  “ Come Unto Me” by Jerry Anderson is a visual reminder that life goes on beyond the grave-that it is eternal, that after death we are taken home to that God who gave us life. Alma 40:11. The print depicts an elderly woman, who after passing through the veil of mortality is greeted into the arms of Jesus as a young woman in her prime.
Luke 2:7 And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed Him in the manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.  At this time of year when we are busy wrapping our gifts and decorating and entertaining, we tend to put aside the most important gift that we can receive. We see all the expensive gifts and decorations and busyness but we overlook the simple life-changing gift that is priceless
and free. When Christ came to us, He came as a defenseless infant, born of poor parents in very modest circumstances. We pay more attention to great fanfare events, celebrity appearances and royal weddings and births. We don't take time to make room in our lives for the blessings that come disguised and wrapped in simple cloths. How full is your inn? Have you filled all your rooms with the things that break, rust, dent or spoil? How many of the gifts that you received last year do you remember? What would it take to refocus your attention on the eternal instead of the temporal? Revelations 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. Jesus is standing at your door. He is knocking. He is waiting for you to open your door to Him so that He can come in. He wants you to make room at your inn so that He can fill you with blessings, satisfy your hunger, and heal your broken places. Make room in your inn for the Prince of peace, the wonderful counselor. He has been patient with us for a very long time. He is waiting for us to make a place for Him in our hearts and minds and lives. Make this the year that you receive the greatest gift that will not be forgotten. This gift is an ongoing gift. It is new every morning and never loses it's value. It is free but it is also priceless. Receive the gift and the Giver. Spend an eternity celebrating with the One Who loves us enough to come to an inn that has no room. He knocks and patiently waits for us to open the door. He loves you. Col 3:12-14 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.  We are God’s people, chosen, redeemed, and loved. Yet we treat each other with disrespect. We are poorly tolerant of others who think or believe differently. We have little patience for those who do things differently than we do.
We are one body, redeemed by the same Savior. We will spend eternity in the same heaven worshipping the same God. We need to start practicing the art of getting along with others or as my mom would say, “Learn to play well with others.”The Lord reminds us that we are one. There is neither Jew or Gentile, color doesn’t matter, language is irrelevant. Where you come from does not affect your salvation if you have accepted Christ as Savior. We show our commitment to the Lord by the way we treat each other. The Word tells us that we will be known by our love. What message are we sending to those around us? The Lord will see how we love Him by the way we treat those He loves. It is difficult to be nice to those who push our buttons but treating just one person well despite how they treat us will maybe soften their hearts and make them open to the message of salvation. We live in a world of hurting people. Perhaps we can be the balm of Gilead that will heal their broken hearts. And just maybe, when we treat just one of God’s people with respect and compassion, we can bring healing to our churches and our land. Romans 8:34 Hebrews 7:25 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, Who died--- more than that, Who was raised to life---is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Therefore, He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.  When we stand before an earthly judge, we stand beside an earthly lawyer who is just as guilty of sin as we are. That person can only defend us with earthly understanding and power. We have however, a Defender Who is at the right hand of God defending us and holding up our redemption from sin as a reason for exoneration. We are guilty of the sins of the flesh until we confess them. Any earthly judge will condemn us by the words of our mouth and the evidence presented.
When we stand before the Holy God, we stand condemned until we confess and seek His Son to redeem us. We then, have no condemnation. We are one with Christ Jesus. We are in Him. He is in us just as God is in Him and in us. We no longer stand accused. We are set free from the sentence of death. We are set free to worship the one true God of the universe. We have an accuser. The earthly prosecutor will stand before the judge with evidence of guilt. Our heavenly accuser stands before God offering lists of our sins. Jesus stands before our accuser and reminds him that our sins have been forgiven. They have been paid for by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. He also defeated death at the same time. Our accuser cannot stand before God with a list because there is no longer anything on that list. It has been forgiven and forgotten by Jesus. He puts the sins as far from Him as the East is from the West. He Who began a good work in us is faithful to complete it. He stands for us. He restores us. He redeems us. He loves us! 1 John 2:23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.  The time will come when sharing the gospel will cost our lives. Right now, however, it only embarrasses us to admit Who we are committed to serving. The average person around us in the secular world we live in no longer believes in a God Who created the universe or sent His Son to die for us. They feel that is a fairy tale for the simple minded.
Standing for the One Who died for us shouldn’t be that difficult but it is. We have to take a stand for something and for so many years, that was politically incorrect. We are uncomfortable admitting we have a saving belief in the Lord. Now is the time to get into the habit of standing strong in Christ. We need not stand on the street corner with a big placard but we do need to stand for Him in our everyday conversation. When talking with friends, family, co-workers, we can speak what we believe with gentleness and honesty. I can remember a lady that I knew when I was little. She had a habit of coming on strong and ‘hitting us over the head with a 10-pound Scoffield Bible’. She gave no room for human failings and scared me to death. She lived her beliefs but her approach drove most away. I did, however, remember a lot of what she said. I believe she was one of the ones that planted that first seed of curiosity to learn more of the Lord. We don’t need to be ‘in their face’ but we do need to keep them in prayer. Joshua told us to choose ye this day Whom we will serve. After we choose, then stand firm in the love of our Savior. He loves us and stands before His Father interceding for us. The least we can do it to stand before man and proclaim His love for us. Psalm 19:1-4 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.  Throughout Psalms, David and the other authors have been amazed with what God has done for us. In Psalms 8, David asks, “What is man that you are mindful of him?” God amazes us with His love and compassion for a created being. He made the universe for His pleasure. He made man in His own image and gave us sovereignty over all the earth. He gave us free will to serve and worship Him or not. He gave us a love letter of 66 books that tells us of His love and patience. His sacrifice of His Son is beyond comprehension.
“When I consider Your heavens and the works of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of Him?” Why did God choose to create infinite beauty and variety for us? His love for us is the only conclusion I can arrive at. He sees us as the apple of His eye. He rejoices over us with singing. He created a heaven of such intense beauty we cannot begin to understand it. During the spring, I watch barren branches burst into beauty. The variety of shades of green are amazing. The promise of rebirth in nature around us builds in us a desire to get out and celebrate His designs. The summer weather encourages exploration and activity. The fall brings forth beauty in the fall foliage. It has been a long tradition of traveling just to see the splendor of His beauty. Even the cold of winter gives us such beauty in pristine white fields and the contrast of pure white snow and the deep green of evergreens. Who are we that God would go to all the effort to create for us such a display of His glory? He does it so that we can get some inkling of the depth of His love. When life is hard and we don’t understand why we must stand the challenges of painful events, these are the reminders that He is still in control and loves us in infinite ways. Romans 8:1, Hebrews 4:16 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.  We have been forgiven by the One Who created all things, the One who is the Redeemer, Savior, and Lord. No matter what we have done, what poor choices we made or the rebellion we pursued, God has chosen to forgive us. We cannot sin beyond His ability to forgive. As long as we truly and honestly repent, He is faithful and just to forgive.
Sometimes I wonder why He will forgive when I do the same dumb thing repeatedly. But He simply wants us to learn from our mistakes and move on. We tend to hold on to our past sins and hold them up as a banner, never seeking forgiveness or accepting it when we do seek it. We don’t believe that God is big enough or willing enough to forgive. We hold onto our guilt and refuse to forgive ourselves. Do we feel greater or wiser than our Savior? Do we think we know something He doesn’t? Psalms tells us that His ways are higher than our ways and that He knows our thoughts before we do. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and nothing is hidden from Him. Even with all our weaknesses and failures, His love for us is limitless. He loved us and paid for our sins while we were yet sinners. He paid the price on the cross for us. Our enemy, the devil, stands before Him condemning and accusing us. He tells Jesus, “Somebody has got to pay for their crimes.” Jesus replies with a smile, “Been there, done that.” Satan did his best to destroy our Redeemer but he was outsmarted by our God and King. He knows his time is short and his defeat is guaranteed so he is doing all he can to alienate us from God. One of his greatest weapons against us is the burden of unnecessary guilt that we carry. If he can make us concentrate on the past, we can't concentrate on the mission the Lord has set for us to accomplish. Therefore, let us come boldly before the throne and confess. He will forgive. He will accept us and He will welcome us with open arms. Just like the father of the prodigal son, He will run to us and dress us in the pure white robe of His bride. He loves us. Isaiah 61:1b He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted.  We all have our broken places. We all have areas of
pain that are buried deep so that we don't think about what hurts. Fractures in our hearts, spirits and bodies build walls that are hard to get around or over. The Lord has everything we need to heal those places. He has been bruised for our iniquities and by His strips, we are healed. He knows the pain and hurt and loneliness we feel for He has been there also. He hurts when we hurt and He grieves with us when life hands us losses that are more than we think we can handle. Some issues may not be healed in our lifetime, but we can learn and grow and be a witness to others of the Lord's great mercy and plan for us. Others will be watching the way we deal with everyday problems. Whether the problem is short term or long term, how we deal with the problems speaks in a loud voice to those around us. He has not given us an easy path. His disciples and prophets all lived a life of sacrifice and most died as martyrs for Him. They believed in the promise of His Word. He will not forsake us when we continue to live for Him despite the challenges that we face. We may be afflicted with financial disaster or life threatening disease or relational destruction in our lives. But the Lord has already lived through and dealt with these issues. He had no home during His ministry. His disciple denied Him and another betrayed him. He has borne our afflictions and will grieve with us but He will also stand with us through it all. We must be open to allowing Him to help us heal our own broken places, despite the pain. Then we can help heal the broken places of the ones He sends to us. 2 Cor 3:4-6 Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.  The letter of the law was given to show Israel that they could not keep the law, they needed an intercessor to stand for them. The law required constant sacrifices to attempt to atone for their sins. It seemed that there were never enough to pay the cost of their sins. The cost of sin is death. They needed a perfect sacrifice to cover the total cost of their sins. Jesus, the Son of God, stepped up and paid the full cost with His life.
The Spirit gives life not through following a long list of rules, He gives life through belief in Jesus Christ and Him crucified and risen. He, Jesus, paid the price we could never pay. Our belief in Christ gives us the qualification to share what Jesus did for us. We do have the competence to tell the world of the free gift we were given. We have all the tools of the trade to share the freedom of following the way of the Lord. We have the competence in Him to be ministers of the new covenant—the covenant of grace instead of rules and regulations. We do not lack the competence. We lack the confidence in our ability to effectively share the good news with our friends, and family. We lack the confidence in our ability to stand up to the world that scoffs at the message of Christ’s salvation. We fear what others will think or say about us. We fear how our jobs will be affected. When we learn to lean on the Holy Spirit to give us the confidence and grace to share the hope that we have for eternal life, we can relax and trust the Spirit to give us the words to say. When we learn to rest in Christ, we become a pleasing aroma to God. (2 Cor 2:15). Prov 2:1-3 My son, if you accept My words and store up My commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.  Searching for God’s truth may seem like an exercise in futility if you are looking for the answers you want, not what the Lord wants you to see. We tend to desire what we want and not what is best for us. The Lord desires us to let Him enter into our time of study and devotions.
We are told to study to show ourselves approved but sometimes the Bible can be confusing and even seems outdated. We don’t understand the references and what was the norm for them is completely foreign for us. Yet within all of the struggles, I have found a time of complete comfort and reassurance. I have even found that a verse that I have read multiple times suddenly comes alive and fits the situation that I am in at the time. The disciples frequently asked that Jesus’s teachings be clarified for even they didn’t understand what He was trying to convey to them. Jesus was patient in helping them to understand but occasionally even called them slow of wit and slow to understand. On the road to Emmaus, Jesus opened their minds so that they could understand. Paul prayed for the believers in Phillipi. ‘Being confident of this, that He Who began a good work in you will carry it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Phil 1:6) And this is my prayer; that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ’....(v9,10). The more we learn of the Lord and His Word, the easier it is to fall deeper in love with Him. We can begin to understand the way He does things and the more we commit to understanding Him, the more we learn to trust. Jesus desires only the best for us. He yearns for our time together. He even became a man to that we could physically see Him and touch Him and talk to Him. He loves us. Luke 12:27, 28 “Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith!  Over the summer as I have worked my flower and vegetable gardens, I have also watched the flowers of the fields. No one fertilized or watered or cultivated them, but they seemed to thrive. Especially the ones that cause my sinuses to go crazy! They had no one to weed them or protect them from the rabbits, etc. While I spent hours in my two gardens, weeding, watering, etc, I noted they flourished just as my weeds and flowers did.
God’s compassion and love for the lilies and forest animals is a beautiful picture of how He cares for us. He may not provide all of our wants but He will not allow us to go through times of need alone. He will provide for all of our needs according to His riches in glory. He sees all that we endure. He sees all of our joys and sorrows. He sees the hidden hurts as well as the ones we share with others. He sees the relationships that we should avoid. He sees the plans that we should abandon. He sees the true motivation of our hearts when we secretly give to others. He also sees when we do things to be noticed by others. Learning to trust in God’s provision has always been a challenge for me. I have seen Him provide things exactly when needed or someone shows up exactly when needed. Rarely ever are things or people provided ahead of time. Corrie Ten Boom told of a story her father told her. Her father said that we receive a ticket to get on the train when the ticket is needed, not before. The Lord handles our needs the same way. I don’t receive the strength I need for a time of trial until the trial comes. He always provides a way through a time of testing or temptation. We just need to take hold of it. Learning to lean on His guidance is just as important as learning to trust in His provision. If you question His love, consider the lilies of the field. Titus 3:4-7 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Micah 7:7-9 But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. Because I have sinned against Him, I will bear the Lord's wrath, until He pleads my case and establishes my right. He will bring me out into the light; I will see His righteousness. 2Cor 5:21 God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.  God sent His Son to restore us to communion with Him. He
gave His Son as a perfect sacrifice without blemish to take our place. His word tells us over and over that there is nothing we can offer that can pay the debt we owe. Adam, in his foolishness, gifted us with eternal death because he chose to abdicate his role and responsibilities. God in His unlimited love paid the price for us. We, in our infinite wisdom, try to pay the debt by giving tithes, joining a church, working on committees. We think we can bypass the need to confess our sins. We want to buy our way into heaven. We don't want to admit that we are not able, in our sinfulness, to pay the price. We don't want anyone to take the credit for getting us to heaven. We, in our arrogance, think we can do it all. But when we, God's people, confess our sins, He our Lord and Savior, restores to us His righteousness. He welcomes us into the throne room and rejoices with us that we will spend eternity with Him. We will see the Son of God face to face. We will have no more tears. We will not see death or sorrow. God, in His righteousness, bought for us eternal life. He poured out boundless grace so that we can becomes heirs of eternal life in Him. Now is the time to pour out for Him, boundless praise and worship. Now is the time to offer up to Him the sacrifice of thanksgiving for the grace we have been given. His grace restored to us His righteousness. Our worship of Him is what He desires. We can not repay our debt but we can rejoice in His love and grace. Judges 6:15 "But Lord, Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family." Exodus 3:11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" Judges 4:8 Barak said to her, "If you go with me, I will go; but if you don't go with me, I won't go."  Throughout the history of God's people, He has chosen those who were not 'mighty warriors' or great orators or self-assured. He chose those who were dependent on the strength and guidance of the Lord. He saw in them the ability to do the things for His kingdom that would fulfill prophesy or restore righteousness to His people.
Mary, Jesus mother, accepted her assignment knowing the cost. Esther resisted but was willing to risk her life to save her people. Many others have reluctantly stood for the Lord. Ananias was instructed by God to go to Paul and heal him. Paul had been sent by the high priests to arrest and imprison the ones that worshipped Jesus. Ananias knew all about Paul and questioned the Lord. (Acts 9:15) Ananias is told to 'go'. He was obedient and he brought Paul to the disciples in Damascus where he began his true ministry to the Gentiles. While, in this day and age, we, in America are not usually asked to give our lives for an assignment of the Lord, He knows that when we are given a calling to do a certain job or project, we will be given all the tools and knowledge needed. Sometimes that knowledge is given 'on the way' but He is faithful to guide us. Whether we are taking on a leadership role, working silently behind the scenes, or being second in command, God provides all our needs according to His wisdom. No matter where we are planted, He honors our obedience and willingness. We just need to remember that He is in charge of making job assignments and has long ago done a skills assessment of His people. He knows our weaknesses and strengths. He knows we do better when we acknowledge our failures and rely on Him to turn our weaknesses into our greatest strengths. When we remember where our gifts come from and give Him all the glory, He will honor us with the crown of life and eternal rejoicing in His presence.  A friend gave me this poem one day on a particularly challenging day. I sometimes forget that God can use us to serve Him where ever we are. You go nowhere by accident! Remember, you go nowhere by accident. Where ever you go, God is sending you. Where ever you are, God has put you there. He has a purpose in your being there. Jesus Christ Who lives inside of you has Something He wants to do through you right where you are. Believe this and go in the grace and peace Of the Lord Jesus Christ to love and serve God and your fellow man now and forever more. Amen God put Paul in prison with Roman guards around him 24/7. He converted many of them to believe in Jesus as Savior. These same guards took the message of grace and peace to the other Roman soldiers. These same soldiers took the Good News to the whole Roman Empire.
Being in prison is not at the top of anyone's favorite place to go but being there brought Chuck Colson into God's kingdom. His influence brought about several ministries serving the needs of people in prison as well as their families. God puts people in the right place at the right time to bring about His plan. Esther, Ruth, Moses, etc, were all used in times of fear and trials to bring about the perfect plan of salvation to God's people. Without Joseph's transport to Egypt, his family would have starved. When you are in a place of tribulation, ask God for His plan. He doesn't always tell us what He has planned but you will always be used to glorify Him. We don't have to know what God has planned. We just need to be available and mostly willing to serve Him. Jonah wasn't all that willing but still brought salvation to Nineveh and the Assyrian nation. His love for all people can be extended to the world through us. John 17:2,3 For You have granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those You have given Him. Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God and Jesus Christ, Whom You have sent.  Throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry, He preached that the kingdom of God is not a physical kingdom. It is a spiritual kingdom that thrives within us as we study and learn of Him. Jesus repeatedly reminded His disciples that He is the bread of life, the living water, the rock of salvation. The whole of our belief system rests not on what we do, it rests on what He has already done.
Psalms encourages us to study to show ourselves approved. We are also reminded that if we know the truth, the truth will set us free. Jesus is the truth. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is revealed from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. John tells us that Jesus did it all. John 1:1-3 tells us that He created the universe and all that it contains. Later in the chapter, John says that Jesus is the light. He came into the world but the world did not recognize Him. I have always been amazed that those that studied prophesy did not know Who He was. They couldn’t understand how He fit into their preconceived idea of Who He should be. The uneducated, the poor, those who were hungry for forgiveness and healing recognized Him and chose to follow Him, sometimes at the cost of their lives. They were not so blinded by things as were those who were ‘in the know’. Many sat at His feet and learned of Him. They heard the words of life. They heard the guiding wisdom in parables they understood. We are not as lucky in that we don’t understand a lot of the references because our culture is so different. But we have something they did not have. We have God’s Word in written form that we can pick up at any time. We can search for answers without fear of being arrested or imprisoned. We can still sit at His feet if we take the time to get to know the One Who has given us eternal life. It is simply a matter of being open to spending time in His presence. The song of praise to the Lord from Zechariah for his son, John the Baptist. Luke 1:76-79 “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him, to give His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”  When travelers in Israel would be caught on the road after dark, they were at high risk of thieves and, in our modern speech, getting mugged. There were no street lights to show the way and chase away shadows. They sometimes had no moonlight or stars to help. The roadways out of Jerusalem were in places very narrow with many caves and lots of places for thieves to hide. Waiting for the dawn to light the way could be a long scary experience.
Jesus was going to be that sun rising in a world filled with the darkness of sin. He would shine that light into the lives of the religious elite and the beggar in the streets and everyone in between. He would allow them to make their own choices whether to admit the sin in their lives or be offended and self-righteous. Jesus wept over Jerusalem when they rejected Him. Jesus rejoices, however, over us throughout the ages when we choose Him and are willing to be humbled by His gift of salvation. He is asking us to be that light to the world. He is asking us to go before Him and offer to the people in our lives the Light of the world. God’s word tells us that the angels rejoice when one sinner is brought to salvation. We will be given the crown of glory when we come into His presence at the final judgment. Whether we offer our daily lives as a witness to the mercy and grace of Jesus or if we verbally witness, whether we financially and prayerfully give to others who are in the midst of the battle, God honors our efforts. He sees our heart and motives and is blessed by our submission. He is joyfully waiting to tell us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Isaiah 61:1a The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, ..........  We all have our broken places. We all have areas of
pain that are buried deep so that we don't want to think about what hurts. Fractures in our hearts, spirits and bodies build walls that are hard to get around or over. The Lord has everything we need to heal those places. He has been bruised for our iniquities and by His strips, we are healed. He knows the pain and hurt and loneliness we feel for He has been there also. He hurts when we hurt and He grieves with us when life hands us losses that are more than we think we can handle. Some issues may not be healed in our lifetime, but we can learn and grow and be a witness to others of the Lord's great mercy and plan for us. Others will be watching the way we deal with everyday problems. Whether the problem is short term or long term, how we deal with the problems speaks in a loud voice to those around us. He has not given us an easy path. His disciples and prophets all lived a life of sacrifice and most died as martyrs for Him. They believed in the promise of His Word. He will not forsake us when we continue to live for Him despite the challenges that we face. We may be afflicted with financial disaster or life threatening disease or relational destruction in our lives. But the Lord has already lived through and dealt with these issues. He had no home during His ministry. His disciple denied Him and another betrayed him. He has borne our afflictions and will grieve with us but He will also stand with us through it all. He wants us to be open to allowing Him to help us heal our own broken places, despite the pain. Then we can help heal the broken places of the ones He sends to us. John 12:13, 17:18 Luke 9:1 …...."Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! As You sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world". When Jesus had called the Twelve together, He gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases.  The Jewish priests and rabbis would have followers that wanted to learn more of the Torah and the laws and rules they were to live by. They would learn from the ones they followed as they spent time in their company. We would call them interns or apprentices. As they became more experienced and knowledgeable, they would have greater responsibilities. They could become scribes (responsible for copying the scriptures and transcribing the rulings of the Sanhedrin, etc.). They could become messengers for the Sanhedrin. (They would be the ones in the crowds with Jesus and reporting back to their leaders.) Some of the highly educated messengers would have been the ones that challenged and tried to trap Jesus.
The designation of disciple means 'learner or student'. Apostle is derived from the Greek which means 'sent one'. They would not have authority, they would only deliver messages. They would have to rely on someone else to enforce the messages as needed. Jesus picked twelve ordinary men to be His 'sent ones' but He went beyond the regular apostles of the Jewish religion. He gave His apostles greater power and authority than the other apostles of the Jewish leadership. He gave them His power and authority to do the same miracles that He did. He even told them at one point that they would do greater things than what they saw Him do. The name "Shaliah" means sent one but it also means that anyone who holds that title also holds the authority of the one who sent them. They would not carry their own message. They would only carry the message of the one that sent them. When we accepted Jesus as our personal Savior, we became His Shaliah. We were given the power and authority that He gave the Twelve. He is sending us into all the world to deliver His message of grace and forgiveness. He is telling us to offer the world of darkness and pain a message of hope and healing. We are His Shaliah. We are to introduce Him to the world and the more we know of His message, the better we can share it with others. Psalm 8:1, 19:1, 29:1,2 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hand. Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness.  I have noticed many times the lack of true awe of the Lord when we are praising and worshiping Him. We sing the same songs. We sing the Gloria Patri. But do we really mean what we are saying? Do we really know the words we are speaking or are we simply singing by rote, saying routinely the Lord's prayer without really understanding what those words mean? Do we really mean it when we ask for His will to be done?
God's word tells us that even the stones will cry out if we don't offer praise. Psalms tells us that that He has ordained praise from the lips of children and infants. He inhabits our praises. I sometimes wonder what kind of residence He is inhabiting. Do we offer Him mansions of praise or hovels? Our songs of praise are the habitation we offer Him. Our prayers are filled with the true feelings of our hearts. God, the Father has offered us mansions in heaven. He has offered us streets of gold and seeing the Son face to face. We cannot begin to comprehend what He holds in store for us. We can, however, offer Him praise worthy of Who He is. "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name". Set your spirit free to worship Him. Let your praises soar high into the heavens to sail on the winds like the wings of the eagle. If you are uncomfortable in public settings, the shower or the car during travel time suit the Lord just as well. He loves to hear your praise! Proverbs 3:5, Jer 29:11 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Over the last few months, I have been dealing with some personal challenges and frustrations. I have felt angry with the Lord and then wondered where He went. I have felt deserted and very lonely. I felt as if He has been far from me.
Yet when I am really honest with myself, I find that the truthful reason I am angry is because I didn't get my own way. Things didn't go the way I thought they should. I didn't see answers to prayer happening the way I wanted. While I should feel joy at seeing answers, I sulked because God didn't follow my plan. It all came down to the fact that I was only trusting Him when things went my way. I wasn't putting my trust in the One that holds my eternity in His hands. Trust for me is a very difficult process. I have found it easier to not trust than to become vulnerable to others or even to the Lord. This is one of the things the Lord is working on in my life. Learning to trust in the Lord with all your heart means to submit to His will. It means to believe what the scripture tells us. It means that when we feel led to step out of our comfort zone, we truly believe that we don't step out alone. He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. The enemy will try to tell us that God doesn't love us because of the things that happen in our lives, but true faith means that we tell the enemy to take a long walk off a short pier. It means we trust the Lord even in the valley. It means that after the mountain top experience, when we face the journey back to the valley, we still trust His ways. There will always be a valley after the mountain top. When we deal with that journey, we grow in trust and we grow stronger in faith. The one thing to remember in the journey is that God never moves. We do. He loves us enough to keep calling us back to fellowship with Him. Deuteronomy 4:9 But if from there you will seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you look for Him with all your heart and all your soul. Psalms 46:10 Be still and know that I am God Psalms 45:10 Listen O daughter, consider and give ear. Be still before the Lord your God and listen for His voice. Let your petitions be known then still your heart for His guidance. He knows your heart. Now is the time to learn His. Psalms 103:7 He made His ways known to Moses, His deeds to the people of Israel.  Moses took the time to get to know the God of Israel, Who He is and why He did the things He did. Moses wanted to know Who he was following. He wanted an intimate relationship with the creator of the universe.
Until we become intimately familiar with our Savior, we will always spend too much time questioning and not enough time listening. We tend to search all the latest books, read this theologian or that one to find our way to a closer relation with Jesus. Here is an old theory for getting up close and personal with our Lord and Savior. Read His love letters, all 66 of them. Search for His personality, His goals and His mission. Our goals will become so much clearer. He doesn't ask us to study under some great learned scholar, He asks us to sit at His feet and learn of Him. I heard a dialogue one time. The actor said, "The stripes on my shoulder mean I don't have to explain. I just expect you to trust that I know what I am doing and obey my orders." When I heard that, I lost track of the movie and started thinking about the stripes on the back of our Savior. He, too, expects us to trust His plan for us and follow Him. He gave us the outline for our future. Sometimes it isn't all that clear but we have to trust our Leader to lead us to victory. Genesis 3:10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." Genesis 3:1-7  As many times as I have read the account of the fall of Adam and Eve, I have never realized how little Adam was involved in the events that took place.
Adam stood by while his wife was rewording what God had said despite his knowledge that what she said was wrong. He made no attempt to intervene while the serpent was deceiving Eve. He watched while Eve took the forbidden fruit and ate it. He went right along with Eve in doing what God had forbidden. He helped try to cover up their sin. He and Eve tried to hide from God the new knowledge they had acquired. When we see others falling into sin and do nothing to stop the landslide of sin entering the life of those we love, we follow the example of Adam and don't get involved. We have all the knowledge of the consequences of sin and yet we don't want to 'interfere'. God dealt harshly with Adam and Eve for their bad choices and with the serpent for leading them astray. The serpent offered the forbidden fruit, but Adam and Eve and you and I are guilty of choosing to take a bite of the temptation placed before us. Whether it is the wrong diet, overspending, stealing things from work, cheating on taxes, not paying for what we have purchased, we will pay in the long run. I am very glad Christ chose to get involved and show us the right path. He chose to pay for our bad choices. He chose to spend His earthly life showing us a better way. When we see others falling into bad choices, we must offer gently and lovingly a better way. If we choose to 'not get involved', we will also be judged harshly. If we choose to whisper to others of someone's poor choices, our sin of gossip only adds to the price we will pay. Ask the Lord to open our eyes so we can see others through His eyes. He can help us to love them into healing and restoration just as He loved us back into His kingdom when we fell from grace. Jesus is, was and will be our righteousness and our redeemer. He will lead us into confession, repentance and our redemption. |
AuthorPlease join us as we grow in Christ through our weekly devotions, written by Catherine Donaldson 
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