June 30th, 2018

Our New Family

“When Jesus saw His mother standing there, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, ‘Dear woman, here is your son’ and to the disciple, ‘here is your mother.”  John 19:26-27

The gospel of John 19:26-27 gives us the third saying of Jesus.  He speaks words of affection and hope to a woman and a man – Mary, his mother, and John, the disciple whom Jesus loved.  He addressed the woman who had remained, and the man who had returned, after abandoning Jesus.  Jesus spoke these words to them: “Woman, here is your son” and to John He spoke, “Here is your mother.”

As Jesus was departing, He was arranging the relationship of those who would remain.  His words of love and affection showed His concern for them, and yes, for us.  Christ took care of our spiritual family as He suffered on that cross.  He was establishing the church – the body of Christ, before He died.  He pointed the woman and the man to each other, so they would be united and connected through Christ, to one another.  It was the church, us here today, drawn by the power of God to care for one another, honor one another, prefer one another. As Jesus was demonstrating love by laying down His life for His friends – for us – He honored and preferred us.

 Our spiritual family was placed in God’s divine order.  It was a beautiful portrait of devotion from the sinless Son of God.  The provisions of the will and testament were being secured before Jesus breathed His last breath.  He was setting the church in order.  He was instructing the mother and the apostle – the unrelated – that they would be connected.  This was done for us, so that we might, as strangers, be united and connected in Christ – that we might care for each other in a healthy, obedient way – bearing one another’s burdens while each of us carries our own load. He wanted us to know that we are never alone because of Him.  We are part of God’s family and we are related, we are forever connected, because of Jesus. 

June 29th, 2018

Call to Me

“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you do not know.”  Jer. 33:3

We come to God with our lists, our petitions, and our intercession.  We talk and talk, until we finish the list.  How often do we approach our Father and ask Him, “God, what is on Your heart today?  What is Your heating beating for?  Is Your heart broken over someone, or something?  Father, please let me know Your heart today, even when it hurts.  What is important today to You, that I can pray for?  Father, I am calling out to You today to show me great and mighty things I do not know.  Let me know Your heart, God.”

God will be faithful to reveal His heart, His will to us.  He will show us what to pray.  He will show us how to pray.  He will lead us into agreement with Him in prayer.  Agreement with God generates power! 

To call is a verbal message intended for a specific audience – and in prayer that audience is God.  It can be prophetic in nature as a message given to a person.  It also can be prolonged or continuous calling.  We call out to God.  As He reveals His mysteries to us, we then call those revealed mysteries out (declare or proclaim) to whomever or wherever He has chosen. Sometimes we call out His heart in prayer.  Other times we will call out His revealed heart in a word of knowledge or in an instruction.  We call out to God and as He tells us things we do not know, we can then in turn pray those back to Him.  How wonderful it is to call upon the Lord!

June 28th, 2018

A New Righteousness

“Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”  Rom. 10:4

The law, given by God to Moses for Israel, pointed to Jesus the Messiah.  The law is good; in fact, Paul writes that is it “holy.”  The law served one of its purposes in bringing attention to sin, as shown by the Ten Commandments.  It is much like telling a child not to touch the hot burner on a stove.  Thought it is important to instruct the child, now it had drawn the child’s attention to the hot burner on the stove.  Many children touch it and get a burn.

Jesus Christ came to complete and fulfill the law to bring a new kind of righteousness.  Paul was writing in Romans 10 about Israel seeking to establish its own righteousness, as it did not know God’s righteousness.  Christ came to fulfill the law and offer this new righteousness of God in Him.  And it was available to everyone who believed.  It was no longer limited to Israel.  This righteousness was by faith.

Paul will continue this theme in Romans, writing about the spirit of the law.  There is nothing wrong with telling our children to not touch the hot burner on the stove.  It also is important to tell them to look to Jesus.

June 27th, 2018

Waiting for God

“Therefore I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.”  Micah 7:7

Have you ever felt like you have been in God’s waiting room?  It can be a hospital, police station, funeral home, or doctor’s office.  It can in your own home.  You can spend day after day, waiting on God.  Waiting for a word, a sign, something.

Micah strikes the chord of hope with his words, “I will look to the Lord; I will wait for God; my God will hear me.”  There is a three-fold process in this.  First, he indicates he will look to the Lord.  He will use his free will to make an important choice: look to the One who can be to the solution, rather than focusing on the problem.  This is a powerful instruction for us as we face life’s challenges.  Where we do fix our attention?  If we are so wrapped up in the dilemma, we may miss the Lord.

Second, he states he will wait for God, the God of his salvation.  The word wait in Hebrew is ‘yachal” and is often translated in Scripture as hope.  The first use of this Hebrew word is in reference to Noah, who “waited” seven days before sending out the dove a second time, after the flood.  Those seven days may have felt like seven decades.  We are being given another piece of wisdom here – that as we continue to focus on the Lord, we do so with an expectation that God will do something.  We wait with hope.  We may wait 10 or 20 years.  We wait with hope – hope in the Lord, the God of our salvation.

Finally, Micah writes that he is confident his God will hear him.  This is what we hold onto as we wait, hope and look to the Lord.  He will hear us.  We trust in His response.  We trust in the timing of His response.    Are you waiting?  Look to Jesus, wait for God; He will hear you.

June 26th, 2018

Kingdom Strength

“For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  2 Cor. 12:10

Strength and power is perfected in weakness.  This is one of paradoxes of truth.  Paul writes that three times he asked for the thorn in his flesh to be removed.  The Lord’s response was that His strength was made perfect in weakness.  It is like saying that surrender is victory.  The confession of our reliance and sheer dependence upon God is the admission of our weakness and need for Him; Him and all He has to offer us.

Jesus is, of course, our perfect example.  2 Cor. 13:4 states, “though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God.”  Imagine how it must have looked to the crowd as Jesus went to the cross.  Weakness, humiliation, defeat – these are not the signs of a Messiah.  Look again at the cross.  Strength and power is perfected in weakness.  A veil was torn, graves flung open, and a new creation began.  It commenced in the moment of weakness.

The crucifixion became the glorification.  Weakness was turned to strength.  Paul writes, “For we are also weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.”  2 Cor. 13:4.  We come with our flaws, our limitations, our weaknesses.  The Lord is our strength.

June 25th, 2018

Enter through the Porch

“Now, therefore, says the Lord, turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping, and with mourning.  So rend your heart and not your garments…” Joel 2:12

This is a call to repentance.  In 2:15 the Lord asks for the trumpet to be blown.  This is the second trumpet, as the first was to be sounded in 2:1.  This is a call to repent, to corporately repent and turn to the Lord.   As the people are gathered together, the priests are then called forth – those priests who minister to the Lord – to come and weep between the porch and the altar.

This word was spoken in the time of Solomon’s temple.  That temple included a porch as well as an altar.  Leading up to the porch was a series of steps. This explains the Scripture of “going up to the house of the Lord,” Isa. 2:1-4.  The porch, which was covered, was situated just before the Holy Place.  In order to go into the Temple, the priest had to go through the porch: made of cedar (incorruptible) and overlaid with gold (divinity).  Access to the presence of God in the Temple was achieved by going through the porch, the entrance point.  Our relationship to Father is through His Son and so there is only one way to enter.  The porch is the place of entrance. 

June 24th, 2018

Our Story and Jesus

“When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, ‘do not weep.”  Lk. 7:13

One of the hallmarks of the Kingdom that Jesus ushered in was that of compassion.  He was fulfilling the covenant of love through His various acts of compassion, mercy, grace and gentleness.  Fifteen times in the gospels we read where Jesus was “moved with compassion.”  As a result, He would heal, feed, nourish or restore people.

In the seventh chapter of Luke, Jesus is in Nain and observed a dead son being carried out, accompanied by his mother.  Jesus was moved by the compassion He had for a heartsick mom.  Place yourself in this story.  As the mother, or part of crowd on onlookers, or as the one who was dead.  Notice Jesus as He notices you.  Watch as He purposefully, intentionally makes His way over to you.  See the compassion in His eyes – for you.

When our story meets the story of Jesus and His demonstration of real Kingdom power, something miraculous happens.  He tells us to stop weeping and proceeds to give new life to what was dead.  Indeed, the mother’s son was resurrected.  Verse 15 states He sat up, starting talking, and Jesus presented him to his mother.  It was new life – that resurrection power.  It was more than a foreshadowing of Jesus’ own resurrection, though it certainly included that.  It points beyond the cross to new life for us. 

June 23rd, 2018

Rebekah

Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands of ten thousands; and may your descendants possess the gates of those who hate them.” Gen. 24:60

The story of Rebekah begins in Genesis 24.  Abraham has instructed his servant to find a wife for his son Isaac.  It is noteworthy that the servant took an oath to do as Abraham instructed, and upon the servant’s arrival in Nahor, he prayed for the Lord God to reveal clearly the woman who was to be Isaac’s wife.  The servant had not even finished praying when out walked Rebekah, fulfilling the prayer.  As we read through the narrative in Genesis 24, we find that Rebekah was a servant who quickly hurried to meet the needs of the servant.  She displayed hospitality, much in the manner of Abraham and Sarah. 

The name Rebekah means “bound” and this is worth examining.  The man she was to marry was Isaac, who had experienced what must have been a life-changing event with his father.  In Hebrew this is referred to as the Akeda – the binding of Isaac.  Gen. 22:9 reads, “Then they came to the place of which God had told him.  And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him upon the altar, upon the wood.”   As Isaac was bound out of his father’s obedience to God, so too Rebekah was bound to her husband Isaac.  It is also significant that Rebekah was Isaac’s “basherte” – meaning his God-chosen bride.  When we stop and consider that Isaac was the promise (Abraham was the father of the promise) and Rebekah was Isaac’s God-chosen bride, the wonderful truth is revealed to us that Rebekah was a prophetic type of the church, the bride of Christ. 

As we move to Gen. 24:60, Rebekah agreed to return with Abraham’s servant to be Isaac’s wife.  Her family gathers around her and prays a blessing:  “Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands of ten thousands; and may your descendants possess the gates of those who hate them.”  This is similar to the blessing of the Angel of the Lord given to Abraham in Gen. 22:17, “Blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gates of their enemies.”   We realize from the blessing for Rebekah that this was confirming prophecy and she was indeed, the God-chosen bride for Isaac. 

June 22nd, 2018

Bondservant of Christ

“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.  But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.  As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.  For do I now persuade men or God?  Or do I seek to please men?  For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.”  Gal. 1:6-10

Paul begins his rebuke of the people by “marveling” at how quickly these new converts to Christ have turned to a different gospel – that is, a perversion of the one true gospel of Jesus Christ.  Paul is reminding the hearers of his letter that they heard the gospel and had received it.  However, others had come along (in Paul’s absence – footnote about the strategy of the enemy!) and were teaching a different gospel.  Paul put it strongly:  a perverted gospel.  And the people around Galatia were buying into it!  We might wonder how such a thing could occur.  Well, have you ever heard a distorted or perverted gospel?    Did you believe it? 

Paul indicates that if he were seeking to please men, he would not be a bondservant of Christ.  This poses the question for us:  whose attention and affirmation are we after:  that of God, or man?  Our walk of faith cannot be done to please people.  It must be done to win the praises of the One we praise – our Lord God.  The Galatians had been easily swayed.  Are we?  Paul was writing so directly because his heart was broken for a people on the verge of perishing for lack of knowledge.  Are we on such a verge?  Beloved, this is the gospel of Jesus Christ:

• He was crucified;
• He rose from the grave;
• He ascended to sit at the right hand of His Father;
• Our sins are forgiven by His blood; and
• The gift of eternal life is available to all who call upon the name of the Lord.

June 21st, 2018

Spiritual Rebuilding

“So the wall was finished on the twenty fifth day of Elul, in fifty two days.”  Neh. 6:15

The wall around Jerusalem was rebuilt in 52 days, according to Neh. 6:15.  That is miraculous.  Those same walls had been in ruins for almost 150 years!  Neh. 6:16 indicates that when the enemies of Israel heard the news, they were afraid and lost their self-confidence because they knew the work had been done with the help of the Lord.

We may have had broken walls in our lives for years – with the Lord those walls can be rebuilt in days!  Generational brokenness can be healed; restoration can come and we can live in a place of peace and safety again.  Jesus is a “Repairer of Broken Walls and Restorer of Streets with Dwellings” according to Isa. 58:12.  Isa. 60:18 reads, “No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.”

After the wall had been rebuilt, Nehemiah instructed the people to celebrate with great joy, for the “joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Neh. 8:10)  We celebrate that walls can go from broken to saved, all because of the Lord Jesus Christ, who rules and reigns forever and ever!

June 20th, 2018

Be In Health

“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”  3John 2

The apostle John writes to his beloved Gaius, “be in health, just as your soul prospers.”  Health is the Greek word “hugaino” which means to be healthy, sound and physically well.  We focus now on walking in the health and healing the Lord has blessed us with.

Our walk in health and healing is our proclamation of victory.  It is our continual confession of faith that speaks volumes to a hurting and lost world.  Let us take a moment to identify four steps to walking in health and healing:

Ø  See it;

Ø  Confess it;

Ø  Believe it; and,

Ø  Celebrate it!

If we cannot see the healing in the natural, then see it in the spiritual!  Ask the Lord to open our eyes so that we can see above and beyond the natural, so we might see into the supernatural realm of health.  Ask God to call those things that are not as though they are – and to give us the vision to see those things as well.  Let us have eyes to see healing even if it is not being felt.  Do not be discouraged – even in times of struggle.  The Lord has not promised how He heals or when he heals.  But He does heal.

What we see, we confess.  May ours be a confession of faith in God.  May we confess all that He has done, is doing, and will do, in our lives.  May the high praises of the Lord be in our mouths as we confess Christ Jesus as our Lord, Savior, Healer.  Let us speak, declare, proclaim that He is good, He is above all things.  He is God!

June 19th, 2018

Love’s Response to Injustice

“So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets. Honesty cannot enter.  Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.  The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice.  He saw that there was no one, He was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so His own arm worked salvation (rescue!) for Him.”  Isa. 59:14-16

There are 400,760 foster children in the United States and 13% are missing.  That equates to 52,099 children who are missing every year.  So many run away, and are vulnerable to traffickers.  They can end up being trafficked and, if arrested, in a juvenile facility.  For the aged out population, those who end up being trafficked will often be arrested, convicted, and sentenced.  These children and adults go from one form of bondage to another.

There is good news: God cares about each life and He sent Jesus to show us the way to respond to this Biblical call for justice.  Isa. 59:14-16 states, “So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets. Honesty cannot enter.  Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.  The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice.  He saw that there was no one, He was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so His own arm worked salvation (rescue!) for Him.” 

Whether we are called to play a role in this heart cry and hand up to those being trafficked through prayer, through rescue, through aftercare, through perpetrator accountability, through demand reduction, through awareness, or through prevention – make no mistake, the body of Christ is Biblically called to respond.  Isa. 58:6-12 describes the kind of fasting God desires – loosing the chains of injustice, untying the cords of the yoke, set the oppressed free, break every York, share our food with hungry, provide the poor wandered with shelter, clothe the naked, not turn away from our families, spend ourselves on behalf of the hungry, satisfy the needs of the oppressed.  When we do this, our light will break forth like the dawn, healing will come quickly, our light will rise in the darkness, ancient ruins will be re-built, age-old foundations will be raised up.  We will be called the ones who repair broken walls and restore streets with dwellings.  God wants to work through us to loose, heal, restore, love, meet, feed, clothe, and hold.  This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

June 18th, 2018

His Name is Jesus

“And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”  Mt. 1:21

In Matthew 1:20-21, Joseph is given a dream in which he is told his betrothed, Mary, has conceived a child by the Holy Spirit, and “she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”  Jesus means “Yahweh is salvation” or “Savior.”  Divinity entered humanity to save it.  And so a child was born, but more significantly, a Son was given. 

This Son Jesus was foretold in the Old Testament in numerous ways.  We want to examine the Old Testament Joshua, or Yeshua in Hebrew.  A servant of Moses, it is interesting to notice Joshua had been called Oshea until Moses changed his name.  Joshua was among the faithful who believed the Promised Land was there for the possessing and he led the Israelites into Canaan.  Joshua was a prophetic type of Jesus, especially in his role of captain of the hosts of God’s chosen people.

The Son Jesus also took on the name of Christ.  In Matthew 16:15-16, Jesus poses the question to His disciples, “But who do you say I am?  Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Peter recognized Jesus as more than man, scholar, prophet.  He recognized Jesus as Christ, the Son of God.  Christ is “Christos” in Greek, meaning the Anointed One.  It comes from the word “chrio,” to anoint.  Chrio also means Messiah, as it comes from the Hebrew word “mashach,” meaning to pour on and rub in the oil of anointing.  In the Old Testament the priests were anointed with oil in preparation to minister in the tabernacle and temple.  There is a revelation about the oil used to anoint the priests: in Hebrew the word for oil is “shemen.”  We see the root word “shem” or name; and can begin to apprehend that “mashach shemen” is pouring on and rubbing in the very name, nature and character of God!

June 17th, 2018

I Am the Lord your God

“I am the LORD your God , who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”  Ex. 20:2

One of the first things we notice about this statement of truth is God revealing (again) His Name.  “I am the LORD.”  This is not God’s title rather it is His Name.  It reveals the desire God has for a relationship with His chosen people.  After He provides His Name, He continues by stating He is their God – their Elohim.  As we have learned previously this is the fullness of God, designated by the words “us” and “our.”  The Godhead of Father, Son and Holy Spirit is represented in Elohim.  It is also interesting to note that in the Hebrew language, use of the letters “im” at the end of a word designates one of two meanings:

q  Plurality, or

q  Majesty, greatness.

He is the One God who contains more than one characteristic.  He is One and Many – Elohim.  He is great, a majestic Father, majestic Son, and majestic Holy Spirit. 

If the Israelites did not understand this principle, the rest would be utterly pointless!  This is the spoken word of a redeeming God who brought His chosen ones out of bondage.  We get an appreciation for Yahweh, the Deliverer of His people.  Egypt represents slavery and God is reminding Israel that He brought them out of slavery. 

It was foreshadowed and prophesied that the Son would be called out of Egypt!  The first son was considered Israel.  Israel was brought to a place of bondage or slavery.  God then brought His people out.  Matthew 2:15 provides the fulfillment of prophecy regarding the Son, Jesus.  His father brought him to Egypt and when it was time (upon the death of Herod), out of Egypt the Son was called.  Where did the Son Jesus travel to after he left Egypt?  According to Mt. 2:20-23, Joseph took Mary and his son to Israel, to Galilee, to Nazareth.  Jesus went from Egypt to the Promised Land. 

Now let’s read Rom. 8:15 with new eyes to see: “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out Abba, Father!”  Believers have left Egypt!  Our Savior – Jesus Christ, has rescued us.  We have received the Spirit of adoption that gives us the family right to cry out Abba, Father!  Spiritual paternity has been settled!  God did this for us by sending His Son.

June 16th, 2018

God’s Kindness

“Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?” Rom. 2:4

The Lord’s goodness is of course, perfect.  Romans 2:4 states: “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?” There are some key elements of this text we want to examine briefly below.

Ø  We might consider the word “riches” to be synonymous with “fruit.”   Goodness, forbearance, and patience bring riches or fruit in our lives.

Ø  It is noteworthy that it is the goodness, or active demonstration of what is good, as shown by God, that leads us to repentance.  And just what is repentance?  True repentance is asking for God’s forgiveness AND turning away from sin toward Him.  Without both aspects, repentance has not occurred.

Ø  God’s goodness leads us to repentance.  It does not drive us to repentance.  It is the tender-heartedness of the Lord who lovingly leads us to a better spiritual place in our lives.  Love leads; works drive.  We’ve been set free from works.  The one whom The Son has set free is free indeed!

June 15th, 2018

Pillars of Truth

“Also he made in front of the temple two pillars thirty five cubits high, and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.  He made wreaths of chainwork, as in the inner sanctuary, and put them on top of the pillars; and he made one hundred pomegranates, and put them on the wreath of the chainwork.  The he set up the pillars, before the temple, one of the right hand and the other on the left; he called the name of the one on the right hand Jachin, and the name of the one on the left Boaz.”  2 Chronicles 3:15-17

These two passages provide much “manna” concerning the pillars of the Temple of Solomon.  We can make some interesting observations.  First, God gave the revelation of the temple to His beloved son, King David.  Second, David, denied the opportunity to build the temple, passed this divine pattern to his son, Solomon.  Solomon received the supply of materials to build the temple from Hiram, the Gentile king of Tyre (1 Kings 5).  Huram the skilled craftsman was sent to Solomon to do the work of building the temple (1Kings 7:13-14).  Huram (Hiram) was part Gentile and part Hebrew, based on his parentage.  His name means ‘noble.” 

Heaven’s revelation was given to the Hebrew king, who worked with the Gentile king, to build according to a divine pattern.  The building materials and design included:

• Bronze (Judgment of sin);
• Two pillars (symbolizing witness);
• Eighteen cubits in height (a multiple of nine, symbolizing fruition);
• Twelve cubits in circumference (divine government);
• Capitals (or crowns) were five cubits high (grace);
• Seven wreaths of chainwork for each pillar (completion);
• Two hundred pomegranates on the chainwork for each pillar (signifying the fruit of the promised land; the seed of the pomegranate is encased in red);
• Tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies (symbolizing purity and fragrance of Christ);

The two pillars were named Jachin, which means, “He shall establish” and Boaz, meaning, “in Him is strength.”  It is always refreshing to see how the details in the Old Covenants point to the New Covenant and Christ.

June 14th, 2018

21 Day Prayer

“…if there is any virtue and if there is anything praise worthy, meditate on these things.”  Phil. 4:8

Virtue can be defined as moral excellence.  In the first chapter of 2 Peter, verse 4, the apostle is writing about the “very great and precious promises” given to us by the Lord.  Verse 5 lays out a foundational ladder for the believer to grow in fruitfulness of the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The ladder is described as:faith; virtue; knowledge; self-control; perseverance; godliness; brotherly kindness; and love.  We note the second building block is virtue, or this quality of moral excellence, which we are to add to our faith.  We are ascending a ladder to grow closer in our relationship with the Lord, and to acquire, develop and refine Christlikeness. 

How do we have thoughts of virtue?  What is a virtuous thought and what does it have to do with our walk?  Our Lord will lead us through the power of the Holy Spirit in our thought patterns, so that they shift from anything destructive to constructive.  Thoughts of virtue are building images in our minds of things that have an intrinsic value and worth.  It is interesting to note that the word “virtue” also has a connotation of healing power.  In Luke 6:19(NKJV) it reads: “And the whole multitude sought to touch Him: for there went virtue out of Him, and healed them all.”   Thoughts of virtue are thoughts of obedience to God, thoughts of trusting God, loving Him and honoring Him. They include thoughts of worshiping and esteeming God.  From these thoughts our character is shaped and our conduct is based.  Make it real in your life.

June 13th, 2018

How Long will You Falter

“And Elijah came to all the people and said, ‘How long will you falter between two opinions?”  1 Kings 18:21

In 1 Kings 18, three years have gone by and Elijah returns to Ahab with the Lord’s promise to send rain.  In verse 19, Elijah requests that the prophets of Baal and Asherah (numbering 850) meet him on Mount Carmel, the place where pagan worship occurred.  It is noteworthy that Ahab called all of Israel to also come.  Elijah then uttered words that speak to us today, “How long will you falter between two opinions?”  In other words, choose sides!  He proceeded to challenge the prophets of Baal to see whose God was greater, by virtue of creating fire to consume a sacrifice.  Note that Elijah let the prophets of Baal choose first and be first in offering their sacrifice.  After hours of nothing happening, Elijah built an altar with 12 stones, made a trench, put water over the burnt offering three times and then prayed.  Instantly the sacrifice was consumed by fire.  Elijah then told Ahab to go eat and drink for the sound of rain was in the air.  Elijah then prayed seven times and the rain came. 

Ahab shared with Jezebel everything that had taken place with Elijah and she sent a message to Elijah that caused him to run for his life and want to die!  Chapter 19 indicates that Elijah hid, was fed by angels and then journeyed for 40 days and nights to Horeb, also know as Sinai.  This is the same place where God met Moses and spoke with him.  Now God met with Elijah and instructed him to return to the Wilderness of Damascus and anoint Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha as future leaders.  The Lord also told Elijah that he wasn’t alone in this battle – that God had reserved 7000 in Israel who did not worship Baal. 

We are called to choose and remain steadfast with our choice.

June 12th, 2018

Christ Crucified

“But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God.  Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” 1 Cor. 1:23-25

The world will declare things about us that are contrary to God’s word.  The Bible tells us that is foolishness, as 1 Corinthians 3:19 indicates: “The wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.”  Without spiritual weapons, we would fail in the battle against the thoughts of the flesh.  Carnal weapons will lose every time in battling carnal thinking.  The two will end up on the same side!  We require the armor given to us by God and activated by the Holy Spirit to win the war of false thinking and worldly labels. 

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians that the “message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”  This is a powerful truth for us to get into our spirits.  We may be mocked or ridiculed for our faith – yet it is the very power of God at work through the cross that saves us!

The world may call you trapped.  Christ crucified calls you set free.  The world may label you homeless.  Christ crucified is preparing for you a mansion with many rooms.  The world may consider you disabled.  Christ crucified claims you are healed by His stripes.  The world may insist you are incomplete and insufficient.  Christ crucified declares you are complete in Him and His grace is sufficient for you.  Amen! 

June 11th, 2018

The Sign of Jonah

“So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord.”  Jonah 3:3

Jonah was the only Old Testament prophet to speak directly to Gentiles.  He was from Galilee and gave encouragement to Jeroboam II about military conquests against the Assyrians, as we read in 2 Kings 14:25.  The book of Jonah focuses on his message to Assyria, specifically Nineveh, to repent.  Jonah is directed by the Lord to go to Nineveh and ask the people to repent and thus be shown mercy by God.  Jonah is shocked that God would want to spare the Assyrians!  They had already shown military power against Israel.  So Jonah went in the other direction, boarded a ship, faced a storm at sea, was thrown overboard, entered the belly of a whale for 3 days and nights, and was finally released.  Then he went to Nineveh and obeyed the Lord.  The people at Nineveh did repent, even the king.  This caused Jonah to be angry, yet God was gracious in explaining to Jonah the reasons for His desire to save the city of 120,000. 

One of the principles that emerged from this book is that of Gentile faith.  Luke 11:29-32 (as well as Matthew 12:38-42) state that Jesus rebuked the Pharisees of the day for demanding a sign.  He told them the only sign they would receive was the sign of Jonah.  The Pharisees refused to believe Jesus was the Messiah.

How often have we disagreed and rebelled against God’s gracious plan, only find ourselves as if in the belly of a fish for three days?

June 10th, 2018

Jesus, Out Intercessor

“Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” Heb. 7:25

Right now, Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father and is interceding for us!  He is interceding for the lost!  We read in Hebrews 8:1: “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such a High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens…”  He is our Mediator, the “one man in heaven” who is our representative to God! 

We might say our prayers are spoken in the following way:

Ø  We pray to God;

Ø  We pray in the Name of Jesus; and,

Ø  We pray through the Holy Spirit working in us.

Jesus interceded eloquently and powerfully in John, Chapter 17.  He prayed for Himself, then for His disciples, and next for all believers, who compose the church.  In essence, Jesus prayed for the following:

Ø  That God would be glorified;

Ø  That the disciples would be sanctified;

Ø  That the church would be unified. 

We can pray accordingly:

“Father, be glorified this day.  May Your Name be hallowed, as You are holy, just and true.  We pray O God that You would sanctify us by Your truth, for Your word is truth.  May Your truth set us apart this day.  Father, we pray for all those who believe in Your Son, Jesus Christ, that we all may be one.  Thank You God, for sending Your Son, Jesus, to declare Your Name.  Thank You for the love with which You love Your Son is in us.  We exalt You, Everlasting Father, in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

June 9th, 2018

The Power of the Blood

“The Lord said, ‘What have you done?  Listen!  Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.”  Gen. 4:10

The passage in Gen 4:1-10 illustrates the power and significance of the blood.  We find in the first five verses that Eve gave birth to two sons, Cain and Abel.  Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground.  The sons brought an offering to the Lord: Cain’s offering was from the ground and Abel’s was the firstborn of his flock.  The Lord respected Abel and his offering, but not Cain’s.  Cain became angry and his countenance fell.

There is so much in these verses – for now we can summarize:

• Cain’s offering was from the ground he tilled – an offering of self-righteousness that was rejected by the Lord;
• Abel’s offering was from the sheep he tended – and offering of the first and finest of the flock and a blood sacrifice that was accepted by the Lord;
• Cain became angry and his demeanor changed – sin enters into the picture!

Verses 6-10 continue as the Lord asks Cain a question that He knows the answer to.  The Lord warns Cain about sin just waiting for him.  This doesn’t sit well with Cain, and at some point Cain kills his brother, shedding his blood.  Again, the Lord asks Cain a question He knows the answer to.    And then in verse 10 we read, “What have you done?  The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.” 

Anger had grown into resentment and then into violence and murder.  The blood of Abel had a voice that the Lord could hear – it spoke!  God cursed Cain, leaving him as a vagabond and fugitive, according to verse 12. 

 Lev. 17:11 it states, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is blood that makes atonement for your souls.”   These Old Testament examples point to the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, whereby His blood made the atonement for our sins, and we could receive the gift of life everlasting, if we believe and receive Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives.    If there are broken relationships – plead the blood.  If peace is needed, apply the blood.  If closeness to God is desired, plead the blood.  When we apply the blood of Jesus Christ, we are applying life-giving power to situations we face.