A BLESSING OR A CURSE

If anyone does not love the Lord—a curse be on him….  I Corinthians 16:22

Old Paul sure did not mince any words concerning loving the Lord.  The bottom line is this; he was only sharing the truth of the Word with us.  Many, many places, in both the Old and New Testaments, we are told that, if we hearken unto the Lord’s voice and love Him with all our hearts, we will be saved and blessed.  Then, we are also told that, if we don’t listen and pay attention to the Lord’s voice and love Him with all our hearts, we will be lost and cursed.   

Paul had been put through the mill by both the Jews and the Gentiles on his mission trip through the Northeastern Mediterranean area.  In 2 Corinthians 1: 8 and 9, Paul tells us, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia.  We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.  Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death.  But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead”.  I think Paul was laying it out plain for the Corinthians and also for you and me in this way.  We are all living in the same world and, most likely, we, as humanity, will experience most things in common.  However, whether we succumb to the difficult experiences or have victory over them is largely dependent upon us. 

God tells us in Deuteronomy 11:26, 27 and 28, “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse—the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God….  And in case you might be wondering about how you might be able to follow all those complicated commands of God, all the do’s and do not’s, and all the shall’s and shall not’s, just listen to what God says in verse 13, “So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul—then, God goes on to say that you will be blessed, and in verses 16 and 17 that if you don’t, then you will be cursed.

Thank you Father God, Creator of the heavens and the earth, that for those that love You and are called according to Your purpose, all things work together for good.  Thank You that, although we could never, as Paul said, gain the victory on our own, that through You we can have the victory.  Thank You for bearing the curse of the law for us through the Anointed Jesus.  Help us to keep Your Word before our eyes and in our hearts both night and day.  Amen and so be it.  Amen and so be it.

Bad Company

Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God--- I say this to your shame. (1 Corinthians 15:33-34 NIV).

All of us at some point in our lives have found ourselves around bad company. I have found that it is much easier to live a Godly life when you surround yourself with the right people than it is to continue to hang around the same people you did before you were saved. At first, I thought that I'd be able to hang out with the "old crowd" and still be able to live the life that God desired, but, I found that, after a while, it is harder to do that I had expected!

The saying, "You can judge a tree by the fruit it bears," is something that we must instill in our minds. Even if you are not participating in the activities that the crowd you're with is doing, when seen from someone on the outside, it is still possible to ruin your image and influence on others. I know we as Christians are not supposed to judge, but I still believe we can be fruit inspectors!

If you're hanging with the wrong crowd or maybe sticking around the wrong activities, then you're flirting with disaster! We never know who may be watching us and trying to see how we're living our life. We may be the only Bible that some people ever read, so I want to do everything possible to not lead someone astray!! Be a Godly example to those around you!

Yield Not to Temptation

"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."    

  (1 Corinthians 10: 13, NIV)

The following footnote from the Life Application Bible gives a great explanation of this verse:

     In a culture filled with moral depravity and sin-inducing pressures,  Paul gave strong encouragement to the Corinthians about temptation.  He said:

1. Wrong desires and temptations happen to everyone, so don't feel you've been singled out.
2. Others have resisted temptation, and so can you.
3. Any temptation can be resisted because God will help you resist it. 

God helps you resist temptation by helping you:

• recognize those people and situations that give you trouble
• run from anything you know is wrong
• choose to do only what is right
• pray for God's help
• seek friends who love God and can offer help when you are tempted.

Running from a tempting situation is your first step on the way to victory!

Give Thanks!

 "I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus."         

 (1 Corinthians 1: 4, NIV) 

Good Morning!  As I turned to the designated reading for today, the very first words for November 25th were, "Paul Gives Thanks".  I thought how appropriate that was since today is Thanksgiving Day.  Paul is writing a letter to the church at Corinth, and he begins by telling them how thankful he is for God's grace to them.  The letter will go on to bring correction to the church as well. 

When we are about to bring correction to an individual, it is always best to preface it with a little praise.  Everyone has good in them in spite of their negative attributes.  Highlight the good, then talk about those areas that need improvement.  Season your words with love. 

Today, let us give thanks for the many blessings that God has given us.  Thank Him for family, health, your house and possessions.  Thank Him for the Holy Spirit that is always with us to bring peace and comfort.  But, most of all, thank God for sending his son, Jesus Christ, that we may have an abundant life and life eternal. 

May you and your family have a

wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!!

Lazy, Hazy Daze

"We were not idle when we were with you,  nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.  We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate.  For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: 'The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.' ”    (2 Thessalonians 3:  7b-10, NIV)

Anyone who has been around me long enough will hear me get on a soapbox about lazy people or the welfare system.  Granted, the welfare system was created with good intentions, but over the course of time, it developed as a method for many individuals to take advantage of it, teaching them to become lazy.   There are those that legitimately need assistance from the government.  But, then there are those who are capable of working, but have chosen not to because of a "monthly check".  You get my point. 

Read the following footnote (from the Life Application Bible) as to what Paul had to say about this matter:

     "Paul explained that when he and his companions were in Thessalonica, they worked hard, buying what they needed rather than becoming a burden to any of the believers.  The rule they followed was, 'If a man will not work, he shall not eat.'  There's a difference between leisure and laziness.  Relaxation and recreation provide a necessary and much needed balance to our lives; but when it is time to work, Christians should jump right in.  We should make the most of our talent and time, doing all we can to provide for ourselves and our dependents.  Rest when you should be resting, and work when you should be working." 

This not only applies to our work environment in society, but it should also apply to the church.  When a person's time and talents are not being used within a local church body, and they are allowing others to "do all the work", should they expect God to bless them?  God has a job for each of us, and we're expected to work for Him.  We all have a part in advancing His kingdom!   

"Idle hands are the devil's workshop"

SONS OF THE LIGHT

But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.  You are all sons of the light and sons of the day.  We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.  So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.  1 Thessalonians 5: 4, 5, and 6 NIV

Paul is addressing the Thessalonians, and you and me as brothers.  He calls us all sons of the light and sons of the day.  Paul, I believe, is saying to them and to us, "If only you could get a grasp of who you are in Christ Jesus, then you would, as he says  … not grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope”.   James 4: 13 NIV

James, the Lord’s half-brother says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.  Of His own will, He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures”.  James 1:17 and 18 NKJV

You were born of woman and reborn of the Spirit.  If you were just born of woman, then you would be like the rest of men and have reason to grieve.  But, you are much more than your mother’s child.  Since you believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, could not be killed but gave up his life for you, was raised from the dead, and sits at the right hand of the Father ever making intercession for you, then you are born of the Spirit and, therefore, have no reason to grieve. 

Man was created in right standing with God, chose his own way and fell out of right standing with God.  

God gave man the law, but man transgressed the law. 

God sent prophets to man, but man would not heed their word. 

God sent the “true Light” John 1: 9 NKJV into the world so that, “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God”.  John 1: 12 and 13 NKJV

Paul and James are saying to you that you are now a child of God.  You are a new creation the same as Adam who was born of both the earth and the Spirit of God.  And You are a new creation the same as Jesus who was born of woman and the Spirit of God, for you are a kind of “firstfruit” born of woman and the Spirit of God through “the Anointed One, Jesus”.   You are a brother with Jesus, a child of the living God, a child of the Light, a child of the day, adopted into God’s family through Christ Jesus.

Father God, help us to realize that we are your children and that we need to start acting like it.  Help us to stand tall with humility and unconditional love.  Help us to not grieve but celebrate our adoption into Your family.  Help us to allow the “Light that has come into the world” to shine forth through us.  In the name of Jesus, we ask these things and give You the glory for them.  Amen and so be it.  Amen and so be it.

Draw Near

Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.   (Acts 17:22-23 NIV)

An unknown God!...I feel like that is the God that many of us worship in today's society. We worship him as He is just some far-distanced object in the sky, or we keep ourselves so distanced that we truly don't know him and He feels unknown, like a stranger! The God that I read about in the Bible wants to dwell in our hearts.  He wants to be part of all our decisions, and He wants to bless us more than we can fathom.

Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.  He's an awesome, almighty God, not an unknown God. Jeremiah 32:38 tells us that, "They will be my people and I will be their God." Jesus is trying to tell us that He wants all our lives, and He wants to be our one and only God. If we want to experience the blessings of this life and we want to be able to stand strong when the enemy attacks, we better draw close to him daily.

Always remember, "If God be for us, it doens't matter who's against us!"

Who Is Winning?

⁷ Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. ⁸ Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Galations 6:7-8 NIV

God cannot be mocked. In other words, you can not act one way and expect to receive another thing. God won't allow it. He meant what He said and said what He meant.

It's actually simple. Whatever you feed yourself is what you will reap. If you feed yourself with Godly things, then your actions and your life will reflect Godly things. If you feed yourself earthly things, then your actions and your life will reflect earthly things.

We have two sides---the flesh and the spirit. It is a contest. Whichever one you feed the most will be the winner in your daily life. It is documented in the Bible.

Examine your life. Determine which side is winning right now. If it is not the spirit, start feeding the spirit more! In other words---Pray, Fast, Study, Give, Worship.

Priorities

"6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!  10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."    Galations 1: 6-10 NIV

In these verses, Paul is speaking to the people about trying to live by the law and deserting grace completely. When I read these verses, another type of persuasion comes to mind when reflecting on modern times.  You see, over time, Satan has become more cunning in the way that he gets our attention. We often do not realize that he has turned our heads until it is too late. It may be easy for us to read these verses and wonder why the people of that day and time did not see what was happening. However, if you fast forward several years, we are often doing the same thing in a different way.

In every life, trouble will come. For Christians, it is documented that trouble will come. Things will break, things will go wrong, jobs will be lost, people will die, marriages will find conflict, people will get sick, etc. I think you get the picture. I am certain that if you reflect on your past year, you can come up with some examples. I know that I can.  When these things happen, for the most part, we will continue to do certain things. We will continue to go to work, if possible. We will continue to care for our children. We will continue to be a spouse, if given the opportunity. We will continue to get things fixed and go about our day. For the most part, most of us will continue our daily lives to the best of our ability regardless of the circumstances set before us. We consider those things non-negotiable.

We will do so, unless it involves working for the Lord or volunteer time. When we evaluate our time constraints or the stress on our lives, the first thing that we often try to diminish is our volunteer time. This is most often the time that the Lord has asked us to give. It seems this is negotiable. When this occurs, I can't help but compare that decision to the decisions of the people Paul was speaking to. When we choose that, we must put our worldly obligations above our Godly obligations.  Then, we are surely stating that pleasing man is more important than pleasing God.

It is man who places most of the demands on us that we struggle daily to meet. It is God who gives us the grace to succeed above and beyond what they ask of us in order to fulfill His commands. Yet, it is us who most often place God's requests at the bottom of our lists.

This deception is often accepted in blindness. We don't even realize what we are doing or why we do it. We simply follow the accepted format of today's times in order to complete the tasks of our lives. We leave out what the world won't notice, and we continue to include what the world is sure to make a point of.

Perhaps, it would be most radical of us to turn our priorities upside down and begin to assess them in the reverse order of what we normally would. I do not suggest that God would have us to abandon our family obligations. I only suggest that God would have us to put His requests first. His order is God, family, and then church. He doesn't necessarily state that is His order if we are not too stressed or too busy.

Are we following His order or the order suggested by the world? Only you know what God is asking of you. It is different for each person. We are not asked to do too much or too little. We are simply asked to follow His direction.

Keep on Keeping On!

^"So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord . . . enabling them to perform signs and wonders.  The people of the city were divided.  There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews to mistreat them and stone them.  But they found out about it and fled . . . They continued to preach the gospel."      (Acts 14:  3-7, NIV)

(Portions of the above scriptures were  purposely left out so I could highlight a few things.)  Paul and Barnabas have been anointed and sent out to share the gospel.  Here in Iconium, they are preaching and performing miracles.  Some believe; some do not.  Because of this, some of the Jews and  Gentiles who did not believe in the message wanted to rid them from the town.  Paul and Barnabas find out about the plan and flee before harm is done.  But, it didn't stop them from going to the next cities (Lystra and Derbe) and preaching the Good News. 

"We may wish we could perform a miraculous act that would convince everyone once and for all that Jesus is the Lord.  But, we see here that even if we could perform a miracle, it wouldn't convince everyone.  God gave these men power to do great wonders as confirmation of the message of grace, but people were still divided.  Sow your seeds on the best ground you can find, in the best way you can, and leave the convincing to the Holy Spirit."  (footnote, Life Application Bible)

In May, I wrote a post, "Seeing is Believing" about the queen of Sheba hearing of Solomon and all his wisdom and achievements.  She had to travel and see for herself before she believed.  Here, in the above passage, we have people who were witnessing miracles with their own eyes but still not believing.  Makes you wonder what else could have been done for them to believe.  Much like today, all we can do is share the gospel and leave the rest up to God.  People may be receptive to the gospel; others will want to throw us out and have nothing to do with it.  But, like Paul and Barnabas, wipe the dust off your feet and go to the next one.  Someone is waiting to hear from you!   

It's Your Move!

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Come near to God and he will come near to you."  

 (James 4: 7, 8a, NIV)

One definition for submit is "to yield or surrender (oneself) to the will or authority of another."  What happens when we come upon a yield sign on the roadside?  Does it mean to speed ahead in order to get ahead of another car?  No, it means to slow down and give the other car the right-of-way.  And, if we don't do that, a collision could likely occur.  Someone could get hurt. 

In our own lives, we  must submit or yield our wills to God.  We must say, "God, here am I.  Not my will, but thy will be done."  If we don't, we're headed for disaster.  Someone is going to get hurt, and most likely, it will be us.  

We hear those who say, "I wish the devil would just leave me alone."  Do we always walk away from situations that we know we shouldn't be a part?  Do we fight the temptations when they come our way?  The devil is not going to leave us alone.  We must learn to fight and resist him.   

Then, there may be those who say, "I just don't feel close to God anymore.  It seems like He is far away."  God has not moved, so it must be we that have moved.  We often push God away when we're feeling guilty over things we're doing that are contrary to His will.  Or, when our lives become so busy, we stop praying or reading his Word like we used to.  That's when God seems to be far away. 

All of the things mentioned in the above verses call on us to do an action first :  submit, resist and come near.  Then, after we have done our part, God is faithful to do his.   

KILL OR HEAL

If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.  James 1:26 NIV

We all stumble in many ways.  If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.  James 3:2 NIV

The tongue has the power of life and death…. Proverbs 18:21 NIV

One of the biggest lies ever perpetuated by hell is, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me”.  In reality it should read,

·        “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will kill or heal”. 

Words are the “power” spoken of in this Proverbs verse.  We simply must consider what we are going to say before we open our mouths.  We think in words and

·        “We won’t speak it if we don’t think it”.

Jesus told us more than once to “speak to the mountain and it would be removed”. Remember this,

·        “If you speak to the mountain, it gets smaller”.  But, “if you speak about the mountain, it gets bigger”.

Father God, Creator of the Heavens and the Earth, help us to fill our minds with You, Your Words and Your Ways.  Help us to think and speak healing words rather than killing words, and help us to speak to the mountain rather than about the mountain.  In the name of Jesus, the living Word of God we ask it, Amen and so be it.  Amen and so be it.

The Voice of Truth....

"Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean." The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean." This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. (Acts 10:14-16 NIV)

When God cleanses something, He declares or pronounces it clean! Once you let God in control and He leads you somewhere by his will, that thing that He leads you to will never be impure or wrong. Here in Acts 10, God is telling Peter that Gentiles are just as clean as that of a Jew. He's basically showing him that it's okay to interact with them or to come in contact with those people because God himself has cleansed them.

Many times we as Christians get confused on what is pure and impure; what is holy and unholy; what is wrong and what is right; but, here in Acts, God is showing to Peter that anything He leads you to is pure. The problem with many of us is that we think God has led us somewhere, when in reality, we chose ourselves to be placed there in the middle of those people or in the middle of that mess! As long as God's in it and instructs us to that place, we will do no wrong.

One major thing I noticed while reading these scriptures was that, when God spoke, they listened and obeyed. They didn't say I will do it later, or I'll do that when I get my life straightened out.  They moved on what God said immediately. If you know that God is working in your life and trying to move in an area of your life, I urge you to just trust and obey. God's word will never return void!!

If God Is In It.....

³⁸ Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. ³⁹ But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” Acts 5:38-39 NIV

We tend to believe that everything rests on us, on humans. We fret over misfortunes and bad decisions of others or ourselves because we fear it will bring a devastating halt to God's plans. I am guilty of this myself. According to these verses, God's will is going to be made manifest in this Earth and God's kingdom will be advanced regardless of mankind's shortcomings.

That is not to say that we won't suffer or endure very difficult times in the process. If they had killed the disciples that day, then surely there would have been pain involved. Those who loved them would have suffered grief. The disciples would have suffered physical pain. And, for a time, the town may have been void of anyone to spread the gospel. However, in due time, God would have still fulfilled His plans for that area.

I hope we can find peace in knowing that, if our dreams fail, then God wasn't in them. If God is in them, they will proceed regardless of our human errors. They may be delayed, they may not look like we thought they would, but they will proceed in the way God wants them to.

Truly, if you dwell on this, it sheds even more light on the statement "If God be for us, who can be against us?" Think about it. Who can? Just remember---it doesn't always look like we thought it would. But, if God is in it, it shall proceed!

His Power

¹¹ While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. ¹² When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? ¹³ The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. ¹⁴ You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. ¹⁵ You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. ¹⁶ By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see. Acts 3:11-16 NIV

Peter had just offered healing to a lame man and it was received. It is understandable that the people were astonished to see the man walking and running after they had witnessed him laying by the gate day after day. Yet, in spite of the recognition, Peter wanted to make sure that the people were glorifying the right person for what had just been done. He made sure they knew that it was not him that did anything, but the Lord through him.

When we pray for healing in a person today, do we doubt that it can happen? And, if we have any doubt, is it because we doubt God? No, I don't believe it is. I think that for most of us it is because we doubt ourselves. We doubt our ability to perform such a miracle. Therein lies the problem. It can not be done by our ability, and we can not, nor will we ever, be able to heal someone in a miraculous way. We can not, but God can!

When we stand here on Earth and lay hands on someone requesting healing, we are merely acting as a tool for God to use. We are merely standing in the gap between Heaven and Earth. As difficult as it is, we have to start thinking less about what we are capable of and more about what God is capable of. It may be our body or our hands that are being used. It may be our lips that become a mouthpiece for God. But, it is by God's power and God's power alone that such things can be accomplished in the Earth.

In any case, whatever we accomplish on this Earth, "to God be the glory!"

We're All in This Together

"All the believers were together and had everything in common.  They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need." 

(Acts 2:  44-45, NIV) 

Every time I read these verses, I think of a commune.  Wikipedia describes a commune as "an intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, property, possessions, resources, work and income.  Remember the communes of the 60's?  The hippie villages?  A group of hippies, living together on one piece of property, just free to be, "love not war", etc.  I was young at the time, but I remember hearing about them and seeing them on television.  Now, a group of people living closely together with a sense of unity would be considered a community, such as the Amish.  

Three thousand people have just been saved and baptized.  Peter preached a message and they responded.  The believers devoted themselves to teaching, fellowship and prayer.  They ate together; they worshiped together.  Many signs and wonders were being done by the apostles.  The Lord was adding daily to their number.  Their slogan must have been "All together now.  All for one---one for all".       

We, as Americans, are very independent, and in many ways, selfish.  We have been taught to work hard to achieve the "American dream".  And, the success we accomplish mainly stays with "self".  There are those who become a philanthropist once they have achieved great wealth, but what about the average Joe?  Would we be willing to sell our possessions and give it to the poor?  After all, we worked for it, right? 

God wants us to work together as a community of believers to reach the lost and advance His kingdom.  He doesn't want us to go 'solo'.  I have often heard it said that 20% of the people in a church congregation do 80% of the work.  And, the percentages for financial support are probably not much better or could be worse.  Whatever the case, the church body as a whole is not 'all in it together'.  The load is being carried by a few.  Isn't it time for Christians to join together, just as they did in the book of Acts, and be committed to one another and work together for the greater good? 

Doubting Thomas

"Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.  So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”   But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”   (John 20: 24-25, NIV)

For some reason, Thomas was not with the other disciples when Jesus appeared to them for the first time after His resurrection.  Guess Thomas was out playing a round of golf --- haha.  They tell Thomas what had happened.  Jesus appeared to them while they were in a locked room.  They spoke with him; they saw the scars on his hands and feet.  But, since Thomas was not there to witness it, he did not believe the other disciples.  Wonder why?  He lived and traveled for years with these men.  Why would he not have taken their word for it?  It was like he had to see it for himself.  And, that's exactly what Jesus did!  A week later, Jesus appears to the disciples, behind closed doors once again, and this time, Thomas gets to witness the account firsthand.  And, in this instance, seeing was believing! 

Jesus goes on in vs. 29 and says, ". . .blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed".  That's why we have to have faith in God's Word. We don't have Jesus appearing to us in bodily form. We can't reach out and touch a physical body like Thomas did. We have to know that the Holy Spirit living within us is guiding and directing our steps.

"Jesus wasn't hard on Thomas for his doubts. Despite his skepticism, Thomas was still loyal to the believers and to Jesus himself. Some people need to doubt before they believe. If doubt leads to questions, questions lead to answers, and the answers are accepted, then doubt has done good work. It is when doubt becomes stubbornness and stubbornness becomes a lifestyle that doubt harms faith. When you doubt, don't stop there. Let your doubts deepen your faith as you continue to search for the answer." (footnote, Life Application Bible)

FREAK OUT

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.  There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.  His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.  Matthew 28: 1-4

There were at least a couple of guards who were stationed by the tomb to make sure that some of those rabble-rousing followers of Jesus didn’t come by and steal the body of Jesus to try to fool the people into believing that He had actually risen from the dead.

Mary Magdalene and just plain Mary got up early and came down to see the tomb and, according to other accounts, were going to anoint Jesus’ body. 

Then, the earth began to shake supernaturally, I guess one could say, as that angel of the Lord broke through into this earthly realm.  Apparently, his aim was bad or else he just wanted to take a stroll while he was here.  For after he arrived, he had to go to the tomb.  At any rate, the angel of the Lord rolled back the stone and sat on it.  I don’t suppose he broke a sweat and had to rest, so I guess he just put himself on display so the guards would just totally freak out.

The Lord is going to supernaturally shake the earth, I believe, in the very near future.  Will you be unprepared as the guards were and totally freak out, or will you be prepared to receive the manifestation of God’s Word when God sends an angel of the Lord to roll away the stone that will signal the Second Coming? 

It is fairly obvious that neither the Romans nor the Jews nor the disciples nor even Jesus’ dearest friends heard or believed Him when He said that He would rise on the third day.  Are you going to be blind-sided as they were by their unbelief?

Father God, Creator of the Heavens and the Earth, the Beginning and the End, help us to listen to you.  Help us to hear your message to us concerning the certain and undeniable truth that the return of Jesus to catch away His Church is on the horizon.  Help us to not be blind-sided.  In the name of Jesus, I ask it and give you the praise for it.  Amen and so be it.  Amen and so be it. 

The Ultimate Crucifixion

Mark 15: 31-32 In the same way the cheif priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

It bothers me each time I read about Jesus' crucifixion because it's so horrific and so insulting to the way that they treated him. On the brighter side though, this crucifixion really is a positive and a victory for you and me. We all know that, if Jesus would have wanted to show them that He could have saved himself, then he would have, but that would have not fulfilled the prophecy of Christ. Without Jesus' crucifixion, we would all be doomed for death.

Luckily for us, in Matthew 27:50, when Christ cried out in a loud voice, He gave up his spirit. At this moment, the curtain of the temple was torn, which allows us the great victory in Christ that we have. Pilate and those around thought that they were going to crucify Jesus and that would be the end to their troubles with Him. To their surprise, it was only the beginning of something wonderful.

When the curtain of the temple was torn, the earth shook, the rocks split, tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. Can you imagine the confusion and bewilderment that went throughout the land? One of these days, Christ will return for us and those who are holy and have given their lives to Christ will raise and gather with him to reign forever!

I thank the Lord for not giving in and not saving himself on the cross. If Jesus would have saved himself, we would not have the promise of Heaven and the chance to live for Him. With his crucifixion, we are able to be blessed and experience his blessings on us!

No Defense?

1 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.
2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “You have said so,” Jesus replied.
3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
Mark 15: 1-5 NIV

Jesus is facing death and He is asked to defend Himself. He simply answers one question. Then, He is silent. I have to admit, I would be trying to think of a defense for myself at that point in time. Jesus didn't. I believe that is because He felt the record spoke for itself. They already knew all that He had done and had drawn their own conclusions.

I have found that sometimes submitting a defense to someone actually makes the situation worse. It is not always best to defend ourselves or even to defend someone else. Sometimes, God simply asks us to be silent. Sometimes, we simply have to walk away and leave the other person to their own thoughts.

If the record must speak for itself, then let's make sure that our record looks good! Everyday, be aware of your words and actions so that you never feel the need to explain them later.

Betrayed With A Kiss

⁴⁷ While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. ⁴⁸ Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” ⁴⁹ Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. ⁵⁰ Jesus replied, “Do what you came for, friend.”  Matthew 26:  47-50 NIV

 

 

^{In this verse, Judas hands Jesus over to the crowd with a kiss! That seems terrible, but it happens often. Even today, someone may seem to be doing something nice when they really have a hidden agenda. We often don't realize what a person's true intentions are without the help of the Holy Spirit, but Jesus knew. Jesus knew what Judas actually planned to do after that kiss and He still called him "friend."}

^{When we find out that we have been betrayed, especially in such a deceptive manner, we generally become angry at the person. We want to retaliate. We feel that we deserve better than that and we want the other person to receive what they deserve. However, Jesus didn't see it that way. Wouldn't Jesus Christ deserve the best treatment? Yet, He didn't retaliate against Judas. He didn't remind Him of all he had done for Him in the past. He didn't remind Him of how much Judas owed Him. No, He simply called him friend and told him to proceed with what he came to do.}

^{Sometimes Satan uses people in terrible ways. Often, people may not even realize they are being used as a pawn. They may feel justified by their actions because they have convinced themselves of what they deserve.}

^{The truth is that, if we all received what we truly deserved, then every one of us would have to spend our eternity in hell. We would never be able to repay God for all of our sins. Instead, Jesus Christ paid the price for us and, through grace, none of us have to receive what we deserve. Sometimes we have to look at others in the same way. We have to be willing to extend to them the same kind of grace that God has given us, even if it doesn't seem fair. If things were truly fair, we would all be worse off. So, let's not dwell so much on what is fair, just, or deserved, but rather let us dwell on what God would expect.}

19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:19-21 NIV

'Rise and Shine!

"They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray. Stay here and keep watch.”   Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour?"  

(Mark 14: 32, 34b, 37  NIV)

Zzzzz!  We lay our heads down at night and begin to pray, "Now, I lay me down to sleep. . .", and that's exactly what we do.  We go to sleep!  How often do we have good intentions of laying down and saying our nightly prayers, only to awaken and realize we fell asleep in the middle of them.  Maybe that's why Jesus said to "sit here"---maybe He thought the disciples would have been more apt to stay awake!

Yesterday, we looked at Peter, and today, we're looking at him again.  But, for Peter, it's still the same day--just later in the evening.  Peter has made the statement to Jesus that he would lay down his life down for Him, and now Jesus is asking Peter why he couldn't stay awake for one hour!  Doesn't sound as though Peter was listening too well to Jesus commands.  "One hour, Peter, is all I'm asking, and you couldn't stay awake long enough to do that."  But, this scenario doesn't happen just once---it happens three times!   

Again, we may be very similar to Peter.  Our church has 12-24 hr. prayer vigils, and sometimes, it's hard to get enough people to fill the time slots. We're not asking one person to do the whole vigil---we're just asking for one hour of time.  Is that too much to ask?  One day, Jesus will return and say, "Enough!  The hour has come.  Rise!  Let us go!"

"Will you be found sleeping?"

Empty Promises

Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”  Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!"

(John 13: 37-38, NIV)

We may look at Peter and think that we could never deny knowing Jesus. If we knew that our life was at stake or we would be thrown into prison, would we waver in our relationship with Jesus Christ?  We would hope we would stand strong, regardless of the consequences.  There have been martyrs in the faith who have gone before us.  There are those in other countries who don't have the freedom to serve the Lord the way we do.  But, what would we do if our freedom of religion was taken away?  Would we stand up and fight to protect it?  

Sometimes we get caught up in the moment, making promises we cannot keep. God knows the extent of our commitment. Peter proudly tells Jesus that he was ready to die for Him. But, Jesus knew that Peter would deny even knowing Jesus, that very night, in order to protect himself.

What about the "things" that make up our lives?  If we were asked to give up our time, money and earthly possessions in order to advance the Kingdom, would we lay it all down and follow Christ?  Maybe we're more like Peter than we realize.  God says "lay it down" for Him, but our flesh doesn't want to let go.  Oh, we may say with our lips "I surrender all", but then when faced with an opportunity to "give it all up", do we still hold on?  So, be careful what you say---you may just be making a promise that you're not willing to keep!

"Take my life and let it be, All for you and for your glory. 

Take my life and let it be yours!"

THICK HEADED

“No,” said Peter, “You shall never wash my feet.” 

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part in Me”.  John 13:8 NIV

Man, did Peter have a thick head or not?  After all that Peter had seen Jesus do and after all he had heard Jesus say, just what could he have been thinking?  You would think that the disciples and especially the water walking Peter would have been carrying the wash pan around for Jesus. 

In the very first miracle of turning the water into wine, we heard Mary, the mother of Jesus, give instructions to do whatever Jesus said to do.  I think we need to make a commitment to follow her instructions and do whatever Jesus says for us to do. 

Time after time, He tells us to “speak to the mountain” and that is exactly what we need to be doing.  We are not seeing the mountains in our lives being removed because we are not speaking to them.  Just like Peter, and for a variety of reasons, we are being thick-headed.  Jesus is asking us to allow Him to wash the dust, dirt and debris that we have accumulated on our feet from all the mountain climbing we have been doing. 

Father God, help us to make up our mind to do whatever Jesus asks us to do.  Help us to not only be willing to allow Jesus to wash us, but to live lives of faith that will cause others to want to be washed by Him.  Help us to speak to the mountains in our lives, believe that you will remove them, and give You the glory for removing them.  Amen and so be it.  Amen and so be it.         

Be Generous--- It is Contagious!

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' (Matthew 25:40 NIV)

We as Americans have the choice to pick and choose. We choose who to be friends with and who not to be friends with.  We choose who to sit by and who not to sit by.  We choose who to deem worthy and who to deem unworthy! We will choose to walk by a homeless man and say, "I wish I had something to give them", then immediately go to the nearest McDonald's and buy more than we need when we have plenty at home to eat.

I'm just as guilty of this as anyone else! But, maybe it's time we take days where we just eat at home and give what we would have spent for lunch to someone in need. Just think---if you give to them, then you are giving to God! If we as Christians choose not to feed the hungry, clothe the naked or give to the poor, then we are doing so unto God.

In John 12, Jesus predicts his death once again. Jesus' death is a glorious victory for you and me, as it's our escape from Hell. John 12:44-46 sheds us some marvelous light on the greatness of our God and Jesus' death. "When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness."

Just as how wonderful Jesus is to us, we should shine the light to those in the world to show them what Jesus can do. I challenge you all this week to try the act of generosity---it's contagious! Be Blessed!