“One Solitary Life”
December 5, 2017 by Leave a Comment
“ONE SOLITARY LIFE” by James Allan Francis is my favorite Christmas devotion and I pray it will also bless you.
He was born in an obscure village,
The child of a peasant woman.
He grew up in still another village,
Where he worked in a carpenter shop
Until he was thirty.
Then for three years
He was an itinerant preacher.
He never wrote a book.
He never held an office.
He never had a family or owned a house.
He didn’t go to college.
He never visited a big city.
He never traveled two hundred miles
From the place where he was born.
He did none of the things
One usually associates with greatness.
He had no credentials but himself.
He was only thirty-three
When the tide of public opinion turned against him.
His friends ran away.
He was turned over to his enemies.
And went through the mockery of a trial.
He was nailed to a cross
Between two thieves.
While he was dying,
His executioners gambled for his clothing,
The only property he had on Earth.
When he was dead,
He was laid in a borrowed grave
Through the pity of a friend.
Twenty centuries have come and gone,
And today he is the central figure
Of the human race,
And the leader of mankind’s progress.
All the armies that ever marched,
All the navies that ever sailed,
All the parliament that ever sat,
All the kings that ever reigned,
Put together have not affected
The life of man on Earth
As much as that ONE SOLITARY LIFE
“The Seed of The Woman”
December 3, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Sharing this Christmas message at Hilton Baptist Church Virginia.
The protoevangelium, the plan of redemption, is first mentioned, in Genesis 3:15 and talks of the seed of the woman bruising the serpent’s head. But how can this be since a woman doesn’t have seed? Over the years as I read this it confused me since a woman doesn’t have seed in her womb. God led me to the story of the annunciation of Mary when the angel gave her the word that she would conceive of the Holy Ghost. Suddenly as the Lord opened my spiritual eyes, I saw that ‘the seed of the woman’ talked about back in the Garden was the Word, the Rhema, that was given to her. 1Peter 1:23 writes of the Word being the seed of God that He plants in our hearts. According to the parable of the sower in Luke 18:11 the seed is the Word of God
Luke 1:38 uncovers the mystery to us! “Behold the handmaiden of the Lord! Be it unto me according to thy Word”. Note she didn’t say “Be it according to my seed.”
At the time of the miraculous conception what was the seed of the Father that Mary received?
It was the Word that was conceived in her womb. The gospel of John tells us that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.That’s the real meaning of the Christmas story, Emmanuel, God with us. Mary was obedient although she could not fathom how this could be but in faith she declared, “Be it unto to me according to thy Word”. Although the seed is full of life it is powerless until believed and obeyed. Then the seed mixed with faith becomes a Rhema word. Faith gives the Rhema substance. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen” Hebrews 11.1 The Rhema will become incarnate just like the seed of Mary’s womb, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”.
Have you ever become pregnant with a Rhema and thought but how could this happen? Have you believed and cherished it until it would become flesh? Or have you neglected the fetus in your spiritual womb? Or maybe through discouragement or doubt you have tried to abort it? Maybe right now you are having labor pains, that’s a sure sign that birth is on its way! Although that seed is of the spirit it needs the physical part of you to become incarnate and be a witness to the world.
When we receive a Rhema word into our hearts, we become pregnant with a vision or a purpose and as we are faithful to feed, guard and protect that seed, one day it will give birth, it will be brought to fruition. Feed it with stubborn, ever increasing faith regardless of fear of rejection or unbelief from others for if this seed is of God the Father, the day will come when He will claim what you are giving birth to as His own! Others will see that this was the Lord’s miraculous doing.
God’s part is to give life and breathe to the seed which He planted within us.
Our part is to nourish it through faith during the long months or maybe even years of pregnancy and then when labor pains begin, hang in there and deliver it to the world.
CHALLENGE: Surrender your whole being, body, soul and spirit and in faith declare as Mary did “ Behold the servant of the Lord! Be it unto me according to thy Word”.
An Attitude of Gratitude
November 16, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Since I’ve had some toe joint problems I can no longer wear the latest fashion in shoes. Being someone who enjoys fashion I’ve often thought “oh! if only I could wear those beautiful shoes.” Having suffered a stroke 18 months ago and unable to walk I now can be soooo thankful that I can walk again regardless of my footwear. “Lord, may we all be lifted to an attitude of gratitude today” Amen
Philippians 4:11 for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content