Tag: Jesus

Posted on

Acts 23 “When Morning Gilds the Skies”

ImageHow do you face each new day and especially when it seems that the skies have fallen in and all of the world is against you? The Hymn “When Morning Gilds the Skies” originally written in German and translated into English by a Roman Priest offers to us a view that we should consider. The first stanza reminds us that no matter where we are, no matter what we are doing, Jesus is our source of hope and our reason to give praise.

“When morning gilds the skies my heart awaking cries:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Alike at work and prayer, to Jesus I repair:
May Jesus Christ be praised!”

The Apostle Paul, after having experiencing a second round of discouragement due to his inability to present Christ and His resurrection fully to the very men who were the leaders in the religious community, sat in his cell wondering as we might “what next?” Three times I have presented Christ and three times there has been not acceptance but riots. And yet we read:  “The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Have courage, for just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” Truly the words of this hymn might have flowed forth from Paul even though with a heavy heart he seems to know that God’s mercy has come to an end for these religious leaders. They now have had six times to hear the truth of the gospel message from Jesus, Stephen and now Paul and with each time their hearts have hardened. It would be just a mere two years and the priest who ordered Paul to be struck would be assassinated and his reign of corruption would come to an end thus fulfilling the words of Paul: “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall!”

When we are at the point of discouragement and it seems that those to whom we witness are hardened may the words of this hymn flow forth as words of praise for the one who holds our future in his hands will direct our steps in the way he has planned.

Beloved today are you facing a loved one that seems to have a hardened heart? Are you standing at the crossroads of discouragement? Beloved, take heart, Jesus knows the end from the beginning. Take the words of this hymn and sing as you have never before sung! Re-read this chapter and find encouragement from Jesus’ words to Paul: “Have courage!”

 

Posted on

Roses or Thorns?

ImageRoses and Thorns; ups and downs; wins and defeats; life at its best and its worst. King David as the leader of Israel faced both wins and challenges both in his kingship and in his personal walk with the Lord God Almighty. His psalms reveal the inner struggles he faced and where he turned when all of life was full of roses and when it was full of thorns. Remember the Transfiguration story in Matthew? It was there that the disciples, Peter, James and John had the privilege of seeing Jesus in all of his glory. It was there on the mountain top they also saw only the grandeur and vista of the heavens and the valleys below were a distant speck. Peter wanted to memorialize the beauty and never leave, but Jesus reminded the disciples that the valley below lay with unfinished work…the thorns like the faithless disciples unable to conquer the demon possessed boy. King David in Psalm 21 has been victorious in battle and his life is full of roses but in Psalm 22 we find life is also filled with thorns—the disappointments, the discouragement, when all of life “stink; when we have our “melt downs.”

Observe a life full of roses from David’s perspective, his mountain top day. O Lord, you give me strength, you deliver me, you have granted me my heart’s desire, and have not refused my request. I have rich blessings beyond number, a house full of children that will carry on my lineage, nations that bow down to me in reverence. All of this is because I have chosen to trust in you and Your faithfulness.

Psalm 22 is a sharp contrast and a day filled with thorns. It is here that David felt abandoned, alone in his  prayer time.  He wrote: I pray but my prayers are full of groaning and tears that do not let up. People, my fickle sons of the kingdom, are insulting me and despising me, taunting me and mocking me, they remind me that I am just a lonely man twisted as a worm. In times when I need their comfort, they instead are coming to me saying where is your God now?

We can relate to David’s days. Life changes, people are fickle and they come in and rearrange our things so that the order of our lives is altered, sometimes even down to the paper clips on our desks. We walk through our day and find our daily discipline challenging and the enemy’s words follow us in our minds from room to room. What is the solution when we have days filled with thorns? Take time and return to the mountain top to see the beauty of the Transfiguration, to see the beauty of the heavens and hear the words of God reminding us softly and tenderly that we need to listen, pay attention to His Son. Do as King David; reorient your day with prayer, meditation and rejoicing in the small victories that make life amongst the thorns bearable. Perhaps you are facing a day of thorns. Stop! Refocus your attention on the roses that are in full bud waiting to be opened.

Remember this:  Roses are teaching that the beauty of life will bloom, once you have taught yourself the lessons given by living with the thorns.”[Deoudis]

Posted on

Feb 14th “God’s VALENTINE message —> I love ALL”

ImageHow appropriate that today when the world stops and offers messages of love to one another we read a chapter that demonstrates what true love is through the lives of two men who earnestly desire to please God. Jesus had commanded his disciples to go to the uttermost part of the earth with the gospel message thus opening the door to all, Gentile and Jew…but the Jew was hesitant and so being a God of love He divinely orchestrated a meeting between a Gentile–Cornelius and Peter–a Jew, that His message of love may go forth.

We first meet Cornelius, a Roman Centurion, full of faith and charity to his fellow man. He was a man of prayer and a “God –fearer” and he walked in the revealed light that he had. It happened when he was in his prayer time that God sent one of his angelic visitors who directed him to send for Peter. It is obvious from this encounter that Cornelius did not know who Peter was but amazingly the Apostle Peter was in Joppa which is about 30 miles away. As Cornelius prayed, God was preparing Peter for his next day encounter with a Gentile. While Cornelius obeyed instantly the messenger of God, Peter was not so willing to obey as we hear him once again say “no Lord!” Thus God’s message had to be repeated three times and even then he didn’t get it.  And so the Holy Spirit comes and boldly tells Peter, “get up, go down, and accompany them without hesitation, because I have sent them.” And he did.

In obedience Peter complies by welcoming the Gentiles, feeding them and giving them rooms to sleep all in obedience to the Holy Spirit. Think an angelic visitor watched over this house that night? Could be! On the next day Peter, along with 6 other Jews, accompany Cornelius’ two servants and the soldier to Caesarea where he would have the marvelous opportunity to share the gospel message and see Cornelius’ family all come to Christ.  Here’s what we can learn from this chapter:

  1. God loves all men and desires that they all come to repentance as Isaiah wrote: “The Gentiles shall come to your light” [Is 60:1-3]
  2. God divinely orchestrates both receiver and giver that his message may go forth. He is the one who draws all men to himself “If I am lifted up, I will draw all men to myself.” [Jn 12:23]
  3. God prepares the hearts of those seeking him and he prepares the heart of those bringing the message
  4. God is not partial to anyone but is willing that all come to him. Cornelius was a ‘good’ man but he was not a believer and thus he needed someone to show him “I AM the way, I AM the truth, I AM the life.” [Jn 16]

Where is God opening a door for you to share the good news to someone? Which man do most resemble?  Will you step out in faith and obey?

 

Posted on

Acts 7 “I Surrender All”

ImageThe hymn “I Surrender All” is a testimony of one, who in obedience to the Holy Spirit, discovered that when we yield, God opens the fount of blessing that had been hidden in the cleft of the rock but shielded from view by our faltering steps. When God calls you to His side, one of the first things he does is ask you to step out in obedience to Him and then provides a test to see if we are worthy to be called his disciple.  He calls you just as he did Abraham, Joseph, and Moses which was the text of Stephen’s message before the religious council. All of these biblical heroes of the faith stepped out in faith and yet each was tested that they might be found pure and holy in His sight. Where is God testing you at this moment in time? In what area has he called you to be a part of his work and you have yet to totally surrender?

The fruit does not fall far from the tree is an old saying that reflects the truth that even though we deny it,  we more often than not are mimicking the examples of our forefathers and this was true of the religious leaders. Three false charges leads to one message: you are unbelieving rejecting Israelites just as of old. These religious leaders had the Promised Messiah in their very midst “Jesus the Nazarene, a man clearly attested to you by God with powerful deeds, wonders, and miraculous signs that God performed among you through him, just as you yourselves know –“ [Acts]. With great power and miracles before their eyes still the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus and asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He rightly answered “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.”

After the death of Jesus, three times now these religious leaders have had the extended hand of mercy from God as they have witnessed the outpouring of the Holy Spirit of which they had not received, through the healing of the lame man and the power of the Word in Peter and John and now in Stephen. This will be God’s extended hand of mercy yet again as anointed Stephen revealed their true uncircumcised heart and ears as they continued to resist the Holy Spirit just as their ancestors did.

Beloved, when God presents opportunities to be His witness are we as anointed, prepared and courageous as Stephen? Are we ready to be a martyr for Jesus? But even more importantly, when and if we are called to stand for Christ are we not only willing but able to say: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!”?

Beloved, are you totally surrendered to Jesus?  

Posted on

Acts 3 “A Divine Interruption or Appointment?”

ImageHow do you handle interruptions when you are late, on your way, ready to go to church or prayer meeting, Bible study? If we all would stop and investigate our responses we would more than often see them as just that; interruptions but not as divine appointments. Peter and John teach us some valuable lessons as they are on their way to prayer.

First, these two disciples were on their way just as they have always done, three times a day. It was their regular walk to the temple at specified times, morning, noon and at 3 pm. They had passed this gate many times and probably took note of the many alms beggars there. But, why this one day did their gaze fall upon this one beggar out of all the rest? Why did they stop and talk to him? Why this day, why not yesterday or why not wait until tomorrow? Why did Jesus only heal the one infirmed man at the Pool of Siloam when there were many there? The answer lies in this: Joh 14:31 “but I am doing just what the Father commanded me,” It was the Father’s will for that man at the pool to be healed “that” day and not another, and it was the Father’s will that this beggar out of all the others be healed on “this day.” Only in eternity can we know the answers to the “why’s.” For now it is that the Father reached down from heaven this one day and chose to place His favor upon this one man.

So when God sends you an “interruption—appointment” remember that it was the Father’s will and His plan. You may just be meeting a beggar in need of redemption, in fact a beggar not even looking for eternal life. But if your faith is strong and you are willing to be used, God will give you the privilege as he gave Peter and John to offer the cup of living water, the bread of consolation and healing in the name of Jesus so that the words spoken by Peter would bear fruit: “And on the basis of faith in Jesus’ name, his very name has made this man – whom you see and know – strong. The faith that is through Jesus has given him this complete health in the presence of you all.”

Are you looking for a divine appointment? It often does not come as roaring thunder to stop us in our tracks but instead the still quiet voice that Elijah heard as he waited in the cave. 1Ki 19:12 After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a soft whisper.

 

Posted on

Chapter Two: From Heaven to Earth

ImageToday as part of our year’s reading of the NT, Psalms and Proverbs,  we begin the study of the book of Acts. Of all of the NT authors, Dr. Luke is by far the most complete as to the life of Christ here on earth from his announcement to his ascension. In Luke we find Christ in the living walking breathing man; in Acts we find Christ’s living active Spirit (Holy Spirit) indwelling each believer. In Luke Jesus presents himself as the suffering servant; in Acts he presents himself through the suffering yet rejoicing servants. In Luke Jesus tell the disciples: You are witnesses and in Acts Jesus tells them you will be my witnesses. Luke covers about 30 yrs of time from the announcement to the ascension of Christ and in Acts about 30 yrs from Jesus’ ascension to Paul’s two year imprisonment in Rome. Thus in just two short books we will cover a span of 60 yrs—for many a person’s lifetime–of what transpired as the church began its ministry. In Luke we walked beginning from Nazareth and ended up in Jerusalem. In Acts we begin in Jerusalem and end up in Rome.

As we begin this journey with Luke there are some notable things of which we need to take notice:

In Luke 24: he, that is Christ, opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures, in Acts 1: he [Christ] presented himself alive with many convincing proofs so they could visualize the scriptures.

In Luke 24: it stands written that the Christ would suffer and would rise from the dead on the third day, in Acts 1: as proof that this was fulfilled, He was seen by them over a forty-day period

In Luke 24: repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem and in Acts the disciples are anointed with power to accomplish this by being his witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth.”

In Luke the disciples see the risen Christ; then he vanished out of their sight. In Acts the risen Christ was with them 40 days; then was lifted up and a cloud hid him from their sight.

In Luke “Didn’t our hearts burn within us while he was speaking with us on the road, while he was explaining the scriptures to us?” But in contrast, in Acts: they excitedly began to ask him, “Lord, is this the time when you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”

No angels are present when Christ reveals himself to the disciples in the upper room but in Acts: suddenly two men in white clothing stood near them. There is a saying that goes like this: You can be so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good. In Acts we see them gazing heavenward and two men are sent to guide them back to earth. That is perhaps why the two angels reminded them: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking up into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way you saw him go into heaven.” Translation: you are to be His witnesses until he returns so why are you wasting time gazing at the clouds? He will be back but the work is still unfinished. Get Busy!

And thus now as His witnesses we are to long for his appearing but until he comes back we are to be busy about the Master’s business. So the question as we begin this week is this: where is our focus—on heaven or the earth where the work must begin and end.

Posted on

The Heart of the “Meter”

ImageWhy study Proverbs 3? This chapter is  one of the most excellent in all this book as it teaches us to be wise, discerning, and gives us directions on how to bring it about. It begins with these words “My child.” And we are all children—But to all who have received him – those who believe in his name – he has given the right to become God’s children [John].  As God’s children we need wisdom and counsel to direct our steps, our thinking and our decisions. The author Solomon begins by stating two commands in verse one that every child should heed. (1) Do not forget his teaching and (2) Let your heart keep my commandments.

Jesus taught that where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. [Matt] What is this heart; what is the underlying meaning? It is the inner man, the center for our moral, spiritual, intellectual life. Thus it encompasses who we are. Our heart can be uncircumcised or circumcised; it can be hardened or softened; wicked or pure; deceitful and desperately wicked defiling our entire being or it can be renewed by God’s love and grace making it tender towards him and his love.   

Chapter 3 is thus filled with precepts and principles that will guide us and it all begins in the heart. If we choose to follow that step we will be rewarded to see this truth:  Rom 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways! It is because of that principle we can trust that although our own understanding may lead us astray God’s never will because he plainly says: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” [Is 55]. That is why we can trust in Him to guide us in the proper direction, to instill in us the proper understanding. God would never lead his own children astray! Remember this truth: God may not reveal to us each step we take but asks us to trust Him as we take each step. It is then that we can know without a shadow of doubt that “he will make our paths straight.”

So how is your heart meter registering today?

 

 

Posted on

Cascading Dominoes of Forgiveness

ImageRecently there was a domino contest to see how many dominoes could be erected and then sent cascading down one upon another.  The Guinness world record was shattered when 275,000 dominoes fell one after another revealing a stunning picture before the audience of onlookers.

How long a line of dominoes have we erected of those whose sins we are unwilling to forgive just as the wicked forgiven servant in Matthew 18 did? He erected his own set of dominoes and kept adding to them one at a time. He had the power to topple them by just echoing the one word “forgiven” just as he had received from the Master—but he refused to do so. He failed to look back and see his line of dominoes not standing but lying for the Master had graciously and mercifully chosen with a flick of His finger to send them toppling to reveal a beautiful picture of forgiveness and cleansing.

The question then before us is; will we keep erect the dominoes of other’s sins against us as a reminder of their hurt or will we willingly offer the cup of cold water, the words of forgiveness to God’s chosen people who have also been forgiven by Him? Listen to Jesus: “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother who sins against me? As many as seven times?”  Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, I tell you, but seventy times seven times; unlimited times!” [Matt 18]

Let’s dig deeper. Suppose we asked God to do as David did by asking Him to examine us in the night. Would our dominoes remain standing or fall? Look at what David said: “you have examined me during the night. You have carefully evaluated me, but you find no sin. I am determined I will say nothing sinful.” When we can pray those words back to God each domino we have erected will fall one after another until a beautiful picture of total forgiveness lays before us and others.

So today, Beloved, gather your dominoes and with a flick of the finger send them cascading into the beautiful pattern of forgiveness. Let them lay there for awhile as you muse what God has truly done. And then you can recite Ps 17:15 as your prayer to God for this new day: “As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake.”

Remember these wise words when you consider your choice. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “the Gods we worship write their names on our faces; be sure of that . . . thus, it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshiping we are becoming.”

Posted on

Forgiveness Heals Two Wounds

ImageI am sure you have met people who report their lack of attendance at the house of God on worship days because “there are hypocrites there.” Welcome to the neighborhood, we are all hypocrites in one shape or other. We offend because we fail to think, we judge because we feel we are superior in our spiritual understanding, we respond with forked tongue more often than not. Jesus remarked that if we are to be found faithful we must be faithful in much as well as trustworthy. We must be honest in all of our relationships and demonstrate to the world God’s way of responding. Jesus had just taught about Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man had every opportunity to forgive and respond in kindness but he chose not to do so and now Jesus follows up that in chapter 17.

The rich man’s problem was that he chose to offend, he chose to be a stumbling block, and he chose to ignore Lazarus’ need. Jesus begins by saying, yes offenses will come, but WOE to the one that is the cause. And so he bridges from this parable to teach his disciples about kingdom life. He said “watch/guard yourself” in how you respond as the true test of kingdom living is forgiveness even if someone offends or abuses us 7 times in a day and returns to seek forgiveness OR even if they do not accept our forgiveness or respond to it. It was common in that day for the Pharisees to keep a record of offenses—-Jesus says that is not God’s way. Instead look at it this way. You are the servant, the slave in the kingdom. When we offer forgiveness to another we have a choice to respond in one of two ways:

  1. We can say pridefully that it was hard to do but it had to be done. OR
  2. We say as the servant in this story: ‘We are slaves undeserving of special praise; we have only done what was our duty.’” In other words, we were obedient as that is the model of God’s forgiveness.  

Now Jesus uses the story of the 10 lepers to teach even more about this principle: we are not only to forgive but also when forgiven we are to thank the forgiver and healer of our soul. Only one leper returned to Jesus to thank him. He was saying to the disciples, you see this leper; that is true kingdom living. He was saying you are the blessed receivers but often fail to thank God for it. The other lepers went on their way healed but they did not return. That is how forgiveness often works. Some are accepting of our gift and others just take it for granted. Also, some choose to keep a record of those times they forgave. You have failed to see that you are to be like the servants “we have done our duty;” obedient to the teaching of Christ. Mat 6:14 “For if you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.   Jesus says, no matter the response, it is our attitude and our obedience as servants in the kingdom. It is our duty as God’s servants.

To all of this the disciples respond with this statement: Increase our faith. Jesus said it doesn’t need to be increased; you already have the faith you need, you just need to exercise it, plant it and watch the results.

So the questions before us are many but here are a few: Where are you holding an unforgiving spirit within? Where are you judging without mercy? Where are you like the 9 lepers who have failed to thank God for His forgiveness of your sin?

Posted on

The word of the day: Postiche???

Image“Is Your Postiche Showing?”

Today’s good word is “postiche” [pahs teesh] which comes from the French and carries with it the idea of fake or counterfeit. In Luke 12 Jesus reveals the postiche of the Pharisees to his disciples and provides warning signs that they too could become just as counterfeit in their faith. To remain pure and true Jesus over and over says “do not and do” in light of how they are to walk and live in the world. These are valuable lessons for us as well especially since: “Nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing is secret that will not be made known”

Jesus pointed to the Pharisees as hypocrites. They said one thing but often did another. To be sure, there were those who did not but Jesus is warning the disciples against those who wore their “postiches” of long robes and flowing tassels as evidence they were seeking God’s approval through works not the heart. Jesus pointed to them and said: Be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees. Their walk and talk did not mesh.

Secondly, Jesus said do not deny me before men nor fear those who kill the body because after your death they are powerless. Later John the Apostle would write: “the one who kills you will think he is offering service to God.” Down through the centuries that has proven to be true and today we are seeing martyrs across our globe. Therefore, prepare your mind to not be fearful knowing this truth: your death at their hands will only usher you into the presence of the Lord God Almighty “Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His saints.” [Ps]

Image

Thirdly, do not lay up treasures here on earth where moth and rust destroy but rather store up treasures in heaven where no thief can steal and no moth can destroy. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” [Luke 12]

Fourthly, be a faithful servant awaiting the return of the Master.” Blessed are those slaves whom their master finds alert when he returns!” [Luke 12]

As Jesus began he ended: “You hypocrites.” Your postiches are showing. You “know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how can you not know how to interpret the present time?”

Beloved, are our postiches showing or are we true and faithful?  

Optimized by Optimole