We saw the body of Christ — standing, singing, moving, walking — and yes, praying. We went on the prayer walk at the D.C. Mall. The question came up to me at the onset of the march; would we walk and observe or would we pray? There was prayer, much prayer. Tears welled up in my eyes as our Vice President spoke and prayed to start us off. We were instructed to connect on our cell phones with the March leaders. For our little group, however, it did not seem to work. We were on our own with God and each other. He was enough. Along the 1.9 mile course, which became 3.8 miles because of zig-zagging, hundreds of small groups stopped, circled and prayed together, sometimes raising holy hands and praying out loud. Here was a group from a certain church, their Pastor was leading them, then a group…
Healing at the Cross Posts
“For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. ” Philippians 3:21 “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace;” Ephesians_2:15 ” …in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:’ Ephesians 1:10 “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:” Ephesians 4:13 We shall…
“Mine heart is turned within me.” Hosea 11:8 Conquerors, that plunder a conquered city, carry away the wealth of it, and, after some time, often return to burn it. God will not thus utterly destroy Israel. “For I am God, and not man.” “I will not carry it so far as to make a second destruction of Ephraim; so as to cut off those who escaped the first infliction of my punishments, and thereby wholly destroy them.” God’s heart here, expressed, an anthropomorphism, gives Him human traits for our understanding. In Hosea 11, God yearns for His people’s return and recoils at their reluctance. God’s chosen, unlike Admah and Zeboim, will not be utterly vanquished from the earth. Instead, God tells us, “Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths. And she shall follow after her lovers, but…
And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. Revelation 14:14 “Thrust in thy sickle and reap, for the time is come, for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. “ JFB commentary remarks, “By the harvest-reaping the elect righteous are gathered out; by the vintage the Antichristian offenders are removed out of the earth, the scene of Christ’s coming kingdom. The Son of man Himself, with a golden crown, is introduced in the harvest-gathering of the elect, a mere angel in the vintage.” Two separate “gatherings” begin at the time of Revelation 14. Earth-harvest is ripe. “The allegory of God as farmer/husbandman goes this way: “As his fields are to the farmer, so, we are permitted to think, the whole earth is…
And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. Genesis 17:1 A walk before God? How? I believe we must cast all of our cares on Him! How else could we walk before Him? His eye, His Word. His glory; we lean on His all-sufficiency. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. ” Psalm 23 I shall not lack, fail, be without, decrease, be lacking, or have a need. Does it mean that we always know where we are going? Well… Hebrews11:8 teaches us, “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” It means he went “without knowing where he was going.” Next verses tell us, “By faith…
The way of peace comes as we get Dead in Christ. “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:3 ” …reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:11 Paul the Apostle repeats the essential death often in his letters. Another instance comes in Galatians 2. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live;” Galatians 2:20a The fact of my crucifixion demands an explanation as to why I still live. Answer: It is Christ living in me and I live by His faith. Yes, Him in me, “I live” “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Jesus in John 5:24 So, a short summary goes,…
“For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Hebrews 4:10 As we, through the cross of Christ and our co-crucifixion, cease the competition of the flesh, we discover God’s seasons spoken of by Solomon, “To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to count as lost,…
A complexity, “soul” is more simply observed as feelings, judgments, opinions, rationalizations, and self-consciousness; all muddying the will, making decisions difficult. In soul, we trip over ourselves, stumble in the dark, and accept the confused state as our “normal.” Notwithstanding, the state of soul with personality traits, still guides men and women and some discover “soul power,” spoken of in Watchman Nee’s book, “The Latent Power of the Soul.” Nevertheless, “Holy Spirit imparts spirit” to some, enabling a new person to emerge, overruling the fallen nature embedded in depraved mankind. Born again, a person becomes a new creation. “created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 Ephesians 4:24 adds, ” … put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” and Colossians 3:10 says , “put on the new man, which is renewed in…
“As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.” Proverbs 25:25 “And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house.” Matthew_13:57 Quoting a proverb, Jesus above tells a truth. Yes, familiarity of natural surroundings kills joy but unexpected blessing from unfamiliar resources gives un-before-experienced thrill. ” What good news that His purpose and plan for our lives moves in a different direction from ours!” Tullian Tchividjian Yes, what joy it has been to fall into a better fate than expected. Another quote from the author goes, “Contrary to popular assumptions, the Bible is not a record of the blessed good, but rather the blessed bad. That’s not a typo. The Bible is a record of the blessed bad. The Bible is not a witness to the best…
” …cleanse thou me from secret faults. “ Psalm 19 speaks loudly: “for its full effect we need divine grace to show us our faults, acquit us, restrain us from the practice, and free us from the power, of sin.” JFB “God knows a great deal more evil of us than we do of ourselves. In many things we all offend, and who can tell how often he offends? It is well that we are under grace, and not under the law, else we were undone.” MH “Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me.” Psalm 19:13 John Gill adds, ” …the petition supposes, that these may be committed by good men, if left to themselves; and that there is a proneness in them to them; and that they would rush into them, were they not kept back and restrained by the powerful and…
Hebrews 12:15 teaches us: Look diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. To fail the grace of God: “The implication is “to be inferior; to fall short, to be deficient: to come behind.” “The image is taken from a company of travelers, one of whom lags behind, and so never reaches the end of the long and laborious journey” [Chrysostom]. The word “fail“, “fall back from,” implies a previous attainment. Vincent ” … failing of the grace of God; it is to become bankrupt…want of a good foundation and suitable care and diligence; it is failing of the grace of God, coming short of a principle of true grace in the soul, … and so coming short of the love and favor of God here and hereafter.” MH Beloved, we must never be-little…