A Master Plan for the fallen man's salvation

The Father (Jehovah) - The Son (Jesus Christ) -  The Holy Spirit

Following the fall of man - Adam and Eve's disobedience and eventual punishment by banishment from Eden and God's presence, the Old Testament Israelites had only seen the glorious God in the amazing feats performed through Moses and the prophets.  The Israelites experience of God was as that between a powerless man and a superpower - unexplainable, yet real. He was that superpower that delivered them from slavery in Egypt, parted the Red Sea, provided manna daily for forty years, split the rock and quenched their thirst, went ahead of them as a pillar of fire at night and as a cloud cover during the day in their journey through the desert to the promised land and doer of many, many, more awesome deeds.  For the common man, this God was awesome and fearsome, but hard to relate to.

From a man's perspective, does he really understand our fears, our doubts, our pain, our struggles? Does he understand what makes us sad and what gave us joy? Does he know who we are inside, deep within? Does he know what makes us tick?

And so, in his great love and mercy, God became man, born of a woman, grew up as a carpenter's son, lived a life that of a common man. In his earthly life, Jesus showed that though he was awesome in power (as he showed by the fantastic miracles he performed), he was kind, loving, compassionate, merciful and forgiving (as he showed in his healing of the sick and the crippled; deliverance to the demon possessed; forgiveness of sins - as experienced by the woman caught in adultery; and resurrection to the dead - able to transform a morbid sinful life into a new life in him.). He taught us that he understood our shortcomings, as we see in his warning to Peter of his coming betrayal, yet after it happened, he forgave and restored Peter as the head of the Church.  He showed that he was patient and forgiving when he answered Peter that he should forgive someone 70 times 7 (until forgiveness became second nature to him) to Peter's question if forgiving someone 7 times for their wrong was sufficient. He never raised his hand nor his voice against his tormentors as he was tortured and punished for crimes he had never committed.  He came so we would have someone to identify with - a man - with our qualities (yet sinless).  We read in the John 17:26, as Jesus prayed to his Father, "And I have revealed you to them and will keep on revealing you.  I will do this so that your love for me may be in them and I in them." Here was a God who made it possible for man to relate to him.

Christ's earthly ministry was limited to the geographical bounds of the regions he was born and lived - the towns of Israel and Judah. But the Gospel or the good news of salvation was for the entire mankind. Following his death, resurrection and ascension to heaven, his Holy Spirit was sent to earth to indwell in men and women, his disciples, who were commissioned by Christ to spread the good news. With the Holy Spirit in them, the disciples will now have the power, strength and resolve to go into the world to witness what they had seen and heard, and thus do the ministry of Christ without tiring.  They would need a supernatural power, a power from God, and so Jesus the man had to return to his Father God and send his Holy Spirit to be with man forever, to enable God's servants and disciples to do the work of the ministry - spread the message of salvation to all mankind across the world. Christ the man was there in body with a few (when compared to the billions and trillions yet to come) who witnessed him as God, and for all to know about him, see his redeeming love and saving grace, his witnesses needed to go out in his power to proclaim his good news.

Jesus explains this connection to the next phase, the arrival of the Holy Spirit, in John 16:7-11, " But it is actually best for you that I go away, because if I don't, the Paraclete (the counselor, the comforter, the encourager, the advocate) won't come.  If I go away, he will come because I will send him to you.  And when he comes he will convince the world (the entire humanity - no longer geographically bound) of 1) its sin, 2) God's righteousness, and 3) the coming judgement.  The world's sin is unbelief in me.  Righteousness is available because I go to the father (as our high priest, our go between) and you will see me no more.  Judgement will come because the prince of this world has already been judged."  The Message of salvation to the entire world through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus acknowledges to the disciples that there is so much more he wants to reveal to them, but it would be an overload. The truth will be revealed in its due time.  We read in John 16:12-15, "Oh there is so much more I want to tell you, but you can't bear it now.  When the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.  He will not be presenting his own ideas; he will be telling you what he has heard.  He will tell you about the future.  He will bring me glory by revealing to you whatever he receives from me.   All that the Father has is mine; that is what I mean when I say that the Spirit will reveal to you whatever he receives from me."

Following his crucifixion, death and resurrection, prior to his ascension to heaven, Jesus told his disciples, "But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere - in Jerusalem, throughout Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

Satan can no longer point to man and say that he has a God who does not understand him. A God who sits way up in heaven, on a high and exalted throne, surrounded by millions upon millions of angels worshiping him,  carrying out his commands; a God so detached from all the despair man faces. A king disconnected from his subjects.  Satan was once before successful in tricking Adam and Eve in to sin, convincing them to eat the fruit that God had forbidden them from eating. His ruse then was that if they were to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they would surely not die, but have their eyes opened with the knowledge of everything good and bad, just like God. Man fell for it. After Christ's birth, life, death on the cross and resurrection we no longer have an excuse that this God cannot relate to us and our dire circumstances.

• Does this God relate to the common folks? Jesus, the Son of God, was born in a manger (where cattle was kept), grew up a carpenter's son, lived and carried out his ministry among the common people.
• Does this God understand hardship? A carpenter's son, he had to work for a living until his ministry started at the age of thirty, for definitely he was not born into a family of wealth. He endured all things like any man.
• Does he understand pain? Oh, how much more than you and I would ever know. Deserted by all he loved, betrayed by the one he trusted, denied by one of his closest, rejected by the ones he came to save, accused of wrongs he did not commit, whipped raw until his flesh tore from his back, tortured and taunted, and finally crucified like a common thief. Does he know pain?
• Does he understand separation and loneliness? Father God turned away from the cries of his son on Calvary's cross, forsaken for our sins.
• Does he have compassion for mankind? there was not a leper, a sick, a prostitute, a destitute that he did not care for to restore. There was not a cry for help that he turned a deaf ear to. There was not a broken heart that he did not mend. He willingly took the punishment for man's sin and with his blood purchased a  pardon for us all

This is the time for the works of the Holy Spirit. I want to quote a preacher I hear on the radio on Sundays, "Soon and very soon there will come a day, when time will be no more." Are you ready to meet your maker? Dear friend, do not turn a deaf ear to the message of Salvation through Jesus Christ. I would love to see you on the other shore. I pray for God's grace that I will complete this race and reach that destination.  May God's grace be with us all!

Hillsongs - Open my eyes

Because he live by the Gaithers

A Christian's testimony

Just wanted to put my thoughts out there...

A Christian's daily public and private life should bear a testimony to our savior Jesus Christ. It should not turn off someone from finding Christ. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 6:3,

"We try to live in such a way that no one will be hindered from finding the Lord by the way we act, and so no one can find fault with our ministry."

A Christian's life in itself should be a ministry for Jesus Christ.

Prophet Samuel in his farewell address to the Israelites after appointing Saul as their king, boldly made the statement,

"I have done as you asked and given you a king.  I have selected him ahead of my own sons, and I stand here, an old, gray haired man.  I have served as your leader since I was a boy.  Now tell me as I stand before the LORD and the anointed one - whose ox or donkey have I stolen? Have I ever cheated any of you? Have I ever oppressed you? Have I ever taken a bribe? Tell me and I will make right whatever I have done wrong."

And the crowd answered,

"No, you have never cheated or oppressed us in any way, and you have never taken even a single bribe."

Samuel declared, "The LORD and his anointed one are my witnesses that you can never accuse me of robbing you." - (1 Samuel 12:1-5).  A lifetime of service that could not be faulted with!

When you look at Joseph's life in Potiphar's house, upon being approached by Potiphar's wife to sleep with her, his response while refusing her advances was,

"Look, my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do! He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I ever do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God." - (Genesis 39:6-9)

Joseph could have sinned and gotten away without his master knowing. He could have quieted any witness against him as he was the most powerful man in the household with authority over his master's entire household and servants.  But his moral compass was such that he could not even conceive of deceiving his master's trust placed in him, nor sin against his God - Jehovah.

We as Christians should continuously question our motives and actions, answer ourselves honestly, and let the truth we discover lead us onward in our Christian walk.  Our lives should never allow an unbeliever to fault our God, rather create in them a curiosity that will enable them to find this God. God bless you!

Ben Fuller - Walk with me

the Eye of the Needle

Put your hand into his and let him lead you.

In the book of Mathew we read of a conversation between a religious young wealthy man and Jesus Christ. The topic of their conversation was eternal life. We read,

Someone came to Jesus with this question: "Good Teacher, what good things must I do to have eternal life?" "Why call me Good. There is none good, but one," Jesus replied, "that is God." "But to answer your question, you can receive eternal life if you keep the commandments."

Which ones? asked the man. And Jesus replied, "'Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother.  Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

The young man replied, "I have obeyed all these commandments. What else must I do?"

Jesus told him, "if you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor , and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard Jesus, he went away sadly because he had many possessions.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to get into the Kingdom of Heaven.  I say it again, it is easier for  a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God."

The disciples were astounded. "Then who in the world can be saved?" they asked.  Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible." _ (Matthew 19:16-26)

There are two ways to eternal life: one by fully (in intent and deed) following the ten commandments of God (Exodus 20:1-17) or two, as Christ mentioned to his disciples - with the help of God or his grace. But, he also showed the futility of man to be in obedience to God's commandments of their own accord when he said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter heaven. Does God have anything against the wealthy? Absolutely not!

The young rich man who came to Christ, though he thought himself to be righteous, obedient to all of God's commandments given through Moses, was indeed not able to keep them, for he walked away sadly as it was hard to give up all his possessions and follow Christ. Was Christ really asking him to give it all up and follow him? After all Christ knew people needed money to live. He himself appointed Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, in charge of the finances for himself and his disciples.  Christ wanted to poke a little hole in the self-righteous bubble of this young man to show the real state of his heart. God did not occupy the foremost place in this young heart.

When we study the teachings of Christ in the book of Matthew, chapters 5 through 7, we realize that it is impossible for man to be in complete obedience to the ten commandments, for Christ taught that our thoughts and intents carried the same consequence as the deeds.  He taught, "You have heard that the law of Moses says, 'Do not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.' But I say, if you are angry with your brother, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the high council. And if you say "you fool" to someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.' (Matthew 5:21-22).  With respect to adultery, Jesus taught, "You have heard that the law of Moses says, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust in his eye has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matthew 5:27-30). With respect to money and possessions, he warned, "where ever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be." 

This is true with not just money and possessions, but whatever is your first love, your primary focus in life. Christ teaches us that the first and most important command is to love your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your spirit and all your strength. And he said that it was equally important to love your neighbor (all those who live around you, that surround you in this world - your fellow human beings!) just as yourself.  He teaches us that all the other commandments and demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments. (Matthew 22:37-40). So you see, it's not so much wealth that trips you up, but what takes up your heart. What are your passions?

God created man and woman to love him of their own accord, and by loving him do what pleases him, obeying his commands. He knew our weakness and so he sent his son, Jesus Christ, who is the sacrifice for our sins. Obedience to God in all walks of our lives, that which was humanly impossible, has been made possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. By his grace we are made sufficient.

Apostle John writes in 1 John 2:1-2, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.  And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation (conciliation; the conciliatory sacrifice) for our sins: and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world."  Apostle John addresses his audience as "little children"; was he referring to our helpless state when it comes to living a sinless life? All you have to do is realize your littleness and need for his help. Call out to Jesus and he will help you because he has ransomed you and I with his life. We can do it through Christ! God bless you!!!

Third Day - Cry out to Jesus

The Yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees

I have been reading the book of Matthew, so my last couple of blogs have been thoughts that have opened up during those times... This one is also from the Book of Matthew.  I got stuck on the leftovers after Jesus had fed the five thousand (Matthew, chapter 14) and the four thousand (Matthew, chapter 15). When feeding the five thousand, Jesus had five loaves of bread and two fishes, and when feeding the four thousand, he had seven loaves and few small fishes. The total number fed did not include the women and children. Each time, Jesus, his disciples and the masses were far away from town as the bible mentions the concern of the disciples when Jesus asked them to feed the masses. They were in a desolate place the first time and the second time they were in the wilderness, each time far away from town.  After the five thousand were fed, twelve baskets of leftovers were collected and following the feeding of the four thousand, there were seven large baskets of leftovers that were collected. Jesus performed this miracle of feeding the masses twice and each time he had the disciples gather the leftovers - twelve baskets, the first time and the second time, seven large baskets.

I wondered what happened to the food that was gathered up; was it still edible, because the bible mentions they were scraps, leftovers, after the masses had their fill. Each time following these events, the Bible mentions that Jesus and his disciples got in to a boat and left. Did Jesus and his twelve disciples need to lug around heavy baskets of food for their own provision? I think not, after all the man who multiplied scarce rations to feed the masses not once, but twice, was quite capable of taking care of his disciples and himself.  I have heard preachers mention that this was God's way of teaching us about the principle of "waste not what you want not." I don't want to second guess this line of thought, but that was not doing it for me.  While the baskets full of leftovers stayed on my mind, I had come to Matthew chapter 16.

In this and preceding chapters, we read of Jesus performing fantastic miracles: A vast crowd brought him the lame, blind, crippled, mute, and many others with physical difficulties, and they laid them before Jesus.  And he healed them all.  The crowd was amazed!  Those who hadn't been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking around, and those who had been blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel!  Not only was he healing physical ailments, but he also cast out evil spirits. There was the woman who approached Jesus and his disciples, pleading with him to heal her daughter who had a demon in her and was severely tormenting her. Seeing her persistence and great faith, Jesus granted her request and healed her daughter instantly. (Matthew 15:21-31). In the preceding chapter we read, after Jesus had fed the five thousand, they crossed the lake and landed at Gennesaret. The news of their arrival spread quickly throughout the whole surrounding area, and soon people were bringing all their sick to be healed.  The sick begged him to let them touch even the fringe of his robe, and all who touched it were healed. (Matthew 14:34-36).  I will leave out the miracle of Jesus walking on water as the audience to this were his disciples and not the masses.

One thing that stands out in these chapters is that following these amazing feats of miracles, there was a group of people who continuously tested Jesus - the Pharisees and the Sadducees - asking for one more sign from heaven! While Jesus was performing boat loads of miracles among the masses - the common man, the Pharisees and the Sadducees were the high society, the learned, and the elite of the Jewish community. They were the keepers and the interpreters of the Jewish and the Mosaic laws, steeped in age old traditions.  It was they who set and interpreted the law for the rest of the Jews. This  group was hard to convince of the divine nature of all that was happening around the man they knew by the name of Jesus as it seemed contrary to their knowledge, experience and traditions. Jesus found it easier to convince the common man than the ones who were learned.

We read of a prayer Jesus prayed in Matthew 11:25-26, "O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise and clever, and for revealing it to the childlike.  Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way!" The masses approached Christ with childlike faith in his ability to heal and cast out demons for they didn't need proofs beyond what they had heard and seen. The Pharisees and the Sadducees on the other hand could not rationalize what they had heard and seen and wanted more proof. And so they approached Jesus, we read in Matthew 16, to test his claims asking him to perform for them one more miraculous sign from heaven. He replied, "You know the saying, 'Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow, red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.' You are good at reading the weather signs in the sky, but you can't read the obvious signs of the times! Only an evil, faithless generation would ask for a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah." (Matthew 16:1-4).  By the sign of Jonah, Jesus was referring to his own crucifixion, death and resurrection.

Following this incident Jesus warns his disciples, "Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." His disciples thought he was complaining because they had not brought any bread with them. Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he said, "You have so little faith! Why are you worried about having no food? Won't you ever understand? Don't you remember the five thousand I fed with five loaves and the baskets of food that were left over? Don't you remember the four thousand  fed with seven loaves, with baskets of food left over? How could you even think I was talking about food? So again I say, 'Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." The disciples at last understood that he was not speaking about yeast or bread, but about the false teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (Matthew 16:5-12).  The hypocrisy in their lives.

There was something very similar to these events in the old testament book of Numbers, chapter 11.  We read of an incident with the Israelites as they were being led by Moses through the wilderness. After having traveled for quite some time, the Israelites started complaining for meat to eat as they got tired of eating the same old mannah that God had provided for them each day of their march from captivity to the Promised Land. Lord heard their complaint and answered to Moses that he was going to provide meat; meat to eat until they were sick of it. Moses was amazed at God's answer. We read 'But Moses said to God, "There are 600,000 foot soldiers here with me, and yet you promise them meat for a whole month. Even if we butchered all our flocks and herds, would that satisfy them? Even if we caught all the fish in the sea, would that be enough?" Then the Lord answered to Moses, "Is there any limit to my power?  Now you will see whether or not my word comes true!"' (Numbers 11:21-23) We read later in the chapter that God sent a wind that brought quail from the sea and let them fall into the Israelite camp and all around it! For many miles in every direction from the camp there were quail three feet deep on the ground." All the Israelites had to do was pick quails up from the ground, butcher them, cook them and eat.

How did the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the religious experts who knew the history of the Israelites, miss the signs during the time of Christ? Oh, they could explain the wind from the sea and even rationalize the resulting quails on the ground (in unheard of numbers!), but couldn't rationalize the blind see, the lepers cured, the lame walk, the mute healed, and the demons flee at a command from Jesus.  We are experts at predictions when we are able to rationalize the cause and its effects.  Isn't that so in our christian walk?  We are heroes of faith when we know the end result of exercising that faith whether good or bad.  We have a less questioning mind in God's ability to heal the common cold, than if it was something more critical. We may profess faith in an all capable God, but quite often our actions betray us. When we try to rationalize the all powerful, all capable creator of heaven and earth with our earth bound experiences and knowledge, we quite often run into hurdles. How could the limitless be rationalized by the limited? In the book of Hebrews, chapter 11, we read that "it is impossible to please God without faith.  Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him."

As a christian, do you exercise your faith in Christ or is your faith life a life of hypocrisy? Doubt resulting from a mind that cannot rationalize God's doing is like that yeast which though in small quantity does it's work of permeating a much larger quantity of dough, and its work is hidden away from plain sight. I am not against knowledge or the pursuit of truth. I am all for people pursuing knowledge and truth, asking the questions that need answers.  Though I pray your educated brilliant mind does not dismiss the beauty of God's work when you are not able to explain away, but keep looking for the answers remembering our earth bound experiences and knowledge may not always provide us a rational answer for the doings of an infinite God.  Christ teaches that child like faith is required to see the glory of God in your life.  (Matthew 11:25-26). As children, we totally trusted our parents to provide all our needs - for food, clothing, shelter and protection. Are you as a Christian able to do so with your heavenly father - God? Is your faith in Christ complete?

Now about those leftovers, we know the disciples didn't carry them back with them to where they were going. (Matthew 16:5).  Yet Jesus had them collect the leftovers each time. First, there were twelve baskets of leftovers after feeding the five thousand (discounting all the women and children). These were leftovers resulting from five loaves and two fishes. The second time around there were seven large baskets of leftovers that Jesus had the disciples collect after four thousand men (again discounting all the women and the children) were fed with seven loaves of bread and few small fish.  By having them collect the baskets of leftovers twice, Jesus was really driving home a point to his disciples. It didn't matter that they were in a desolate place or out in the middle of the wilderness, it didn't matter that the provisions were not enough for the masses, let alone themselves. He was teaching them his all sufficiency! That he was an all sufficient God!! Paul wrote in Ephesians 3, "He is able to do everything exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." According to the faith that we have in Christ.

Beware of the yeast of the Pharisee and the Sadducees my friend. Seek God sincerely and you will find him. God bless you!

Chris Tomlin - Whom Shall I fear (God of Angel Armies)

Effective Prayer

Vincent van Gogh - resurrection of Lazarus

In Matthew chapter 7, in verses 7 through 11, we read,

"7.  Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find.  Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened.  8.  For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds.  And the door is opened to everyone who knocks.  9.  You parents-if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10. Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11.  If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him."

It's been two months since my last blog. November was a very eventful month. My father-in-law passed away just after midnight on November 12th, back in my country of birth. My wife and I made plans to travel a day later to attend the funeral services. It was the first Thanksgiving we had been separated from our two children. Even though, when a loved one departs, it's a sad event, my 84 year old father-in-law's death was full of hope for us as Christians.

You see, until about two weeks or so before his death, our relation had not been the best. Not because of our doing, but since my marriage to his daughter, he had sort of built a wall between us that I found very hard to cross over.  My wife and I traveled many hours to show our children when they were born, but the reception we got was icy cold to the point that he didn't seem to care.  It was so hurtful that I decided never to travel back. About two or three weeks before his death he was approached by a man of God who had no knowledge of his frayed relationship with his daughters (he had six daughters) and told him that time was near and that he needed to make peace with his children.  My father-in-law with the help of his wife made it a point to reach out to all his daughters. After a lengthy conversation between him and my wife, I remember the happy glow in her face, she had re-discovered her dad of her childhood.  He belonged to a very strong, family oriented church who was very instrumental in his radical change prior to his sudden death.  Though very saddened by his death, more so we were overjoyed to hear of the change in him which we to some extent realized in my wife's last conversations with him.

Our relationship had been a prayer topic for years that God answered with the change in his attitude towards all his children. On this trip I was also able to see first hand another miracle. One of my cousins that I had grown up with and loved had become an alcoholic to the point that he was dysfunctional without it. He grew up in a wealthy family enjoying the nicer things in life. But as an adult, he had destroyed his family's life, his business, and his own life. The last time I had seen him was about five years ago. He didn't look well. For a fifty something old man, he looked much older. He looked frail and sickly; honestly, I didn't think he was going to make it. He had been someone I had been praying over the years for God to intervene and make a change in his life. What is impossible and unthinkable for man, is possible for God.

On my recent visit in November to attend my father-in-law's funeral, I decided to pay a visit to my cousin. To my good surprise, he looked younger and fit, nothing like from my last visit. During our conversation, he mentioned that he had stopped drinking alcohol and that he had a new passion. He wanted to discover more about God, for he knew it was God's making that he got out of the clutches of alcoholism. Upon visiting his wife, I found a woman whose prayer had been answered and God had returned her husband back to her. Literally to see my cousin's transformation, I felt like I had witnessed the resurrection of Lazarus. (Ref. John, chapter 11) Here was a new man with a new purpose in his life!

In the old testament book of 1 Kings, we read about a mighty prophet of God, Elijah. We read there were times when he prayed once to God and God answered his prayer. There were other times when he had to pray three times, before God answered his prayer and yet there were other times when he prayed seven time or more before God answered his prayer. Our lesson here is we need to continue to pray in faith until our prayer is answered.

The text I quoted in the beginning are Jesus' instructions to us. He says that we should keep on asking and he states we will be given what we ask for. He instructs us to keep on looking and he states you will find. He instructs us to keep on knocking and he says the door will be opened.  He doesn't say you may perhaps find what you are looking for, or that perhaps you may receive what you are asking for or even perhaps may be the door will be opened to your knocking. There are no whimsical statements here from Jesus, but a confident assurance that you will find, you will receive and the door will be opened to you who keeps at it with your prayer. Your God can't lie for there is no lies in him.

God is not a man, that he should lie.  He is not a human, that he should change his mind.  Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through? - (Numbers 23:19)

May God answer your prayers and enable you to see his glory and those around you to witness his glory!

The Yoke of Christ

"Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you.  Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light." said Jesus in Matthew 11:28-29.

A yoke is used to tether animals to work in the field or pull wagons, etc., with the farmer or master directing the animals to go on a specific route, making sure to guide them along to accomplish the master's tasks.  On the part of the animals there is a complete dependence on the master to lead them along and meet their needs. Tethered to a yoke, it does not allow the animals to do what they please, they have to rely on the one who put the yoke on them for guidance, directions and instructions.  A good master/farmer always guides his animals along the best pathways.

As you read the Bible verses preceding what I quoted earlier in this blog, Jesus prays to the Father, "O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise and clever, and for revealing it to the childlike." (Matthew 11:25)  Here Jesus addresses his father as "the Lord of heaven and earth." A master who has power, authority and control over the heavens and the earth, and everything there in or there out. Then he says that this is revealed to those who have childlike faith. The faith of a child in his father is complete, perfect, fully entrusting to meet the child's needs: to feed, clothe, protect, and nurture the child's emotional and physical growth. My dad was just that man!

Then Jesus reveals another point, "My Father has given me authority over everything.  No one really knows the Son except the Father, and no one really knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." (Matthew 11:27) Jesus has the authority over everything that we see and cannot see, that we understand and that we do not understand.  He has the authority to calm the raging seas and the hurricane wind (Matthew 8:26-27).  The spirit world recognizes him for who he is (Matthew 8:29). Life and death, healing and deliverance are in his word.

It takes faith, child like faith (total belief) for his promises to manifest. Well, you may say, it's hard to believe in things unseen and unknown.  If you need faith, pray for it, ask him to nurture in you faith of those mentioned in the book of Hebrews, chapter 11. He will not deny it to you for Apostle Paul teaches us that Jesus Christ is the "Originator and Perfecter of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2).

Taking the yoke of Christ upon oneself is a commitment to leave our sinful ways behind, subject ourselves to the will of God, seeking his will in our lives through prayer and studying the Bible. You can never go wrong by seeking his will, as Christ tells you that he has authority over everything as given to him by the Lord of heaven and earth. Taking his yoke upon oneself is not a yoke of slavery, rather of mutual dependence. He is a God who loves you and wants your love in return. The first and most important command in the Bible is to love your God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your strength.

Are you tired of living in sin? Have you become weary of the life you are living? Are you weighed down with the pressure of expectations to perform from those around you? You don't have to go about it by yourself.  Come to Christ, for he will give you rest. Take his yoke upon you, let him teach you because he is humble and gentle. You will find rest for your souls. His yoke fits perfectly and his burden is light for he is the Lord of heaven and earth, with authority over everything.

The unfailing love of the LORD never ends! BY his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day. I say to myself, "The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!" The LORD is wonderfully good to those who wait for him and seek him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the LORD. And it is good for the young to submit to the yoke of his discipline.  (Lamentations 3:22-27)

The Jonah in me...

Early July I came to find out about the death of a senior official at my work place who had to resign earlier in the year for using his official authority for a private matter. He was sixty seven. He was a person whom I did not really care for.  I did not have any respect for him, and did not feel a bit bad when he had to resign. I felt he deserved it. In my eyes he was arrogant, pompous, a hypocrite, a liar, and thought his actions were always self serving.  My opinion of him was formed from my experience of him. When I first joined the office he exerted his authority over me (a much lower tiered staff) to force me to do something that I thought was not right.  Basically he said to, "do it because I am telling you to and get it done now." I had also heard about a wilder side to him while he fronted a very respectful face in the public. So you know, when he had to resign (fired) I felt he got what he deserved.

Upon hearing of his death, my feelings were not the same as when he was fired, I felt guilt ridden. Like Jonah waited for Nineveh's fall, my conscience pricked me, I waited for his fall from grace, and a deserving punishment.   As a christian my testimony before Christ was less than becoming.

When we read the book of Jonah, we see a reluctant prophet, who when God told him to go to the great city of Nineveh to announce the coming judgement of God against that city, he took a ship in the opposite direction of Nineveh. For he did not want to announce to this city of his hatred about God's judgement, just in case they repented and God forgave them.  His prophecy would seem wrong, and besides, he wished for nothing but the total destruction of that city and its citizens.  I used to wonder why Jonah hated the Ninehvites, until I read Isaiah 37 and 2 Kings 18. There had been a long standing enmity between the people of Israel and Judah and the Assyrian empire. Just to mention one event from the Bible between them, King Sennacherib of Assyria was the cause of much pain and suffering in the land of Judah during his campaign against King Hezekiah. Nineveh was the capital city of the Assyrian empire.

Jonah was not always a reluctant prophet. He was the prophet in Israel during the time of King Jeroboam II of Israel. During the reign of this evil king, God used Jonah to prophesy the expansion of Israel and it happened just as Jonah had prophesied. "Jeroboam II recovered the territories of Israel between Lebo-hamath and the Dead Sea, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had promised through Jonah, son of Ammitai, the prophet from Gathhepher.  For the LORD saw the bitter suffering of everyone in Israel, and how they had absolutely no one to help them. (2 King 14:25-26).  In the case of Nineveh, the pride and prejudice of the prophet stood in the way of the mission that God had for the prophet.

God forced his prophet back to the great city of Nineveh to deliver his message, the same way he removed King Sennacherib from his campaign against the kingdom of Judah.  God told Sennacherib "I will make you return by the road on which you came." (Isaiah 37:29). God put His "hook" in his nose and His "bridle" in his mouth, so to speak! As Jonah ran in the opposite direction of where God wanted him to go, God caused a great storm to arise causing the ship to almost capsize until the ship's crew cast lots and Jonah was tossed into the waves to save the rest.  The Bible teaches us in the Book of Jonah that God caused a great fish to swallow Jonah and after three days and nights caused the fish to vomit him on to the shore. Jonah finally goes to Nineveh and half-heartedly preached God's message of impending doom against the Ninehvites unless they turned back to God and left their sinful ways. The Ninehvites upon hearing the message were pricked in their heart and cried out to God in repentance and asked for his mercy.  Jonah was so sure that the wickedness of the Ninehvites was so beyond salvation that he withdrew to a distance to wait and watch the coming punishment from God. At last, the city and the people whom he hated will meet with just punishment.  I had done the same though I never shared my Christ to this gentleman.

As Jonah waited in the dry hot desert to witness the destruction of Nineveh, God gave him temporary reprieve and comfort by providing for him shade by having a leafy plant to grow over his head for which Jonah was very grateful. The next morning God had the plant destroyed by a worm that he had created to eat away at  the plant. As Jonah became bitter at God for letting the plant die, God asked him if it was okay for him to be so bitter over the life of a plant when a great city like Nineveh was on the verge of God's destructive punishment. Jonah was taught a lesson by God on why he loved to forgive the sinners who repented.

We wish for the worst for our enemies and tormentors, but God only wishes that they knew him. What have we done to make that possible? What did I do for this senior executive to find God? I can't recall once praying for this person, though I recall in my heart cheering at his fall from grace.  I will not have an answer on that day if Christ should ask me - why did you not care?

Let not our pride and prejudices stand in the way of God's mission for mankind, for God has given his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Did not He who made me in the womb make them?

Did not the same One fashion us in the womb? (Job 31:15, NKJV)