Take Us Back to The Foot of The Cross

March 26, 2013 by Leave a Comment

This coming week between Palm Sunday and Easter morning is known as Holy Week.

The most somber and reflective week on the church calendar. Perhaps the only time, during the year, that as believers we actually reflect on the awesome cost of our redemption.

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Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 1 Peter 1: 18-19 18

Surely we should all ask God, especially during this holy week, to take us back to the place where we first believed, to the foot of the cross. To the place where we can identify with His sufferings that we might be partakers of His resurrection.

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 1Peter 4:12-13

He was betrayed by a kiss, humiliated, spat upon, mocked, abandoned, not believed, wept in the Garden in prayer until he sweat blood, denied, lashed until He was almost dead, nailed to a cross which He had to carry, forsaken by His Father because He became sin for us, yet while hanging in excruciating pain between heaven and earth, He could cry out “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do!”

Are we willing to count and pay the cost to be His disciple? As we are admonished in Luke 14:27 “Whoever doth not bear his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple” We must be willing to take up our cross daily and die to self if resurrection power is to flow through our lives.

The level of our meditative reflection during this holy week, will determine and intensify the fullness of our joy come Sunday morning when the stone is rolled away to reveal an empty tomb. Joy unspeakable and full of glory!

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He is risen! He is risen indeed!

 

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Reflection for Palm Sunday

March 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment

palm-sunday

As we celebrate this coming Palm Sunday, as Jewish congregations prepare to celebrate Passover, may the Old Testament types add to the dimension of our faith and understanding of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.

Consider for a moment that on that same day thousands of lambs were being ushered into Jerusalem through the same Eastern gate, also known as the Golden Gate, as Our Passover Lamb. But I wonder how many who were enthusiastically waving palms, saw with spiritual eyes the Lamb of God, who would take away the sin of the world, among all the other lambs.

The lambs were being brought into Jerusalem five days prior to Passover, to be examined by the priests. They were to be examined for blemishes or disfigurement, as only perfect lambs were found worthy to be sacrificed for the sins of the people. It is interesting to note that the priest did not examine the sinner who brought the sacrifice, rather the priest looked to see if the sacrificial substitute was worthy.

Likewise Our Lamb was brought into the city five days prior to Passover, to also be examined. He was brought before Pontius Pilate, Herod, Annas and Ciaphas, the high priests, and the ultimate judgement was made by Pilate when he declared, “I find no fault in Him.” Praise God for our Lamb who was found worthy to be sacrificed for our sins.

As we worship this coming Sunday let us with a loud voice declare with the heavens

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain!” Rev. 5:12

 

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A Heart of Integrity

February 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment

integrity

Dear Child,

A heart of integrity will lead you to a life of righteousness. Let your ‘nay’ be ‘nay’ and your ‘yea’ be ‘yea’. Do not be doubled minded.

A heart of integrity will lead you to trust yourself and you will have peace.

A heart of integrity will not act in haste because you know your heart will hold you accountable.

A heart of integrity will have a conscience clear before God and man, and will thus hear My voice clearly.

                                                        Thus saith Papa

Proverbs 11:3 The integrity of the upright shall guide them:

Psalm 15:1- 4 A psalm of David. LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD, WHO KEEPS HIS OATH EVEN WHEN IT HURTS.

Whatever the nature of the contract, when the word of a Christian has been given, the promise must be honored. Because God keeps His word we have salvation; He is true to His pledge. The Gibeonites craftily deceived Joshua, and he made peace with them before discovering their plot (Joshua 9:19). Nevertheless, God insisted that the terms of the covenant be honored, and generations later withheld rain because King Saul went back on that undertaking. God will not permit us to carelessly destroy a covenant. He who insisted that Joshua should spare the Gideonites, and later that King David should avenge the wrong done to them, expects us to be true to our word, even if it be to our own disadvantage

Integrity means “a quality or state of being complete or undivided”

When our lips say “yes” in haste, yet our hearts are saying “no” we have become a divided person! To have a heart of integrity we must say what we mean and mean what we say!

Challenge: Always count the cost before making any promise, because God will hold us accountable to keep our word whether it was made wisely or unwisely, whether it will be to our advantage or disadvantage. 

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“The Seed of the Woman”

December 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment

 

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”.

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The Sword of Forgiveness

November 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment

 

Dear Father,

Teach me daily to deal with offenses, in a way that will cause growth in my life and also in a way that will be pleasing to You.

Dear Child,

Offenses will always be dealt with, one way or another. Whether you think they are left hanging and undealt with or not.

They will either be a trap and stunt growth

                           OR

They will be an opportunity to freedom and maturity.

Your response to the offense IS your dealing with the offense.

Even if you don’t respond outwardly, your response will have a powerful effect on the heart.

Whether stored in the heart!

                    OR

Set free and forgiven!

Offenses not forgiven will be stored in the heart and will hold you captive as chains that tighten with each unforgiven offense.

                                                   Thus saith Papa

Luke 17:1-4  Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offenses will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.

Mat 24:10  And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

Since we are warned that offenses will increase in the last days in the above chapter, we need to mature spiritually and learn to biblically respond to these offenses.

Down in the basement of our hearts, just like junk in our physical basement, is junk that is cluttering our emotional life. Experiences from the past that we’d rather shut away in our sub-conscience rather than bring them to the light and deal with them, because most of them are hoarded there because of our choice not to forgive. We are keeping ourselves prisoners to those experiences but a decluttered emotional life brings freedom. When we decide to declutter our hearts  and forgive we are saying “ I no longer give you the power to control who I am, how I think or how I’ll behave”.

An absence of forgiveness is equivalent to staying behind prison bars of buried hurt. 

 “FORGIVENESS is a MIGHTY SWORD that will cut you free”….Broadway Show- Jane Eyre

CHALLENGE: What cords of past hurts and offenses are entangled in your emotional being, robbing your spiritual life of the breathe of freedom? Set yourself free today from those cords of the past with the SWORD of FORGIVENESS. Name them one by one as you sever them from your being that you might be able to walk to freedom from the past!


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