A Devotion for Palm Sunday

March 26, 2018 by Leave a Comment

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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.

Having just returned from Jerusalem I stood in awe at the Eastern Gate knowing this was the gate that Jesus entered on Palm Sunday as it was the gate closest to the Outer Court of the temple.

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 among all the other lambs, the sacrifical Lamb who would take away the sin of the world, 

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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Purge the Sediment of My Life.

March 24, 2018 by Leave a Comment

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Dear Father,

Thank you for refining my life as you faithfully “pour me out” season to season, and love me enough, not to let me rest on my “lees”, but continually “pour me out” to rid my life of bitterness, that you may gain pleasure from my life. Help me be that vessel of honor, and to rely on You, and not on my works and treasures but only on my confidence in My relationship with You. My trust is in Your faithfulness, a rock that cannot be moved. Help me have spiritual insight to know the reason of the “pouring out” that I might know the bitterness you are purging, and even if I don’t see the “whys” may I just trust your workings is for my good.

Dear Child, 

Each time I “pour you out” you trust Me more, because your faith grows in that valley! Your faith in My sovereign working is more precious than gold.

Do not kick against My workings, yield, submit and rest in My workings, and you will find rest for your soul.

This is the rest you will enter into, relying on and trusting My workings, as you present yourself a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable in My sight.

Have a humble heart and quiet confidence.

                                                  Thus saith Papa

Jeremiah 48:11  Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed. 

The imagery of this verse needs explaining. In wine that is settling on its lees (that which settles during fermentation), stationary and still, the upper level becomes clear; but beneath is a bitter sediment that will muddy it again if shaken. Before the days of filters, to clear the wine it was emptied carefully from one vessel to another, but however skillfully this was done some of the lees would get across. So the process must be repeated again and again to rid it of its unwelcome taste. Moab, Israel’s natural cousins, had escaped that treatment; had not as Israel had, been sifted and purified through afflictions, with the result, God says, that her bitter taste still clung. There is thus value in God’s discipline of us, a little today and a little more tomorrow. The goal is a savor in us, a character that meets with His approval and delights His heart.

Moab remained in the old state because Moab was not purified through afflictions.

1Peter1:6-7 In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

CHALLENGE: Even through the fiery furnace of trials as we see His hand pouring us out, may we understand that His loving purpose is to refine us rather than letting us rest on our “lees” and remain in our old fallen state

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Reflect This Holy Week

March 20, 2018 by Leave a Comment

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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.

1 Peter 1: 18-19 18 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:

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. 1Peter 4:13

He was betrayed, 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 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!”

Isa.53: 2 -10 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 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. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin.

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 was rolled away to reveal an empty tomb. Joy unspeakable and full of glory!

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

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Meditation for Your Lenten Season

March 19, 2018 by Leave a Comment

There are over 300 prophecies concerning Jesus in the Old Testament. The chances of just one man fulfilling all these prophecies is 1 in hundred quadrillion! that is one in one 1,000,000,000,000,000. (1015).

Could it be that Jesus is just one of many throughout history who have coincidentally fit the prophetic fingerprint?

Not a Chance in this World (But then, Jesus is not of This World…)

For further study watch my video teaching “Our Passover Lamb”  http://margaretmearnsbass.com/2015/03/30/our-passover-lamb-2/

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John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

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Expect Unexpected Blessings from His Hand!

March 18, 2018 by 1 Comment

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Many times during my walk with the Lord I have witnessed in my own life where “He has done exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” as Ephesians 3:20 records, but none will ever surpass the day God blessed me with the biggest surprise of my life!

I was a 22 year old young bride when I conceived in my womb and carried my child in my womb for the complete 9 months. Not unusual or miraculous in that you may say! But the story is only just started. I had previously decided to have natural childbirth at home with the aid of a midwife. The morning my labor started the midwife discerned something different about the labor and called on the assistance of my doctor. Not long after the doctor arrived I gave birth to a beautiful five pound baby girl. There was some confrontation between the doctor and midwife which I just couldn’t understand as I was expectantly exhausted from hours of labor and childbirth. The midwife was arguing that she thought there was another child in the womb while the doctor insisted it was only a big afterbirth! Well, only 15 minutes later, I was holding in my arms that big afterbirth, another five pound beautiful baby girl, the biggest surprise and may I say shock of my life. 

The birth of any baby is miraculous but the birth of two healthy babies from the same womb is almost overwhelming especially when you are expecting only one child.

But you know what, it did not surprise the Lord, for He had already called them in the womb to their individual destinies in serving Him. To the medical field and to all who saw them they were identical and mirror images of each other but to the Lord they were as individual as their unique fingerprints.

I had loved the name “Patsy” so when our first and only, or at least so we thought, daughter was born she was named “Patsy”. My husband liked the name “Angela” so when God surprised us with our second daughter John got his “Angela”. Since both girls were healthy full term babies, they were left at home with us. Without exaggeration the second baby, Angela, cried incessantly for days so we decided she would never be an angel, so we exchanged their names! I was later told it was the shock of being left in the womb on her own that caused her stress and her crying. So our daughter who you all know as Angela was once called Patsy and who you now know as Patsy was once Angela. If you know the girls at all you will realize it was a good decision. LOL And so now you know the rest of this miraculous and unusual story.

All her life “my big afterbirth” surprise has tried and succeeded in surprising me in many ways. This past weekend she totally surprised us by flying in from Nashville to gate crash a dinner party we had planned for friends and her twin sister and brother-in- law who live nearby. Needless to say she was the icing on the cake of a wonderful evening of fellowship and lots of laughter. Thank you, Patsy, for continuing to bless our lives with surprises but it is with such sweet sorrow when we have to drop you off at the airport and say au revoir until our next surprise. God be with you till we meet again!

Thank you, Lord, for giving us a double blessing and blessing the fruit of my womb.

CHALLENGE: Never be surprised what God will and can do!

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