Jesus Understands!

Click here to listen to blog

Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin!   So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved grace, and we will find help.

Hebrews 4:15-16

Understanding comes with suffering. When you experience a great tragedy you can come along side others who have gone through the same thing and bring comfort.

When my daughter died, more than twenty years ago, it gave my wife and I the ability to mourn with those who mourn because of the death of a child. Every "recovery" group has the element of mutual and shared suffering. You look around at others and know that they know what you are going through.

It is really hard to grasp that Jesus was "tempted in every way that we are." For something to qualify as a "temptation" I have to feel the pull toward doing that thing. I am not "tempted" to eat when I am not hungry. Jesus, in His flesh was drawn toward sin. He understands how I feel when I am tempted. Symbolically Jesus stands once again in the Garden of Eden and refuses to eat of the fruit, even though He was tempted to do so!
So when you turn your heart to Jesus and confess your most heinous sin, Jesus responds with "I was tempted to do that too!"

"Lord Jesus, I pour out my heart to You and let Your light shine on all my sin. I want to hear Your words of understanding and forgiveness. There is no weakness that You do not understand and no sin I can confess to You that You do not have the power to forgive! Praise Your name forever. Amen."

The Voice of God

Click here to listen to blog

All you angels in heaven,

honor the glory and power

of the Lord!

 

Honor the wonderful name

of the Lord,

and worship the Lord

most holy and glorious.

 

The voice of the Lord

echoes over the oceans.

The glorious Lord God

thunders above the roar

of the raging sea,

and his voice is mighty

and marvelous.

 

The voice of the Lord

destroys the cedar trees;

the Lord shatters cedars

on Mount Lebanon.

 

God makes Mount Lebanon

skip like a calf

and Mount Hermon

jump like a wild ox.

 

The voice of the Lord

makes lightning flash

and the desert tremble.

And because of the Lord,

the desert near Kadesh

shivers and shakes.

 

The voice of the Lord

makes deer give birth

before their time.

Forests are stripped of leaves,

and the temple is filled

with shouts of praise.

 

The Lord rules on his throne,

king of the flood forever.

 

Pray that our Lord

will make us strong

and give us peace.

Psalm 29

A big, burly man with a tiny high pitched voice seems really odd. Also a very small man with a large booming voice is not to be expected. But what kind of voice does God have? Is the voice of God loud and blustery, or is it simply strong and majestic? Is God's voice like thunder or is it a "still, small" voice that speaks to your heart?

Is hearing the voice of God a "once in a lifetime" occurrence or is it a regular part of your day? Does God say the same things to everybody, or does He have a personal word for you? Does God only speak to you about significant and earth shaking matters or does He notice the bird that flew into your window and was stunned for a few minutes?

Sometimes the voice of God may be a thought that seems to come to your mind from nowhere. His voice may be frightening and upsetting, or it may be sweet and comforting.
The voice of The Lord is everywhere in all of His creation. It was God's voice that proclaimed our very existence and it was so!

"Dear Lord, I have talked so much and listened so little to Your voice. Help me to hear Your voice when it is very loud and when it is soft and quiet. Thank you Lord that I can read Your Word and hear Your voice, and one day, maybe soon I will also see Your face! Amen."

Eternal Promise

Click here to listen to blog

The Lord is our God, bringing justice everywhere on earth.

He will never forget his agreement or his promises, not in thousands of years.

God made an eternal promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, when he said, “I'll give you the land of Canaan.”

Psalm 105:7-11

For human beings, growing older and being forgetful seem to go hand in hand. Not a day goes by that I don't forget something. I work at forgetting only the non essential things.
God in some ways is the same. Because of Jesus God forgets my sin, but He never forgets His promises! I'm sure you have heard someone say, "I can forgive, but I will never forget." That is not the kind of forgiveness offered by God. When I come to Jesus my sin is covered by His blood and is remembered no more!

But the promises of God do not change and are not forgotten. God promised the land of Canaan to the Jewish people, and thousands of years later they are still there. They have been exiled before, but they always come back, and no one has been able to destroy them all. It is not because the Jews are wonderful, it is because God promised that it would be so!

No nation has ever been able to bring harm against the Jewish people without God allowing it to serve His purposes. Of all the evidences of God in this world, one of the most obvious is the very existence of the nation of Israel.

"Lord, Your promises are forever and cannot go unfulfilled. Help me watch for how You are doing the things You said You would do in this world. And Lord, may Your promise to come back and get us, come soon! Amen."

Silence in Heaven!

Click here to listen to blog

When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

Revelation 8:1

When there is silence in Heaven the Word of God becomes quiet as well!  The sound of Heaven's praise which continues to echo through Eternity suddenly stops, and everything waits for God's next move!

Do you put your ear to Heaven's door and hear nothing coming from the other side?  You may have heard the sounds of Heaven for years and rejoice every morning that God speaks to you unceasingly, and then it stops, there is silence in Heaven!

Heaven's half hour of silence to me seems to go on forever.  If a day is a thousand years to God, then a half hour can be more than twenty years!  Will we ever hear the glorious praise coming from the Throne of God again?  Will His Word vibrate through the earth changing hearts and minds and speaking health to the sick and life to the dying?  

Heaven's silence is the time for you to turn up your faith and trust in Jesus!  Remember the language of love goes far beyond words!  Even when Jesus is silent He has not left you.  When you hear no praise coming from Heaven, you can know that the trumpet blasts are soon to begin.

"Lord Jesus, I praise You even though I hear no sound from Heaven.  I love You Lord.  I love You beyond my sense of Your presence.  Help me to sit quietly and enjoy the silence of Heaven as we wait for the Trumpet to sound.  Thank You Jesus.  Amen."

All My Sin

Click here to listen to blog

I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared, and so had the sea.  Then I saw New Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God in heaven. It was like a bride dressed in her wedding gown and ready to meet her husband.

I heard a loud voice shout from the throne:

God's home is now with his people. He will live with them, and they will be his own. Yes, God will make his home among his people. He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever.

Then the one sitting on the throne said:

I am making everything new. Write down what I have said. My words are true and can be trusted.  Everything is finished! I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give water from the life-giving fountain to everyone who is thirsty.  All who win the victory will be given these blessings. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Revelation 21:1-7

Death, suffering, crying and pain are all temporary. They are going away. When Jesus comes and we go to live with Him forever none of those earthly traumas will accompany us to Glory!

Even though we know that God works good in us through all of these while we are here, they will be no more forever! My latest encounter with these "earth only difficulties" is suffering. When one that you love dearly is going through a mighty trial there can be physical pain in your own body as you long for some way to take away their pain.

When Jesus looked down at the desperate plight of man, He was moved by His love to address the issue of sin. So Jesus not only became our advocate with the Father, He also paid the price for every sin ever committed, including the first sin of Adam and Eve! He started there but also included the sin that you committed this morning!

There is indeed nothing more amazing than the love of Jesus. I can rest in His arms and know all is well. It doesn't matter where I am. I can be on the pinnacle or in the deepest pit. Jesus' love is there and covers me with His peace. His hand is resting on my head as I bow humbly before my Lord and Savior.

"Lord Jesus, I know that Your sacrifice was enough for every sin of every man or woman who ever lived and that Lord includes my sin. Help me today to say "no" to every temptation to sin! Today Lord let me walk in Your steps and rejoice that we will be together forever! Come soon, Lord Jesus. Amen."

When You Come Back to Jesus!

Click here to listen.

When you come back to Jesus
He won't ask you where you've been.

He doesn't need to know the path
You've traveled, or your sin.

When you come back to Jesus 
He takes it all away

He gives you Peace and Joy and Love
And a special place to stay

Close by His heart while leaning on His breast.
It's like you never left at all, and then you find the rest

A sweet retreat from all that's wrong
The comfort in His arms
You soon forget the world that pulled you often with it's charms.

So now it's you and Jesus, for no one else will do.
You wake to hear His voice again and feel His touch anew.

When you come back to Jesus you'll hear Him call your name.
He'll welcome you into His heart and wash away your pain.

Oh, do come back to Jesus.  Don't make Him wait today.
Please do come back to Jesus for then you'll hear Him say:

"I love you and I forgive!"

The Light of the World!

Click here to listen to blog

Jesus told us God is light and doesn't have any darkness in him. Now we are telling you.

If we say we share in life with God and keep on living in the dark, we are lying and are not living by the truth.  But if we live in the light, as God does, we share in life with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus washes all our sins away.  If we say we have not sinned, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth isn't in our hearts. 9But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away.

If we say we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and his message isn't in our hearts.

I John 1:5-10

Years ago when I lived in Indonesia I learned the meaning of darkness. Only a few miles from our home there were no street lights, security lights or blinking signs. And when the sky was covered with a blanket of clouds you could feel the darkness. With your eyes wide open there was nothing that gave you even a hint of what was going on around you or even where you were. In that darkness when you held your hand in front of your face you could see nothing at all!

When you live in spiritual darkness you cannot see what is going on around you. You don't even know where you are or which way to go. Then, you hear a Word or see a small glimmer of light on the horizon. When you are in total darkness even a little light is very impressive and draws you to it.

If you are in the darkness and then you see a light, go toward the light. The way out of the darkness is to go to the light. It is there you will find Jesus. And when you step into the light you will begin to see not only the light itself, but all the things around you. When you are in the light you can even look into the mirror of God's Word and see yourself. That is how you know how to repent. You can't see what needs to be changed in your life if you are in the dark.

"Jesus, I thank You that You have called me from darkness into Light! I once was blind, but now I see. Help me never to blink my spiritual eyes and return even for a second to the darkness I was in before You found me and brought Your light! Praise You Jesus for You are the Light of the World! Amen."