April 6, 2018 Friday

“Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. “But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. “The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ — He is Lord of all —  “that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. “And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. “Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, “not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. “And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. “To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”” (Acts 10:34-43 NKJV)

            Peter reveals the first act of sharing the Good News which is opening our mouth.

We often sadly will not open our mouth to share the Good News which is a double danger since not only do they not know of God’s love and salvation but are also not warned of the dangers of not receiving the Good News!

            Many have said that they feel uncomfortable sharing with others because they do not know what to say and are not trained.  Dr George Hunter who teaches Evangelism at Asbury Theological Seminary says the best evangelists are not the experts but amateurs.

            Peter shares what he has experienced and seen in his own life through Jesus to share the Gospel. Peter is a witness to what he experienced to others about Jesus that gives it realism and a personal touch that obviously has an impact on people.

            Here are three parts that are helpful for you to share with others.

1.       Give a little time sharing your life before God; the Before Christ or BC days.      

2.      Share what or who brought you to Jesus; the Day of God ( Anno Deo) or AD.

3.      Share how God has touched and changed your life since being a Christian. 

            Take time to prepare your testimony so you can share it within 3 minutes.  That is a good length which will fit most people’s attention span and keeps you from getting lost as you try to help others discover Jesus.

            Before you share with someone use the trinity prayer to prepare you and them.

1.       Pray for God to give you words to speak and for them to have ears to hear.

2.      Pray as you speak that God will use your weakness to touch their lives.

3.      After you leave them pray the Holy Spirit will use you to draw them to Jesus.

            It is important to remember we CANNOT save anyone for that is something only God can do!  But we can lead them to Jesus who through the Holy Spirit can help them experience the love of God in their lives.

            Are you willing to open your mouth?  Are you willing to open your life?  Are you willing to open your love?  Remember, someone did that for you!

            The pain was less today even though the weariness still is there like a pall that seldom seems to go away.  I was able to finish up some cards to those who have touched my life in the past.  It is always good to count the blessings of the people God has put into my life.  I am trying to get my life back to some normalcy and again doing the everyday things I have let slip.  Hopefully this will help me is a lot of different ways.

April 5, 2018 Thursday

“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you — unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.” (1Corinthians 15:1-11 NKJV)

            The Church in Corinth was a strong group in numbers but they were struggling with their beliefs and with many sins in the congregation including sexual sin.  Like many they were growing into a separation of what they believed and how they lived.

            Paul responds to this with refresher course in the Gospel which he had already preached and which they had received and been saved by.  By returning to these fundamental truths of the Gospel Paul hoped to remind them of the Gospel which had changed them and saved them.

            Have they believed in vain?  Have they forgotten all that God had done and the cost to those who had shared it with them?

            The central message of Paul to the struggling Corinthians was the resurrection and the evidence of it through the many witnesses who saw the resurrected Jesus.  Some of these witnesses have fallen asleep which is a way to describe those who died in the faith.  But many witnesses were still alive and could still give their testimony.

            Some say if we are heavenly minded we are no earthly good but Paul teaches that to be earthly good we must be heavenly minded!  For many who were slaves, unprotected noncitizens, citizens with no sponsor and even those who were powerful but who still were in danger eternal life was a realistic and necessary hope.

            As you read these fundamental teachings are they what you believe?  Do you live your life by these teaching with the hope of eternal life as your ultimate goal?

           

            Today was a little better but I am still very weary.  I am beginning to wonder if the CPAP machine is really working.  I got to sit outside for awhile and for the first time there were a lot of birds at the feeder!  It was so wonderful to see and hear God’s musicians.

April 4, 2018 Wednesday

“Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.” (John 20:19-20 NKJV)

            Fear is a terrible thing.  Fear can limit us and even over time destroy our lives in every way.  Fear can:

1.       Keep us from living our lives because we are afraid of failure or rejection

2.      Keep us from loving and being loved because we are afraid of failure or rejection

3.      Keep us from loving God and finding God’s love and forgiveness

4.      Fear can lead to anger, anger to hatred and we become self-destructive and harmful to others

5.      Fear is the seed of anger and despair and we become capable of horrors we never would have thought possible

6.       

I list a sixth because I am sure you can fill in it or many more for fear destroys each of us in different ways and shows itself in different behaviors.

            Perhaps that is why each time God or one of His messengers appears they call us to have peace.  Jesus proclaims to the Apostles, “Peace be with you.”

            Then we, like the Apostles discover the true way to cast out fear and receive true peace.  Jesus shows them the marks of His love seen in the scars in His hands and side.  In these scars we see in the glorified body of Jesus the love of God is revealed and exposed for all to see!

            But there is another part to these scars we see in the glorified body of Jesus that can bring us hope.  We can see that all of our suffering and pain can have meaning if we draw our strength and hope from our wounded Savior.  For then our suffering will bless us and bring glory to God and we may bear those scars in heaven as a sign of God’s glory and our worship and love!

            Through suffering God brings meaning to our suffering and even glorifies it!  Do you see your suffering as an opportunity to glorify God?  Do you seek hope and strength from Jesus who suffered for you?

            Bonnie and Rebecca spent most of the day in Morristown for a doctor’s appointment.  Later Jonathan and Rebecca went to a movie and dinner.  I was able to do some things but not a lot.  The last couple of days I have gone through a time when I could not wake up but also could not go back to sleep.  This is a terrible time where I seem caught betwixt and between.  Today was a hard day where I struggled to even have time with God.  Those are the worst of days.

April 3, 2018 Tuesday

“But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.” (John 20:11-18 NKJV)

            “Why are you weeping?”  Jesus does not only ask this of Mary but of us all.  Why do we sit at our empty tomb and fret about where God is and where God is leading us?  Why do we want to cling to our memories of Jesus rather than move on to better and deeper experiences?

            Sometimes, like Mary, we don’t see the God who is always with us.  We look for the Jesus we knew but forget when we have grown we experience God in a deeper way.  Jesus does not change but we have changed and have a deeper and better view of Him.

            “Whom are you seeking? “  One of the greatest problems with Christians is that without being guided by the Bible we can lose Jesus and create our own God.  Even when we are near ‘our’ Jesus we really get farther and farther from Jesus.  We get carried away and rather than coming out of our tomb we wall ourselves in our tombs.

            Like Mary we can be looking for a dead Jesus.  Our Jesus is just a good teacher who teaches what we want to hear.  This Jesus is so comfortable until life gets too hard and we cannot seem to find Him.  This dead Jesus also leaves us in the tomb.

            Sometimes we want to cling to Jesus and just stay with Him so everything will be good.  We try desperately to hold on as Jesus continues to move to be with those who are hurting and are so desperate we miss those Jesus wants to use us to help.

            If we seek Jesus the experience is beyond anything we could have thought!  We walk with the Jesus who conquered sin and death, who heals those who are afflicted and has power over the evil one.  We experience the God who also is a Father to us!  We experience the God who came to die for us.

            Who is your God?  Are you your own God?  Are you a creation of God or have you created your own God?

            It always seems to take a couple of days to recover from a big day like Sunday.  This morning I couldn’t wake up or go back to sleep.  For a couple of hours I sat in my chair in a sort of fuzzy in between.  Later Bonnie and I had our devotion and prayed.  In the afternoon I sat out on the porch for awhile.  On days like this I depend entirely on God to see me through.

April 2, 2018 Monday

“Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.” (John 20:1-10 NKJV)

            Mary Magdalene had not only found forgiveness through Jesus but had her life radically changed and given meaning.  She became an indispensible part of the ministry of Jesus as one of the women who supported and assisted those following Jesus.

            These women were the ones who went to the tomb to complete the burial arrangements which were incomplete in the hurry to get Jesus buried before the Sabbath began.

            Mary Magdalene discovers the body of Jesus is missing and goes to alert the disciples who only then come to see.  While the men waited in fear of reprisals from the Jewish or Roman leaders the women went out to serve the Lord who had served them!

            Some will say women have no place as leaders in their congregation but they forget Jesus taught that we must be servants because God serves us!  Here we see the leadership of these women who serve their Lord even at the risk of their own lives!

            Jesus recognized their service as they were the first to see their risen Lord and the first to receive a command by Him.

            Some may be wondering why they do not experience the presence of Jesus in their daily lives.  They struggle to truly believe what they do not experience.  How can they experience the presence of Jesus?

            Like Mary Magdalene you will only experience the presence of God in your life when you get out of where you feel safe and seek to serve God.  Reading the Gospels we see Jesus was where the least, last and the lost were so that is where we must go to look for Jesus.

            As you read the story of Jesus leaving the 99 sheep to help the one lost sheep have you ever wondered why Jesus left the 99 alone?  Maybe Jesus expected the 99 to follow Him!

            After a long Easter weekend I crashed but did not burn.  Bonnie and I had our devotion and a time of prayer together.  Easter is a time of new life and a reminder we can come out of tomb and into life with Jesus.  I pray that for my family and indeed all those God loves.

April 1, 2018 Easter!

“Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away — for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. “But go, tell His disciples — and Peter — that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.” So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” (Mark 16:1-8 NKJV)

            JESUS IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!  Today we celebrate that Jesus, who went from ”the virgin womb to the virgin tomb” rose from the dead and conquered death!  We celebrate the resurrection not just at Easter but the Christian Sabbath changed from Saturday to Sunday so we can celebrate Easter every week!

            But we can also celebrate Jesus made it possible for us to break out of our tomb of existence and step out into God’s light and life!  We no longer have to sit in the dark and just try to make it from day, to feel burdened by the weight of our sin, guilt and fear!  We can leave our burden in our tomb and rejoice in the light of God and our life in and with God!

            Throughout the Bible whenever anyone is visited by God or an angelic being they are afraid or as it says in this passage alarmed.  Then they are told “fear not” or as in this passage “Do not be alarmed.” 

            As Christians we are told to not stay at the tomb celebrating the resurrection but to go and tell others the Good News!  We must go quickly and in fear and wonder at the resurrection and that we have come out of our tomb and so can they!  

            But the most terrible part of this passage is:

“And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”

We may condemn them but so many who say they are Christians do little better. We either sit at the tomb in celebration or if we are honest we have the faith to believe in the resurrection but not enough to share it!

            Receive the message of Easter and come out of your tomb and from the darkness and death into the light and life!  Be amazed and even fearful at the resurrection, but leave the tomb behind and go forth to share with the whole world that Easter can come into their existence and resurrect then to life!

March 31, 2018 Holy Saturday

“Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles — when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”” (1Peter 4:1-8 NKJV)

            Someone once said that if you want to see how important God is to you look at how you spend your money.  You might also look at how you spend your time.

            Some think that a moment at the Altar rail is forever to be saved but Peter destroys that belief and calls us to put behind the sin and evil of when we were lost and know that those who continue in their sin will be judged.

            Evil is not a word we like to hear.  It sounds like you are judging someone or that you think badly of someone.  Some have the idea that people are naturally good and would not do something terrible without extreme provocation.

            This view of evil can only be held if you do not read history or the morning papers!  Evil is prevalent in each and every one of us and we are all capable of terrible things.  Some say Stalin had studied the Bible and even memorized parts of it but he still would go on to kill many millions of his own citizens in the name of communism and workers rights!

            While the devil is indeed powerful and causes many terrible things humanity also either helps or does evil on its own.  History is filled with murder, rape, leaders killing their people, people killing their leaders, ethnic cleansing (only humans could make something so terrible sound almost good) and so many other terrors.

            Humanity is BROKEN and we are not naturally good but actually since the fall we are naturally evil and sinful (or full of sin).  Some say children go through the terrible two’s but if we are honest some have terrible lives.

            There are two kinds of people in this broken world and you are either someone wrestling with sin or those who have quit wrestling and accepted it!  Which are you?  Since you put your faith in God has your life changed, any at all?  Do you seek through Jesus to love others – which covers a multitude of sins?

            Looking back at my blog page I see that very few people are reading it.  While that is disappointing the reason I write the blog is to honor God and I do believe the blog does that. Bonnie got our taxes done and we will get some back!  God continues to provide!