The Servant’s Heritage

By Larry Doyle Crenshaw

MeditationsInLight.Blogspot.com

 Servants of God and His kingdom’s cause

Inherit the blessings God has avowed

And as we serve Him, His word and laws

We become His heirs, hallowed and endowed

In a world ever more focused on serving the self, the nobleness of true servanthood is often obscured and unrecognized.  Yet, if we profess the Christian cause, then we would do well to acquire the traits and perform the practices of true servants.  The practice of Servanthood requires few skills but an enormous amount of focus directed toward the needs of others.

There was One, of course, who provided an advanced course in Servanthood.  From washing the dirty feet of others, to cleansing souls via His Atonement, the Lord, Jesus defined Servanthood for all of us.  His example and His message underscored the amazing principle that when we serving God’s children, we are serving their Father.  Hence, our mortal curriculum is filled with daily opportunities for charitable, Godly service

Yet Servanthood is not empty of recompense.  There is an amazing grace and tender mercy that accompanies our Godly service.  For as we sacrifice our time, our energies and means in behalf of others, and as we help build God’s kingdom, we are imbued with greater light, more spiritual energy, and greater capacity.   In our pursuit to “bear one another’s burdens,” (Galatians 6:2) and to “lift up the hands that hang down,” or “strengthen the feeble knees,” (Hebrews 12:12) we find our own burdens lighter, our hands and arms lifted up, and our knees strengthened.  Thus, we become more hallowed and sanctified as the law of Christ is fulfilled in our Servanthood.  This is what the ancient prophet referred to as, “the heritage of the servants of the Lord.” (Isaiah 54:17)

Hence, our meditative verse declares:

This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord

Whose righteousness is of Him forevermore

An eternal bequest of glory is our reward

As we enter Heaven’s Gate to go out nevermore

 The Servant’s Heritage

7  For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee.

8  In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer….  10 For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee….  13 And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children…. 17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall revile against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.

Book of Mormon   3 Nephi 22:7-8, 10,13,17  (Isaiah 54:17)

Servants of God and His kingdom’s cause

Inherit the blessings God has avowed

And as we serve Him, His word and laws

We become His heirs, hallowed and endowed

Though God on occasion may hide His face

His compassion and mercy is soon shown

He blesses with power, love and grace

Vowing to forsake not, nor ever disown

Faithful servants need never fear

God’s armor is a defense and shield

And guardian angels are ever near

As the sword of the Spirit they wield

Righteous servants are protected

As the world battles the blest

Enemies are subdued and subjected

And no weapon against them shall molest

This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord

Whose righteousness is of Him forevermore

An eternal bequest of glory is our reward

As we enter Heaven’s Gate to go out nevermore

Larry Doyle Crenshaw

The Tent of Zion

By Larry D. Crenshaw

MeditationsInLight.Blogspot.com

The desert tent: the ancient nomadic residence

Walls and rooms made of woven goats’ hair

Poles, cords and stakes around its circumference

Warm in the night - cool in the desert-sun’s glare

Jewish history until mid-1900 is a record of thousands of years of captivity, subjection, and disbursement into unknown lands. Although scattered throughout the earth, those of Israel's blood have always sought a return to their homeland spurred by the Biblical promise found in Deuteronomy 30:1-5

1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee,  2 And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;  3 That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.  4 If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:  5 And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.

In ancient times the tent-tabernacle of the wilderness and later, the temple on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, became the place of holiness and the emblem of Israel’s Godly devotions.  For wanderers in distant lands, gathering to Zion (Jerusalem, the home of the temple) was often a life-long, centuries-long pursuit.

 The tent of desert nomads provides an interesting metaphor for Zion’s search for habitation.   Providing shelter from the desert heat in the daytime and warmth from the desert cold at night, the nomadic tent was a place of transient residence and protection. Its interior was divided into rooms by curtains of woven goat hair.  Stable against desert storms, it was held up by strong poles flexible enough to bend against the winds without breaking.  Extending from the poles were strong cords anchored into the ground by stakes driven deeply into the sand and soil.  Gathering to Zion was seen as gathering to a place of safety and security – a place of peaceful residence like the ancient nomadic tents.

One of the many definitions or interpretations of Zion is that it not only represents a holy place, but also a holy, covenant people known as “the pure in heart.”  People become Zion as they become “children of the covenant” via adoption through baptism into Christ’s church.  One becomes pure by honoring baptismal covenants, exercising faith unto works (James 2:17).  Finally, when all is done within our power to work out our salvation, God’s grace completes the process driving out all impurities and we, as a people, become Zion – the pure in heart. 

The meditative verse The Tent of Zion takes up this theme as it reflects on the nomadic tent, curtains, poles, stakes, and cords – each a metaphor of Zion –each a metaphor with even deeper meanings. 

Zion, the pure in heart, is thus gathered and grown

Anchored by stakes firmly secured with priestly cords 

Allowing covenant blessings to be reaped when sown

As citizens of Zion are blessed with eternal rewards

The Tents of Zion

And then shall that which is written come to pass: Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child; for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.  Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thy habitations; spare not, lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy stakes;   For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left, and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

Old Testament, Isaiah 54:2; Book of Mormon   3 Nephi 22:1-3

The desert tent: the ancient nomadic residence

Walls and rooms made of woven goats’ hair

Poles, cords and stakes around its circumference

Warm in the night - cool in the desert-sun’s glare

Like the ancient tent of desert habitations

Zion is where the pure in heart may dwell

Protected from the desert’s stormy tribulations

Sheltering wanderers, keeping them safe and well

The Lord commands “enlarge the place of thy tent”

And thus, Zion grows, expands, and is multiplied

 “Stretch forth the curtains of thy habitation” is meant

To make room for our spiritual needs to be supplied

“Lengthen thy cords” expands Zion’s habitation

Extending its power and impact in all the world

“Strengthen thy stakes” secures Zion’s foundation

As the banner of Zion is raised and unfurled

Zion, the pure in heart, is thus gathered and grown

Anchored by stakes firmly secured with priestly cords 

Allowing covenant blessings to be reaped when sown

As citizens of Zion are blessed with eternal rewards

May our habitation be in Zion, the pure in heart

A people bound by covenants with the Lord

Faithful servants with Godly service to impart

Strengthening the tent of Zion with one accord

Larry Doyle Crenshaw

Children of the Covenant

By Larry Doyle Crenshaw

MeditationsInLight.Blogspot.com

Children of the covenant – an honored name

A Godly progeny, a peculiar and holy nation

Children of the prophets whose doctrines we claim

Children and heirs of the promise before creation

There exists an ancient covenant from the days of Adam and Eve and even before in the great planning councils of creation, wherein God offers knowledge, power, and the way and means to return to His presence.  This covenant process works somewhat like a school where the principles and practices of a Godly life are given by God and received by His children through covenants and then celebrated by rituals called ordinances.  Those who enroll and pursue this Godly course may be properly called Children of the Covenant.  Thus, the scriptures proclaim “25 Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.”  (Acts 3:25)

Biblical scholars cannot agree regarding the number of covenants or which ones are conditional or unconditional.  Many look at God’s dealings with man and divide His expectations and promises into seven specific covenants.   From a Biblical point of view these covenants include the (1) Adamic, Edenic, or Creation Covenant, - Genesis 1:26-30, 2:16-17, and 3:15-19, (2) Noahic, - Genesis 9, (3) Abrahamic,  - Genesis 17:4-5, 12:3, (4) Palestinian or Land Covenant, - Deuteronomy 30:1-10, (5) Mosaic, - Exodus 20,  Deuteronomy 11:26-28,  (6) Davidic, - 2 Samuel 8-16  and (7) New Covenant. – Jeremiah 31:31-34, Matthew 5:17.  Some scholars further sub-divide these and some combine these covenants. 

One theological approach suggests that as God is everlasting and is “the same yesterday, today, and forever,” (Hebrews 13:8), then His covenant is everlasting and not so much as different in each dispensational period, but renewed following periods of apostasy from His ways.  Hence, each time His covenant is renewed, it becomes a “New and Everlasting Covenant” for its new recipients and for which they are and will be accountable.  This understanding appears very consistent with God’s dealings with His children in all times and places.

The “conditional – unconditional” covenant debate appears to put too fine a point on the exact language that may or may not have been used in the bestowal of the covenant.  As any parent can attest, ALL parents put bounds and conditions upon their children’s behavior and actions, declaring what will happen if there is an infraction, or what reward will be given with obedience.  Even parental love is subject to the bounds and conditions set by the child who may create rules and conditions for accepting the parent’s often unyielding love.  Such has always been the case with God’s covenant children.  Our Father in Heaven has always been generous to His children.  While His reasons and purposes for declaring the House of Israel His chosen people, He provides a way and means for ALL of His children regardless of race or gender, or nationality to be a part of His divine family.  Whether by lineage or adoption, we can be a covenant child of God.  Thus, the invitation to ALL to come unto Christ.  29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”  (Galatians 3:29)

Thus, being children of the covenant, regardless of one’s dispensational perspective, is a high and holy calling and achievement - one that requires constant vigilance, dedication, and perseverance.  And, from time to time, a remedial course in repentance and re-learning the basic tenants of the covenant until we “get it right.”

Our mediation, Children of the Covenant, celebrates this noble birthright and pleads:

May we honor our covenant title and name

And be virtuous in all we think, feel, and do

May our actions confirm our convictions and claim

Our Godly endowment as our covenants we renew

Children of the Covenant

Verily I say unto you, yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have testified of me.  And behold, ye are the children of the prophets; and ye are of the house of Israel; and ye are of the covenant which the Father made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham: And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.  The Father having raised me up unto you first, and sent me to bless you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities; and this because ye are the children of the covenant—

Book of Mormon   3 Nephi 20:24-26

Children of the covenant – an honored name

A Godly progeny, a peculiar and holy nation

Children of the prophets whose doctrines we claim

Children and heirs of the promise before creation

Covenant children, inheritors of the divine crest

Endowed through the covenants we embrace

By ordinances filled with light - we are blessed

Inheritors of Godly power, truth and grace

Covenant children entitled to help and protection

As God hedges up the way and turns us from sin

Like a shepherd watching his sheep with affection

Jesus loves, watches, and guides His covenant kin

A child of the covenant is a holy appointment

Worthy of our finest effort and best behavior

Often requiring Christ’s atoning ointment

As we are saved by the grace of our Savior 

May we honor our covenant title and name

And be virtuous in all we think, feel, and do

May our actions confirm our convictions and claim

Our Godly endowment as our covenants we renew

Larry Doyle Crenshaw

The Other, Other Sheep

And verily, verily, I say unto you that I have other sheep, which are not of this land, neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither in any parts of that land round about whither I have been to minister.  For they of whom I speak are they who have not as yet heard my voice; neither have I at any time manifested myself unto them.  But I have received a commandment of the Father that I shall go unto them, and that they shall hear my voice, and shall be numbered among my sheep, that there may be one fold and one shepherd; therefore I go to show myself unto them.

Book of Mormon   3 Nephi 16:1-3

The Good Shepherd loves His sheep

Ministering to His flocks, each and every one

His covenants for them to ponder and keep

Judging with equity when mortality is done

His flock in Jerusalem we know quite well

And of His sheep in America we have a record

But of His other, other sheep we have little to tell

Only a passing reference, spoken by the Lord

Declaring that they too will hear his voice

That there may be one Shepherd and one fold

That all may receive His gospel and rejoice

As His kingdom comes forth in glory to behold

Who are these other, other sheep

Who have heard the Shepherd’s voice

Who, like us, have covenants to keep

Who, like us, at His coming, will rejoice

We know not who or where they are

But as they hear the Shepherd’s call

They’ll come from both near and far

Into His fold, one Shepherd for all

We await the day when His flocks are united

A day when all saints are gathered as one

As the scriptures and Prophets have recited

A day of gathering all things under The Son

As we seek out and minister to our spiritual kin

Let us be as Jesus – His love generous and deep

Serving as ministers of solace to our fellow men

Agents of the Covenant to His other, other sheep

 Larry Doyle Crenshaw

The Other, Other Sheep

By Larry Doyle Crenshaw

MeditationsInLight.Blogspot.com

As we seek out and minister to our spiritual kin

Let us be as Jesus – His love generous and deep

Serving as ministers of solace to our fellow men

Agents of the Covenant to His other, other sheep

We were recently reminded of the potent power of symbolism while comparing themes of the early 1^st century Christian church, to that of the 3^rd century church, and then later to that of the symbols of the protestant reformation churches.  For example, the cross or crucifix only became an entrenched symbol of Christianity in the 3^rd century under Constantine.  Later, in the 16^th century and beyond, the protestant reformers were split on the use of religious symbols with the Lutherans a little more accepting of art adorning their chapels, while other reformers tore down or painted over such works.

That leaves us with the question, what of the early Christians – those who lived within a 100 years of the Savior’s death and resurrection?  What was the central theme or symbol of their faith?  It was only about 150 years ago that the answer was revealed with the discovery of the catacombs – the ancient burial places of many of the early Christians.  There on the walls were painted or etched throughout, three themes – “the Good Shepherd,” “the Fish,” and “the Vine.”

As described by one of the great Christian historians of the 19^th century, Dr. Phillip Schaff, “Roman Catholic cemeteries are easily recognized by crosses, crucifixes, and reference to purgatory and prayers for the dead; Protestant cemeteries by the frequency of Scripture passages in the epitaphs, and the expressions of hope and joy in prospect of the immediate transition of the pious dead to the presence of Christ. The catacombs have a character of their own, which distinguishes them from Roman Catholic as well as Protestant cemeteries.  Their most characteristic symbols and pictures are the Good Shepherd, the Fish, and the Vine. These symbols almost wholly disappeared after the fourth century, but to the mind of the early Christians they vividly expressed, in childlike simplicity, what is essential to Christians of all creeds, the idea of Christ and his salvation, as the only comfort in life and in death.

The Shepherd … suggested the recovery of the lost sheep, the tender care and protection, the green pasture and fresh fountain, the sacrifice of life: in a word, the whole picture of a Saviour …. The Fish expressed the same idea of salvation, under a different form, and (associating) the fish with daily food and the baptismal water of regeneration. The Vine again sets forth the vital union of the believer with Christ and the vital communion of all believers among themselves.” - History of the Christian Church, Schaff, (7 vols., 1858–1890).

One cannot read the Bible or other scriptural works without being impressed by the imagery of the Good Shepherd and His sheep.  From the Shepherd of the 23^rd Psalms to Isaiah 53’s “lamb to the slaughter,” to “the marriage of the lamb,” in Revelations 19 we are taught about the attributes of Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer through the imagery of sheep, lambs, and Shepherds.

Our meditational verse focuses on one such metaphor in John 10:16, “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”  Theologians have wrestled with this verse for ages – most believing that the “other sheep” were the gentiles, but other scholars have suggested otherwise, and generally concluded it to be one of the lesser important mysteries.

One ancient scriptural text says that the inhabitants of the new world – descendants of Israel - are the “other sheep.”  Whether one believes this scriptural account or not, it does present an interesting question. For, in the text Jesus visits these people following His crucifixion and tells them that they are His other sheep, and then He says that He has “other sheep” not in Jerusalem nor any other people that He spoke to during His mortal ministry - saying that they too, “shall hear my voice and be numbered among my sheep….”  These are His “other, other sheep” who are or were among us.

From a salvational point of view, most of us can believe that the Lord loves all of His sheep in all ages and in all places, and, in one way or another, sees to it that they hear his voice and have an opportunity to be of His fold.  There is much yet to be learned about all of the Lord’s other, other sheep –

We know not who or where they are

But as they hear the Shepherd’s call

They’ll come from both near and far

Into His fold, one Shepherd for all

Larry Doyle Crenshaw