For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation. 2 Cor. 6:2

I think a sense of urgency is missing today in many churches. We spend time edifying and building up the ones inside, but forget that there are those outside the doors (and some inside) that desperately need rescue. I once listened to a old sermon by John Edwards and even though I have experienced God’s saving grace and know where I will spend eternity, I still felt like finding the nearest church aisle to run down anyway! Not many of those kinds of sermons are preached anymore. We have a sense of urgency about the wrong things sometimes. Urgency does get our attention, all we have to hear is that beep, beep warning on the news station and right away we stop whatever we are doing and listen. Certainly there are situations in life that require immediate attention, but all those other things that we think are important would fade away if our child was terminally ill. The fact is we are all terminally ill spiritually and physically. We all need a doctor. The good news is, the Great Physician was born, lived and died so that our terminally ill soul could be ransomed from eternal death.
Now that is something that should be on the bottom of the ticker tape on CNN!

If you lose your peace, break with the situation. If you need to pray, pray now. “Oh but that might be too awkward or too much trouble,” we say to ourselves. But if we had diarrhea, we would break with the situation. We would get up from the meeting. We would pull the car off the road. We would put down the phone. We would get out of line. We would excuse ourselves from the dinner table. It’s very simple: all we have to do is make the peace of God more important than diarrhea.” Hugh Prather “Spiritual Notes to Myself.”

And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him. Hebrews 9:27,28
The question is how do we offer someone a cure if they don’t even know they are sick?

John 4:13-24
13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
15 “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”

16 “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.
17″I have no husband,” she replied.
18 Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
21 Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

I love the interchange between Jesus and this woman. He manages to smash about 2 or 3 cultural barriers at once here. Jews didn’t talk to Samaritans and men didn’t make it a practice to have public dialogs with women, especially a Jewish man and a Samaritan woman! Jesus doesn’t seem to think anything of it. He has no problem having a lengthy conversation with her. He meets her right where she is! Just by stopping to talk with her by the well, He demonstranted that he cared more about her as a person than going along with the cultural norm.

She came to the well for drinking water and got the Living Water Himself!

I have had the blahs the past two days. It is grey out which isn’t usual for us in Arizona. I have wanted to hole up and do nothing except grab a blanket and read. I have contemplated taking down the decorations but no far have had no motivation to do it. Company is gone, and I need to think about cleaning house, making Dr. and Dental appointments, and moving onward with the routine of life.

Sometimes in the afterglow of celebrations, returning to the routine can feel somewhat mundane. But it is in these times especially that our faith becomes real; that in spite of the blahs, we get up, get moving, start the day, do what needs to be done. That is when the real miracle happens and the mundane becomes the miracle itself because God reveals Himself to us in it.

Each day becomes a celebration all over again because God is placed squarely back on the throne of our lives. Yes, He lives. He is truly God with us, Immanuel. I think of how Peter must have felt when He thought Jesus was gone forever. All hopes dashed, dreams crushed in the dust. He did the one thing that always gave him comfort, he went fishing.

John 21:1-4
Jesus Appears at the Sea of Galilee:
After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way. Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing. But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

Can you imagine the joy Peter must have felt when he realized who it was on shore cooking breakfast for him? That is how God works, just when you think He is gone forever He shows up and produces a miracle in the mundane!

Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.” Luke 22:29-32

The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” Luke 22:33-35

Is there a right way to celebrate Christmas?…..absolutely. With the same joy and wonder that the angels felt when they touched down to announce His birth. And also with a bit of the somber forboding that Mary and Joseph must have had when Simeon gave his prophetic words in the temple.

It is impossible to see the babe in the manger, the sparkling lights on the tree, the manger scene lovingly arranged on the shelf, without also looking ahead to the death, burial and resurrection to come. That is the great paradox of our faith. We see the joy, but we also can’t help seeing the sorrow. Though our world is still filled with the same problems as when He came, His coming gives the answer to them all. That is our great hope!

“Lord, to honor Your birth may I humbly remember what it cost to redeem me, and may I seek to glorify You with my life, my decisions, my words, so that others may clearly see Your light.” Amen

Images from “Jesus of Nazareth” directed by Franco Zefferelli

“The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light, and those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, upon them a light dawned.” Matthew 4:16

The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. John 1:5

We have only to look around to see that our culture is obsessed with darkness…..The spectacular success that catapulted an unknown homemaker to bestselling author of the current “Twilight” series proves this. But this is not new. Darkness has been around since the beginning. It changes shape with the times, partially masquerading itself for a new generation, but it is still the same. Satan has no new tricks. While I certainly understand the draw and popularity of these books, we must be keenly aware of the underlying danger that resides beneath the surface. Satan always wants to look attractive and harmless. “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” 2 Cor. 11:14 Obsession with darkness leads away from the True Light, the One who holds the sun, moon and stars in His hands. And the one to “whom every knee will bow” one day, whether they believe Him now or not.

Even the original queen of Vampire books, Anne Rice has gone back to her Christian roots and writing books about Jesus now…..

Get to know the True Source today……Here

 

This is a repost from 2009 that is true just as much today as when I first posted it! Be Blessed friends!

“Bell Tower, Mount of Olives”
1-2 When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:

3″You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

4″You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

5″You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

6″You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

7″You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.

8″You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

9″You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

10″You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.

Salt and Light
13″Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.
And the picture above reminded me of this verse…….
14-16″Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

“The Message, Beatitudes Matthew 5:1-13

These leaves made me think of my Dad. He always calls me and lets me know when they start falling in California….(He called last night) He knows I miss the leaves. Pretty soon an envelope will come with assorted leaves from their yard. Looking forward to that!

Jesus life didn’t go well. He didn’t reach his earning potential. He didn’t have the respect of his colleagues. His friend weren’t loyal. His life wasn’t long. He didn’t meet his soul mate. And he wasn’t understood by his mother. Yet I think I deserve all those things because I’m so spiritual.

We are walking in a ticker tape parade. That’s all that’s going on. Some pieces of confetti read, “great calves,” some “chronic sinus,” some “no noticeable hair loss,” some “multiple sclerosis,” and some “third finger amputation.” Don’t judge your neighbor by what pieces of paper fall on his or her shoulders. Don’t think you are cursed or “blessed” by what pieces fall on yours.

The fact is nothing will go right today. And if it does, it will only scare you.

From Spiritual Notes to Myself by Hugh Prather

(Rev. 5:5:) “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and the seven seals”

“Majesty”, sung by Michael W. Smith

Belief

I am thankful today; thankful for belief, such a simple word and yet it makes the difference for all eternity. I am thinking today of what a miracle it is that we come to belief at all, with so many forces around us telling us not to believe in what we can’t see, and yet we do. And yet it is not belief alone, for as the Bible tells us, the demons believe too, and tremble. It is the life-changing belief that makes us put it all on the line for Christ; the belief that leads to repentance and changed ways. Turning from one way of living to another, like Jesus so patiently explained to Nicodemus late at night.
Each day we have so much to rejoice in as believers. The Bible says that this path of belief is narrow, and there are few that find it. I am honored to be part of that few. Sometimes it seems as if the whole world is going against it, people want what sounds good to them, and that is not the way of Christ. The way of Christ goes against our very nature, so the fact that we find Him at all is only because of the Holy Spirit making Himself known to us. Something in us has listened, responded, and we have recognized our maker. The great mystery is why me? That question alone should bring me to my knees each and every day, in gratitude and humility asking, “What can I do to get closer to You?”

The answer is always in His word, our compass and guide. Help me Lord to never stop asking what I can do for You. Help me to love You more, and in loving You more, love people more. And finally, make me a blessing to those around me. Sometimes I forget that in order to truly love You, we must love people. I confess I can lose myself in a stack of books and forget there is world outside my window; but I thank you God that you are the great “changer” of human nature. You have taken my old nature, and replaced it with Your nature. Help me to look more and more like Your Son. And help me not hide my faith under a bushel, but shine it out for all to see like a lighthouse on a foggy shore.