Early Morning Light

In the stillness of the early morning the whole earth seems to wait in anticipation for the grand entrance of the sun. Darkness gives way to the morning sunrise with shades of pinks, blues and yellows bursting forth as if to announce the coming arrival of the sun.  As the sun makes its way higher into the heavens its brightness dominates the sky forcing these beautiful colors to fade.  A new day begins with all its hopes and dreams.

Imagine what it must have felt like for a grieving band of disciples who watched their precious Lord hang on a cross and die. Darkness covered them. It appeared to them that evil had won and there was no hope at all. They wailed and mourned while fear grew ever stronger in their hearts thinking perhaps they too would suffer a similar fate. Darkness had a strong grip and held them tight.

The women made their way to the tomb in the still of darkness just before dawn to anoint the dead battered body of Jesus. They came with spices and ointments to what they thought was His final resting place.  As they walked down the road toward His tomb, sorrow grew stronger in their hearts. Looking into the heavens pinks, blues and yellows began to fill the sky. The sun would be up by the time they reached His tomb. Little did this small group of women understand what they were about to encounter.

The morning light revealed the tomb with the stone rolled away from the entrance. The tomb was empty and Jesus was not there. The Son had risen!

"He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion-to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.  They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor."  Isaiah 62:1b-3

A Season of Fresh Growth

Spring time has come.  I have watched the Bradford Pear tree behind my house with anticipation as the new spring growth began to appear.  At first there were tiny buds then these buds began to grow.  The growth was slow at first and gradually became a little fuller and larger.  Then suddenly as if overnight the buds burst forth into the most beautiful spectacular blossoms of spring.

Much like this new growth, God also gives us fresh seasons of growth.  Just when we think the winter season will never end, along comes springtime and suddenly we are in a new place with fresh growth in the Lord.  Sometimes the winter seems unbearable and we think we cannot stand another day but even in the winter season He is leading us through.  And just like the growth of spring, the teaching of the Lord is slow at first with small buds beginning to grow until we reach the appointed time and moment of full growth.
 

Song of Solomon 2:11-13 See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone.¹² Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.¹³ The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me."

The Necklace

Sometimes we let fear, worry, depression, unworthiness and a host of other emotions cloud our thinking and our daily walk with God.  For a new Christian, for a child who is learning about Christ or sometimes even a weathered mature Christian, it is some times hard to understand the full meaning of peace and assurance in Jesus.  Life has a way of throwing lots of trials, tribulations and just down right old evil at us.

My granddaughter-a young one at age 6 is learning how to handle "fear". Many of us think that children shouldn't have anything to worry or fear but to a child fear is a very real and overwhelming emotion. She is dealing with the pressure of doing her best at school and test anxiety has reared its ugly head.

She knows Jesus in a very honest and sincere way and has asked Him into her heart.  After a one on one talk with her, I gave her a necklace-a cross to wear when she takes a test.  I explained that it was not a magic charm but that it was a reminder to pray and ask Jesus to help calm her fears.  She wears it almost every day.

The cross is a symbol of what Jesus did for us at calvary.  A time when Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God willingly became the sacrifice for sin in order for us to have eternal life.  With that sacrifice came an everlasting life before the presence of a Holy God.  With that sacrifice came the privilege of becoming a child of God and laying our petitions at His feet. He is the only one who can calm our fears and emotions.  

Call upon Him to help you when you have fearful, depressive and discouraging emotions that cause you to look within yourselves instead of to the one who can give you peace and assurance.  Jesus is the answer.

Dead Men Walking

Zombies-what are they?  Who are they? We have seen them in movies, tv programs and comic books.  But perhaps you have seen them not knowing who they were.  A zombie is a person who is or appears lifeless, someone apathetic or completely unresponsive to their surrounding, the living dead.  Yes, the living dead!

For those who know Jesus Christ as Savior, we are given life-eternal life at the moment that we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.  We are no long dead!  For those who do not know Jesus Christ as Savior, they are the dead, the zombies and the dead men/women walking.  Without Christ there is no salvation and there is no forgiveness of sin.  It is sin that keeps us dead.

Made Alive in Christ

Ephesians 2:1-3 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ²in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

 Jesus died that we might live.  All it takes is a choice to believe that He is the Son of God, that He died for our sins on the cross and He rose from the dead thus conquering death for us.  We can not save ourselves with good works.  The truth is we can never be good enough to buy our way into eternal life.  It is only through God's grace and love that we are saved.

Ephesians 2:4-9 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast.

If you could see the souls of the people we meet on the street, at church, in the checkout line, at school or anywhere else we might be, would they be a zombie?  Would they be the dead?  Look around you.  Do you see the living dead?  If you know someone without Jesus, a friend, a loved one or anyone else that does not proclaim Jesus as Lord then you know a zombie.  Tell them about Jesus and His great love for us.  Help them become a living, breathing soul that has eternal life in the presence of God.

The Lamb Was Silent

I recently watched a sheep shearing demonstration in Australia.  The sheep to the left sat silent and still as the owner of the ranch talked about sheep and the shearing process. He continued to talk for several minutes explaining what was about to happen as the wool was removed from the sheep.  The animal at his feet did not make a single movement or a single sound. 

Then in the shearing area, an experienced shearer very carefully and deliberately began removing the wool from the silent sheep. As the shearing proceeded, the sheep made not a sound and moved only as directed by the shearer's hand.

It was not until yesterday, that I understood the significance of what I had witnessed.  The lesson was on Phillip's witness to the enunch in Acts 8:29-35

Acts 8:29-35 Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this chariot." Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?" And he said, "Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this:

         "HE WAS LED AS A SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER;
         AND AS A LAMB BEFORE ITS SHEARER IS SILENT,
         SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH.
    ³³"IN HUMILIATION HIS JUDGMENT WAS TAKEN AWAY;
         WHO WILL RELATE HIS GENERATION?
         FOR HIS LIFE IS REMOVED FROM THE EARTH."

The eunuch answered Philip and said, "Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?" Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.

Jesus, the Lamb of God, went before His accusers and was silent.  Remember when Pilate sent Jesus to be judged by Herod.  Jesus didn't make a sound.

Luke 23:8-10 Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him. 9And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing. 10And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there, accusing Him vehemently.

AS A LAMB BEFORE ITS SHEARER IS SILENT, SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH.

Jesus spoke not a word and moved only at the direction of the Father's Hand.

The Kangaroo

During my recent trip to Australia, I had a personal encounter with several kangaroos.  These were not wild kangaroos which can be dangerous and mean but gentle ones in a tourist attraction much like a petting zoo.  There must have been twenty or thirty of them resting, sleeping or just curious as to why tourists were invading their space.  One of the momma kangaroos or as the Australians say "Mum" kangaroo had a baby in her pouch.  The little baby had a large head as you can see from the picture and must have been about ready to be out of the pouch.  I did not know that mother kangaroos have three stages of gestation and delivery going on at one time.  The large baby called a "Joey" just large enough to be out of the pouch, a growing new baby "Joey" inside the pouch and an embryo growing and developing just waiting to grow big enough to enter the pouch once the resident baby leaves keep the mother kangaroo very busy.  There are never two babies at the same time. Past, present and future babies.

In thinking about life, I thought of God's perspective of life events.  Our Heavenly Father sees the past, the present and the future at once! We do not.  Not only does He see it, He designed it.  While we can see the past in great detail-the little joey on the ground, we know what has happened and are aware of the things we might have changed and the things we did right.  We may also be aware of the new growing and developing but can only see part of it until it comes to full term.  This is the present-the Joey in the pouch, the one not fully developed and not part of our current understanding.  We may think we know what will take place but until it happens we can only assume it is the way we think it is. And as for the future-the developing joey, we can only imagine what it might be like!  We can imagine the joy and anticipate its coming.

Praise the Lord for His marvelous creation and how marvelous is His provision!  We remember the past and know how He has provided and brought us through all things.  We look at the present and see His Hand is working in our life each day and we look to the future and know that because He has provided for us in the past and in the present that He will indeed provide for us in the future.  Oh, what a marvelous, wonderful God we serve!!

Birthday of a King

During this time of year, Christians focus on the birth of Jesus.  In America, the nation is thinking less about the meaning of Christmas and the beliefs our nation was founded upon and more about the "politically correct" things to say and do.  While it is correct to respect other people's ideas and religion or non-religion, it is also our right and privilege as Christians to express what we believe.


So what is it that we believe?  Do Christians think more about the commercial aspects of the Christmas season or do we know what, why and in whom we belief?  We don't really know the exact date of Jesus birth, but we do know where and how, Jesus was born.  We also know that Jesus' birth was planned while He was still in the heavenlies before His birth as a man as evidenced in the Holy Bible. Prophecies throughout the Old Testament foretold long before His birth:

His pre-existence and place of His earthly birth 

Micah 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."

From the tribe of Judah

Genesis 49:10 "The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his."

Heir to the Throne

Isaiah 9:6-7 "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,  Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom,  establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this."

Born of a Virgin and His name shall be called Immanuel (God with us)

Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."

Declared to be the Son of God

Psalm 2:7 "I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father."

Presented with gifts

Psalm 72:10 "The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts."

Remember who Jesus is and why He came.  He was the sacrificial Lamb of God, our Savior, and our King.  He was born of a virgin, lived among men, died on the cross for our sins, rose from the dead and is coming again!! Praise the Lord!!

Merry Christmas everyone.  Remember Jesus is the reason for the season.