They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb! Oh the blood of Jesus — it will never lose it’s power. Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power, are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Would you be free from your burden of sin? There is power in the blood, power in the blood. “Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the Passover. And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when…
Healing at the Cross Posts
“So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they had…
What lacks in a contemporary person who finds themselves outside of Christ? They have no expectation of the daily blessing which Our God has for his children. They have no realistic expectation of Christ’s soon coming return. Hope deferred makes their heart sick. In the story of Ruth chapter 1, Naomi finds herself bereft of husband and two sons. Her comment to her daughters in law goes, ” If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.” Ruth 1:12-13 A life without hope is a frightful proposition. Job 14:7 teaches us “For there is hope for a tree, if it be…
2 Corinthians 4:1 “Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;” Romans1:5 “By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:” Hebrews12:28 “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.” “Let us keep on having grace.” Folks, to serve God acceptably, to have a ministry, to obey God — these are not human endeavors. In contrast Paul speaks often of “grace” and “mercy” received and held on to — without which he, or none of us, could love, show compassion, forgive or show mercy to those least deserving. And this comprises the calling. Miroslav Volf, a celebrated theologian, relates a story in his work, “Free of Charge,” a book on forgiveness. “I was one then and my five…
“Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. ” Genesis 6:9 What does it mean? Noah had righteousness, the gift to him from God. Noah was a saved man. He kept the gift of his righteous status alive in his soul, in spite of the many unrighteous influences of his generation. This kept him “alive unto God.” And so he walked the earth with God. Profound as a testimony, it describes the same life potentially lived by today’s righteous. James 1:27 proclaims, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” Noah’s pre-flood days coincided with God’s 120 year pronouncement in Genesis 6:3. — A space for repentance in which the Spirit of God would still strive with men, howbeit, every imagination of the…
“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God”, Hebrews 4:14 I’m listening to a song entitled “Almost Home.” Yes us believers are almost home. However, Jesus is passed into the heavens, already. Oh, our Savior and destiny-carrier is seated in Heaven at the Father’s right hand. We, in Him, are there with Him. Nevertheless, we must put on our helmet, “the hope of salvation” — because we still must endure hardship as good soldiers of Christ down here. “Let us hold fast our profession.” The verse completes itself with, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;” Isaiah 63:9 reiterates, “In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them,…
“All of your days have already been written in God’s book; when you go through a disappointment, don’t stop on that page, stay the course, keep believing; you may be tired discouraged and frustrated, but don’t give up on your future, God is faithful.” Dee dee Gee. Quietly bearing wrongs done to us, we must continue unscathed . Easier said than done, we need desperately to find a way to be quiet. Some lessons on keeping quiet: Proverbs 14:7 All things are adverse to a foolish man; but wise lips are the weapons of discretion. (don’t speak in the heat of anger.) Proverbs 18:13 He that answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame unto him. (do you have all the facts?) Proverbs 14:9 Fools mock at the guilt offering, but the upright enjoy acceptance. (Don’t make a joke about sin and rebounding from it.) Proverbs…
…For those who are in Christ Jesus. The King James writers saw fit to add the words, “who walk not after the flesh…” This addendum is not in the original text. Why? Because Paul meant what he said, “there is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus — period.” We must see that the unconditional statement, “no condemnation,” provides the only deliverance from an indwelling sin principle, a Law principle, an impotent “will” and a slavery to it all. Paul’s answer, and ours, is the miracle of Jesus Christ our Lord. Yes, Jesus alone solved the “sold under sin” dilemma as He became sin, 2 Corinthians 5:21, took it to its death and burial, rose out of death, ( sin did not revive,) and offered to us “newness of life” and all this “in Christ.” Our answer to the frightful double-minded “willing to do good, yet…
When the details of life toughen, when serving God waxes near impossible, when crushing blows penetrate the consciousness — we approach a strange phenomena — the, insuperable, unattainable, undoable, unrealizable, unsolvable, place of utter dependency on God — A time and judgement that authoritatively requests, even demands, a relinquishing of all self-help — self reliance, control and power of will and exercise. We die. For all practical purposes — yes we find ourselves impotent, paralyzed. O, happy day. Imagine having all senses inoperable. First we lose hearing, the world stops. Then the eyes go blind — we take a seat. A panic settles in. A sense of smell does not help us now, our discerning taste buds bland out. We reach our hands to touch or feel, we engage emptiness. We cannot speak. But, God’s presence, which had never left us, now gains pre-eminence on the throne of our world. He speaks, He listens,…
Fishermen wade smack-dab into the water where fish swim, as a blue heron readies for it’s own breakfast, lunch or dinner. Why do they go in the water as opposed to fishing from the shore? Here are some answers: “…wearing waders permits me to fish down stream and positioning my lures in the spot that is only possible while being in the water.” “…helps me to avoid the many snags such as branches and tree trunks that are commonly found on the banks of many water ways.” “…With waders on I am able to go upstream 100 meters or so from the group and get the big ones all by myself. ” outdoors.stackexchange As Jesus promises to make us “Fishers of men,” in Mark 1:18, maybe lessons from fish anglers apply. The Pulpit commentary remarks, “It is plain that, in the pursuit of his calling, the fisherman has no power to…