Come See the Place where the Lord Lay
4/8/2012
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“In the end of the Sabath as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mar towards the sepulcher. And behold there was a great earthquake.For the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it.His countenance was like lightening, and his raiment was as quite as snow. And for the fear of him, the keepers did shake and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the woman , ‘Fear not ye, for I know that ye seek Jesus which was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” Matthew 28:6
Every circumstance surrounding the life of Jesus is astounding to the Christian mind - from His virgin birth at Bethlehem’s manger through the many miracles that dotted His ministry, and finally to Calvary’s cross and His resurrection. Although it was a wearying pilgrimage, in our eyes it is paved with glory. Wherever the sole of His foot trod is hallowed ground to the believer.
The Miracle is in the Ash
2/26/2012
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"Then a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and store them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for the water of purification; it is purifying from sin.” Numbers 19:9
There are many sacrifices that were associated with the Old Testament Tabernacle, but there was one particular one that was celebrated outside the Tabernacle. In Numbers 19, Moses gives instructions and says ‘You will find a perfect red heifer, and you will take this perfect red heifer outside the camp, and you will sacrifice this perfect red heifer before me’. And would you know, from the time of Moses to the present, there have only been nine such red perfect heifers? Many red heifers were brought before the priests, and as they were inspected, they always found something wrong. Tradition holds that even if it had one hair that was not red, it was not accepted. To find a prefect red heifer was very rare. And when we speak of rarity, we mean that something is very valuable. It was extremely valuable to find a perfect red heifer. It created such excitement in those days. It created an atmosphere of release and rescue. And we have to be careful today not to make common what God has made so valuable.
God Still Loves a Cheerful Giver!
2/22/2012
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“Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” (2Corinthians 9:7)
The apostle Paul wrote these words from Macedonia to encourage the saints in Corinth who had pledged an offering for the church in Jerusalem, which was being persecuted and going without many things at this time. He tells them to give GENEROUSLY, and ahead of time, that which they had previously promised. He is telling them that giving has to be a matter of generosity, and not a grudging obligation. No one is being forced or mandated to give, he reminds them, but that the underlying attitude in giving is that one gives willingly and generously to meet the need of the other saints. And if one should sow sparingly, and not generously, then conversely he will reap sparingly. What God expects, and loves, is a cheerful giver!
I AM THAT I AM
1/22/2012
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“All the way around shall be eighteen thousand cubits; and the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE.” Ezekiel 48:35
Different people have different ways in which they conceive God. Some form their concept of God early in life. Some others conceive God based on certain situations or circumstances in which they find themselves. Sometimes some see God as a harsh taskmaster. Some who come into the kingdom and hear the phrase ‘Heavenly Father’ get a nice warm feeling because they had a father that was there for them; who mentored them, and was a role model of what a man, father and husband should be. Yet so many other people’s experience of fatherhood was not a pleasant one at all. Some were used, abused and abandoned. Some didn’t have it so well with their mothers as well; so that when the word “father” or “mother” is used the psychological pairing begins to take place, and people start relating the word with their experience with their fathers and mothers.
But God has told us, as He did Moses during the Burning Bush experience that He is ‘I AM’.
WHERE IS THE DREAM?
1/18/2012
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“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’
I have a dream…” Martin Luther King Jr, 1963.
The dream from this hero of history was for all of us, to bring about change in the United States. But his vision was not limited to the United States of America. Just prior to his falling victim to an assassin’s bullet, we see Dr. King’s dream expanded for the whole world. It wasn’t a white or black thing; it was, and it still is a human thing; an individual thing. If God indeed created all of us equal, then He intends for all of us to equally enjoy His blessings. King not only wanted peace for the world, but he wanted to see poverty and the fact of children dying of starvation eradicated. He wanted to see the world changed. And we still need dreamers today who want to see the world changed!
DO YOU REALLY FAST FOR ME?
1/10/2012
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GET RID OF THE LITTLE FOXES!
1/3/2012
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When I was a child, I remember that a certain man used to come through my neighborhood on a wagon. We called him the junkman or the ragman. He had a mule, a wagon and one arm. And when he would come to our neighborhood all of us kids would run out to him and he would let us ride on his wagon.
One day I asked him, “How did you lose your arm?” He said, “You know, it’s really kind of foolish.” “How is that?” I asked. “Well, I was working in a citrus grove, and one day I stuck a big green thorn in my hand while picking citrus, and I never did anything about it. I just would wrap it up, keep working, wrap it up, and keep working. Because I never treated that thorn in my hand, I eventually lost my arm up to the elbow.”
