On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand!

"In Christ Alone"

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless Babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save

Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I stand

Love Restored

April 30
Love Restored by Dr. D. James Kennedy

…God is love. —1 John 4:8

In the beginning, God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” As He did so, He made us able to give and receive love in relationships with each other and with Him. He created us in His perfect love.

But now we bear few signs of that love. In our sinfulness, we have distorted His kingly nature and have all but destroyed the image of God in us. And with that, we have distorted and destroyed our experience of love.

How can we love again as God created us to love? On our own, we can do nothing to restore God’s image or His perfect love within us. No effort or striving can perform the task. A little child can take an egg in his hand and crush it, but all the skill in the world could never restore it.

All the knowledge, power, and technology that can split atoms and place man on the moon cannot restore that egg to its original form. How much less can we, by our own wisdom or strength, restore God’s image—His perfect love—to our souls.

But in Christ, love is restored. Christ pours His love on humankind as He poured out His life in atonement for our sins. Though we’re unworthy, Christ’s sacrifice lights the fragile flame of love in our hearts, making it burn strong and clear. As the flame of Christ’s love ignites each of us, those around us will catch the fire, and Christ will restore His love to the whole world.

Today let God fill your heart with His love, and as He does, let His love flow through you to those around you. One by one, as He restores His love to each of us, He’ll restore His love to the whole world.

New Paradigms

April 29

New Paradigms
From: Today God Is First by Os Hillman "Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage," 1 Samuel 10:22.

If you want to experience something you've never done, you must do something you've never done. In his book Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing His Will, Henry Blackaby writes, "You cannot go with God and stay where you are."

God often has to radically change us if we are going to fulfill His purposes in our lives. Saul was about to be anointed by Samuel as the first king of Israel. Samuel said to Saul, "The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person" (1 Samuel 10:6). Up to this point, Saul had never prophesied or led a group of people. He had also never had to be accountable to a prophet and to God for his every action.

Saul took a big step of faith right away and prophesied with the prophets just as Samuel said he would. How exciting that must have been. Yet, when Samuel called the entire nation of Israel together to announce him as Israel's first king in history, Saul was nowhere to be found. This part of the story is humorous.

Excitement is in the air, but when they call Saul's name, he doesn't even come forward. So the people "inquired further of the Lord, 'Has the man come here yet?' And the Lord said, 'Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage'" (1 Samuel 10:22).

I recall when God began moving me from a career in advertising to a new ministry to men and women in the workplace that involved writing and public speaking. Neither of these were my particular forté. I was forced to do something I had never done.

The story of King Saul should be an encouragement to us all. God continues to pick the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. Your greatest setback can be thinking that there's no way that God can use "little me." However, the reality is that He can and will, if we respond to the new places He takes us.

Glorify the Lord

April 28
Glorify the Lord by Dr. D. James Kennedy

Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.—Psalm 34:3

The doxology we sing in church summarizes well our true purpose in life: “Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.” The Westminster Catechism says that our chief end in life is to “glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

Do you ever wonder how you can glorify God? First, we honor God by giving Him the praise and worship He deserves. When we acknowledge His greatness and His provision, we bring glory to His name. But we can magnify the Lord in everything else we do as well.

I believe that if we determine to use our God-given talents, time, strength, and wisdom to glorify Him, we find ourselves involved in something exciting, something bigger than ourselves. As we do our jobs well, we glorify our Father. As we strive to cultivate loving and happy families, we glorify our Father. When we share the good news of Christ and introduce men and women to His kingdom, we glorify our Father.

By doing all for God’s glory, we fulfill God’s purpose for us. Johann Sebastian Bach certainly glorified God in his life. Many musicians consider Bach the greatest musician who ever lived. On his music scores are phrases such as “Soli Deo Gloria,” which means “To God alone be the glory.”

William Wilberforce, the great evangelical statesman, brought glory to the Lord as he strove to end slavery in the entire British Empire.

While God hasn’t necessarily called you to be a Bach or a Wilberforce, you can bring glory to His name whoever you are and with whatever unique talents and gifts you have.

Today, seek to glorify God in all you do. This focus will give your life a grand and magnificent purpose!

When the Flame Burns Low

April 27

When The Flame Burns Low by Dr. D. James Kennedy

…‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’—John 12:21

Do you feel a little low, as if your spiritual gas tank is on empty? Has the fire of Christ’s joy within you dwindled to an ember? If so, you’re not alone. In fact, you’re in very good company. Many people in the Bible experienced the same weariness and loss of zeal.

David cried, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation” (Psalm 51:12).

Solomon said, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Proverbs 13:12).

Job lamented, “May the day perish on which I was born, and the night in which it was said, ‘A male child is conceived’”(Job 3:3).

Moses entreated, “I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me. If You treat me like this, please kill me here and now” (Numbers 11:14–15).

Paul explained, “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life” (2 Corinthians 1:8).

What causes spiritual weariness? Often we find ourselves spiritually drained because we have unconfessed and unrepented sin in our lives. I once left my car parked at the beach on a windy, humid day. When I returned several hours later, the windshield was coated with a thick, salty encrustation. I could hardly remove the salty layer with the windshield wipers. Unconfessed sin does the same thing to the soul. It clouds it and takes away its sparkle. Do you have unconfessed sin weighing you down and tiring you out?

We also grow spiritually weary when we lead hurried lives. As we do more and more for Christ, we have less and less time to spend in private devotions, our time of spiritual rejuvenation. Our lives become like the bottom of a soda sucked dry through a straw. The Bible tells us, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Can you set aside some extra time today to rest in your Father’s arms?

Sometimes we lose our spiritual edge because we’ve taken our eyes off our Savior and Lord. As we walk across the sea of life, we can stay on top of the tumultuous waves as long as we focus on Jesus. But when we look away, the breakers come crashing in and knock us down. Do you need to refocus your spiritual sights on your Savior today?

Direct a Sunset

Jack Hayford tells the story of an old gentleman, a believer, who was at the threshold of death. Jack visited him and asked how he was doing.

The old man said, "Jack, you know I've made my living as a lighting director on movie and TV sets. In my career, I've had to assure that the light was perfect for the effect to be correct for every scene of each program I've worked on.

"Well, recently, Jesus visited me, and He said to me, 'How would you like to direct a sunset?'"

Needless to say, the old man slipped into glory with the radiance of the Lord's presence upon him.

We who believe have SO MUCH to look forward to.

"Go Down Death"
by James Weldon Johnson

Weep not, weep not,
She is not dead;
She's resting in the bosom of Jesus.
Heart-broken husband--weep no more;
Grief-stricken son--weep no more;
Left-lonesome daughter --weep no more;
She only just gone home.

Day before yesterday morning,
God was looking down from his great, high heaven,
Looking down on all his children,
And his eye fell of Sister Caroline,
Tossing on her bed of pain.
And God's big heart was touched with pity,
With the everlasting pity.

And God sat back on his throne,
And he commanded that tall, bright angel standing at his right hand:
Call me Death!
And that tall, bright angel cried in a voice
That broke like a clap of thunder:
Call Death!--Call Death!
And the echo sounded down the streets of heaven
Till it reached away back to that shadowy place,
Where Death waits with his pale, white horses.

And Death heard the summons,
And he leaped on his fastest horse,
Pale as a sheet in the moonlight.
Up the golden street Death galloped,
And the hooves of his horses struck fire from the gold,
But they didn't make no sound.
Up Death rode to the Great White Throne,
And waited for God's command.

And God said: Go down, Death, go down,
Go down to Savannah, Georgia,
Down in Yamacraw,
And find Sister Caroline.
She's borne the burden and heat of the day,
She's labored long in my vineyard,
And she's tired--
She's weary--
Do down, Death, and bring her to me.

And Death didn't say a word,
But he loosed the reins on his pale, white horse,
And he clamped the spurs to his bloodless sides,
And out and down he rode,
Through heaven's pearly gates,
Past suns and moons and stars;
on Death rode,
Leaving the lightning's flash behind;
Straight down he came.

While we were watching round her bed,
She turned her eyes and looked away,
She saw what we couldn't see;
She saw Old Death.She saw Old Death
Coming like a falling star.
But Death didn't frighten Sister Caroline;
He looked to her like a welcome friend.
And she whispered to us: I'm going home,
And she smiled and closed her eyes.

And Death took her up like a baby,
And she lay in his icy arms,
But she didn't feel no chill.
And death began to ride again--
Up beyond the evening star,
Into the glittering light of glory,
On to the Great White Throne.
And there he laid Sister Caroline
On the loving breast of Jesus.

And Jesus took his own hand and wiped away her tears,
And he smoothed the furrows from her face,
And the angels sang a little song,
And Jesus rocked her in his arms,
And kept a-saying: Take your rest,
Take your rest.

Weep not--weep not,
She is not dead;
She's resting in the bosom of Jesus.

Amos 4:6-11

April 26

Amos 4:6-11 by John Ritenbaugh

(6) " Also I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities. And lack of bread in all your places; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD. (7) " I also withheld rain from you, When there were still three months to the harvest. I made it rain on one city, I withheld rain from another city. One part was rained upon, And where it did not rain the part withered. (8) So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water, But they were not satisfied; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD. (9) " I blasted you with blight and mildew. When your gardens increased, Your vineyards, Your fig trees, And your olive trees, The locust devoured them; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD. (10) " I sent among you a plague after the manner of Egypt; Your young men I killed with a sword, Along with your captive horses; I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD. (11) " I overthrew some of you, As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD.

God's people were very busy making money, accumulating things, and practicing their religion. But God was also very busy—sending famines, droughts, blights, locusts, epidemics, warfare, and possibly earthquakes in judgment for their unrighteousness (Amos 4:6-11). He hoped that they would heed these "minor" warnings before He sent the rod of His anger against them (Isaiah 10:5).

Rain fell on one part of the country and not on another. When it rained, it rained too much, causing floods. In other places just enough rain fell to deceive the people into feeling a sense of hope—that it was not so bad after all.

We see this in the United States. Natural disasters—insurance companies call them "acts of God"—are growing more frequent and more intense, killing many and causing billions of dollars in damage. Floods ravaged the Midwest in 1993, while drought killed crops in other areas. After a year or so of good rainfall, California fell back into drought conditions—only to suffer from floods a year later! Fires rage over thousands of acres after periods of drought, destroying forests and homes. Sudden earthquakes, storms, tornadoes, and extreme temperatures destroy homes, businesses, and lives.

It never seems to get quite bad enough to send the nation into a real tailspin, but it is just enough that, like the Egyptian Pharaoh of the Exodus (Exodus 7:13-14), we continue to harden our hearts. We fail to repent. If the unrepentant attitude continues, the "natural" disasters will intensify, bankrupting the nation economically. Since money seems to be the nation's foremost god, the true God will hit where it hurts most.

The vast majority of Americans have become so far removed from God that they lack the eyes to see and the ears to hear the warnings He sends. Educated in a system that fundamentally denies God, they lack understanding. They interpret God's warnings as natural events—just nature running her course. An earthquake or flood or drought is viewed as "nature doing her thing."

Rather than heed the warning and repent, Americans turn to their other false gods—science and technology—to bail them out.

"Design better levies to protect us from floods," they cry.

"Seed the clouds to produce more rain."

"Engineer stronger buildings to withstand more powerful earthquakes."

"Science will someday give us the ability to predict—even stop—earthquakes."

Americans have eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear (Isaiah 6:9-10; Matthew 13:14-15).

In these disasters, God is saying something quite different— something vitally important. He is warning the people that they have a responsibility, and if they fail to live under their covenant with Him, He has the power to correct them so that they will repent.

So, in fairness and mercy, God lays a simple choice before them: "Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel; and because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!" (Amos 4:12). Their choice is either to face their sins and repent, or face the wrath of a just God.

To bring about His purpose, God is active in His creation, especially among His people, whether physical or spiritual Israel. "If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?" (Amos 3:6). Is God involved in our lives? Do things happen by chance to the people of God? This world would have you believe that God really is not aware, that He does not care or even exist! But He says, "I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things" (Isaiah 45:7).

Is God involved? "Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin, and not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will?

But the very hairs of your head are all numbered," (Matthew 10:29-30). Do we see God working in our lives?

Events do not happen accidentally to God's people, of whom God is very aware. He is very concerned and thus very involved.

One Mediator

April 25
One Mediator by Dr. D. James Kennedy

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. —1 Timothy 2:5

Have you ever stood on one side of a canyon and marveled at the canyon’s depth and breadth? Can you imagine what it would take to bridge such a chasm?

Our sinfulness has created an unfathomable chasm between us and God, but Christ has bridged it. He is our Mediator, the one who connects us to God the Father. How do we know this? First of all, Jesus said so. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, but by me.”

Jesus said this because He is God, the creator of the world, the one who existed before anything else existed. He promised that one day He would come in the flesh to save us, and He did. He conquered the power of sin and death.

Second, no one else has the qualifications for the job. Sin separates us from God, and only a sinless mediator can remove it. Buddha, Mohammed, and Confucius all taught that certain behaviors would enable humans to reach God, but they themselves never promised to save anybody.

And even if they had made such a promise, they could never have come through. Like us, they were sinful human beings. They had no power to save, and we can never save ourselves regardless of the number of good deeds we do.

The Bible teaches that we are saved by grace, by believing in Christ. Christ promises to save all who believe in Him, and He can follow through on His promise because He is sinless and because He is God.

As our mediator, Christ exercises a three-fold office. He is prophet, priest, and king. As prophet, He saves us from our ignorance of sin. The greatest prophet the world has ever known, Christ seasoned His words with grace, and the common people heard Him gladly.

As priest, He saves us from the guilt of sin. He was a perfect priest because, being sinless, He could offer Himself as a perfect and holy sacrifice, paying for our sin once and for all.

As king, He saves us from the dominion of sin over our lives. He is the King of kings before whom every knee shall bow.

Today give thanks that Christ has become your mediator, building a bridge between you and God the Father.

The Black Hole

April 24
The Black Hole
From: Today God Is First by Os Hillman

"My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).

On February 20, 1962, at 9:47 A.M., the spacecraft Friendship 7 rose on a pillar of fire, piloted by lone astronaut John Glenn. Leaving the coast of Florida far behind, the space capsule orbited the earth three times, traveling 81,000 miles in less than four hours.

As the craft began its descent from space, mission controllers in Houston received a warning signal. A sensor indicated that the capsule's heat shield was in danger of detaching. If the heat shield came loose during reentry, the capsule would burn like a meteor--and John Glenn would die.

Because radio waves cannot penetrate plasma, the spacecraft experienced a total communications blackout--what astronauts and mission controllers call a "black hole".

The minutes crawled by and the suspense mounted in the Houston control room. NASA engineers felt totally helpless. Finally, after five minutes of silence, mission controllers heard Glenn's voice crackling over the radio: "Friendship 7 to Houston?"

Shouts of joy shook the control room. John Glenn was coming home. Although neither Glenn nor the mission controllers knew it at the time, the heat shield was absolutely firm and reliable. The fears for John Glenn's safety during his black hole experience were unfounded.

If you've ever been through a major crisis, you probably know what a communications "black hole" feels like. While you are in the pit of adversity, you feel that your world is collapsing, that your life is out of control--and that God is silent. The silence of a black hole is deafening. You feel isolated and alone. You question God's love, His care for you, and even His existence.

But even when it seems that God is distant and silent, your "heat shield" is still there, firm and reliable. In your black hole experience, God is teaching you to go deeper into your relationship with Him. You may think that your life is out of control and burning like a meteor, but in reality God, your heat shield, still protects you from the fiery forces that surround you.

Psalm 91

April 23
Psalm 91

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

Trust the One Who Is Completely Faithful

April 22

Have you ever wondered why, after raising children in the nurture and wisdom and admonition of God, they sometimes choose to walk away from Him and go their own way?

The heaviest burden for a parent to carry regards the choice his or her own children and grandchildren make about their eternal destiny.

Indeed, children are a heritage from the Lord as the scripture tells us (see Psalm 127:3), but they are also the greatest weight on a parent's heart.

There are countless parents whose children were raised in a local church but today are spiritually AWOL. Why?

Here are often-undetected root causes why family members may avoid church. There are social reasons. Some feel uncomfortable meeting new people, are not sure how to dress and feel awkward when asked to hold the hand of the stranger next to them.

There are also neurological reasons. People suffer from a variety of disorders that may cause them to feel uncomfortable in a service. Some neurological disorders like Autism cause difficulty in sitting and are disturbed by loud music or noise.

Some have economic reasons for not attending because they believe the church is always asking for money.

But the ultimate reason for many avoiding a Christian gathering is spiritual. First, according to John 12:40, the adversary has blinded the eyes and hardened the hearts of some, preventing them from receiving a knowledge of Christ and being converted.

This reason involves unbelief. It is impossible to receive any spiritual or, for that matter, physical and financial blessing or breakthrough if a person abides in unbelief. Their wrong thinking prevents it.

Wrong thinking creates what we call strongholds. The word stronghold was used by the Greeks when speaking of a castle or a military fortification that was built to prevent access. In Paul's writings strongholds are mental blocks, erroneous thinking, that prevented spiritual break-throughs.

The adversary will use a person's wrong thinking to build up a mental stronghold, hindering them from going to the very place where their mental and spiritual chains can be broken. Believers must also deal with wrong thinking and never allow human reasoning to exalt itself above the knowledge of God, but to pull down mental strongholds (see 2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

When parents wonder how they should pray for their prodigal son, daughter, or at times grandparents are concerned about their wayward grandchildren, believers should share with them the following suggestions as to how to pray for their salvation:

First, thank God for giving the children to them. Then, declare that anyone who carries the family name or who is linked to the family, will be in the kingdom of God, that none will be lost.

Ask God to protect them from harm, danger, and any disabling accident, and assign an angel to be with them.

When someone in the family struggles, let the prayers for them become more aggressive, rebuking their unbelief and negating the power of the adversary, demanding him to get his hands off that which has been anointed unto Christ.

Command that the veil be removed from the eyes of their unbelief so God can bring the wayward ones to repentance and restoration.

It is also important to discover if there is a root source to their resistance to God—a hurt, an offense, a misunderstanding—that should be dealt with.

Parents should also pray in advance for the friends their children have, beginning at an early age, as many of their choices as teenagers will emerge out of peer pressure.

At times it takes very intense and consistent intercession to initiate a life-changing breakthrough in family members. Often when a parent or any believer engages in intense intercessory prayer coupled with a prayer burden, the seeker will receive an assurance before they see the actual breakthrough.

The Greek word for assurance in the New Testament means a complete and peaceful confidence in a matter (see 1 Thessalonians 1:5; Hebrews 6:11, 10:22).

Once this inner assurance is received, it releases a calming effect that settles your mind and spirit, as God's still, small voice prompts your perception that everything will ultimately be according to the promise and you can move from asking God to thanking Him in advance as in Isaiah 32:17.

There have been times when believers have prayed for individuals whose situations were so bleak that it required a supernatural intervention, a miracle, to bring them back from the brink of death or destruction. However, when prayer was offered under the anointing of the Spirit, a peaceful calm erased the doubts and confusion.

Never cease to pray for your lost family members and begin thanking God when you sense an assurance. Remember, the peace of assurance will precede the actual breakthrough, often by days, weeks, months or years!

May we stand on the words of Paul which say, “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed to Him, II Timothy 1:12.

When faith and assurance combine, you will be at rest, even in the midst of the most severe storm ... for even Christ could sleep through a storm knowing He was going over to the other side (see Luke 8:22-25).

God's assurance that He is and will continue to be moving in the behalf of your prayers will bring mental, physical, and spiritual rest to you because you have placed your trust fully in the One who is completely faithful.

Behold Your God

April 21

“…Say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God,’” Isaiah 40:9.

It is told of a traveler going through Egypt who, while traversing the desert wasteland came upon the remains of a marble statue. All that was left of the once grand image on the pedestal were two feet and the lower part of two gigantic legs.

Nearby, lying in the sand, was the cracked remains of what had been the head. The face had a cruel sneer on its lips.

When the traveler rubbed the sand away from the pedestal, he found this inscription: “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!”

The traveler looked, and as far as the eye could see, there was naught but the sifting sand. Ozymandias had bestowed upon himself the name “king of kings,” but whatever kingdom and glory he once enjoyed had disappeared.

In contrast, the true King of kings was meek and lowly of mind. The King of kings and Lord of lords—the King of all creation—was not arrogant or haughty. He did not flaunt His power or compel fear from those in His presence.

No, Jesus Christ lifted people from the miry clay of sin! He healed them from the ravages of disease! He endued them with power in their prayers! He filled them with hope that transcended time and embraced eternity!

Napoleon observed at St. Helena, “Can you conceive of Caesar as the eternal emperor of the Roman Senate and, from the depths of his mausoleum, governing the empire, watching over the destinies of Rome? Such is the history of the invasion and conquest of the world by Christianity; such is the power of the God of the Christians…”

Jesus is the eternal King of kings, the Lord who reigns supreme. No other has ever been or ever will be greater.

May we who have placed our lives at His feet be ever surrendered to Him so He may continually use us to His glory. May we not merely give lip service to our Lord but may we be completely committed to Him and to His purposes.

May we be among those who know who He is and exclaim for all the world to hear, “Behold your God!”

Luke 4:31-39

April 20
Luke 4:31-39

“Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. (32) And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.

(33) Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, (34) saying, Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!

(35) But Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be quiet, and come out of him! And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.

(36) Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out. (37) And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

(38) Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house. But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her. (39) So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them.”

What Jesus did on the first Sabbath of His ministry was to level an attack against the forces of evil. He began a holy war to free mankind from Satan and from sin. The demon understood His intent, which is why it reacted with a challenge to Jesus' action.

The demon was not about to give up easily. It was probably a strong demon, but it was compelled to obey its Master and came out, but not without thrashing the man around.

So we see here that the first 'shot' fired in the spiritual war that Jesus came to wage against God's ancient foe was a spiritual healing: Jesus liberated a man from a demon on the Sabbath day.

It is significant that His first public act as part of His ministry was the liberation of a man who was spiritually bound by evil one.

This began the war for control of the earth, for the right to rule over it. After He had already defeated the demons' master, Satan. Jesus was showing that the demons would not fare any better than he. By casting out the demon, He restored order and peace to the congregation, as the possessed man had been behaving tumultuously.

The second thing He did, a physical healing for Peter's mother-in-law, shows us that service to others was to be part of our ministry. She had been an unfortunate woman, bound by disease, but she was relieved of it by Jesus Christ. Then she rose and immediately served everybody else.

This should give a clue to those of us who receive healing as to what we are supposed to do with our healing. We are to rise and serve.

Here, in a nutshell, are major principles by which our activities can be judged. Our effort in the behalf of Christ's Kingdom's purposes is to be for redemption, liberty, joy, peace, and service that comes through fellowship as well as for instruction that reorients our devotion to the direction of His perfect will, which is to bless His people and to set them free.

Psalm 19

April 19

Psalm 19

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.
13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

Your Faith

Your Faith
April 18

“Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well." And the woman was made well from that hour,” Matthew 9:22.

“And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, Who touched My clothes? But His disciples said to Him, You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, Who touched Me? And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction," Mark 5:30-34.

“And Jesus said, Who touched Me? When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, Who touched Me? But Jesus said, Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me. Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately. And He said to her, Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace," Luke 8:45-48.

The ‘parallel gospels’ are not always parallel. Many people have criticized the fact that some of the gospel writers have stories that differ from one another. Indeed, this account of the woman with the issue of blood, who had suffered for twelve years without relief, evidences the different personalities of the authors in its telling.

(See Mark 5:25-34) for the whole story.)

But what they all, and so many other stories of healing in the gospels, tell us is that matters of health were of great concern in Biblical days as they are to people today. What they indicate to us is the on-going search man has for health and strength—and what they should affirm to us is the never-changing heart of Jesus to supply our need.

If He cares so much about healing the sick, why do we see so few miraculous deliverances from disease today? The obvious answer is that we rarely look to Him for our release from affliction. Our eyes are fixed on the medical world and its amazing procedures and technologies, so we don’t need to turn our gaze to Jesus at the point of our need.

However, when the medical field lets us down, we do find Him to be “the ever-present Help in time of trouble,” Psalm 46:1, that He has promised to be.

A young couple, living in a foreign country, recently experienced the nearness of Christ at the point of their need. Their young child was stricken with a breathing disorder that gave the parents great concern. Their fears were compounded when they arrived at the local hospital and discovered some worrisome facts:

1. Sanitation procedures were not implemented by hospital personnel.

2. Concern for the patient and the worried family was not evidenced.

3. Medications were not administered by trained personnel but left to the parents to give to the child.

4. Translation of medical advice to English was left to the resources of the parents.

We tend to take the amazing medical resources available to us in this country for granted, but the benefits we enjoy are not universal and when this concerned mother and father became aware of the limitations they were facing, they quickly turned to the One they knew they could trust.

And Jesus came through for them!

May each of us, at the point of whatever need we face—medical, financial, professional, moral, spiritual—turn our eyes to the Lord who is “the same yesterday, today, and forever,” Hebrews 13:8, and is forever able to meet every need we face with His never-changing power.

Why?

"God is able to do exceeding, abundantly above all we can ask or think, according to the power of His Holy Spirit at work within us," Ephesians 3:20.

If indeed, as the Word assures us, "The same power that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us," why aren't we using it?

He says He wants to do greater things than we can ask or think or imagine. Why aren't we letting Him?

The Love of God

April 17

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome,” I John 5:3.

It is not surprising that the God who identifies Himself as “love,” I John 4:16, would establish His relationship with man on the foundation of His commandments.

It is in the keeping of the commandments that man may have the privilege of interacting with our Holy God, for we know that sin separates man from God.

Psalm 139:7-12 assures us that God is omnipresent, that He sees us wherever we are, in whatever state we may be—“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go to the Heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths of the sea, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the morning…even there Your hand will guide me and hold me fast”—but His being aware of us does not mean interaction with us if we have sin that stands between us and Him.

Because God desires a relationship with man, Jesus came to deliver us from the sin that separates us from the Holy One. Because He bore our sin and its punishment—death—we can be alive forever and be forever in the presence of the Almighty.

Because Jesus kept the entirety of the law in our behalf, we receive His righteousness in exchange for our sinfulness when we accept Him as Savior and Lord. When we have given ourselves fully to the One whose propitiatory death in our behalf establishes His claim on our lives, we discover that the keeping of the commandments is not grievous, as we are told in I John 5:3.

Pleasing the One who loves us becomes our delight. “Walking in the light, as He is in the light,” I John 1:7, becomes our joy. Our old habits no longer interest us. Our old sins no longer tempt us.

How can we so fully embrace our new life?

“Because we love Him who first loved us,” I John 4:19.

One Word

April 16

“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love,” I Corinthians 13:13.

How does God define Himself? Certainly, God is beyond definition to the finite mind of man so perhaps there is nowhere in the Word of the Holy One where He actually endeavors to state emphatically all that His personhood entails, but He does give one very crisp, concise statement as to how man can identify Him.

In I John 4:8 the beloved Apostle says, “He who loves not does not know God, for God is love.” The one single word that the Author of the universe has selected to associate with Himself is the word LOVE. Of all the words He could have chosen to identify who He is to mankind, the one He picked is LOVE.

Had He told us that He is faith, we could understand that because we know it must have taken unfathomable faith to speak the worlds into existence as He tells us He did in Psalm 33:9 where it says, “He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.”

Had He told us that He is hope, we could grasp that as truth, for without abounding hope, He could not expect that One sinless Man could die for the sins of depraved humanity and the sins of the world could be washed clean as Christ’s cousin, John the Baptist announced in John 1:29.

Had He told us that He is power, we could appropriate that truth, for we who see the armies of nations flex the muscle of their arsenals of war, we grasp the reality that tremendous power exists today. If that much clout exists within the storehouse of man’s weaponry, how much more must there be in the resources of Heaven!

After all, Jesus Himself said, “I, with the finger of God, cast out evil,” Luke 11:20, how can we suppose that if He chose to do so, He could not point all evil immediately into hell!

Had He told us that He is absolute authority, (see Matthew 28:18) we would know that it is so because anyone who holds the planets and the stars in their place must have an irrefutable ability to command animate and inanimate creation.

But when God told us how we could identify Him, He did not use the words that our finite minds could most easily understand; no, He chose the one that would be impossible for us to grasp if we hadn’t given our hearts to Jesus, for it takes His love to enable us to see love.

Purity

April 15
Purity by Dr. D. James Kennedy

Pursue…holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. —Hebrews 12:14

Do you ever wonder how historians of the future will characterize the age in which we live? Will they call it the information age? the nuclear age? the technological age? the space age?
I’d like to suggest a term, but you probably won’t feel proud of it. I think we live in a dirty age. Despite the ways agencies fight the air and water pollution that threaten our environment, we live in a dirty world. But I’m not talking about environmental blight—I’m talking about the moral impurities that pollute our society, affecting us far more than we realize.

I do not know when in the history of civilization society has degenerated to such an unclean state as that which we experience today. To see what I’m talking about, just peruse almost any contemporary novel, take a peek at some of the recently produced movies, or view today’s television programs. Or just listen to everyday conversations!

But God calls us to holiness and purity, wanting us to counteract moral pollution. So how do we become pure and stay pure in the midst of our society’s depravity? We can do so only through the pure and spotless Lamb of God.

To pursue holiness and purity, we need to understand what sin really is. Instead of enjoying the forbidden, we need to see sin as devilish and destructive, an evil force that pulls us down. As the psalmist said, “You that love the Lord, hate evil.” Guard your heart from the evil that surrounds you daily. Forsake the depraved, and feed your mind on the things of God.

We also must seek accountability. Do you know a mature and trustworthy Christian who can hold you accountable in your walk with God? If you struggle with a particular sin, just knowing that you’ll have to give an account to someone can keep you walking straight on God’s path. If you don’t already have such a person in your life, begin praying today that God will give you a partner with whom you can seek His holiness and purity.

The greatest security against sin is to be shocked at its presence. —THOMAS CARLYLE

...Garbage?

April 14

Have You Closed the Lid On Your Garbage? by Rebecca McInnis

After my children married and left the house, it was time to downsize. So, I sold my three-bedroom home on two large lots and moved into a nice, two-bedroom condo in a complex closer to work where the maintenance and landscaping are not my responsibility.

However, taking out the garbage is.

Instead of just dragging a can to the curb, I now have to drive my garbage around to a dumpster. It's nicely landscaped around the dumpster, but you have to park your vehicle and walk up to the dumpster, open the door and toss the garbage in. A few months ago when I was going through this ritual, the Lord talked to me about taking out the garbage.

I had tossed the bags inside of the dumpster and started walking back to my car when I realized I had not shut the door to the dumpster. I went back and shut it and it then started the crushing process. I heard the Lord say, 'You can take the garbage out but unless you close the door, nothing happens.' Then, He started downloading.

When we take the garbage out but don't shut the lid, we can smell the odor from the dumpster. Not only do we smell it, but others do as well. Also, if the door is not shut, the compacting mechanism will not engage. When it works right, the compacting mechanism crushes and changes the shape of the trash until it is no longer recognizable and is ready for permanent disposal. Putting the lid back on after taking out the trash is vital.

We all have "garbage" in our lives, things we want to get rid of. This may include, but not be limited, to misplaced priorities, distractions, wrong attitudes, harmful relationships, offenses, idolatry, bad habits, and overt sin. Just tossing it out is not enough. We have to shut the lid.

If we don't, it won't get taken care of so we can reach in and pick it back up again. It's smelly to everyone that comes in contact with us, and it will remain as-is rather than being crushed and taken away for good.

If we want the garbage removed from our lives, the process is simple—be it great or small. All we have to do is give those things to the Lord, shut the door and turn away. He'll do the rest. He is faithful to take all of it, make it unrecognizable and assure that there will be no scent of it on us or around us.

Psalms 103:11-12 says, "For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." What an amazing, wonderful Lord!

Before you read the astounding event reported by the Aleppo Herald, please ponder the following:

Do you find yourself amazed that Jehovah God, the Lord of all that is and Lord of all that ever was or ever will be could have mercy on someone who has believed the "doctrines of devils," I Timothy 4:1, has brutalized his fellow man, has committed the vilest of sins?

Though we may find ourselves to be without mercy toward one who has been not only an enemy of God but also an enemy of humanity, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ came to earth to suffer and die for all the sins of all mankind. Jesus will turn no one away who comes before Him with a repentant heart--no matter how stained with sin his hands may be.

As we read the story of the ISIS jihadist and marvel at the wonder of the depth of God's love and forgiveness, may we remind ourselves that even we, even I, was lost in sin. Even I had gone my own way, Isaiah 53:6. Even I had offended our Holy God by my trespasses and sins, for, "there is none righteous, no not one," Romans 3:10.

Even I had a reprobate mind, Romans 1:28. Even I deserved the pangs of hell...and HE forgave even me.

Thank You for Your boundless mercy, for Your unfailing love, for Your matchless salvation, O, Lord Jesus!

Astounding Event

April 13

Although the true light has come, some do prefer darkness to light because their deeds are evil (see John 3:19). It is obvious that a great delusion has engulfed some people and in spite of the signs of the times that are quite evident all around us, they choose to abide in the realm of night.

One such individual had a great blessing bestowed upon him, as his story, reported in the Aleppo Herald, here reveals:

ISIS Fighter Converts to Christianity After 'Allah' refuses Him "Entrance to Gates of Heaven."

An ISIS jihadist has recently converted to Christianity after being left for dead near the Eastern border of Syria where he was finally rescued by Christian missionaries from the region, reports the Aleppo Herald this morning. The man, that has miraculously survived multiple gun shot wounds after an altercation between ISIS and Syrian Army forces, was rescued by members of the Saint Dominican Catholic Presbytery of Ayyash hours after the conflict had erupted.

The members of the Christian organization wanted to give the man a proper Christian burial and carried him over 26 kilometers before the man miraculously came back to life after he had died from his many wounds. As the man came back to his senses, he reported to priest Hermann Groschlin of the visions he had while in the afterlife, an event that profoundly changed the 32-year old jihadist and eventually led to his conversion to Christianity days later.

"He told me that he was always taught that to die as a martyr would open him the Gates of Jannah, or Gates of Heaven" recalled the priest. "Yet, as he had started to ascend towards the light of the Heavens, devilish entities, or Jinns he called them, appeared and led him to the fiery pits of Hell.

There he had to relive all the pain he had inflicted upon others and every death he had caused throughout his entire life. He even had to relive the decapitations of his victims through their own eyes", images the jihadist claims will haunt him for the rest of his life, admits the priest.

"Then Allah, or God, spoke unto him and told him that he had failed miserably as a human soul, that he would be banned from the Gates of Heaven if he chose to die, but that if he chose to live again, he would have another chance to repent of his sins and to walk along God's path once again."

The young man claims he was brought back to life moments later and converted to Christianity days later, believing he had been misled throughout his religious life under the worship of Allah. The young man, whose wounds have surprisingly healed in a very short time, has chosen to live among the members of the Catholic presbytery who rescued him from the desert and hopes his story will help other ISIS fighters change their ways and convert to the one and only true God, the priest told local reporters. (World News Daily)

Note: The man is believed to have been dead for hours before he suddenly came back to life, recalls priest Hermann Groschlin, who discovered the body of the young man.

April 12
Dangers In The Dark by Dr. D. James Kennedy

The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. —John 1:9

Have you ever been afraid of the dark? Perhaps as a child you feared that monsters lurked in your bedroom, just waiting for the lights to go out. Or maybe as an adult you fear that people with evil intentions hide in the shadows, ready to attack.

Dangers do lurk in darkness. I refer not to “things that go bump in the night,” but to very real dangers which exist in the dark. After all, darkness is the domain of the “prince of darkness,” who hates the light and does all he can to keep people from coming to the light.

Many of the most dramatic, compelling, and illuminating stories found in the Bible took place at night. It was night when the Sodomites beat upon Lot’s doors and demanded his two angelic visitors to molest. It was night when David looked upon the form of Bathsheba bathing upon the rooftop below, then called her to his presence and committed the sin of adultery.

But the darkest “night” this world has ever seen took place at midday on Calvary. In that darkness, the noon that became midnight, humankind’s sin extinguished the Light of the world. Christ endured in body and soul the penalty, pain, and anguish which we so rightly deserve for our sinfulness.

But darkness couldn’t extinguish the Light forever. Isaiah foretold the day when the “people who walked in darkness [would see] a great light.” That great light is Jesus Christ, whom the Bible calls the Light of the world. He promises to give us the light of everlasting day if we will yield our hearts to Him. Jesus Christ is the sun of our souls, and when He comes into the darkness of our hearts, He brings a light which forever lightens our lives and gives us purpose. And when our time comes, Christ will take us to our everlasting home, and in that great day, we will discover there is no night there!

Because of Christ’s sacrifice, you need not fear the darkness. Today rejoice in Christ’s everlasting light, the light that extinguishes darkness this day and for eternity.

"When He came, there was no light. When He left, there was no darkness." Anonymous

Psalm 19

April 11
Psalm 19

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork.
2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.
13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

Let It Be So

April 10
“Let It Be So” by Dr. Jim Denison

"There is a spiritual battle in our nation today to define what love and truth are. The kingdom of darkness is assaulting this generation with deception concerning the truth about Jesus, His message of grace, and what the lifestyle of His kingdom should look like.

God is looking for faithful witnesses who will stand for biblical truth about Jesus and His definitions of love, morality, and truth." So states Mike Bickle, director of the International House of Prayer Missions Base in Kansas City, endorsing the 2015 Collegiate Day of Prayer. More than 1,600 campus ministries, churches, and individuals will pray for some 1,300 campuses across the nation.

The Collegiate Day of Prayer has been organized by leaders from 24 collegiate ministries, including The Navigators, CRU (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ), and Inter-Varsity. The impetus for this intercession comes from a movement that began some 200 years ago. By 1815, the Concert of Prayer for Colleges had become a regular event on the campuses of Yale, Williams, Brown and Middlebury in New England.

By 1823, nearly every major denomination and university in America set aside a time for united prayer on college campuses. The result was widespread revival on campuses across the country. By the end of the 19th century, repeated student awakenings radically transformed the culture and moral climate of many of America's largest universities.

Believers are praying today for the same movement of God's Spirit. Do we need a moral and spiritual awakening on college campuses? According to Gallup, college graduates are the most likely group to say abortion should be legal in any circumstance and they endorse many other activities that go against the law of God.

When university professors were asked if they harbored negative feelings toward particular religious groups, three percent admitted that they held such animosity toward Jews, nine percent toward mainline Protestants, 22 percent against Muslims, but 53 percent against evangelical Christians. And they are teaching the next generation of Americans. It is urgent that we join believers across the nation in prayer for our youth, and it is urgent that we pray every day for spiritual and moral renewal on our campuses and across our culture.

C. S. Lewis said, "Christians increasingly live on a spiritual island; new and rival ways of life surround it in all directions and their tides come further up the beach every time... Some give morality a wholly new meaning which we cannot accept, some deny its possibility. Perhaps we shall all learn, sharply enough, to value the clean air and 'sweet reasonableness' of the Christians' ethics which in a more Christian age we might have taken for granted."

May it be so.

Adversity

April 9
Adversity by Dr. D. James Kennedy

…Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow… —Psalm 90:10

Perhaps nothing causes more people to stumble in their faith than the problem of suffering. None of us is exempt from tribulation. We all face it at one time or another. And in our pain and desperation, we often ask, “Why, Lord?”

Have those words ever echoed through the chambers of your soul in the middle of some dark and starless night?

We can’t get rid of all pain, trouble, hurt, injury, and sorrow. People fall off things and hurt themselves. Shall we then do away with the law of gravity? People have accidents in cars, planes, trains, and boats.

Shall we then get rid of all forms of transportation? Suffering is a part of our world, and if Christians were exempt from all trouble and pain, everyone would immediately recognize the payoffs.

If all Christians had an abundance of money, health, and happiness, our characters would never develop. Christianity would degenerate to a mere commercial venture.

So while we would avoid adversity if we could, it serves important purposes in our lives. First, trouble and sorrow equip us to help others by making us compassionate and willing to reach out to those in need.

Second, trouble and sorrow draw us to God and drive us to our knees; they make us long for our real home, heaven.

The third and the greatest purpose of trouble is to make us Christlike. If we are to become like Jesus, we will, like Him, have to pass through the valley of the shadows. Although unpleasant at the moment, often out of the greatest suffering comes the greatest love and beauty.

Do you face adversity today? If so, ask the Lord to show you the purpose of it in your life. Then, if you can, look past your pain to the way God is using it to draw you closer to Him and to His kingdom.

Beyond the cross there is the glory of Easter morning; beyond the agony of the Crucifixion there is the blessedness of Paradise.

The Shroud

April 8
The Shroud of Turin by Dr. Jim Denison

Finding Jesus: Faith. Fact. Forgery. is a new series that began recently on CNN. Based on the book by the same title, the episodes will report on various Christian relics and their significance. Future episodes will focus on a relic believed to be a bone from the finger of John the Baptist, an ancient manuscript relating to Judas, a burial box purported to belong to Jesus' half-brother, pieces of the cross, and ancient texts regarding Mary Magdalene.

A recent episode focused on the Shroud of Turin, a cloth believed by many to be the burial shroud of Jesus. According to one of the narrators, discovering that the shroud is authentic "is the most significant moment in human history."

What the documentary told us:

The episode began by giving us the history of the shroud. It took us to a cathedral in Turin, a town in northern Italy where the shroud is kept. Fourteen feet long, it lies protected by bullet-proof glass. It was last displayed publicly in 2010, when more than two million visitors came to see it.

The image on the shroud looks like a photographic negative. It clearly depicts a crucifixion victim, complete with bloody marks from scourging, wounds in the wrists and forehead, and even what could be evidence of a spear thrust into the side. The image matches perfectly the biblical descriptions of Jesus' death.

More than 1,300 years after Good Friday, a burial shroud appeared in a small village in northeastern France. When it was moved to Turin, 40,000 people welcomed it. In 1898, it became a global phenomenon when an Italian named Secondo Pia took the world's first photograph of the shroud.

In 1978, a former U.S. Air Force physicist named John Jackson, working with the Shroud of Turin Research Project, was given unprecedented access to study the relic. Leading a team of 40 scientists, he set out to investigate the shroud scientifically. Working around the clock for five days, his team reached conclusions that seemed to advance the authenticity of the shroud.

According to Jackson, the fibers themselves are all individually colored, with no evidence of paint medium. Micro-chemical analysis concluded that the blood stains were made by actual human blood. After 40 years of study, Jackson has concluded that the shroud matches the biblical descriptions in every way. However, he was not allowed to take samples that would permit him to date the shroud.

To this point, the CNN documentary seemed clearly to argue for the shroud as authentic. Its apologetic effect regarding the accuracy of the gospel records and authenticity of Jesus' suffering and death was powerful.

Then, after a commercial break, the other shoe fell. The episode told us that samples were cut from the edges of the shroud in 1988. They were sent for carbon testing to laboratories in London, Zurich, and Arizona. Their conclusion: the piece of linen is not from the time of Christ. Instead, they reported, the shroud dates to the 13th century. As one person interviewed in the documentary states, "There's no way this could have been the burial shroud of Jesus Christ."

The documentary then told us about numerous medieval forgeries made for financial gain, with the clear implication that the shroud was one such relic. It provided an explanation for the shroud's creation, pointing to a South African art historian who thinks he has discovered the "camera obscura" technique used to make it. At this point we were led to believe that the shroud is an elaborate forgery. And we were left to wonder if all such evidence for Christianity is similarly flawed.

Toward the very end of the episode, however, we were told about another ancient artifact called the Sudarium of Oviedo, a town in northern Spain. Some believe that this cloth was used to cover Jesus' face after his crucifixion. Documents place it in Jerusalem at least 700 years before the shroud. Amazingly, its blood stains match identically those from the facial area of the shroud.

The CNN documentary ended with the opinion of two scholars regarding the authenticity of the shroud. One says, "My gut tells me that it's real." The other is skeptical.

What the documentary didn't tell us

My interest today is not in the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin. I have not spent much time studying the issue, for the simple reason that the shroud, even if authentic, doesn't tell us anything we don't already know from non-biblical evidence.

Roman writers such as Tacitus, Pliny the Younger, Suetonius, Josephus, and Mara bar Serapion document the historical fact that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified and buried, and that his followers believed him to be raised from the dead. (For more on non-biblical evidence for Jesus, see my essay Why Jesus? and book, Wrestling With God.)

The only element of the shroud story that would be new evidence is the possibility that its image was generated by a light burst from within the burial cloth, perhaps evidence for Jesus' resurrection. But there has never been a conclusive way to explain the image or its origins.

My interest in CNN's episode is not with what it told us, but with what it did not. The documentary left us with the clear conclusion that the shroud was a medieval forgery, with obvious implications for the veracity of Christian theology and faith. But 10 minutes of Internet research revealed at least five important facts regarding the 1988 carbon testing that supposedly exposed the shroud as a fraud.
1. The radiocarbon dating could have been distorted by environmental contamination. It erroneously identified the shroud as 13th century, because that is when it was first discovered and displayed. Environmental elements from that day settled on the cloth and could have skewed the carbon testing.

2. The fringes used to date the shroud may have been part of medieval repairs done to the cloth after a fire.

3. Infrared light and Raman Spectroscopy have purportedly dated the shroud to the first century.

4. In 2011, Italian scientists determined that the image was created by UV lights, technology unavailable in the 14th century.

5. Scientists still cannot replicate the cloth today, leading many to doubt that it could have been created in the 14th century.

My point is not that the Shroud of Turin is or is not authentic. It is that very brief Internet research revealed important facts that were left out of the documentary and weaken significantly its argument against the shroud's veracity. I don't know if the fault lies with CNN, or with the book on which its documentary was based. (I have ordered the book, and will know soon.) But I am left to wonder about the motives of those who reported the story so incompletely, with such bias against the authenticity of Christian evidence and faith.

Here's what we know as historical fact: "Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, he was buried [and] was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Here's what we can believe based on first-century records and 20 centuries of changed lives: he was raised from the dead.

Here's what I know today: Jesus is alive, for he is alive in my life. In 1966, a Time magazine cover story asked, "Is God Dead?" Someone asked Billy Graham about the controversy. He smiled and said, "I can assure you he's not dead. I spoke with him this morning."

Acts, Chapter Two

April 7
Acts, Chapter 2

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

Peter Addresses the Crowd

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'

22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him:

“‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope, 27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’

29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,

“‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand 35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’

36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

The Fellowship of the Believers

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Jesus Taken Up Into Heaven

April 6
Jesus Taken Up Into Heaven

1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with[a] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit.”

6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas

12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk[c] from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16 and said, “Brothers and sisters,[d] the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. 17 He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”

18 (With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. 19 Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

20 “For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms:

“‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,and, ‘May another take his place of leadership.”

21 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, 22 beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

23 So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.”

26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

Happy Easter!

April 5 Easter Sunday
Some Scripture References to the Resurrection of Jesus:

1 Peter 1:3 - Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, Romans 10:9 - That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Luke 24:1-53 - Now upon the first [day] of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain [others] with them. John 11:25 - Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: Acts 17:31 - Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by [that] man whom he hath ordained; [whereof] he hath given assurance unto all [men], in that he hath raised him from the dead. Romans 8:11 - But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. 1 Corinthians 15:1-58 - Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;


Romans 6:4 - Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.


He Is Risen! Matthew 28:6


Luke 24:1-53 Details of the Resurrection of Jesus:


24 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his words.


9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.


On the Road to Emmaus


13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.


17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”


They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”


19 “What things?” he asked.


“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”


25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.


28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.


30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”


33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.


Jesus Appears to the Disciples


36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence.

44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

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.”


The Ascension of Jesus

50 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

Why?

WHY WOULD YOU PERISH IN TRESPASSES AND SINS WHEN THE HOLY GOD WHO LOVES YOU HAS MADE A WAY FOR YOUR ESCAPE?

More about Good Friday

April 4
More about GOOD FRIDAY

Scripture References:

Jesus Christ, the central figure of Christianity, died on a Roman cross as recorded in Matthew 27:27-56, Mark 15:21-38, Luke 23:26-49, and John 19:16-37.

Crucifixion of Jesus Christ—Summary:

The Jewish high priests and elders of the Sanhedrin accused Jesus of blasphemy, arriving at the decision to put him to death. But first they needed Rome to approve of their death sentence, so Jesus was taken to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor in Judea. Although Pilate found him innocent, unable to find or even contrive a reason to condemn Jesus, he feared the crowds and let them decide Jesus' fate. Stirred by the Jewish chief priests, the crowds declared, "Crucify him!"

As was common, Jesus was publicly scourged, or beaten, with a leather-thonged whip before His crucifixion. Tiny pieces of iron and bone chips were tied to the ends of each leather thong, causing deep cuts and painful bruising. He was mocked, struck in the head with a staff and spit on. A crown of thorns was placed on His head and He was stripped naked. Too weak to carry His cross, Simon of Cyrene was forced to carry it for Him.

He was led to Golgotha where He would be crucified. As was the custom, before they nailed Him to the cross, a mixture of vinegar, gall, and myrrh was offered. This drink was said to alleviate some of the suffering, but Jesus refused to drink it. Stake-like nails were driven through His wrists and ankles, fastening Him to the cross where He was crucified between two convicted criminals.

The inscription above His head tauntingly read, "The King of the Jews." On the cross Jesus hung for His final agonizing breaths, a period that lasted about six hours. During that time, soldiers cast lots for Jesus' clothing, while people passed by shouting insults and scoffing. From the cross, Jesus spoke to His mother Mary and the disciple John. He also cried out to His Father, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?"

At that point, darkness covered the land. A little later, as Jesus gave up His spirit, an earthquake shook the ground, ripping the Temple veil in two from top to bottom. Matthew's Gospel records, "The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life."

It was typical at crucifixions for Roman soldiers to show mercy by breaking the criminal's legs, thus causing death to come more quickly. But this night only the thieves had their legs broken, for when the soldiers came to Jesus, they found Him already dead. Instead, they pierced his side. Before sunset, Jesus was taken down by Joseph of Arimathea and laid in a tomb according to Jewish tradition.

Points of Interest from the Story:
• Christian theology teaches that the death of Jesus Christ provided the perfect atoning sacrifice for the sins of all mankind, thus making the crucifix, or cross, one of the defining symbols of Christianity.

• Although both Roman and Jewish leaders could be implicated in the sentencing and death of Jesus Christ, He himself said of his life, "No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father." (John 10:18).

• The curtain or veil of the Temple separated the Holy of Holies (where the presence of God dwelt) from the rest of the Temple. Only the high priest could enter there once a year, with the sacrificial offering for the sins of all the people. When Christ died and the curtain was torn from top to bottom, this symbolized the destruction of the barrier between God and man. The way was opened up through Christ's sacrifice on the cross. His death provided the complete sacrifice for sin so that now all people, through Christ, can approach the throne of grace.

Question for Reflection:

When the religious leaders came to the decision to put Jesus to death, they wouldn't even consider that He might be telling the truth—that He was, indeed, their Messiah. As the chief priests condemned Jesus to death, refusing to believe Him, they sealed their own fate.

Have you, too, refused to believe that what Jesus said about Himself was true? Your decision about Jesus could seal your own fate as well.

Good Friday

April 3

Today we ponder the awful events of Good Friday...the apprehension in the Garden of Gethsemane as He prayed, the betrayal of those close to Him, the mockery of a trial, the scourging, the crown of thorns, the grueling trudge to Golgotha bearing the cross, the crucifixion, the thirst, the parting of His garments, the piercing of His side. The death for you and me.

Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. Romans 14:4. Because of all Jesus bore on that Good Friday so long ago, no one can judge us. If we are washed clean in the shed blood of Calvary, we are washed white as snow. We are set free from sin. We are born again. We are made new.

In Joshua 24:13 we are told that we must, “Choose you this day whom you will serve.” That doesn’t go down well with a people who think they are free. Americans are so accustomed to the liberties we are guaranteed in our Constitution that we have a difficult time discerning that vigilance on our part is necessary if we are to maintain them.

Our brothers who are citizens of nations where freedom is not an assured right along with life and the pursuit of happiness grasp much more fully than we do why the freedoms we enjoy are worth dying for. They see much more clearly what we are throwing away by our inability to discern the subtle changes that are occurring in our government that are encroaching more and more fully into our rights and freedoms.

And people who are not at liberty to worship God in the way that their conscience dictates can see far more fully than foolhardy Americans just how precious in the Constitutional guarantee that we may bow before our Creator in the way that seems right to us—or not bow at all if we are so blind as to believe He does not exist and is not worthy of our worship.

But, every person who is ever born will indeed serve someone. Free men in free countries may choose whom they will serve while men in bondage must serve the gods set before them by a tyrannical government, but all men will serve someone.

If we think we serve no one, we deceive ourselves because every person who is alive will serve either the Lord Jesus Christ or some demonic entity that presents itself as a god worthy of worship. And ultimately, for all eternity, “Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the eternal glory of God,” Romans 14:11.

Shall we judge other men? That is not ours to do, but we must indeed weigh and judge the evidence set before us regarding this matter of faith and in whom we shall place it, for the reality is that only God can keep the promise of Romans 14:4 that assures the believer that he shall stand on that Great and Terrible Day when all men’s works shall be tried by fire according to I Corinthians 3:13 which says:

“Their work will be shown for what it is, because that Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.”

There is no better day than Good Friday to consider the work of Christ on the cross and its impact upon men...upon you. There is no better day than Good Friday to lay down your burden of sin at His feet and to allow Him to place upon you the robe of His righteousness.

There is no better day than Good Friday to evaluate afresh the freedom He has given us and to embrace all its ramifications in not only our personal lives but in our interaction with those around us and in our exercise of our rights as citizens of a free nation.

Hold fast to Jesus now, so He can use you to stand for liberty in all its forms and so He can cause you to stand at His side when Judgment Day arrives.

Seeing the Works of God

Today we celebrate the last lovely event Jesus was able to share with His disciples, the LAST SUPPER. He sat at table and explained to them the events that were to transpire, the fact that He would be leaving them. They did not want to hear that He would die. They wanted Rome to be conquered and the Kingdom of God to be established in Jerusalem.

We are a lot like them. We follow Jesus. Some of us are as close to Him as the disciples were. We think we know Him and understand His purposes, yet we are taken by surprise when things don't go the way we anticipated that they would go.

May we, at those times, remain faithful, for the Savior who died for us, the Lord we serve, has a plan that far exceeds ours.

April 2

Seeing the Works of God
From: Today God Is First by Os Hillman

Others went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters. They saw the works of the Lord.... - Psalm 107:23-24

When you were a child, perhaps you may have gone to the ocean for a vacation. I recall wading out until the waves began crashing on my knees. As long as I could stand firm, the waves were of no concern to me. However, as I moved farther and farther into the ocean, I had less control over my ability to stand.

Sometimes the current was so strong it moved me down the beach, and I even lost my bearings at times. But I have never gone so far into the ocean that I was not able to control the situation.

Sometimes God takes us into such deep waters that we lose control of the situation, and we have no choice but to fully trust in His care for us. This is doing business in great waters. It is in these great waters that we see the works of God.

The Scriptures tell us that the disciples testified of what they saw and heard. It was the power behind the gospel, not the words themselves, which changed the world. The power wasn't seen until circumstances got to the point that there were no alternatives but God. Sometimes God has to take us into the deep water in order to give us the privilege to see His works.

Sometimes God takes us into the deep waters of life for an extended time. Joseph was taken into deep waters of adversity for 17 years. Rejection by his brothers, enslavement to Pharaoh, and imprisonment were the deep waters for Joseph. During those deep waters, he experienced dreams, a special anointing of his gifts to administrate, and great wisdom beyond his years. The deep water was preparation for a task that was so great he never could have imagined it. He was to see God's works more clearly than anyone in his generation.

God had too much at stake for a 30-year-old to mess it up. So, God took Joseph through the deep waters of preparation to ensure that he would survive what he was about to receive.

Pride sometimes engulfs God’s servants who have access to His great power, but when receipt of the power has been preceded by adversity, His child uses it with grace and gives all glory to Jesus rather than claiming it for himself.

If God chooses to take us into deep waters, it is for a reason; the greater the calling, the deeper the water. Trust in His knowledge that your deep waters are preparation to see the works of God in your life, to see His glory revealed in you and in your circumstances.



Again, the words of our Brother Hillman strike a profound chord in the symphony of our lives, for who among us has not suffered? Who among us has not been betrayed by someone we trusted? Who among us has not been penalized for wrongs we did not commit?

Who among us has not dreamed great dreams of personal achievement or of great works done for the Kingdom of Christ only to find our accomplishments to be among the mundane and inglorious deeds of ordinary men?

Should we languish in a prison of despair because the heights of glory we thought were to be ours have not been scaled? That’s not what Joseph did in his prison. Even though his brothers had sold him into slavery, even though Potiphar’s wife lied about him when he refused her favors, even though prison was his seeming reward for his faithfulness to the law of the Holy One, yet he abounded in faith; yet he remained faithful!

When we are hemmed in on every side by limitations not of our own making; when we are faced with consequences unworthy of our diligent efforts; when we are bound by chains of mediocrity when our abilities assured us acclaim would be ours, may we yet hold fast to the One whose Word, fulfilled in Christ, is “yea and amen,” II Corinthians 1:20.