on Tuesday evening May 24th at 369 N 700 E in Orem, UT and hope that family and friends in the area can attend. We are downsizing and request that the only presents you bring are your own personal presence. We hope you can attend.
I think we can all agree that good memories are better than bad ones, and life is more interesting when you have someone with whom you can create, celebrate, and reminisce with about cherished experiences. It has been a long time since I have had a partner to mutually plan and pursue dreams.
Last fall, I joined an online dating site for those affiliated with my religious faith - which is a bit intimidating and brings back some of the anxiety related to being a young single adult. It is a very different experience, however, when you are a senior citizen getting acquainted remotely over the Internet. Rather than being a competition where you are trying to impress someone, the focus is more about common beliefs, interests, goals, and maximizing happiness.
I feel very fortunate to have found someone through this cyber
experience who shares so many of my values and ambitions. Let me introduce Nancy Toth, who I would describe as “being out of this world”. Considering Nancy is from Roswell, New Mexico,
this is not such an “alien” idea.
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