Friday, April 22, 2011

We Can Be Forgiven

Satan gleamed with pride
When Jesus received His violent whipping
Blood splattered

They nailed His wrists and feet
And Satan danced

Darkness fell
God the Father turned His head
Jesus cried out, "It is finished!"
Satan sighed a deep sigh of relief

They took Jesus' body to His tomb
They rolled the stone in place
Silence

Tears fell from the disciple's eyes
They lost their beloved Rabbi

Then, the Light burst through the darkness
Jesus rose triumphant
He is the Life
He walked unencumbered
By the chains of death
Satan screamed
And bolted in great terror

Resurrection Life is now offered
To you and me
We can be recipients of the risen-life
We can embrace the Savior
Who won the fight
Who overcame the night
We can be forgiven

Here is a prayer you can pray to receive the transforming victory that Christ won for us.  It is a prayer of surrender and belief.  It is a starting point for a new life with God.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank you for dying for me on the cross.  Thank you for spilling your blood so that I could be forgiven.  Lord, I surrender all to You.  I ask You to forgive me of my sins.  I ask You to breath Your life into me.  Jesus, I choose to live for You.  Thank You for overcoming death so I can be risen with You.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Coming Again

You will split the eastern skies
Come to claim Your lovely bride
You will meet us in the air
The dead in Christ will rise

We long for Your return
And our hearts do burn
One day we will dance with You
You, who are full of grace and truth

Help us to always set our gaze
Upon You Lord
Till we see You face to face
You will wipe our every tear away
Healed in Your embrace

You Oh Lord will come again
Let us be ready
Let us be ready

You will split the eastern skies
Come to claim Your lovely bride

Sunday, April 10, 2011

An Excellent Spirit

Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm. Daniel 6:3 NKJV

Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego were Hebrews, who were first appointed to serve king Nebuchadnezzar after they were exiled from Israel to the Babylonian kingdom. Daniel served under four kings over the span of his lifetime. He, as well as the other three Israelites, distinguished themselves above all the other leaders. It was said of Daniel twice that he had an excellent spirit within him. The Hebrew word for excellent in this setting is ya-teer. It means preeminent and very or exceedingly excellent. The word for spirit in this context is roo-akh, which means mind, spirit, and wind.

I believe the Lord calls us all to excellence in whatever we set our hand to. We are to work hard to do our very best, and we are to ask God for wisdom while we apply ourselves to what He has called us to do. We are to allow the Lord to renew our minds with His word. We are also called to live from our spirit or from our hearts. We do this by allowing the Lord to fill us with His Spirit (wind is a symbol of the Holy Spirit) and to allow the Holy Spirit to inspire us and give us sound direction. This is what I believe it means to have an excellent spirit.

As we live like this, God will promote us in His time and in His way so we can have greater influence in His kingdom. Let us ask God to give us an excellent spirit.

Dear Father God,


I desire to please you in all I do. Help me Lord to follow You with all my heart and from my heart. Help me to grow in excellence as I apply myself to all that you put before me. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and guide my steps. May You look upon me and say, “My child, thank you for letting Me build in you an excellent spirit.” In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Risen Lord

You surf on stormy clouds
You stand and all creation kneels before You
You rule in righteousness and justice
You are God

The oceans and all that live within them
Were created by You
The majestic mountains, the sun in all its glory
Were fashioned by Your hand

You created man in Your image
But man fell
You provided a path of redemption
Crimson blood paid the way

Jesus, our sinless Savior
Dying You gave mankind life
Willingly You offered Yourself as a sacrifice
Three days passed
Then victoriously You rose from the dead

The devil and all his armies were defeated
Those that call upon the name of Jesus in sincerity
Will be saved
All glory to You, our RISEN LORD!

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Understanding Persecution

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed – always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 2 Corinthians 4:7-11 NKJV

Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 2 Timothy 3:12 NIV

Christians are lights in a dark world. We carry within us the very life of God; we are to display His glory to a world living beneath the shadows. Jesus commanded us to go and make disciples. He called us to share His story. There is no greater joy to be found than to live out this mission, but along with the adventure comes danger. Ministry invites persecution. Paul's life was riddled with opposition. This was not because he was a poor example of a Christian, but because he was wholeheartedly obedient to the Master. Paul counted the cost and chose to follow Jesus no matter what. He was willing to face martyrdom if necessary. It is believed that Paul was beheaded in Rome for his faith in Christ.

In America, we seldom suffer severe persecution, however, we will face opposition at times when we testify for the Lord. The Bible calls Satan the accuser of the brethren. He is the force behind persecution. Persecution can come in many forms. When people oppose us, we must remember that our real enemy is the devil. In fact we are called to love our human enemies. We should remember that God only allows into our lives what we can handle, and part of the way we handle this kind of trouble is to use our authority in Christ. The name of Jesus is greater than any other name. We are to submit to God and resist the devil when we are being attacked. The Bible says that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. We have the victory in Christ.

The question we must ask ourselves is, “Are we willing to undergo persecution for the sake of the gospel?” It will mean that we will face difficulty and pain at times. But if we really want to walk in the light as He is in the light, if we really want to please Jesus, we will say, "Yes." Will you obey the Master and tell others His story? Will you reach the ones living in darkness? If you will, God will make sure that you will never be alone. He will be with you always, and He will help you through every difficult situation. Be assured that with His help you will see many rescued from the clutches of the evil one, and on that day, when you meet the Lord, you will hear the Savior say, “Well done my good and faithful servant.”