Absurd, you say?

 

   “Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife who was with child. So it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:4-7)

 

  Most of us have heard these verses so many times that we don’t think about them too much. But what about someone who is hearing it for the first time? Pastor Max Lucado in his book “God Came Near” tells of an encounter between a pastor and a first time hearer of the history of Jesus. I hope you enjoy!

 

       “You mean to tell me God became a baby….

 

      The one posing the question was puzzled. His thick eyebrows furrowed in doubt and his eyes squinted in caution. Though there were places to sit, he opted not to do so. He preferred to stand safely behind the crowd, unsure, yet intrigued by what he was hearing. Throughout the lecture he had listened intently, occasionally uncrossing his arms to stroke his whiskered chin. Now, however, he stood upright, punching the air with his finger as he queried.

 

           And that he was born in a stable?”

 

           He looked as though he’d walked down from one of the adjacent Colorado mountains: stocking hat, down vest, nylon leggings, hiking boots. And he sounded as though he honestly didn’t know if the story he was hearing was a mountain legend or the gospel truth. 

 

       “Yes, that is what I meant to say,” the lecturer responded. 

 

           “And then, after becoming a baby, he was raised in a blue-collar home? He never wrote a book or held any offices, yet he called himself the Son of God?”

         

      “That is right.”

 

    The lecturer being questioned was Landon Saunders; the voice of the Heartbeat Radio program. I’ve never heard anyone tell the story of the Nazarene like Landon can. 

         “He never traveled outside his own country, never studied at a university, never lived in a palace, and yet asked to be regarded as the creator of the universe?”

 

         “That’s correct.”

 

        “And this crucifixion story…he was betrayed by his own people? No followers came to his defense? And then he was executed like a common junkyard thief?”

 

          “That’s the gist of it.”

 

         The authenticity of the questioner didn’t allow you to regard him as a cynic nor to dismiss him as a show-off. To the contrary, he seemed nervous about commanding attention. His awkwardness betrayed his inexperience in public speaking. But his desire to know was just an ounce or two heavier that his discomfort, so he continued.

 

      “And after the killing he was buried in a borrowed grave?”

 

   “Yes, he had no grave of his own, nor money with which to purchase one.”

 

    “There was a hint of emotion in the student’s voice as he carefully worded the next question. 

         “And according to what’s written, after three days in the grave he was resurrected and made appearances to over five hundred people?”

 

        “Yes.”

 

       “And all this was to prove that God still loves his people and provides a way for us to return to him?”

 

       “Right”

 

   I knew which question was coming next. Everybody in the room knew it. It could have gone without being asked. In my heart of hearts, I was hoping that it would not be asked. 

 

   “Doesn’t that all sound rather…” He paused a second, searching for the right adjective. “Doesn’t that all sound rather absurd?”

 

      Landon’s answer was simple. “Yes. Yes I suppose it does sound absurd, doesn’t it?”

 

    I didn’t like that answer. I didn’t like it at all. Tell the fellow how it made sense! Diagram the dispensations. Present the fulfilled prophecies. Explain the fulfillment of the Old Law. Covenant. Reconciliation. Redemption. Sure it made sense. Don’t let him describe God’s actions as absurd!

 

   Then it began to dawn on me. What God did makes sense. It makes sense that Jesus would be our sacrifice because a sacrifice was needed to justify man’s presence before God. It makes sense that God would use the Old Law to tutor Israel on their need for grace. It makes sense that Jesus would be our High Priest. What God did makes sense. It can be taught, charted, and put in books on systematic theology. 

 

   However why God did it is absolutely absurd. When one leaves the method and examines the motive, the carefully stacked blocks of logic begin to tumble. That type of love isn’t logical; it can’t be neatly outlined in a sermon or explained in a term paper.

 

   I don’t know what happened to that inquisitive fellow in Colorado. He disappeared as quickly as he came. But I am in his debt. He forced me to see Jesus as I’d never seen him.

 

      Bloodstained royalty. A God with tears. A creator with a heart. God became earth’s mockery to save his children.

 

   How absurd to think that such nobility would go to such poverty to share a treasure with such thankless souls.

 

   But he did.

 

    In fact, the only thing more absurd than the gift is our stubborn unwillingness to receive it.” 

 

 (“Absurdity in the Flesh” from the book “God Came Near,” by Max Lucado, pp. 29-34)

 

How about you this Christmas season? Are you thinking at all about the Creator of the Universe Who came to earth as a baby, lived His life to show us who God is, and then allowed Himself to be crucified on an cross to be a perfect sacrifice for our sins?

 

  Or are you caught up in the real absurdity of this world, worrying about presents you are going to buy or receive, Santa Claus, and dinner with the family? Not bad things by themselves but really pretty trivial in light of what God has done for us, not because we deserve it, but because He just loves us and wants to have a personal relationship with each one this Christmas! Oh yeah, He wants one for the rest of the year too!

 

PRAY

 

1.)  Dear precious Jesus, thank you for leaving Your throne in heaven and coming down to be born of a virgin in a stable in the town of Bethlehem. 

2.)  Thank you for revealing Your coming to Joseph and Mary, to the shepherds in the fields that night, and to the Wise men who came from afar to worship You and bring you gifts.

3.)  Thank you that I can call You my precious Savior because You died for me and for anyone who will call upon Your Name, and receive You into their life and allow You to rule over them.

With Wings Like Eagles

 

    “To whom then will you liken Me That I would be his equal? Says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created the stars, The One who leads their hosts by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing.” (Isaiah 40:25-26)

 

 

    When I first went into the Army there were several goals I had for myself. One of them was to become Airborne qualified, and after I graduated from the Officer Basic Course at Fort Benning, GA, I walked across the field and signed into the Airborne department and started my training two days later. There was really no thought process involved. My father, Donald Rivette, had undergone Airborne training in 1942 as a Infantry Second Lieutenant and had been in the original group of soldiers that eventually became the 502nd Airborne Infantry Regiment of the 101^stAirborne Division. (I have a great picture of him in one-piece jump suit, jump boots, and a football helmet!) He had also served in the 11^thAirborne Division as a major in 1955-56 and was a Master Parachutist.

 

    The training was three weeks long. The first week was ground week and it included all types of physical training, how to jump out the door of a plane with your equipment, and how to hit the ground properly, (three points of contact, feet, thigh, back.). The second week was tower week with various training activities that culminated in being lifted up in a parachute from the Airborne tower and let go to fall to the earth. 

 

   The last week was jump week and that was all we did. We suited up in the parachute harness with a main chute and an emergency chute and sat on the runway waiting for the planes to arrive. It was at this point, sitting in that uncomfortable equipment next to my fellow soldiers on the runway, that the magnitude of what I was about to do hit me!  I thought to myself: “You are going to jump out of a perfectly good airplane with a parachute that you didn’t even pack yourself! Are you out of your mind? This is crazy, they didn’t give you near enough training to go out and to this!”

 

    Have you ever done something like that? You made a decision to do something, did all the preparation, and then realized at the last minute that maybe this was not the smartest thing you have ever done! I would like to tell you that for future decisions in my life after that one that I thought things out more clearly, but that would not be true. I can tell you that I have learned that I can trust my Lord to take care of me no matter whether I am following His plan or I am off on a tangent of my own making. The prophet Isaiah who wrote the lines at the top of this page asks us this question:

 

 

   “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power.” (verses 28,29)

 

 

   Even though you may be overwhelmed with a personal problem or a stressful situation in your work, family, or church there is Someone who is there for you and He does not get weary, tired or discouraged. He will give you the strength, and yes, the patience that you don’t have, to see it through until the end. If you “lack might He increases power.” But the best is yet to come! Read on:

 

 

    “Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, The will run and not get tired, they will walk and not faint.”(verses 30,31)

 

 

  You “will run and not get tired and you will walk and not faint.” That is the best deal on the planet! Put your faith in Him and He will carry you through this day and the next and the next……

 

    Oh yeah, I did jump out of a plane that day in Ft. Benning, and boy, you should have seen the big smile on my face when I looked up and saw that chute open above me and me floating safely down to the ground! (Now what was it they taught me to do when I hit the ground?)

 

 

PRAY:

 

1.    Lord, thank you for loving me so much that You gave Your Son to die for my sins. I know that You are the One who pursued me until I gave my life to You.

2.    Lord, I praise You because You are the Creator of the universe and you not only know all the stars by name but You know every hair on my head.

3.    Lord, use me today to be the type of person that reflects Your love to others that I come in contact with and fill me with Your Spirit so that I may be bold in telling others about You.

"A Horrible Pit"

 

“ I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.” (Psalms 40:1,2 NKJV)

 

   When I was about 14 or 15 years old my best friend was Mike Harrington, and we had many an “adventure” together. He lived down the street from me and his house was on a small river. We spent many an hour rowing in his rowboat on the river, exploring the woods on the other side of the river, building tree houses (one in my backyard and one in his), and shooting homemade slingshots. 

 

One “adventure” we had was totally unplanned. He had come up to my house and we were returning together to his house, but instead of walking down the street we chose to walk along a creek that was in the woods between the houses of the neighborhood leading down to his house. We had done it many times before and we knew the creek well. It had rained a good bit the day before so the creek was deeper than usual and the water was rushing through the ravine it occupied.

 

As we approached a big bend in the creek we noticed that the usual sand bar had doubled in size and we stepped onto it to continue our walk down the stream. We had only gone a few yards when we both began sinking in the sand. At first our reaction was “no big deal, this sand is just a little soft today.” Then as we continued to sink up to our waist our attitudes changed quickly! One of us yelled “grab a tree!” And both of us headed for the nearest one. Mike went left and I went right and after a short few minutes we were both firmly holding on to a tree and pulling our bodies out of the sand!

 

Truth be told, we were probably not in real danger, but for a few minutes I had the vision of sinking out of sight into quicksand like I had seen in a cowboy movie or two! We had thought we were on solid ground when we stepped on the sandbar, but we were not!

 

The picture that the Psalmist, King David, portrays in the Scripture above is that of someone who has found themselves in a miry pit and is sinking out of sight. There is no tree around to help pull him out, and he needs God to come along and rescue him. God does that, and not only does He pull the person out of the mud, He places his “feet on a rock” and “establishes his steps.”

 

Are you in a place where you find yourself in a pit? Is it a pit of despair over the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, rejection by those around you, the feeling of purposelessness , or addiction to a sin you can’t seem to shake?

 

King David says that: “he waited patiently for the Lord and that God heard his cry.” There is really only one Person who can help us when we are in serious trouble. We do not have the ability to save ourselves. It is not our intelligence, our good looks, our innate abilities, or physical prowess. We can only be helped by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

 

 David continues to show us what happened next: “He has put a new song in my mouth—Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord.” (verse 3)

 

Do you need a new song in your mouth? There is only One who can put that song there. Yes you know who: Jesus! Call on Him today! Put your trust in the only one on this planet, or in this universe actually, who can come to your rescue and put a new song in your heart and on your lips.

 

Finally David tells us: “Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust, And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. Many, O Lord my God are Your wonderful works Which You have done: And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare to speak them, They are more than can be numbered.” (verse 4)

Take it from King David, “a man after God’s own heart:” If you “cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you,”  (1 Peter 5:7) you will never regret it! He will come to your aid, He will set your feet upon a rock and you will have a new song in your mouth that will help other people find the Savior also!

 

 

PRAY

 

1.                   Lord, thank you for taking away my sins by dying on that cross on the hill of Calvary. Help me to trust in you today to handle all my problems as I lean upon your grace and mercy.

2.                   Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that others will see how you have blessed me and taken me out of the pit and set my feet on a straight path of service to You.

3.                    Guide me in the paths of righteousness as I read your Word and try to learn more about what a gracious master you are to Your children as you slowly form us into Your likeness.

 

 

 

 

 

Jesus Loves Me!

 

   “For I am persuaded that neither death not life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38, NKJV)

 

    There are numerous places in Scriptures (the Holy Bible) that tell us of God’s love for us. We all have heard of John 3:16 that tells us that He loved us so much that He sent His own Son to die on a cross so that anyone that believes in Him shall have everlasting life. We are told of His “loving kindness,” “His mercy,” “His faithfulness,” and His “longsuffering,” in many places throughout the record of the Holy Scriptures. It is a simple, but amazing truth: God loves me and God loves you!

 

   Every once in a while it is great to read about a faithful servant of God that showed in their life how much they appreciated the fact that God loved them and gave Himself as a sacrifice on that cross and that he or she spent their life in service to the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. I read about two such ladies the other day in a article by a Rev. Dr. Nelson L. Price, the Pastor Emeritus of Roswell Street Baptist Church in Marietta, GA.

 

   He told the story of two sisters who lived on Constitution Island, in the middle of the Hudson River next to West Point, NY, home to the U.S. Military Academy. Their father purchased a summer home on the island in 1834 and sometime after that the sisters moved there permanently and lived out their lives there. Susan and Anna Warner were their names, and both became writers of novels. Among her several books, Susan wrote “The Wide, Wide World” and it was very successful, second only in sales to “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” in the 1850’s. Anna wrote “Dollars and Cents” and several others also.

 

    Besides writing, they established a Sunday School, and would row across the river and teach the cadets at West Point on Sundays for many years. Occasionally, on Sunday afternoons they would invite the cadets to come over for lemonade and cookies in their home. The sisters wrote a song for the cadets to sing not only in services but to be sung during drills. It was to remind these future soldiers of the Love of Jesus. It had been originally written as a poem in Anna’s novel “Say and Seal.” In 1861 the words were put to music, just prior to the outbreak of the Civil War.

 

   After Susan died in 1885, the Sunday School classes became Anna’s “one thought in life" and she continued teaching until her death in 1915. The West Point class of 1915 has been called the “class the stars fell on” due to the fact that 59 of its 164  graduates that year, became General officers during World War II. The most famous of them being Dwight David Eisenhower, and one of Anna’s Sunday School students for 4 years.

 

   Their home on Constitution Island is now a national shrine you can visit, and the two sisters are the only civilian women buried in the West Point Cemetery, in honor of their years of faithful service teaching generations of West Point Cadets in Sunday School. 

 

  Oh yeah, the song that they wrote for the cadets to sing in church and drills, I am sure you have heard it many times. The song is “Jesus Loves Me This I Know.” 

 

   The story is told that someone asked the internationally acclaimed theologian Karl Barth what was his most profound thought. He replied: “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

 

  Yes the Bible does tell us that throughout the entire book! 

 

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:16-17)

 

PRAY

 

1.    Lord, thank you for sending Your Son to this earth to take away my sins and to give me eternal life now on this earth, and for eternity in heaven.

2.    Lord, help me today to remember that You have bought and paid for me with a heavy price and that I live to serve You today.

3.    Fill me with Your Spirit, that You might live through me today and that anyone I come in contact with will see You in my words and deeds, and desire to know You also.

 

 

 

God made me!

 

   “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mothers womb.  I will give thanks to You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.” (Psalm 139:13-14)

 

   King David, the author of this Psalm, clearly knows who his creator is. He tells God, (and us) that: “You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mothers womb.” What a beautiful word picture of your body being woven like a fine tapestry in your mothers’ womb. He did a wonderful job! You have a brain, arms, legs, eyesight, hearing, taste buds, a circulatory system, a digestive system, a nervous system, and much, much more that all work together in perfect unison to allow us to “live and move and have our being!”(Acts 17:28)

 

   Have you sat down recently and thought about what a marvelous body you have, and how it enables you to so many things that allow you to be who you are, and live a life on this beautiful planet God has created for us to live on? David says that God’s works are “Wonderful!” and he “knows it very well.” Do you know it also? David continues: 

    “My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were written The days that were ordained for me, When there was not one of them.” (verses 15 & 16)

 

   Wow! King David says that God knew all about your formation in the womb and that you were skillfully fashioned to be just exactly the person God intended you to be! I understand that that may not be what you want to hear. You may wish that He had created you different, with a different appearance, or abilities, but think about this: God has a specific plan just for you! You were created the way you are for His specific plan and purpose and He is a loving God who only wants you to fulfill His purposes! 

 

   You are unique! There is no one on the earth today that has been created like you, that has the same personality, soul, appearance, and purpose that you have! David says that the days of your life have been ordained (planned) for you before you were even born! You just have to live out your life for Him, and He will guide you on the paths He has chosen for you.

 

  I realize that for many this does not sound like a good deal. You want to do what you want to do and be what you want to be. But think of it this way: The Creator of the Universe loves you and has prepared a life for you that you are uniquely qualified to fulfill, and He has your best interests in mind! He is a loving God and He will walk with you and equip you to handle any challenge that you encounter along the path He has chosen. And as you walk on this path He will give you love, joy, peace, and fulfillment in this life, and the life to come!

 

    Do you have to follow His plan for you? No, you do not! Believe me, He has the best plan, but He is a loving God and will not force you to follow it. He gives you a free will, but remember, He is a good, good God and knows how to give the best for His children who live for Him. Next, King David gives us these awesome words: 

 

   “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake I am still with You.” (verses 17 & 18)

 

   If you are familiar with David’s life, you know that he had some really tough times. He was wrongfully accused of sedition by King Saul, and was pursued by Saul for many years, forced to live in desert places with a band of misfits and rebels before God raised him up to be king. He had a hard life and had some more tough times when he was king, but he always knew that God was with him, and for him and that God’s thoughts were precious to him. His thoughts to us are just as precious and just as numerous. We may not be earthly kings like David, but we are children of the King of Kings! Finally David closes the Psalm with these magnificent words:

 

   “Search me O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.” (verses 23 & 24)

 

    That sounds like a prayer I should use everyday! How about you, are you ready to allow God to search your heart and see if there is anything harmful to you in your life? And Oh yes, we want to be led in the everlasting way!

 

      PRAY:

 

1.    O Lord, how I long to love you and serve you better. Search my heart today and show me the harmful things I have allowed to enter my life. Forgive me for not coming to You so much sooner.

2.    Forgive me Lord for my sins of commission and omission. Help me to keep my eyes upon You today and to allow Your Holy Spirit to guide my thoughts, my words, and my actions.

3.    Thank You Lord for being always there for me just like You were for David, and no matter the trial or the difficulties that this world and the devil throw against me, I have You at my side to guide me and help me through each situation. 

God Knows Me!

 

“O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways.” (Psalms 139:1-3)

 

 

    Thus begins what for me, is the best of all the Psalms. It is an awesome discourse on the magnificent, and all knowing God that is our personal Lord and Savior! King David, moved by the Holy Spirit ( see 2 Peter 1:21), reminds us that God knows us intimately. He knows when we sit down and when we stand up. He knows what we are thinking, even if we are all alone in a dark room, and He knows every detail about our being. Do you have some secrets from your spouse, your parents, or your best friends? God knows all about them.

 

   “Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it.” (verses 4-6)

 

   Our Lord wants us to spend time with Him in prayer and discourse but it is not because He doesn’t know everything you have to say already. He wants to have a personal relationship with you and He wants to hear you talk to Him and have Him in your confidence.  He has provided protection for us in the front and in the back. That is something that is so wonderful; that the creator of the universe wants me to know Him, that we really have a hard time grasping that concept. David says “It is too high, I cannot attain to it.” (See what Isaiah says about that: read Isaiah 55:8-9)

 

   “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me.” (verses 7-10)

 

   There is not a place in this universe where God is not. He is with you where you are whether it is the place you want to be or not. I am currently rereading a book about a soldier that was a prisoner of war of the Japanese in Burma during World War II. No place on earth could be described as a worse kind of “hell on earth” than those POW camps. Yet God was there with Him and his fellow prisoners! A great awakening of God was experienced, under the power of the Holy Spirit, and thousands of lives were changed to live their lives for Jesus under the worst of conditions and their lives were transformed to live the remainder of their lives for Him!

 

  Where are you now? It doesn’t really mater because He is with you and He will carry you through whatever difficulty or challenge you are going through. He is our creator and He knows us intimately. The question is: Do you know Him and are you taking time to know more about Him and His plans for you?

 

 

PRAY

 

 

1.    Lord, I praise You and thank You for being such a loving and all powerful God for me.

2.    Thank you for creating me in You image and allowing me this time to live on the planet You have created just for your people.

3.    Help me today to draw closer to You in the reading of Your Holy Word and by talking to You in prayer at least once a day, and hopefully much more!

 

    

Independence Day

 

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.” (Psalms 33:12, NKJV)

     When the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4th, 1776, there was great joy and enthusiasm in the American colonies! (minus the loyalists and British Army, of course.) John Adams, one of the signers and future president of this new republic, penned these prophetic words to his wife Abigail: The day on which the Declaration was passed “…..will be the most memorable…in the history of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the Day of Deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illumination from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore.” 

    "You will think me transported with enthusiasm, but I am not. I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the gloom I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory. I can see that the end is worth more than all the means. "(John Adams, “The Light and the Glory," p. 310-311)

     Most of those activities have been going on for 245 years, but lately, it seems that there are those who want to belittle or downplay just what a magnificent document the Declaration is, and what a singularly extraordinary country it helped spawn. Now is the time for all Americans to stand up and celebrate what a truly momentous day July Fourth stands for, and celebrate it with fervor and thankfulness to our God for raising this country up to be a lighthouse to the world for freedom and an example of the sovereignty of God! 

“‘Blessed be the name of God forever and forever, For His wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.’” (Daniel 2:20-21)

PRAY

1. Lord thank you for loving us so much that You sent Your son to die for our sins and to adopt us as your children.
2. Help us to thank you everyday for the blessings You have poured out for our nation and to us as individuals.
3. Help me today to keep my eyes focused on You and to allow Your Spirit to live through me today, and every day that You so graciously allow me to live on this earth You have created for us all.

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Have you met the Master?

  “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

 

    I was listening to Pastor Chuck Swindoll on the radio the past two days and he was delivering an excellent sermon on the passage above. He explained how the word picture that Jesus is using of a yoke was very well known by His audience two thousand years ago, but maybe not so well known today. The yoke was a wooden instrument to connect two oxen together so that they could pull a plow, and that each yoke would be specially crafted to fit the individual oxen being worked. Jesus is telling us that He is the one who has a yoke individually crafted for us and that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. That is something we all need to be reminded of on a regular basis! Have you learned to rest in Him, and allow Him to give you rest for you soul?

 

   Pastor Swindoll then read a poem that I think is worth sharing with you also:

 

“When I met the Master Face to Face”

 

“I had walked life’s path with an easy tread

Had followed where comfort and pleasure led;

And then one day in a quiet place

I met the Master, face to face.

 

With station rank and wealth for a goal

Much thought for the body, but none for the soul;

I had thought to win life’s mad race,

When I met the Master, face to face.

 

I had built my castles and reared them high,

Till their towers pierced the blue of the sky,

I had vowed to rule with an iron mace,

When I met the Master, face to face.

 

I met Him and knew Him, and blushed to see

That eyes full of sorrow were turned on me;

And I faltered, and fell at His feet that day,

While all my castles melted away.

 

Melted and vanished, and in their place

I saw naught else but my Master’s face;

And I cried aloud: ‘Oh, make me meet

To follow the path of thy wounded feet.

 

And now my thoughts are for souls of men,

I’ve lost my life, to find it again.

E’er since that day in a quiet place

I met the Master, face to face.”----Lorrie Cline

 

   Have you met the Master (Jesus) face to face? Now would be a great time! Get alone with your bible now and read the book of Matthew alone. Look for Him and He will find you if you are looking with a sincere heart.

 

“Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.” (Isaiah 55:6)

 

“And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)

 

Pray

 

1.    Lord I long to know you better, and I ask you to help me today get to know you better by reading your Word, and applying it to my life.

2.    Thank you for dying on that cross and giving Your life as a ransom for mine and for paying the price for my sins. 

3.    Fill me with Your Holy Spirit today so that I can allow You to live Your life through me and lead me to a holy life that will be a pleasing sacrifice acceptable to You.

The Weeping Prophet

 

   “Oh that my head were waters, And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people! Oh that I had in the wilderness A lodging place for travelers; That I might leave my people, and go from them! For they are all adulterers, An assembly of treacherous men.” (Jeremiah 9: 1-2)

 

   Jeremiah was called the “weeping prophet” or the “prophet of loneliness” as he faithfully proclaimed God’s judgment on His people for 40 years. During that time he endured opposition, beatings, and imprisonment. I think it safe to say that we are all happy that God has not called us to such a difficult and lonely work! But we can be thankful that Jeremiah was faithful to do all that God commanded of him. Even as a youth God spoke to him and said:

 

   “’Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.’” (Jeremiah 1:5) and “’Do not say ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you,’ says the LORD. (Jeremiah 1: 7-8)

 

    So chapter after chapter we read the faithful words of Jeremiah proclaiming the Words of God to the people; words that were often very painful to speak and even more painful for the people to hear. The majority of the people of Judah in captivity, were not interested in hearing it, and were prone to treat him badly and try to stifle his messages. In chapter 9 verses 3 through 8 he tries to spell out their problem in graphic terms:

 

    “And like their bow they have bent their tongues for lies. They are not valiant for the truth on the earth. For they proceed from evil to evil, And they do not know Me,’ says the LORD. Everyone takes heed to his neighbor, And does not trust his brother; For every brother will utterly supplant, And every neighbor will walk with  slanderers. Everyone will deceive his neighbor, And will not speak the truth; They have taught their tongues to speak lies; They weary themselves to commit iniquity. Your dwelling place is in the midst of deceit; Through deceit they refuse to know Me.’ Says the LORD.” (Jeremiah 9:3-8)

 

    I have to admit when I read this passage I have to think that it is a great description of the people who we live with today. When was the last time you watched the news and saw all the violence and slander that is practiced by so many of the people of our land? God, through Jeremiah, pinpoints the problem very succinctly: “Through deceit they refuse to know Me.” (verse 8)

 

    As always in Scripture, God has some good advice for us, even though we may have been well described above as a people who are liars and bent on doing evil:

 

   “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,’ says the LORD.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

 

   Did you hear that? Our God wants you and I to know Him and to understand Him! He exercises “lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.” He is the one who wants to have a personal relationship with you and desires to spend time with you everyday. He told Jeremiah that He had formed him in the womb and that He knew him! That is true of you also! He knew you when He formed you and He knows you now. He has a purpose for your life and you just need to get in touch with Him, and as you get to know Him and are obedient to His Word, He will guide and lead you for His purposes on this planet. Doesn’t that sound like something your heart has always wanted? Get to know Him today. Take that first step. You will not regret it!

 

 

PRAY

 

1.    Lord, I surrender my life to You today! Please accept my humble prayer to forgive me of my sin and help me today to put You and Your plan for me first in my life.

2.    Lord, help me to spend time in the Scriptures today so that I can know You better and I can understand what You require of a Christ follower.

3.    Thank you Lord for saving me and allowing me to be a part of Your family that I may dwell with You for eternity when I die of when You return to take you church with You to heaven.

Road to Emmaus

 Two men encounter Jesus (although they don’t recognize Him.) on their way to the town of Emmaus, and explain to Him what they think happened on Easter morning:

 

    “’Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.’ Then He (Jesus) said to them. ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things to enter into His glory?’ And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Him.” (Luke 24:22-27 NKJV) 

 

 

   On this glorious Easter morning we can reflect today on what happened that original morning when Christ arose from the dead and defeated Satan and sin once and for all! He is risen! He is risen indeed! We have eye-witness accounts of that day from Matthew (Chapter 28), Mark (Chapter 16), Luke (Chapter 24), and John (Chapter 20). All four accounts give slightly different details of the same miraculous event:

 

1.    The soldiers guarding the tomb are knocked down and the stone rolled away.

2.    Mary Magdalene and others find the tomb empty and go to tell the disciples.

3.    Jesus greets Mary and shows her He is, in fact, alive!

4.    The disciples come and find the empty tomb and the grave clothes. 

5.    Jesus appears to the disciples, minus Thomas, in a house.

6.    Jesus appears to two men on the road to Emmaus.

 

 

   What a glorious day in history! What a glorious day for all who want to know that death can be conquered! Yes, we will all die one day. Even Lazarus, who was raised from the dead by Jesus, later died. But Jesus proved that He has power over death, and He has promised that He will provide a place for His followers in heaven after we have died!

 

   “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:3)

 

  He also told the thief on the cross: “Assuredly, I say to you, today you shall be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

 

   So that brings us to one question; it is the same question that Pilate asked the crowd on Good Friday: “What then shall I do with this man Jesus who is called Christ?” (Matthew 27:22) The crowd shouted that He should be crucified! But what is your response to this question?

 

   Because He was crucified for our sins and not His sins, (He was and is sinless!) we can now be saved if we give our lives over to Him and obey what He has taught us through His disciples who wrote the Scriptures we hold in our hands today.

 

   Has there ever been a time when you gave your life to Christ? Today is a perfect day if you have not. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation.” (II Corinthians 6:2b) If you need to talk to someone after the service today, someone on the staff will be available to help you make that decision. If you are reading this at home and need to talk to someone, call the church office and someone will talk to you about whatever you need to talk about.

 

   If you are a born again believer are you living for Him everyday? Is your life a witness of His wonderful grace and are you reflecting His Spirit by the spirit that lives within you? You have a new week ahead of you; make it a week where you are living controlled by the Holy Spirit and being obedient to our Lord’s leading in all you say and do.

 

PRAY:

 

1.    Lord, thank you for dying on that cross to pay the price for my sins! Fill me with your Spirit today and live Your life through me so that others will want to know You too.

2.    Help me to be more faithful to spend time with You daily in prayer and in the reading and meditating on Your Word so that Your love will be reflected in all that I do today.

3.    Thank you that You have promised that You will never leave me nor forsake me, and that I can count on You to help me with whatever challenge I face in this time we have on planet earth.