A Welcome Visit

     Some visitors are rather intrusive. They are like your relatives at Christmas who remind you of Proverbs 25:17, “Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house—too much of you, and he will hate you. “     

     Other visitors are tolerated. You don’t enjoy them much, but you can get through it with God’s help. And, you usually feel good that you endured it. It’s something like kissing your sister.

     But some visitors refresh you. They are very welcome, and you come away as a better person. You are glad to roll out the red carpet for them because they stimulate you and leave you never the same.

     When Jesus visited earth his visit was received in all three of these ways. Zechariah (John’s the Baptist’s Father) was never the same as a result of the Son of God’s visit. You remember the plot: Luke’s orderly account begins with a priest’s encounter with an angel. The encounter left him silent until his son was born. When he was able to speak his first words they were about God’s visit to earth. Only later did he talk about his own son.

     In the coming of Jesus Christ, God visited the world and left it never the same. For that visit, from Zechariah’s perspective, was:

 
I.    A Spiritual Visit.  The language is political: horn, David’s reign, deliverance from enemies, preparation for a king’s visit, and peace. But the meaning of the language is spiritual: redemption, salvation, forgiveness, mercy, remembered covenant, service to God, and light for those in darkness.

II.    A Long-Awaited Visit:  One thing that makes Christmas to be Christmas is the sense of anticipation. Only Easter could rival that sense of the giving of new fife. In a sense this is the last prophecy before the coming of the Messiah. We should notice the longing that is in it. It is similar to Simeon’s response (Luke 2:28-32).

III.    An Effectual Visit:  Some visits happen and leave you with a first-class yawn. But this visit makes an actual difference. John the Baptist’s whole life is wrapped up in this prophecy. Listen: Our service, holiness, righteousness, moral excellence, and peace are at stake.

Conclusion:  Jesus got upset because the Jews didn’t recognize their visitor (Luke 19:44). There are few things as embarrassing as being in the presence of greatness and not knowing it. Will Christmas catch us unaware of what God is doing in the world? Will you respond like scrooge, complaining about this visit? Will you respond like the Jews, nonchalant? That’s the question we all must answer in this New Year of 2014. The very existence of our families and our nation is at stake.

Hope We Have in Christ

The Meaning of HOPE:

    1.  As is written in God's WORD: Confident CERTAINTY that God will fulfill all He has promised.

    2.  As is used in today's WORLD: A wishful FEELING that wants and expectations might be met.

1 Peter 3:15-16 ¹⁵But Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts (“set apart Christ as Lord in the heart”): and be ready always to give an answer to every man who asks you a reason of the hope that is in you (every Believer must know the Word of God); with meekness and fear (never from a Holier-than-thou stance): ¹⁶Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed who falsely accuse your good conversation (Godly lifestyle) in Christ. (Irrespective of what people may say, the Righteousness of Christ will ultimately prevail. In other words, those who falsely accuse will ultimately be proven wrong.)

Please understand Biblical HOPE is a gift from God -- given to those who have put their faith in Him and received His Life through His Spirit. Listen in Verse 15 "'To give a reason for the hope that is in you" is not at all the same things as convincing by rational argument why that hope is in us. The work of the Spirit of God in us transcends reason, but never contradicts it. And when a Christian says 'the reason I am so-and-so is because I have received the Holy Spirit,' or 'I have received from God something which has made this possible,' it doesn't contradict reason. It transcends it, and is an answer concerning the hope that is in you. The line we are continually apt to be caught by is that of argumentative reasoning out why we are what we are. We can never do that, but we can always say why the hope is in us.

"Reason is the faculty of mind by which man draws conclusions. Every man is always striving after a true expression of what he is. When a man is born again, his personality become alive to God as the Source of inspiration! Paul's words in Galatians 2:20: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" are the expression of the only worthy rationalism...."

Listen: As long as we use the image of our own salvation, our experience, the image of our feelings, or answers to prayer, we shall never begin to understand what Paul meant when he said, 'Christ lives in me.' The exercise of man's essential reason is drawing on God as the Source of life.

Those who don't know God can't understand the wonders of the hope that God has put in our hearts. It makes no sense to the secular mind! The world's finite reasoning and "rational" understanding clashes with the reality of God's plan and eternal Kingdom! The key to understanding -- God's Holy Spirit -- is missing!

The only real gift at Christmas is Jesus.

Merry Christmas Everybody!

THANKSGIVING MESSAGE 2013

     Thanksgiving is the time to feel gratitude to God for all the good things in life. It is a time to acknowledge the good deeds of fellowmen and be thankful. Thanksgiving thoughts of people give us an insight as to what people feel about it.

• Life can be very trying. When your child is hungry, your body wracked with pain, or you have no idea where you and your family will find a place to sleep, it's hard to find something for which you can be thankful. So, for just a few minutes on Thanksgiving Day, step outside your situation and just "be". Find something, no matter how small, to be thankful for because in giving thanks, you will be lightening your load, even if for only a moment,
• Thanksgiving thoughts are the kind of thoughts that we should have all year long. It is the folks with thankful hearts whose lives are filled with song. We should take time for kindness to those we hold most dear, and just extend a helping hand to others through the year. Let's set aside some quiet time and share it with a friend. For friendships brings a special joy and pleasure without end. So may the blessings of this day that I would ask for you, now fill you with Thanksgiving Peace that lasts the whole year through!

Giving Thanks When You Can’t

     Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good (note – but only if certain conditions are met) to them who love God (note – the first condition), to them who are the called according to His purpose” (note – this means it’s “His Purpose, and not ours,” which is the second condition; otherwise, all things will not work together for our good).

     With the understanding of conditions laid out in the above verse, look at the startling command of 1 Thessalonians 5:18 which bewilders even committed believers at times: “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s Will for you in Christ Jesus.”

     How do we give thanks in times of catastrophe? For what are we grateful when disaster strikes?

     As foreign as it may seem, we give thanks to God in all things because His sovereign, loving power is able to weave our grief, sorrow, and pain into the fabric of His eternal plan for our lives. God does not cause evil, and neither is He conquered by it. You may ask HOW? Because of what Jesus did on the cross for mankind.

     Listen: God’s purposes for us cannot be thwarted by our problems. For that, we can give thanks in the midst of our adversity. In 2 Cor. 12: 9-10 And He said unto me, My Grace is sufficient for you (speaks of enabling Grace, which is really the Goodness of God carried out by the Holy Spirit): for My Strength is made perfect in weakness. (All Believers are weak, but the Lord tends to make us weaker, with the intention being that we then depend solely upon Him, thereby, obtaining His Strength.) Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities (because of the end result), that the Power of Christ may rest upon me. (If Paul needed so humbling and painful an experience of what the carnal nature is, it is evident that all Christians need it. Whatever weakens, belittles, and humiliates that proud and willful nature should be regarded by the Believer as most worthwhile.) 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong (then the strength of Christ can be exhibited through me, but only when I know I am weak).

     Someone once wrote – “The sovereignty of God is the one impregnable rock to which the suffering human heart must cling. The circumstances surrounding our lives are not accident: they may be the work of evil, but that evil is held firmly within the mighty hand of our sovereign God.”

     All evil is subject to Him, and evil cannot touch His children unless He permits it. God is the Lord of human history and of the personal history of every member of His redeemed family. The question is “Do you know Him’? You can! Take a look at the beginning of our blog for details then pray and ask Jesus to come into your heart and forgive your sins. HE WILL! Amen.

     Some of you may presently be experiencing some difficulties in your life - This devotion is worth a look. With God at the helm you will find The Anchor Holds - Despite the Storm.  Be Blessed!

The Heart of a Nation

Read: 2 Corinthians 3:4-18

     Listen: As all of you who follow my Devotional Blog know, I have great concern for our Nation. Why? Because I believe of the importance God placed in a people, starting with the Founding Fathers, to establish a great free nation who would trust God and propagate the Gospel of His Son Jesus Christ to the entirety of the World.

     I’m sure you would agree that our Nation is in deep trouble. Let me present a thought for you to consider!

     Physical blindness (the inability to see the material world) has several origins: disease, injury, malformity, age, etc. Spiritual blindness (the inability to understand spiritual truth) has only one cause: Satan, “the god of this world” who “has blinded the minds of the unbelieving. (2 Corinthians 4:3).

     The problem in our Nation is Spiritual Blindness: Just as there is only one cause for spiritual blindness, so there is only one cure. Paul prescribes it in his letter to the Corinthians: “But whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil (of unbelief) is taken away (2 Corinthians 3:16).

    I truly belief our nation is living in Spiritual Darkness and only a personal encounter with the risen Christ can bring life and light. The Apostle John proclaimed that Christ is “…the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man” (John 1:9).

     Unbelievers abide in the dominion of darkness and Satan. It is God the Father Who “delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13).

     As the Gospel (the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ) is preached, the Holy Spirit moves in the hearts of men to guide them into the truth that sets them free. We understand our alienation from God is the result of our sins. We realize our inability to win His favor. We also clearly see that we can be forgiven and reconciled to God the Father only through Christ’s sin bearing work at Calvary.         

     Therefore, I believe the problem in our Nation today lies at the footsteps of our churches. Why? Because a false gospel other than Jesus and Him crucified for the most part is being preached. And this Seeker Sensitive, feel good gospel is not the truth.

    Getting back to the Heart of a Nation, only repentance is the answer. We must call on Jesus’ name, asking Him to save us from our sins, placing our faith in Him alone – and in that moment our blindness is lifted that once again we can see the Kingdom of God.

HIS STRENGTH FOR OUR WEAKNESS (Part 3)

3.  THEIR GREAT DISCOVERY (No Task is Too Great for God – His Strength for Our Weakness)

     An yet Paul had said that it was when he was at his weakest that God’s power was channeled most effectively in his life. It is difficult to imagine a situation that would be more threatening than the one Israel faced. Little did she realize that she was about to make a great discovery. No task is too great for God.

     Moses responded to the cries and laments of Israel by saying: “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord” (Exodus 14:13). Pharaoh was behind them, the Red Sea was before them, but Israel was about to discover that God makes a way where there is no way. When we are dealing with Him we have touched supernatural resources. An east wind began to blow all night long, and a path was made in the sea.

     Israel was about to discover that when God acts He acts in the nick of time. His words to Paul had been: “My grace is sufficient.” Not an overabundance, not too little, but just enough. This is a thought that characterizes God’s actions: “When the fullness of time was come” (Gal. 4:4). God sent forth His Son, Christ Jesus. God acts in our lives at a time when we needed Him to act. This was Israel’s discovery. Now they needed the Red Sea parted. The time had come.

     But there was a third discovery. Salvation is not what we do, but it is what God does. These were the words of Moses: “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.” Not what we do, but what He does. No task is too great for Him.

     Let me ask you:

·         Do you feel like there is no place to go?

·        Is your back to the wall?

     We don’t have to go anywhere or do anything to experience His presence and His strength. It is there for those who will make the discovery “When I am weak, then am I strong.”

HIS STRENGTH FOR OUR WEAKNESS (Introduction)

The Scriptures are full of Irony. Irony is an outcome of events that is contrary to what might have been expected. Imagine the irony in Pharaohs decree to kill the male Hebrew children. He began to fear that Israel’s rapid multiplying would result in their rising up against Egypt. Yet his daughter drew Moses from the bulrush and raised him in the place of Egypt. It is an irony that the one Pharaoh feared was living in his place and eating at his table. Hear the irony of Solomon’s words when he writes: “There is that makes himself rich yet hath nothing; there is that makes him=self poor yet hath great riches” (Proverbs 13:7).

      And there is irony in the New Testament as well. We hear irony in Jesus’ words when He tells the disciples: “Whosoever would be great among you, let him be your minister” (Matt. 20:26), or “The last shall be first and the first last” (Matt. 20:16).

     The Apostle Paul experienced a great irony in his own life. He wrote in detail about it to the Corinthians. He was describing his familiar “thorn in the flesh” that he prayed three times to be delivered from when he made a great discovery. “When I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Cor. 12:10). Paul discovered that when he was at his weakest the power of God was at its strongest in his own life. Let me ask you:

·        Do you feel weak today?

·        Are you wrestling against difficulties that you have no resources to overcome?

The message for us is that times of weakness are a blessing if they place us in the atmosphere of experiencing the strength and power of God.

     His strength for our weakness is a truth that weaves its way throughout the Scriptures. It is illustrated clearly when Israel had her back to the Red Sea and Pharaohs chariots were rushing in upon her. 

  

     Over the next few days this message (HIS STRENGTH FOR OUR WEAKNESS) will be presented in separate blog postings illustrating three (3) major points:

1.      THE SITUATION THEY FACED (No Place to Go – A Great Dilemma)

2.      THE TEMPTATION WITH WHICH THEY FLIRTED (No Strength Left to Fight – A Great Danger)

3.      THEIR GREAT DISCOVERY (No Task is Too Great for God – His strength for Our Weakness)

     Be sure to check out the next few blog postings and gain victory by finding His Strength for your Weakness.