Clothed From Power on High:

     45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

     44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”[e] When he had said this, he breathed his last.

     Though the verses above leapfrog one another this was to make a point.  As Jesus gave out his last breath he committed his spirit to his Father.  
After his resurrection Jesus walked along the road to Emmaus with two of his disciples that did not recognize him and opened their eyes to all that had taken place.  Now glorified he encouraged them to wait in the city to be "clothed with power from on high."  What did he actually mean? And did they understand at this point?  
   Three days later the world would change.  Praying in the small room they waited and as promised all were filled with the spirit of God.  The same spirit Jesus had committed to his Father....So as Paul wrote we have this treasure in earthen vessels 2nd Cor. 4:7 that this power received would be heavenly in nature and power from our God.  This power translated into bold speaking and a preaching of the kingdom of God just as Jesus did in his ministry, now transferred to his friends.  Miracles, healings, deliverances and many who believed were added to the now new Christian faith.  
       For those who are seeking  something in this world, but do not know how to define it...or even seek it out, this is the absolute truth in scripture that will change your life here on earth and for the eternity to come.  
    In earlier blogs, I wrote about being careful of churches that demand things that may in time become unbalanced and not necessarily an accurate representation of what it was that Jesus wanted for all men.  Church has in this country become something of a program oriented church leaving out the gold and precious gems that are to be part of our lives.  
     To those who have in the past or are now trapped in a church that is cultish or abusive in leadership or lukewarm..... flee! And find the truth and simplicity of Jesus's teachings and of receiving the spirit yourself in the right way.  It is tangible and necessary and will lead you in joy, perseverance, faithfulness and will "open your eyes" the same way it  did to those on the road to Emmaus 2,000 years ago.  The message has not changed, but men have changed it, manipulated it and added innumerable nuances to it for their own reasons.  
    Search out Paul's warning not to listen to another gospel if it comes your way. (Gal. 1:8)  Be forewarned.       And be wise.  And you will live in this life happier than you were before and in the next with the Lord and with a new heaven and a new Earth.   

Fear: How does it affect you?

     31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

33 But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”

34 Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”

     In these short verses of scripture we can see that Peter indeed did what Jesus said he would do.  In fearfulness Peter denied Christ at his most vulnerable time.  When in an earlier verse of scripture in the Garden at the Mt. of Olives, Jesus found his friends asleep and he encouraged them to pray that they not fall into temptation.  Peter must not have heard.  

     Fear is the tactic that the Devil will use over and over again and in many different situations.  Whether it be money issues, job related or family related, he will use it to the utmost to strike a state of fear into us because he knows he can do it and will most likely win in some battles with us.  Jesus also said in another scripture, "Do not fear the one who can kill the body, but the one who has the power to kill the soul, (spirit).  Or to cast into hell.  Why?  Because we fear death over all else.  

     Peter must have been shaken to his roots in order to deny Jesus so quickly.  Everything he knew suddenly vanished and his beloved Rabbi, teacher was under arrest and soon to be killed.  How after three solid years of being with someone could he do this?  I have wondered many times.  We do not like change especially Americans.  We think day after day will be the same and when change occurs it shakes us.  Sometimes for the better sometimes for the worse. It depends upon our depth of character.  

     As Christians we get a marvelous inside view in how to allow change happen to  our lives by letting God shape us and our character without submitting to fear and letting our God fight the battles.  We can disarm the Devil right away by not yielding to our basic fears.  It is hard but doable.  

     Consider when things go absolutely haywire for us whether it be for a day or for a period longer than that, it can have serious consequences for us, we face anxiety, and our decision process may not be clear.  Though I still face fear initially when things change, I have learned not to give in  and rather let my faith steer the course in bad times.  God will come through and in time.  

     Peter grew through his experience and wept bitterly but became bold after Pentecost.  The Spirit of God within was greater than he who was in the world meaning, the Devil.

     We have a leg up so to speak because we can read about people that came before  and the trials they underwent.  It is through them that we an also gain a certain faith and perspective so we can do better.  How many times do the Psalms speak into our lives and generate a certain faith that nothing else can?  

    The Bible is so misunderstood by many and many are blinded to believe it is just another book.....of fables.

     

       

     

       

     

To Those Who Say God has no eyes: and has no ears: What about this From Jesus?

     41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

      The Jewish Wars began in 66 A.D. and they were a direct revolt by the Jews against Rome’s authority. Titus with his Roman legions arrived at the outermost northern Wall of Jerusalem, the Passover of 70 A.D. The Romans built embankments of earthenwork, they placed battering rams and the siege began.

The Roman army numbered 30,000; while the Jewish army numbered 24,000. According to Tacitus they were 600,000 visitors crowding the streets of Jerusalem for the Passover. After five months the walls were battered down, the great Temple was burned down, and the city was left ruined and desolate, except for Herod's three great towers at the northwest corner of the city. These served as a memorial of the massive strength of Jerusalem's fortifications which Titus of Rome had brought to rubble.

The legions of Rome brought the captives to Caesarea and after over one million Jews were killed, 95,000 captives were taken as prisoners, and among them was Josephus, the ancient Jewish historian. According to Eusebius, the Christians saw the might of the Roman army and through prophetic warning, fled to Pella.
     
     It is us who at times haven't any eyes or ears to hear what our God is saying.  Are we too busy with our life to distill down words like these and begin to fathom just how accurate and precise our God is in our world?  Only 33 years had passed since he spoke these words.  How swift is our God to fulfill his promises? And when will he return again?  Keep the lamps burning......
     For those not acquainted with his promises I enjoin you to look into your heart in the quiet times and search out his doings.  You won't be disappointed at all!

The Invited: Banquet

     Today was just as yesterday was.  I awoke with a sense of diligence as I always had and started my day with the meager breakfast I had saved from the day before.  Cakes of wheat flour baked to a hardened flat loaf was all I had for this day, nevertheless I gave thanks to the Lord above and consumed it gladly.  People were already stirring around me and business as usual began as the day before and the day before that.  Buying and selling: it was all there was.  I sat among the stones and covered myself with cloth that reflected the soon to be hot sun.  I watched as usual as the people haggled and made boisterous motions with their whole bodies attempting to inflate the price of their goods.  My heart was listless without a certain hope that these around me had.  I had nothing to sell and no money to buy anything at all, instead I filled my imaginations with all sorts of wonderings, the what if's of life?
   Then after four hours of wondering I fell asleep and dreamt of things to come.  What was it the Prophets of old said?  Messiah was to come?   And change the world?  Sure!  Today just like the day before!  Nite had come and my stomach hurt.  I had eaten only one meal today, more than the day before though.  I said my prayers and lay down amongst the belongings that had come to identify me as the local beggar.  I slept.
     I awoke as I felt the gentle tap of a man's hand arousing me from my sleep.  As he came into focus I saw immediately that he was a  man of wealth.  Robes of scarlet and purple adorned him from head to foot.  Eyes that met mine were kind.  Speaking slowly so that I could comprehend him he asked me to come....come quickly as he had invited me this day to a banquet.  Me?  You want me, to come with you?  I could not believe my ears.  Surely this was a mistake.  Everyone always avoided me, knew me and knew that I would ask them for something, it was what I did.  
     I walked with him and never gave it a second thought.  Who was I to reject such a generous offer as this?  As I walked with him he talked to me like no other had in all of my life.  He told me of a great banquet that was to be given in my honor!  Mine? What had I done to deserve this?  Not just me but many like me.  I followed along and before long we had arrived at a great building with massive doors and one who stood outside gesturing for us to come in.  
    As was the custom I removed my sandals and felt a humbleness and also a fearfulness of what lay before me.  In all my life I had never been in a place like this. Only in my imaginations had this been possible.  Before my eyes a long and beautiful table spread with food from end to end and sitting at the table were many like me.  Clothes that were worn and dirty, old and young female and male all obviously poor like me.  What was going on?  The man that had invited me disappeared into a dark hallway.   We all sat transfixed at the bounty before us.  All wanting to rip into the food before us but waiting for someone to allow us to.  
     From the darkness came a man and into view and it was one that shone with a  brightness like the sun itself.  We all immediately fell to the floor in his presence. 
     Please, get up and don't be afraid, for this is in your honor and I am the one who invited you.  You are the faithful and you are my children, enter and eat for this is all in your honor. 
      This day be glad and of good cheer for you are now in my kingdom.  
     

When God Thunders: Do we know it?

     Sitting on my porch during a thunder storm is awesome.  Feeling and not only seeing for myself the raw power of nature is humbling.  So do we notice the things that are going on around us that seems over the top and very unusual?  If not maybe we are not in tune with our God.  Yes there are those who for thousands of years say that this is just normal and events are playing out as usual.  But what if they're not? Then we have a problem, and we must face the facts that "Aslan is on the move!"
     Our God is a patient God although he is not oblivious to our situations nor is he slow concerning his judgements of mankind.  In this I mean to say that we are involved in a world of events that take place in our consciousness at an extremely fast rate but in God's eyes very slow.  One day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as one day is according to the scriptures.  He has all the time in our world to make the outcomes of our lives as he wishes.  So, how do we face the daily onslaughts of daily news that shakes not only our world but infuses us with a certain fearfulness that we do not always acknowledge?  Are we the ostrich that will bury the head in the sand? Or are we going to take a stand and acknowledge just what might be happening around us?  Are we going to take an active effort to engage in our world and make a difference?
     When I reflect on these types of situations I must be active even though I am passive in nature.  Paul, in his travels as a missionary for Jesus and laying the foundations of the early church knew this firsthand and never gave up his vision that the Lord gave to him.  To the point of knowing that eventually he would die for his faith.  He became bound in chains for the Lord and went to Rome even though he could have chosen another way.
     So today my little town that I live in has been blasted for the last two years by fires and floods that have wreaked havoc with lives that have been upended and thrown to wind so to speak and how do I view this?  With a conscience that is hardened or with one that is softened and supple to those who suffer?  I choose supple.  I have learned that yes God is sovereign in all things and I view the middle east troubles as nothing more than God working his plans so that he will have the glory even if I think the ways of God are repugnant and not always tasteful in my own understanding.  It is a puzzle that continues to unravel and shows us that we are not in control of every event of our lives.
     Facebook, twitter. linkedin and all of the marvelous  technology of today will never take the place of the spirit led person who bows to the Lord  and waits upon him for instruction. If we take that position we will never fall according to 1st Peter.  So it is with humility that I involve myself daily in prayer so that I will be in tune when he comes soon>.