Christianity is not a philosophy nor a way of life, it’s a living breathing relationship with Christ Himself. If we ever forget the ‘friendship’ part, it turns into a boring list of behaviors. We need to remember from time to time what makes it alive…
“Moses said, please let me see your Glory. God said, but no one can see me and live. Look, here is a place right beside me. I’ll put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with my hand until I’ve passed by”. Exodus 33:18-23
Moses found himself in great personal need. The role of leading the self-willed Israelites had weakened him. But he had been in the visible presence of God more than any other man on earth. The presence cloud of God had actually come down and drifted into the tent to meet with him. When he was on the mountain getting the 10 commandments God descended upon the mountain in the form of a fire cloud. Moses had seen a lot of God. And yet in His moment of need He simply asked to see more. He obviously recognized that great strength flowed into him whenever he got close to God, so in this present time of need he knew what to reach for. He’d learned a ‘more of God’ pattern for empowerment. This time he asked to look God right in the face. While God knew that was more than the human body was wired to handle, He still made a way for Moses to get closer. And yes, it made the difference Moses needed. How long has it been since you’ve asked God for a CLOSER LOOK? ~Verlon
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Enough...
We all like to know in advance what is happening. But it doesn’t take long in this adult life for us to realize that’s seldom possible. Life is an adventure. So is our spiritual journey…
“Moses said to God, you tell me to lead this people, but you don’t let me know whom you’re going to send with me. Let me in on your plans. God said, my presence will go with you. I’ll see the journey to the end”. Exodus 33:12-14
Moses had just come down from the mountain and found the Israelites dancing around a golden calf. Though he’d only been their leader for a few months, he was already tired of their wayward tendencies and faithlessness. He found himself looking at God wondering who was going to help him with this assignment. That was code for ‘I’m thinking about quitting’. God’s answer to Moses is one we all need to contemplate for a moment. God simply promised His presence for the entirety of the journey. God didn’t fill in any of the blanks for Moses, nor did He reveal any of the earthly resources that would become available in the future for Israel. He simply promised His presence. But of course, in so doing it meant Moses would never end up in a spot without God’s oversight, God’s leadership and God’s continual supply. For Moses, that was enough! That same promise was given to us. Right before Jesus ascended He said, “I will be with you always, even to the end of the age”. His continual presence is ours. The question is, do we believe that’s ENOUGH! ~Verlon
“Moses said to God, you tell me to lead this people, but you don’t let me know whom you’re going to send with me. Let me in on your plans. God said, my presence will go with you. I’ll see the journey to the end”. Exodus 33:12-14
Moses had just come down from the mountain and found the Israelites dancing around a golden calf. Though he’d only been their leader for a few months, he was already tired of their wayward tendencies and faithlessness. He found himself looking at God wondering who was going to help him with this assignment. That was code for ‘I’m thinking about quitting’. God’s answer to Moses is one we all need to contemplate for a moment. God simply promised His presence for the entirety of the journey. God didn’t fill in any of the blanks for Moses, nor did He reveal any of the earthly resources that would become available in the future for Israel. He simply promised His presence. But of course, in so doing it meant Moses would never end up in a spot without God’s oversight, God’s leadership and God’s continual supply. For Moses, that was enough! That same promise was given to us. Right before Jesus ascended He said, “I will be with you always, even to the end of the age”. His continual presence is ours. The question is, do we believe that’s ENOUGH! ~Verlon
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
God Is With Us...
Everyone needs to see the favor of God upon their lives. Sometimes this is hard to see, especially when you’re walking through one of those ‘valleys of the shadow of death’. During those times we typically wonder what happened to our favor and we doubt the presence of God in our situation. But He’s there! Truth is, the tough times underscores all the more our need to see God’s presence at work in us…
“Whenever Moses entered the Tent, the Pillar of Cloud descended to the entrance to the Tent and God spoke with Moses. All the people would see the Pillar of Cloud at the entrance to the Tent.” ~Ex.33:9-10
This verse is actually a reflection of the way things were for Israel a few days previous. But now, there was trouble in the camp. It was only days ago that they’d crafted the golden calf and danced in wild frivolity around it. Moses came back down from the mountain, ground up the golden calf into power, mixed it with water and made the people drink it. I’m not sure of the significance of that, but the people were now concerned that they’d done permanent damage to the visible presence of God that used to show up for them. Here’s the point; we all have a greater need we realize to see the Lord at work in our life! It affect our spiritual esteem. Just as Israel had confidence that God’s presence was with them, every person and every church needs to be able to say with confidence, GOD IS WITH US! ~Verlon
“Whenever Moses entered the Tent, the Pillar of Cloud descended to the entrance to the Tent and God spoke with Moses. All the people would see the Pillar of Cloud at the entrance to the Tent.” ~Ex.33:9-10
This verse is actually a reflection of the way things were for Israel a few days previous. But now, there was trouble in the camp. It was only days ago that they’d crafted the golden calf and danced in wild frivolity around it. Moses came back down from the mountain, ground up the golden calf into power, mixed it with water and made the people drink it. I’m not sure of the significance of that, but the people were now concerned that they’d done permanent damage to the visible presence of God that used to show up for them. Here’s the point; we all have a greater need we realize to see the Lord at work in our life! It affect our spiritual esteem. Just as Israel had confidence that God’s presence was with them, every person and every church needs to be able to say with confidence, GOD IS WITH US! ~Verlon
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Deeper Insight...
Most people soon realize there is more than one way to interpret something. Some perspectives are shallow and meaningless while others are a far better view. But finding the better perspectives isn’t easy. We live in a noisy world distracting world and we have noisy inner desires that pull our perspectives in the direction of our self interests. How can we find the more helpful insights?
“Moses came down from the mountain carrying the two tablets of The Testimony. When Joshua heard the sound of the people shouting noisily, he said to Moses that sounds like the sound of war in the camp. But Moses said, those aren’t songs of victory or defeat, I hear songs of people throwing a party.” ~Ex.32:15-18
Moses and Joshua had been on the mountain for 40 days getting the ten commandments on tablets of stone. Meanwhile, back at the camp the people had erected an idol of gold and were dancing around it in wild-party fashion. So when Moses and Joshua made their way back to the camp they began to hear the shouts and singing in the distance. Joshua immediately concluded they had been to war and were celebrating their victory or mourning their loss. But Moses had been in closer conversation with God than Joshua. Moses was close enough to hear God say that the people had built an idol for themselves and turned to wild partying. Here’s the lesson; the closer to God we stand, the better perspective we gain. Next to Him is where we see the ‘big picture’ of our life and find DEEPER INSIGHT! ~Verlon
“Moses came down from the mountain carrying the two tablets of The Testimony. When Joshua heard the sound of the people shouting noisily, he said to Moses that sounds like the sound of war in the camp. But Moses said, those aren’t songs of victory or defeat, I hear songs of people throwing a party.” ~Ex.32:15-18
Moses and Joshua had been on the mountain for 40 days getting the ten commandments on tablets of stone. Meanwhile, back at the camp the people had erected an idol of gold and were dancing around it in wild-party fashion. So when Moses and Joshua made their way back to the camp they began to hear the shouts and singing in the distance. Joshua immediately concluded they had been to war and were celebrating their victory or mourning their loss. But Moses had been in closer conversation with God than Joshua. Moses was close enough to hear God say that the people had built an idol for themselves and turned to wild partying. Here’s the lesson; the closer to God we stand, the better perspective we gain. Next to Him is where we see the ‘big picture’ of our life and find DEEPER INSIGHT! ~Verlon
Monday, April 19, 2010
A Silent Heaven...
Stall seasons are always hard. And yet there are many of them in this life. Whether it’s between paychecks, or between jobs, or between opportunities, we find ourselves in these ‘stalls’. God Himself values these stalls. Even in the 23rd Psalm, while the good Shepherd is walking the sheep through the valley of the shadow of death, He isn’t saying anything, He’s just walking and protecting. But these times make us nervous and sometimes demanding.
“When the people realized that Moses was taking forever in coming down off the mountain, they rallied around Aaron and said, do something. Make gods for us who will lead us. That Moses, who knows what’s happened to him?” ~Ex 32:1
Israel had seen their share of miracles and profound power in the past few months. And yet as Moses lingered on the mountain for over a month getting the ten commandments from the hand of God, the people got nervous. What happened next revealed their depth of trust in God. And in their case, it wasn’t very deep. After a month of waiting they became impatient and demanding and fashioned their own answer, shaping a god out of gold and danced and partied in wild fashioned around the golden calf. It only took them 30 days to cast off their dependency on God and look for other answers. We all have that capacity. Thus we all need to have our dependency upon God revealed from time to time. God does this in a most careful way by providing A SILENT HEAVEN. ~Verlon
“When the people realized that Moses was taking forever in coming down off the mountain, they rallied around Aaron and said, do something. Make gods for us who will lead us. That Moses, who knows what’s happened to him?” ~Ex 32:1
Israel had seen their share of miracles and profound power in the past few months. And yet as Moses lingered on the mountain for over a month getting the ten commandments from the hand of God, the people got nervous. What happened next revealed their depth of trust in God. And in their case, it wasn’t very deep. After a month of waiting they became impatient and demanding and fashioned their own answer, shaping a god out of gold and danced and partied in wild fashioned around the golden calf. It only took them 30 days to cast off their dependency on God and look for other answers. We all have that capacity. Thus we all need to have our dependency upon God revealed from time to time. God does this in a most careful way by providing A SILENT HEAVEN. ~Verlon
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Like Father, Like Son!
It’s easy to forget why we are on this earth and drift back into satisfying ourselves. It’s a subtle and constant temptation to be sure. But we were created to pursue Christ-like-ness. If there is a focus point for all our endeavors, it’s to be like the earthly model, God Son whom He sent for us to observe. But aligning ourselves to God’s ways isn’t merely an inward thing…
“Tell the Israelites, above all keep my Sabbaths…to keep the knowledge alive that I am the God who makes you holy…It’s a fixed sign between me and the Israelites because in six days God made the Heavens and the Earth and on the seventh day he stopped and took a long deep breath.” ~Ex. 31:12,17
There is no doubt that God created mankind to need rest. And when we ignore that truth we become sick and frail. So the idea of a Sabbath for reasons of our physical and mental health is an important lesson in maturity. However I am taken by the wording in this verse that connects our Sabbaths to ‘keeping the knowledge alive that God makes you holy’. God wants It to be obvious that we are in His family. The last line even castes the Sabbath as one of the visible activities we engage in because it’s how the God-family does things. God took a Sabbath after His work of creation, Jesus took Sabbaths even amidst His important redemptive work on the earth, so we take Sabbaths as we fulfill our calling too. God isn't rushed nor weary, so we won't be either. We’re in His family so it stands to reason we’d take on His ways. LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON! ~Verlon
“Tell the Israelites, above all keep my Sabbaths…to keep the knowledge alive that I am the God who makes you holy…It’s a fixed sign between me and the Israelites because in six days God made the Heavens and the Earth and on the seventh day he stopped and took a long deep breath.” ~Ex. 31:12,17
There is no doubt that God created mankind to need rest. And when we ignore that truth we become sick and frail. So the idea of a Sabbath for reasons of our physical and mental health is an important lesson in maturity. However I am taken by the wording in this verse that connects our Sabbaths to ‘keeping the knowledge alive that God makes you holy’. God wants It to be obvious that we are in His family. The last line even castes the Sabbath as one of the visible activities we engage in because it’s how the God-family does things. God took a Sabbath after His work of creation, Jesus took Sabbaths even amidst His important redemptive work on the earth, so we take Sabbaths as we fulfill our calling too. God isn't rushed nor weary, so we won't be either. We’re in His family so it stands to reason we’d take on His ways. LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON! ~Verlon
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Then He Made You...
I suppose each of us has a desire to be more than average. That sense was probably stronger in our youth when we held to our ideals and our dreams. But then this little thing called reality started chipping away at us and like so many others we probably started accepting average outcomes. Some of this is maturity. But sometimes I wonder if this acceptance attitude goes too far…
“See what I have done. I’ve personally chosen Bezalel. I’ve filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him skill and expertise in every kind of craft to create designs and work in gold, silver, bronze gemstones and to carve wood. He is an all-around craftsman.” ~Ex. 31:1-5
I like this verse. It reveals that God uniquely designs people just the way He wants. In this case He wanted to reveal a bit of His glory with beautiful works of gold and silver. So He custom built Bezalel. He gave him the ability to ‘see’ and ‘form’ carvings and castings. In fact, the bible is full of stories of God envisioning things, and then how He created people and called them and helped them discover how to mke His dream into a reality. It might be easy to push back and admire the talented few, but that would miss the point entirely. What if God saw something He wanted to happen on the earth many years ago, then He turned and formed you in your mothers womb? What would that say about the abilities and creative expressions that are hard-wired into you? You have something in common with Bezalel. God envisioned something on the earth, THEN HE MADE YOU! ~Verlon
“See what I have done. I’ve personally chosen Bezalel. I’ve filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him skill and expertise in every kind of craft to create designs and work in gold, silver, bronze gemstones and to carve wood. He is an all-around craftsman.” ~Ex. 31:1-5
I like this verse. It reveals that God uniquely designs people just the way He wants. In this case He wanted to reveal a bit of His glory with beautiful works of gold and silver. So He custom built Bezalel. He gave him the ability to ‘see’ and ‘form’ carvings and castings. In fact, the bible is full of stories of God envisioning things, and then how He created people and called them and helped them discover how to mke His dream into a reality. It might be easy to push back and admire the talented few, but that would miss the point entirely. What if God saw something He wanted to happen on the earth many years ago, then He turned and formed you in your mothers womb? What would that say about the abilities and creative expressions that are hard-wired into you? You have something in common with Bezalel. God envisioned something on the earth, THEN HE MADE YOU! ~Verlon
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
No Longer Ordinary...
It usually doesn’t take long for us to discover that we are all ordinary people. But it also doesn’t take long for us to discover that our world is in need of something truly extra ordinary.
“Take the best spices, myrrh, fragrant cinnamon, fragrant cane, cassia and olive oil. Make these into a holy anointing oil. Then anoint Aaron and his sons. Consecrate them as priests to me. Don’t pour it on ordinary men. it’s holy, keep it holy.” Exodus 30:22-32
God had these first worshippers go to great lengths to make a fragrant oil. Why did He do that? Because that oil would be used to turn common things into holy things. Once the sacred oil was placed on an item in the tabernacle, the residence of God accompanied it so much that if a person even touched it they were affected. And once the oil was placed on a man, they were considered anointed by God’s power for extra-ordinary things. We look back to that day and wonder what it would have been like to watch a common man step up on a small stage, be anointed, and when he stepped down he was no longer a common man. How interesting then was the day of Pentecost to the Jews who understood how anointing turned a person into something uncommon. On that day the Holy Spirit descended and anointed everyone in the room! While we are 2000 years removed from that history, we still need to grasp the idea that Christ's’ plans include anointing you and me so we are NO LONGER ORDINARY! ~Verlon
“Take the best spices, myrrh, fragrant cinnamon, fragrant cane, cassia and olive oil. Make these into a holy anointing oil. Then anoint Aaron and his sons. Consecrate them as priests to me. Don’t pour it on ordinary men. it’s holy, keep it holy.” Exodus 30:22-32
God had these first worshippers go to great lengths to make a fragrant oil. Why did He do that? Because that oil would be used to turn common things into holy things. Once the sacred oil was placed on an item in the tabernacle, the residence of God accompanied it so much that if a person even touched it they were affected. And once the oil was placed on a man, they were considered anointed by God’s power for extra-ordinary things. We look back to that day and wonder what it would have been like to watch a common man step up on a small stage, be anointed, and when he stepped down he was no longer a common man. How interesting then was the day of Pentecost to the Jews who understood how anointing turned a person into something uncommon. On that day the Holy Spirit descended and anointed everyone in the room! While we are 2000 years removed from that history, we still need to grasp the idea that Christ's’ plans include anointing you and me so we are NO LONGER ORDINARY! ~Verlon
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Be With Us...
How close do we want the Lord to be to us? That’s an interesting question that everyone must answer early in their spiritual journey. Some don’t want Jesus all that close because they sense it would impinge on their freedom. Others have reported that their desire for closeness has grown over time. Perhaps the more insightful question is, how close does the Lord want to be to us?
“I’ll move in and live with the Israelites. I’ll be their God. They’ll realize that I am their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I could live with them.” ~Ex. 29:46
Think about this from God’s point of view. He made Adam and Eve, and walked with them in the cool of the day. It appears God set that evening time of fellowship in order and looked forward to it each day. Then in the time it takes to eat an apple, God lost all of that. It’s true mankind lost fellowship with God too, but we chose it. God didn’t chose to lose closeness with us, but it happened to Him all the same. Now God has a dilemma. How can He be close to His creation whom He loves, and yet be true to His holy and undefiled nature? Through the whole of scripture we see God struggling with this question. In this verse above God states it as the reason He brought Israel out of Egypt. Having the people set up a tabernacle so God could move in amongst them would have been impossible in Egypt. And Jesus’ trip to earth was of course to win back close fellowship between God and us. He wants to BE WITH US! ~Verlon
“I’ll move in and live with the Israelites. I’ll be their God. They’ll realize that I am their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I could live with them.” ~Ex. 29:46
Think about this from God’s point of view. He made Adam and Eve, and walked with them in the cool of the day. It appears God set that evening time of fellowship in order and looked forward to it each day. Then in the time it takes to eat an apple, God lost all of that. It’s true mankind lost fellowship with God too, but we chose it. God didn’t chose to lose closeness with us, but it happened to Him all the same. Now God has a dilemma. How can He be close to His creation whom He loves, and yet be true to His holy and undefiled nature? Through the whole of scripture we see God struggling with this question. In this verse above God states it as the reason He brought Israel out of Egypt. Having the people set up a tabernacle so God could move in amongst them would have been impossible in Egypt. And Jesus’ trip to earth was of course to win back close fellowship between God and us. He wants to BE WITH US! ~Verlon
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Line-Of-Sight...
It’s a common thing to feel that God is far away running the universe and we are all alone to navigate our life. However strong that feeling might be at times, it’s simply not the truth. God’s attentiveness to His individual children and the particulars of their daily lives is a wondrous thing.
“Take two onyx stones and engrave the names of the sons of Israel on them in order of their birth. Fasten the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the Ephod. Aaron will wear these names on his shoulders as a memorial before God.” ~Ex. 28:8-13
God instructed Moses to establish the tabernacle with many object lessons in view to teach us something about God. One of those visual lessons was to have the high priest wear the names of the tribes of Israel on his person when He would go before God. Now I’m quite sure God wasn’t worried He’d forget about the peoples of the nation He’d just saved from slavery, no that couldn’t be the point of the engraving. God was revealing that individual family lines of the sons of Israel were of great importance to God and He wanted them to forever be in His sight. It would have been very appropriate for God to put the many names of Himself on His high priest, but that’s not what He wanted to look at. He wanted to look at the names of His people. I’m sure you can connect the dots of what this means for us today. God is paying attention to us! God likes keeping You and me in His LINE-OF-SIGHT. ~Verlon
“Take two onyx stones and engrave the names of the sons of Israel on them in order of their birth. Fasten the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the Ephod. Aaron will wear these names on his shoulders as a memorial before God.” ~Ex. 28:8-13
God instructed Moses to establish the tabernacle with many object lessons in view to teach us something about God. One of those visual lessons was to have the high priest wear the names of the tribes of Israel on his person when He would go before God. Now I’m quite sure God wasn’t worried He’d forget about the peoples of the nation He’d just saved from slavery, no that couldn’t be the point of the engraving. God was revealing that individual family lines of the sons of Israel were of great importance to God and He wanted them to forever be in His sight. It would have been very appropriate for God to put the many names of Himself on His high priest, but that’s not what He wanted to look at. He wanted to look at the names of His people. I’m sure you can connect the dots of what this means for us today. God is paying attention to us! God likes keeping You and me in His LINE-OF-SIGHT. ~Verlon
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
To See Him...
The idea of being able to see God is inconceivable, except to the followers of Christ. Somehow, for us it seems natural for our soul to want that. And somehow that longing is fulfilled…
“Then they climbed the mountain, Moses and Aaron and Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel, and saw the God of Israel. He was standing on a pavement of something like sapphires, pure and clear and sky-blue…The Glory of God settled over Mount Sinai. In the view of the Israelites below the Glory of God looked like a raging fire at the top of the mountain.” ~Ex. 24:9,10,17
There was a commonly held view in Moses day that if anyone actually saw God they would die. His holiness was held at such a high level that for a mere human to get too close was a fearsome thing. So on this day when Moses and these leaders were invited to actually see God, there was no small concern. But see Him they did. He presented Himself to them standing on a large deep-blue sea of glass. What He said to that leadership team isn’t recorded, it was undoubtedly a private conversation. But they actually saw God! Wow! Down at the bottom of the mountain there was no question that God had arrived. A strange cloud with a fire churning inside of it descended on the mountain as Israel’s leaders walked right into it. What a sight it must have been. Did you know God wants us to know Him and see Him? With eyes of faith we can behold a inward vision of our Lord. After all, He lives inside of us. We should be able TO SEE HIM! ~Verlon
“Then they climbed the mountain, Moses and Aaron and Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel, and saw the God of Israel. He was standing on a pavement of something like sapphires, pure and clear and sky-blue…The Glory of God settled over Mount Sinai. In the view of the Israelites below the Glory of God looked like a raging fire at the top of the mountain.” ~Ex. 24:9,10,17
There was a commonly held view in Moses day that if anyone actually saw God they would die. His holiness was held at such a high level that for a mere human to get too close was a fearsome thing. So on this day when Moses and these leaders were invited to actually see God, there was no small concern. But see Him they did. He presented Himself to them standing on a large deep-blue sea of glass. What He said to that leadership team isn’t recorded, it was undoubtedly a private conversation. But they actually saw God! Wow! Down at the bottom of the mountain there was no question that God had arrived. A strange cloud with a fire churning inside of it descended on the mountain as Israel’s leaders walked right into it. What a sight it must have been. Did you know God wants us to know Him and see Him? With eyes of faith we can behold a inward vision of our Lord. After all, He lives inside of us. We should be able TO SEE HIM! ~Verlon
Monday, April 5, 2010
Great Plans Unfold...
The way the Lord leads us is an important understanding. Some feel they are building their own life and God is just there for spiritual stuff. Others live on the other extreme and spend their time in the prayer chapel insisting they are only going to take what is divinely delivered to them. Neither extreme fits the stories of the Bible…
“Now get yourselves ready. I’m sending my Angel ahead of you to guard you in your travels, to lead you to the place that I’ve prepared …Little by little I’ll get them out of there while you have a change to get your crops going and make the land your own.” ~Ex. 23:20,29
If anything is clear in the story of Israel’s journey from Egypt to Canaan, it’s that God divinely led, but the people had to fully engage. In fact, there was a time when they were between the charging Egyptians and the Red Sea and Moses went into his tent to pray. At that worrisome moment God said, ‘what are you doing here, get off your knees and get back out there and part the waters’. In other words, engage! We need to be told from time to time to ‘engage’, or we’ll drift back into a ‘whatcha ya done for me lately God’ form of Christianity. But the healthy way of Christian journeying is looking for God’s leading, then engage boldly in His plan. This verse above was God reminding Israel again of how to walk with Him. People get ready, Angels protect, God leads, the people engage, and little by little God’s GREAT PLANS UNFOLD! ~Verlon
“Now get yourselves ready. I’m sending my Angel ahead of you to guard you in your travels, to lead you to the place that I’ve prepared …Little by little I’ll get them out of there while you have a change to get your crops going and make the land your own.” ~Ex. 23:20,29
If anything is clear in the story of Israel’s journey from Egypt to Canaan, it’s that God divinely led, but the people had to fully engage. In fact, there was a time when they were between the charging Egyptians and the Red Sea and Moses went into his tent to pray. At that worrisome moment God said, ‘what are you doing here, get off your knees and get back out there and part the waters’. In other words, engage! We need to be told from time to time to ‘engage’, or we’ll drift back into a ‘whatcha ya done for me lately God’ form of Christianity. But the healthy way of Christian journeying is looking for God’s leading, then engage boldly in His plan. This verse above was God reminding Israel again of how to walk with Him. People get ready, Angels protect, God leads, the people engage, and little by little God’s GREAT PLANS UNFOLD! ~Verlon
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Be There For Us...
When Jesus was alive faith and courage filled the hearts of His followers. But all that faded away…
“At dawn on Sunday, the women came to the tomb carrying the burial spices. They found the stone rolled back from the tomb. They were puzzled wondering what to make of this. then out of nowhere two men with light cascading over them stood there. The men said, why are you looking for the Living One in a cemetery? He is not here, but raised up. Remember, he told you he had to be killed on a cross, and in three days rise up? Then they remembered.” ~Luke 24:1-5 The promise of resurrection was a far-fetched thing. And yet Jesus was doing many inconceivable things before their eyes. Walking on water, opening blind eyes and unstopping deaf ears. So they believed in the inconceivable while Jesus was with them. But death, was a different matter. When they watched Jesus die, their expectation of inconceivable things washed away. They forgot that Jesus told them exactly what would happen. Death seemed so final. We too get caught up in the final messages of this life. We too forget in our Lord’s ability to show up even after it seems too late. A couple of angels appeared and reminded them of Jesus’ words, that He would resurrect in 3 days, and that they needed to go be with Him. Can you imagine their surprise to find out that even death wasn’t going to keep Jesus from them? Lets take a moment and think deeply about the One who resurrected…who stopped at nothing to BE THERE FOR US! ~Verlon
“At dawn on Sunday, the women came to the tomb carrying the burial spices. They found the stone rolled back from the tomb. They were puzzled wondering what to make of this. then out of nowhere two men with light cascading over them stood there. The men said, why are you looking for the Living One in a cemetery? He is not here, but raised up. Remember, he told you he had to be killed on a cross, and in three days rise up? Then they remembered.” ~Luke 24:1-5 The promise of resurrection was a far-fetched thing. And yet Jesus was doing many inconceivable things before their eyes. Walking on water, opening blind eyes and unstopping deaf ears. So they believed in the inconceivable while Jesus was with them. But death, was a different matter. When they watched Jesus die, their expectation of inconceivable things washed away. They forgot that Jesus told them exactly what would happen. Death seemed so final. We too get caught up in the final messages of this life. We too forget in our Lord’s ability to show up even after it seems too late. A couple of angels appeared and reminded them of Jesus’ words, that He would resurrect in 3 days, and that they needed to go be with Him. Can you imagine their surprise to find out that even death wasn’t going to keep Jesus from them? Lets take a moment and think deeply about the One who resurrected…who stopped at nothing to BE THERE FOR US! ~Verlon
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Set The Scene...
This was such a dark and grievous day. Jesus, the one who had breathed life into so many now hung dead on the cross. Some of the ladies sat and watched for many hours in disbelief…
“Late in the afternoon a wealthy man from Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus, arrived. His name was Joseph. He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Joseph took the body and wrapped it in clean linens, put it in his own tomb, a new tomb only recently cut into the rock, and rolled a large stone across the entrance. But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary stayed sitting in plain view of the tomb.” Matt. 27:57-61
God had made interesting provisions for Jesus all along the way. Starting with His birth in a barn, then financial provisions from the wise men so they could run to Egypt when He was two years old, and all through His days, timely provisions were made for Him. And now at the very end, again a provision was made. For the most part all the followers of Jesus were poor slaves. They didn’t have means to bury Jesus in a stone tomb. In fact, the disciples just walked away. In their grief they didn’t even think about taking care of Jesus’ body. But this was Joseph from Arimathea’s moment. God put it in is heart to provide for the final scene. The tomb he paid to have carved for himself was to become the most important tomb in human history. God provided for the death, to set up what was coming next. It’s interesting how God still follows that pattern today. He always uses death in its many forms to SET THE SCENE for what’s next! ~Verlon
“Late in the afternoon a wealthy man from Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus, arrived. His name was Joseph. He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Joseph took the body and wrapped it in clean linens, put it in his own tomb, a new tomb only recently cut into the rock, and rolled a large stone across the entrance. But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary stayed sitting in plain view of the tomb.” Matt. 27:57-61
God had made interesting provisions for Jesus all along the way. Starting with His birth in a barn, then financial provisions from the wise men so they could run to Egypt when He was two years old, and all through His days, timely provisions were made for Him. And now at the very end, again a provision was made. For the most part all the followers of Jesus were poor slaves. They didn’t have means to bury Jesus in a stone tomb. In fact, the disciples just walked away. In their grief they didn’t even think about taking care of Jesus’ body. But this was Joseph from Arimathea’s moment. God put it in is heart to provide for the final scene. The tomb he paid to have carved for himself was to become the most important tomb in human history. God provided for the death, to set up what was coming next. It’s interesting how God still follows that pattern today. He always uses death in its many forms to SET THE SCENE for what’s next! ~Verlon
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Convinced...
The questions surrounding Jesus’ claims that He was indeed the Messiah was echoing through Jerusalem’s corridors. We look back on that day through the scope of scripture and see Jesus quite clearly. But to have boots on the ground in that day, it was a murky question. In fact, there were far more people, influential people even, suggesting He was a fraud than there were voices saying He was the promised one.
“The captain of the guard and those with him, when they saw the earthquake and everything else that was happening, were scared to death. They said, ‘this has to be the Son of God.” ~Mt. 27:54
The argument waged loudly about whether or not Jesus was the Son of God. When Pilate put the sign on the cross that Jesus was the king of the Jews, the leaders made haste to ask him to change it to, ‘he claimed he was the king of the Jews’. But Pilate wouldn’t. The question was on everyone’s mind that day. Even the Roman guards were talking about it. At first it was in jest and mockery, but when the sky went black in the middle of the day by something different than a storm cloud, and the earthquake struck at the moment of Jesus death, their perspective changed. In fact, a level of soberness came across the toughest and most cynical in the crowd. Even the captain declared Him to be the Messiah. It’s always been very interesting to me how a person locked in this worlds perspectives comes to grasp Jesus as the Savior of the World and become CONVINCED! ~Verlon
“The captain of the guard and those with him, when they saw the earthquake and everything else that was happening, were scared to death. They said, ‘this has to be the Son of God.” ~Mt. 27:54
The argument waged loudly about whether or not Jesus was the Son of God. When Pilate put the sign on the cross that Jesus was the king of the Jews, the leaders made haste to ask him to change it to, ‘he claimed he was the king of the Jews’. But Pilate wouldn’t. The question was on everyone’s mind that day. Even the Roman guards were talking about it. At first it was in jest and mockery, but when the sky went black in the middle of the day by something different than a storm cloud, and the earthquake struck at the moment of Jesus death, their perspective changed. In fact, a level of soberness came across the toughest and most cynical in the crowd. Even the captain declared Him to be the Messiah. It’s always been very interesting to me how a person locked in this worlds perspectives comes to grasp Jesus as the Savior of the World and become CONVINCED! ~Verlon
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