Don't Miss Him

"Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, that things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes."
Luke 19:41,42

Jesus wept over Jerusalem because the day that Israel had longed for was upon them, and most of them missed it.  How could they have missed it?  The long awaited for Messiah had openly come to Jerusalem, as was prophesied in Zechariah 9:9, and He was not recognized.  The city was packed with pilgrims preparing for Passover, and THE LAMB of God was with them but they ignored Him.  Israel looked for another kind of king, so Jesus was rejected.

I was eating breakfast at a bagel shop, and a man sitting near me began reading headlines from the newspaper to his wife.  After reading about five headlines he set the paper down and said to his wife "what's going on?"  I'm sure most of us have echoed the same sentiment as we have witnessed world events.  The fact is, what's going on is that the world is going through birth pangs in preparation for the second coming of Jesus.  Sadly just as many in Jerusalem were clueless on Palm Sunday, many today are just as blind to God's moving in the world.

There was a small remnant on Palm Sunday who understood that Jesus was the promised Messiah, and they praised Him and blessed Him.  I want to be one of those today, who discerns the times and points to the coming of Jesus Messiah.  Lord open our eyes!

To Die Is Gain

"For I am hard-pressed between the two,
having a desire to depart and be with Christ,
which is far better." Phil. 1:23

Paul knew what he was talking about, for he had already seen that which was 'far better'.  The glory of heaven that he had seen was so far beyond his comprehension that he didn't even have the words to explain it.  In this verse, his only description of heaven still fills us with longing and wonder, for he says it is "far better".

To depart describes a ship being loosed from its anchor to set sail.  What a marvelous picture we are given of leaving this world. In these bodies we are anchored to earth, but one glorious day, we will be loosed from these anchors, and be set free to join our Lord!   To die is gain.
 

Do It Again

"When all that generation had been gathered to their Fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord, nor the work which He had done for Israel."
Judges 2:10

I had read an account of a pastor who was visiting a church in Scotland.  It was the church of William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army.  Booth had begun a dynamic work of God that had reached the poor of Scotland, England and eventually spread worldwide.

The pastor entered the church and was moved by a young man standing before a portrait of Booth.  The young man was weeping and quietly praying.  This pastor edged nearer to hear the prayer and he was taken as he heard the man just repeat over and again, 'do it again, Lord'.

Our faith cannot be based on what God accomplished through our parents or grandparents. Our faith cannot rest in what God has done in previous generations. We need God's hand to be mighty among us today.  Our faith needs to be alive and vibrant...energized by what God is doing today.

The world needs the church to be alive.  This generation needs to taste His mighty work today.  May we all pray as one...'do it again  Lord'!

Head Scratcher

"And she said, 'The Philistines are upon you, Samson!'  So he awoke from his sleep, and said, 'I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!'  But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him."  Judges 16:20

Back in my high school football playing days, I had a coach who would always use little sayings to get his point across.  He seemed to understand the point he was making but half the time I had no clue what he meant.  After a play he might grab me and say, 'good job, that'll work coming or going.'  I would look at him as if I understood, but to this day I don't know what he meant.

There was one saying he had whenever someone made a mental mistake, and we all understood exactly what he meant, he would say, 'now that was a head scratcher!'  I bring up this little high school football memory because when I study the life of Samson I find myself saying quite often 'now that was a head scratcher!'

Samson had come to the sorry spiritual state of not being able to recognize that the Spirit had departed from him.  He thought he would be just as strong as he had always been, not discerning that he was now moving out in his own strength.  Samson had accomplished many mighty feats by the Lord's hand, he had known the power of the Spirit upon him, but had now digressed to the place of walking in his own strength thinking it was the Lord's strength.... 'now that's a head scratcher!'

Samson's blunder ought to serve as a wake up call for all of us.  We can never be complacent or lazy in our dependence on the Lord.  "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.' (Ephesians 6:10)
 

Persistent Prayer

"And he said 'let me go, for the day breaks'.  But he said,
'I will not let you go unless You bless me."'
Genesis 32:26

If you were to do a study of the life of the Jewish patriarch, Jacob, you would discover that most of the time he sets an example you would not want to follow.  His life is filled with striving in the flesh. He was clever, true....yet relied on his own abilities and not the Lord.

In Genesis 32, we find the turning point in Jacob's life and an example for us to follow. Sadly, it took Jacob being crippled to bring an end to his self-will, yet from this we receive a powerful example.  In his brokenness, Jacob latched onto the Lord and would not let go and kept begging for the Lord to bless him.  As a church, we can easily fall into the trap of trying to reach the world by  our own wisdom, programs, and abilities. What the world needs is a church that understands its own inability, yet will desperately cry out to God on behalf of the world. My hope is that we will be  a church that will latch hold of God and persistently intercede for salvation and revival.

Gracious Invitation

 
"But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully and killed them."
Matthew 22:5-6

In this parable of Jesus, we are told of the response of some people to an invitation by a king. Judging by their response, you would think he invited them to a funeral or a time share presentation.  The astounding point of this parable is that the king hadn't invited them to something dreadful, but to something wonderful...his son's wedding feast.  Those invited should have been honored, but instead, some disregarded it and others were angered by it.

We have seen throughout history and even today the same response to our King's gracious Gospel invitation.  His summons is not something bad, but to a blessed eternal feast with his Son.  Sadly, rather than being humbled by His call, many ignore it or are angered by it.

We are the King's blessed servants whom He has entrusted with His divine invitation to man.  As we bring the King's call to the world, it's important to understand that man's rejection of the King's invite does not reflect on the wonderful grace  of His offer, but it reflects the nature and heart of man.  We must never allow indifference or flat out rejection rob us of the joy and goodness of the Gospel entrusted to us. Be bold & invite!

Remember Lot's Wife

"Remember Lot's Wife."
Luke 17:32

Do you remember Lot's wife? Sodom & Gomorrah were under God's judgment & about to be destroyed.  By God's mercy, two angels delivered Lot and his family out of the cities. When they were safely away, they were told to flee and not return.  When brimstone & fire began to rain down on the cities, Lot's wife turned around to go back and instantly became a pillar of salt.

What was it that made her want to go back? The cities and all that were in them were being destroyed yet amazingly she was drawn back!  We are left with the puzzle over why and for what?

Jesus gives us this sobering three-word warning as He was teaching the apostles about His second coming.  Since Jesus is coming back, we are to have a loose grip on the things of this world.  There is no treasure here on earth worth holding onto.  After the warning, Jesus gives a commentary on Lot's wife: "Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it".