Communion

2 Corinthians 13:14

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, 

and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

Ever have those empty times where any place your mind goes is a problem or a trouble? You wonder where the peace went? You've lost that 'lovin feeling' and even though you know God, you just can't seem to find Him. Left cold, you wonder what you need to do to get back.

Communion.

Our relationship with our Heavenly Father is built on faith not reason. We are born again by the Spirit not our flesh and blood. 'Not by might but by My Spirit sayeth the Lord'  

Romans 8:26
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.


Pray in the spirit and the connection will be restored. Peace floods the soul when the flesh is put under the spirit. 


Mark 14:38
Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. 
The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.


Pray in the Spirit. And see how good the Lord is. How praying in the spirit sets things in order. For we are not children of the flesh, but of the Promise. 


Ephesians 4:23
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

Eternal Life

John 3:15
That whosoever believeth in him (Jesus) should not perish, but have eternal life.

Eternal Life 

What is it? I've seen some people comment they wouldn't want to live forever. Without Jesus, they're right. But if you're born again, they are mistaken. So, what is the prize? The reason we desire Eternal Life? 

Jesus, our Lord and Savior, Son of God, raised by the carpenter Joseph, told us He goes to prepare a place for us. John 14: 1-3. ...In My Father's house are many mansions...  Sounds wonderful to me. 

In Revelation, we're told of crystal rivers, healing trees, the paradise of God. 

Consider the wonder of a beautiful sunset, the majestic beauty of a high peak reaching into the sky and clothed with a mantle of white snow. The awesome moment of birth of a new life. The stars in the night sky. All these but a mere taste of the awesome life in God.

Have you ever been at the bedside of a believer as they look over the edge of this life and their eyes shine with the glimpse of eternity with Him? Joy floods the room for the wonders that we will behold when we see Him. 

Ponder of the Goodness of God. His majesty. How awesome is our God. And realize that here in this life we can only see a dim shadow of the Glory to come. 

Strive for the prize and know that eternal life is worth everything. There is no comparison. Life with God in paradise where there is no more sickness or tears. And to be in His Presence. It just doesn't get better. Seek the Lord while He may be found. Rejoice in finding Jesus and be born again into the family of God. And know Eternal Life is worth it all. 

Where are you going?

Deut 30:19

... I have set before you life and death ...

Make no mistake, our bodies will die and our soul, spirit - will go somewhere. But where? As we travel this life's journey, we would be wise to live this life with eternity in mind.


Good News - eternal life has been secured for any who believe on Jesus - that He paid the price for our sin, died, and rose again on the third day. He earned eternal life for us. The Gift of God that brings life.


Somewhat good news - it's our choice. You choose. To the right or to the left behind. But it is your choice.


Bad news - not good if you choose unwisely. There is hell and it's not here on earth. Torment. Eternal separation from God. 

Joshua 24:15
If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Terminal

Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

1 Peter 2:24 

We're all born terminal. Under the death sentence of Sin. A fallen world, a mere shadow of the Glory in which it was created. Scripture even says how all of creation groans for the redemption.

Good news - there is a cure. A 100% cure! 

John 3:15
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

The antidote to death - believe in Jesus - the only begotten Son of God. 

REJOICE!!!  No longer do we need to live under a death sentence. Through Jesus Christ we are now under an eternal life sentence.!

Live and in Color

Galatians 2:20

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Covered with the RED blood of Christ, I am crucified with my Lord. Yet I live because the risen Lord lives in me.


True Blue Faith. The only way I can truly live. Faith pushes through the icy waters of fear and doubt, breaking the obstacles that stand in our way. 


But our Faith is not blind, no, it is the tried and true faith of the Son of God who died and rose again. His love carries me. Not my own flesh, but the crucified flesh of my Lord who knew even though he died, he would live again forevermore.


White - the blinding light of hope that shatters darkness. The Righteousness of Jesus who sits at the right hand of the Father and intercedes for us. Nothing we are going through escapes His notice or prayer. We are not alone.


So live big! Live in Color. Live by the Son of God who loves you and gave himself for you.


Live!

Zombie or Alive!

Romans 6:11

Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:13

Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

If we are born again, we are dead to sin. And Alive in Christ. But the above verse indicates it is our choice. If we live unto unrighteousness - unto sin - we live like the dead. Zombies rubbing shoulders with the world not to change them but being kept from the life offered to us by Christ. 


Zombies don't make a difference to the good. They conform to the deadness of this world, seeking to corrupt any who are alive to their way of dead life. Could that be why so many churches don't make a difference in this world? They've become more zombie chamber than those rejoicing at the empty tomb and Alive in Christ?


Our lives are Christs. To live is to live for Him.

Dark Days of the Tomb

Matthew 27:54 

Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying,

 Truly this was the Son of God.

Maybe you're facing your own time of gloom with hard times and harder circumstances. You feel like you're in a sealed tomb and there is no conceivable way out. Darkness invades your soul and colors everything you think and see. Life hangs by a thread and even death appears as a welcome thought. 

Don't Give Up!

Sunday is on the way. Jesus bursting into life, throwing off the grave clothes of death to live forevermore. He defeated death. Took the keys of hell and death from our enemy, Satan. That any who believes on the Name of Jesus shall be saved.

Saved from the tomb of despair. Saved from the sins that  bound us to a life of death. Saved us from ourselves. Hosanna! The Lord has provided for our salvation. Jesus went to the cross in obedience unto death to pay for the sin of the world. Declared "It is finished." And just as the enemy thought he'd won, Jesus arose from the dead on the third day. Alive forevermore. 

While in the tomb, contemplate on life, where you've been, what you've done, repent of what needs repenting, confess your sins, pray, and look up. Listen carefully and maybe you'll hear the first sounds of the huge rock of despair being rolled away. Slow at first, faster, and faster until the Light breaks forth and the Love of God shatters the sin that bound you. and Jesus calls you into life  and you walk out of that tomb Alive forevermore.

Friday, A tree, The Son

Matthew 27:35

 And they crucified him, ...

The sinless, Son of God nailed to a tree. And we call it Good Friday.

The Spotless Lamb, the final sacrifice of atonement

Payment for the first man, Adam, who sinned and sentenced us all to die.

But the Promise! The only begotten Son of God died for all, paying the price

Because of Jesus sacrifice, we might be saved to eternal life.

Dark, Bloody, Pain, Anguish, The Father turns away, and it is Finished.

Believers wept, fled, sorrowed, and hoped.

Ah, it is a Good Friday but Sunday's Coming.

Rain

Psalm 72:6

He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: 

as showers that water the earth.

James 5:7
Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

The Lord is coming, at the right time. Be patient. HE is coming. Returning for His Bride. Be ready. Watch and pray. Give testimony of His wondrous works. Give witness to a dying world that Jesus is the Hope. Through Him man might be saved. And in His Name only. 

IT is raining. 

What does my soul know?

Psalm 139:14

 ¹⁴I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: 

marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Roses, intricately formed, beautifully colored, and the aroma heavenly. Marvelous. Fearfully and wonderfully made by the Creator. 


And so are we. Did you know that? Did you know that God knows you and desires you to know Him? 


Sink this verse deep in your soul. Own it. Know it. And you will praise the Lord. 


Design. The Lord's plan from before the foundations of the earth were settled, you were known. Fearfully and wonderfully considered and planned for. Let your soul feast on those words. 


Know this. Memorize the verse. And say it until your soul knoweth it right well.

How Deadly is Sin?

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death;

but the gift of God is eternal life 

through Jesus Christ our Lord

Sin is deadly. Nails us all, a condition of our fallen nature. From birth we are doomed BUT at the right time, God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, the righteous One, sinless Lamb, to die on the cross to pay for the sin of the world.

We were born to die, but born again to live forever.

Christ is Risen, Alive forevermore. Remember and Rejoice. Cling to the One Savior. And Live.

Distractions

Matthew 6:33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;

 and all these things shall be added unto you.

What is this a picture of? I have no idea. Distractions. They pull us this way or that, like pointing my camera in some odd direction and taking a picture of I don't know what.

And so is our day on its way to the unknown when we fall for the distractions that take us away from the Lord. For some reason we make it so hard. Jesus told us clearly, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness ...

So why, do we chase after problems, solutions that make it worse, and then wonder why our lives are  hectic?

Jesus. Our Lord. Our Savior. Our Righteousness.

First seek Him. Praise Him. Worship Him. And then Listen an Obey.

Mega Lessons

The Lottery for over half a billion dollars. I am sad to say I bought a ticket and happy to say I did't win.

After spending my $1, I felt slimed. Ugh! Did I really fall for that? The slick hiss of the enemy's idea of instant wealth. I repent. Won't do that again. But I am thankful for the wisdom the  Lord showed me.

Pondering on the events if I had won, I was stricken with how having so much wealth would instantly put a wedge between me and the Lord. I would no longer have to look to Him for my daily bread. (At least I would think I didn't.)

That large amount of wealth would tie me to this earthly life. After thinking about winning, the thought came of how awful to win and then die. Really? As a Christian, we are eternal, death is life with the Lord. Doesn't get better. (not that we should want to die, but we all believe life with the Lord is better than what we have here on this planet now.)

Then what about family and friends. How much to give? Where to give? And what would we be doing to those we showered a million on? Would they too lose grasp of heaven for the $?

Yes, I learned my lesson. Won't buy a ticket again and am immensely happy for what the Lord has given me. For He will not give us gifts to hurt us. 

Happy to pray for my daily bread. Happy to look to my Lord for what I need.

Psalm 23

 ¹The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Troubles?

But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: 

he is their strength in the time of trouble.

Psalm 37:39

There is One who knows our troubles. Who walks with us and holds our hands, who is a very present help. We are not alone. We suffer not alone. We weep not alone. We cry out in pain but are not alone.
For God is with us. Comforting, loving, and offering hope. Love covers us because God is love.

Jesus bore His troubles alone. For us. He endured the beating, the death, the sting of our sin upon Him. And most of all - because of Sin, our sin because He is sinless, God the Father turned from Him. Alone. Alone Jesus paid the price. For you and me. For the sin of the world.

While we might have troubles here on earth, we are never alone. Run to Jesus and cling to Him. Acknowledge HE is the Son of God and you will never walk alone.

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Isaiah 53:3-4

Wisdom for the Ages

Psalm 111:10

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

If ye love me, keep my commandments.

John 14:15

So, we aren't under the law anymore, right? 

Hmm, check it out: What does Jesus say? 

It is the Narrow Way. The path of following the Lord. Seeking Him, Listening to Him. When our hearts are set heavenward to hear the Lord, then we will walk in His ways. In His love. 

Our society declares do what feels right. God says keep my commandments. 

We are not under the law, Jesus came and fulfilled all the law and through Him we are righteous. But only through Him. We can't do enough good to get into heaven on our own. 

But the life and freedom given us because of Jesus' sacrifice does not give a license to sin. There will be consequences. 

Instead, strive for wisdom. Fear of the Lord is the start. Keep His commandments and live for the Lord.

Walk on the narrow way. The Way of Life.

Look Up

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

 1 Timothy 2:5-6

Luke 21:28

And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

'These things' are basically the headlines in the news today. The time is ripe. When life overwhelms you, look up. Our life here on earth is not the whole story. Those who have called on and believe on the Name of Jesus and His sacrifice have all of eternity to look forward to.

So if you feel like you're underwater, the flood of troubles has washed over you, and you're going down for the third time -- Look Up!

The best is yet to come.

The Lord's Bouquet

Spring Bouquet

Psalm 62:7

In God is my salvation and my glory: 

the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. 

Are we not the Lord's bouquet? Creation's crowning glory. Made in His image. Breathed into life by his breath. Destined to live with Him forever.

Even after the Fall, God Knew. God Provided. God Saved us. 

We are His, but live only because we have been grafted into the True Vine. 

John 15:5
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Draw from the living waters, tap into the God flowing source of the Vine, Jesus, and live gloriously. So full of Life that you give off the sweet fragrance of Grace and Mercy. Drawing others to the Lord as they gaze on the beauty of a life lived in Him.

Spring Forth!

How's that Suffering going?

For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; 

Philippians 1:29 

Luke 9:22

Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. 

Christians will suffer for their faith. Jesus told us we would. But we never suffer alone, for He is with us - always forevermore.

And we have the promise of eternal life. We do not perish. Stand bright and shining. Salty to give the world reason to seek. Proclaim the Good News. And don't be surprised when the world forces, those aligned with the enemy, come against you. For it will happen.

Rejoice! Not that we might suffer, but that we may be counted worthy to suffer for Him. For in Jesus is the truth, the way, and the life.

Apart from Christ there is nothing.

Darkness Flees

Matthew 24:35

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

A storm system passing by. Dark followed by light. So, too, in this world we have troubles and the promise that they shall pass.

We are born to a fallen world.

We are born again into eternal life.

IF today, your world is dark and it looks like there is no light. Take heart, the darkness will pass. IT will flee in the Presence of the Lord.

John 8:12
[ Jesus Is the Light of the World ] Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying,  I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life. NASB

Rejoice! Darkness will flee.

Hallalujah!

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” James 1:12 

A rain-washed sky. Tender yellow-green leaves. Newness. The trees and plants are coming out of their tomb of winter. A testimony to the crown of life promised to those who believe in the One who walked out of the tomb alive forevermore.

God tells His story in so many ways. He woos the children of man to come to Him. To seek Him. To know Him and talk with Him as Adam did in the Garden.

Look! Listen! Seek!

He has His nail-scarred hands open to receive any who would call on His Name - Jesus.

Acts 4:12

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Rejoice in the newness of life. Call on the Name. Receive Him and receive life.