A Surrendered Boat
May 23, 2012
In Luke 5, Jesus is preaching to a crowd by the Sea of Galilee. The people were pushing to get near to Him, so He found an empty boat, belonging to Peter, and sat in it to preach. (His "floating" pulpit) Little did Peter know that there would be a great blessing for allowing Jesus to use His boat to share the Gospel. When He concluded His sermon, Jesus said to Peter, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch". Peter reluctantly obeyed because he had fished all night and caught nothing. But to his surprise, an unexpected multitude of fish are caught in the net so much so, that the net began to break! Now Peter has to call for his fellow fishermen to bring their boat to assist him with this great catch! Luke 5:7 states, "they filled both boats with fish and the boats began to sink"! Verse 9 , "And Peter was"astonished" and so were all them that were with him, at the catch of fishes that they had taken." This story is so exciting! Can you imagine what they were experiencing? First of all, Peter is weary from spending an entire night fishing and coming up empty. He didn't even catch "ONE" fish. Now Jesus comes on the scene the next morning and is preaching, but asks to borrow Peter's empty boat that was banked on the shore. Peter willingly obliges, as he has no plans of using the boat for the day after such a disappointing night. After Jesus dismisses the crowd, He looks at Peter and gives Him a direct command..."Launch out into the deep and put down your nets for a catch". What kind of look did Peter give Jesus at that moment? I'm sure he was thinking, "This man can preach, but he has no concept of the fishing business". Note his response, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing...nevertheless, at Thy word, I will let down the net." How many of you can relate to this? I know I can. We toil and work so hard and see no fruit of our labor. We try and try and finally we are at the point of giving up because we just don't know what else to do. At the 11th hour and 59th minute, Jesus shows up and instantly everything changes! The lesson here is clear. Peter "GAVE" the very thing that was the closest to him to Jesus. You see, his boat represented his life. His boat was his means of supporting his family. It was his "job", his income, the provision for his food, clothing and shelter. He allowed Jesus to use it to preach the Gospel and "GREAT" was his reward! You see friend, we have to get out of the mind set of "taking" and begin to start "giving". When we give to the gospel, God always takes care of our needs. It's a principle that God has ordained and it never fails! "GIVE and it shall be given unto you.." Jesus needed a platform to preach from; Peter provided it with his boat and Jesus blessed Peter with a catch that was above and beyond anything he had ever experienced! Friend, whatever you need today, I encourage you to "give" to the Gospel. Jesus will not fail you! Your need will not only be met; God will supply your need in a super-abundant, overwhelming, above and beyond what you can ask or think way and your boat will not be able to contain it! "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to you. For with the same measure you measure it will be measured back to you." -Luke 6:38
Feast of Pentecost
May 21, 2012
The celebration of the feast of Pentecost is this Sunday, known as "Whit Sunday", May 27th. This Jewish feast, known as "Shavu'ot", is the celebration of the law (10 commandments) that God gave to Moses on the mount, 50 days after their exodus from Egypt. It is the feast of the giving of the law, written by the "finger of God". As Christians, we celebrate Pentecost, as the self-same Spirit (Holy Spirit), Who wrote on the tablets of stone is the same Spirit Who writes God's law in our heart and mind. It was exactly 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus that the Holy Spirit descended in the upper room! 50 is jubilee or freedom. Just as Israel experienced "freedom" from the bondage of Egypt, so we experience the "freedom" from sin thru the finished work of the cross and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit working inside of us gives us the power to overcome sin on a daily basis. (Gal. 1:1 "Stand fast therefore in the liberty with which Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.) The Holy Spirit did not come at Pentecost in the upper room just to give us the gift of speaking in tongues...HE came to write His law upon our heart with His FIERY finger...the same finger that wrote the 10 commandments on stone! Remember, He descended upon the 120 in the upper room like FIRE and wind! The FIRE sat upon their heads! It is the "head" or "mind" that has to be renewed, for every sin begins with a thought! It is also interesting to note that when the law was given in the old covenant, Moses came down the mount and found the Israelites worshiping the golden calf. Because of their sin, 3000 people were slain with the sword of the Levites. When the Holy Spirit came in the new covenant at Pentecost, 3000 people were slain with the "SWORD of the HOLY SPIRIT"!! Those slain in the old covenant died. Those slain in the new covenant lived! Peter was wielding a different sword...it was the sword of the Spirit! And that sword, pierced the unbelieving hearts and brought them to repentance! HALLELUJAH! (How can you read this without shouting!!?) I pray that you will experience "jubilee"..."freedom" this week as we experience the fire of Pentecost!
Persistent Prayer!
May 18, 2012
In the parable of the widow and the unjust judge in Luke 18, the Lord is stressing the importance of persistent prayer. The widow presses her case until the unjust judge yields. If a judge who is unjust and DOES NOT fear God will grant the request of a widow ONLY because of her persistence, how much more will God grant us our petitions when we persist in prayer? Notice the Lord's reason for the parable, "And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them? I tell you, He will avenge them speedily." The emphasis here is on persevering until the answer comes. Don't give up, even when there seems to be no response from Heaven. Remember, one who does not push through with passion, does not pray at all. Think about it...our God is a consuming fire. His words are full of power so that it pierces our hearts, convicts us of sin, and transforms the sinner into a saint. If this be the case, (which it is), how can we respond to Him with cold, dull, boring prayers and think we have any claim in Heaven? FIRE is the life of prayer! Heaven is reached by fiery, persistent praying people! It never ceases to amaze me when I look at the reaction of the fans during an athletic event...they are extremely vocal in their passion for their team! They shout, scream, dance and holler with no regrets. But when we begin praying, the opposite occurs. We become dull, dead and dry as we stutter around, trying to talk to God. What is that??? Does not God deserve even MORE passion from us than we give to athletic events??? Ponder this...it is our persistent vocal "faith" that prompts us to get behind our team and push them through to victory. So the same in prayer...it is our level of persistence; our level of passion; our level of "faith" that will push our prayers through the doors of Heaven, into the throne of God and grant us a response! Sometimes God delays the answer in order to get you to pray...really pray...praying with intense fervency and fire. You can only get there through practice. And that practice comes when you have opposition, for opposition always forces you to pray. So pray today; pray with persistence. Don't quit; don't give up until the answer comes. AND HE WILL ANSWER for He will "avenge His elect which cry day and night unto Him"!
Obedience + Prayer = Answer
May 17th, 2012
In Isaiah 38, we read of the prophet Isaiah's delivery of God's message to Hezekiah, "Get your house in order; for you will die and not live." To get a death sentence because of a disease from a doctor is one thing, but to get a death sentence from God is another! Knowing that Isaiah was God's prophet of that day...knowing that every word Isaiah prophesied came to pass...imagine the "impact" of those words upon Hezekiah! He was going thru a sickness, and now God is confirming that this sickness will lead to his death. Certainly NOT the words anyone wants to hear from God! But something is about to take place that changes this scene of hopelessness. Hezekiah begins to pray! He prays like he has never prayed before! The Bible says that "He wept sore"...meaning He cried, pleaded, poured out His heart, and agonized over the grim report. And note his case in his own words, "Remember now O Lord, I beg Thee, how I have walked before Thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in Thy sight". Hezekiah is reminding God of his loyal commitment to Him. He is pleading with God and places his character before the Lord. He reminds God that he served Him in truth, He served Him with His whole heart (full surrender), and he honored (obeyed) His commands and was pleasing in His sight. To God, this counted. God listened to his petition and granted him an extension of 15 years to his life! Hezekiah's obedience to God by living a holy life was the forerunner to his prayer. And because He honored God, God granted His petition. If the will of God does not master our lives, our praying is in vain. Remember, friend, it isn't just the prayer that we pray in time of emergency that moves God. It is the lifestyle that prefaces that prayer! The life of obedience, which leads to righteousness and holiness, is the foundation of answered prayers. "The effectual, fervent prayer of a "RIGHTEOUS" man AVAILS MUCH!" (James 5:16) Simply put, God hears the righteous!
Are Your Words in the Book?
May 16, 2012
Are you aware that every time the Lord is the topic of your conversation and you exalt His name with others, that He hears and also makes note of it? Malachi 3:16 declares, "Then they that feared the Lord spoke often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name." Everyone that "fears" and "reverences" the Lord will be recorded in "a book" and will be rewarded for making Him the center of their lives. Every time you spend time talking about the Lord and even thinking about Him, remember...He is taking note. How much of our conversations in a 24-hour period revolves around Him? Of all the thousands of thoughts racing through out minds in a day...how many include Him? Are we giving Him something to write in His book?
"His Jewels" 5-1-12
The most precious stones such as diamonds, emeralds and rubies are formed in the depth of the earth through intense heat and pressure. When admiring the radiance of these "gemstones", we rarely think of what they had to endure in order to possess such beauty. It is written in Malachi 3 that "a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon His name". "And they shall be Mine", saith the LORD of hosts, "in that day when I make up my jewels;"... We wonder why we have to go through so many trials and tribulations on earth. We wonder why at times, we have to languish in the bed of affliction. We wonder why we have to go thru suffering, persecution, rejection and opposition. WHY? Because we are His precious "stones", being formed in the "inner" man. Yes, the fire is hot and the pressure very intense, but this is the only way that a "precious" stone can be produced. YOU are His precious stone. He saw who you would become before you were created! He has placed you on earth to become one of His "jewels". Read the verse in Malachi 3:17 again. "On that day when I make up My jewels..." There is a day coming that all of life's hardships will be rewarded. You may not understand the "whys" of God, but it is important that you "endure" and keep pressing on anyway. There is a reward awaiting those who continue to persevere. Remember Paul's words,..."I PRESS ON towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Your life is not in vain. You are here by Divine appointment. You are being formed into a "jewel" that will one day sparkle, shine and radiate His GLORY!
"Jesus our Unleavened Bread" 4-12-12
4-12-12 This is the week of "Unleavened Bread" in the Jewish calendar. "Unleavened Bread" is bread without yeast. It is the yeast that makes the dough rise. Yeast "puffs" up. Yeast, also known as leaven, represents sin. The sin of pride is the sin God hates most. Paul writes in 1 Cor. 5 "Your boasting is not good. You know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough, don't you?" Notice the middle letter of "sin" and "pride"... I ... Sin began when Satan rebelled against God in Heaven. Satan's sin was his pride. Note his words, " I WILL be like the Most High"; I WILL ascend above the tops of the clouds". But Jesus is likened to "Unleavened Bread". There is no pride or sin in Him. He is the only sinless One worthy to be called "Unleavened". In the Tabernacle, we find 12 loaves of "unleavened bread" placed at the Table of Shewbread. These 12 loaves represent the 12 tribes of Israel. The fact that the bread was "unleavened" meant that God wanted the entire nation to live holy and pure without the defilement of sin. Since Jesus is "the Bread of Life", the one without leaven, we are to partake of Him and be infused with the nature of Christ in exchange for the nature of sin. "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:" (1 Cor. 5:7) Let us today evaluate our own lives. Have we allowed the sin of pride to come in? Are we "puffed up" with "me, myself and I "? If so, then "leaven" has come in and we must repent and get the leaven out. This is precisely why we must pray and get consecrated everyday. It is the life of prayer and the Word (the Bread of Life), that will keep the leaven out. Jesus is the 100% whole wheat Bread without a trace of leaven. May we feed of Him today and become like Him in every way!
"Crowned with Thorns" Holy Week April 5th
"Cursed is the ground for your sake...thorns and thistles it will produce..." (Gen. 3:18) The perfect Garden that God created had to be under the "curse" that was placed on Adam and Eve. The penalty for sin not only impacted man, it impacted the creatures and the creation. The entire earth was subject to the curse. God did not create Eden with thorns! But now, the ugliness of sin produces the ugly thorn. After the flogging, the soldiers platted a "crown" of thorns and placed it upon the head of Jesus. The thorns were pushed down and deeply embedded into the head of our precious Savior. In their ignorance, the soldiers were fulfilling prophecy. Jesus wearing the crown of thorns was declaring that Jesus was taking the curse upon Himself. Thorns grow out of the ground. Man was made from the ground (dust of the earth). Jesus was taking the curse placed on man upon Himself, as well as the curse placed on the earth! Notice the placement of the thorns. Positioned on His head is making a declaration that He paid the price for our mind. It was the mind of Adam and Eve that caused them to sin. They made up their MINDS that they were going to disobey God and eat of the forbidden tree. But Jesus came to REDEEM our MINDS that we may have the MIND OF CHRIST! He paid the price for every battle your mind would ever face. He paid the price for fear, worry, doubt. Depression, anger, anxiety and everything else that would affect the thought life. Now in exchange we have the mind of love, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit! Instead of a crown of death, we are given a crown of life! Blessed be His Holy Name!
"By His Stripes" Holy Week April 4th
Most Christians focus on the front of the cross only. But today I would like you to take a look at the "back" of the cross. At the back of the cross we see the bleeding "back" of Jesus. The back that had to sustain 39 grueling lashes from a cat-of-nine tails whip. Isaiah declares that "By His stripes we are healed". But could anyone really fathom the depths of those stripes? It is a documented fact that there are nearly 4 quadrillion known diseases in the world. 4 QUADRILLION...that's 15 zeros for all of you mathematicians! It is also a known fact that all diseases are divided into 39 categories. Think about it...every disease known to mankind fits into one of 39 categories! When Jesus took 39 stripes on His back, He was taking every disease in every category that would ever come into the world! When looking at the back of the cross we see the 39 bloody stripes that speak a message loud and clear, "BY MY STRIPES YOU ARE HEALED! Since sickness began BEFORE Jesus came to earth, His back is facing what began BEHIND HIM! His back is facing "back" all the way to Eden where sickness had its origin! The same blood that was shed for our sin was shed for our disease! Blessed be His Holy Name! He paid the price for our total and complete healing in every area: spirit, soul, body! His back was plowed...what happens when you plow the soil? You are then able to plant the seed that brings forth life. So His plowed back was opened with His life-giving seed that would bring life to our sick bodies! You have to just shout "hallelujah" for that,friend! What an awesome God we serve! "O how deep are God's riches and wisdom and knowledge! How unfathomable are His decisions and unexplainable are His ways!" -Romans 11:33
"The Price of a Slave" Holy Week April 3rd
Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Why that amount? In the Jewish law, 30 pieces of silver was the price paid for a slave gored by an ox. (Ex. 21:32) In other words, if your ox killed your neighbor's slave while plowing in the field, you would have to pay your neighbor the price of 30 pieces of silver for his slave. How sad that the Jewish leaders of that day only deemed Jesus to be worth the price of a slave! By paying Judas 30 pieces of silver, they were saying "You mean nothing to us other than a lowly slave." Imagine, the King of Glory, the One who created them, the One who came to die for them, was not valued anymore than a slave. And what about our world today? How does the world view Jesus Christ? Is He respected and honored? Or do they see Him as a lowly slave? We have removed the Bible and prayer from schools and universities; we have removed the 10 commandments from our government; we continue to use His name in profane words; Sunday has become an ordinary day no different than the others, when once it was the Sabbath; we have made education, wealth and celebrities our "god" and Jesus has become "worthless" to us. Are we so different than they were 2000 years ago? YET Isaiah declares, "despising the shame and rejection, HE was wounded for our transgressions; bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed." Our finite minds CANNOT comprehend the Love of God! The LOVE that surpasses rejection; the LOVE that surpasses hate: the LOVE that surpasses insult; the LOVE that surpasses sin! "While we were yet sinners...CHRIST DIED FOR US!" The King of Kings was willing to be treated as a slave to redeem humanity from being "ENSLAVED" to the devil and sin. The truth of the matter is that WE were the ones that were the slaves. We were slaves to sin. But because of love, He took our place on the cross and died to set us FREE! The Master was willing to become the "slave" to bring FREEDOM to the "slaves of sin". May you know how much He loves you today!