Dec. 27, 2021

Heaven and nature sing
Luke 2:12-14
You will recognize him by this miraculous sign: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in the feeding trough!”[a]
13 Then all at once in the night sky, a vast number of glorious angels appeared, the very armies of heaven! And they all praised God, singing:
14 “Glory to God in the highest realms of heaven!
    For there is peace[b] and a good hope[c] given to the sons of men.”

Phillips
And in a flash there appeared with the angel a vast host of the armies of Heaven, praising God, saying, “Glory to God in the highest Heaven! Peace upon earth among men of goodwill!
MEV
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and good will toward men.”

A little write up about the essence of Christmas. At the birth of Christ, there was a choir of heavenly angels singing Glory to God and peace on earth and good will to men. The birth of Christ, spelled reconciliation between a sinful world and a Holy God. There is one God and one mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ. The Greek word Jesus is derived from the Hebrew Joshua (Yeshua) which means Jehovah saves. The Bible says,  that God planned the redemption of mankind before he laid the foundation of the world. God's initial plan was for people to live as Adam and Eve did, walking with God in the cool of the day. However, due to Adam's disobedience, mankind was dispelled from the garden of Eden as God did not want them living in a sinful state for ever. Notice that initially in the garden there was the tree of life available to eat from with no restrictions on it. However, after Adam's disobedience, the tree of life was out of reach.  Christ came to the earth to reconcile sinful man to a Holy God. The birth of Christ was announced with peace and good will toward man. Someone said, there is nothing a dying world needs as much as a life giving Savior. Jesus is the light of the world. Let the light of the world dispel the darkness in your lives, this Christmas and always. Pray this with me. Father God we ask you to inhabit our lives and illuminate the darkness within us. Let Christ who is our life reign victorious within us. Holy Spirit infill us with living water. Let your plans and purposes be fulfilled in our lives. In Jesus name we ask. Amen. 

Nov. 13, 2021

2Timothy 1:7
KJV
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
GNT
For the Spirit that God has given us does not make us timid; instead, his Spirit fills us with power, love, and self-control.
Voice
You see, God did not give us a cowardly spirit but a powerful, loving, and disciplined spirit.

Being fearless in a fearful society is what sets us apart as believers in Christ. Although some types of fear is normal and healthy most fear is a tool that the enemy uses to steal our peace and our "joie de vivre". To give some examples of healthy fear : being afraid of breaking the law of the land, or more importantly the law of God is healthy. The Bible says that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Fearing the consequences of our disobedience to God's law or the law of the land is a tool that keeps us out of jail and trouble. However being fearful is a strategy of the enemy of our soul. Many people in today's world suffer from anxiety and stress related conditions. The root cause of this is fear. One way to remedy fear is faith.  Faith is what we need to use to counter fear. Having faith in faith itself is not going to work and is nothing more than positive thinking. Having faith in a God who loves us cares for us and is capable of watching over us is the remedy for fear. The Bible says that He who watches over us does not slumber or sleep. He has given His angels charge over us. We actually have a spiritual bodyguard, God's angels. The Bible says be anxious for nothing. We are to lay our burdens down at the altar. Jesus said His burden is light. Just as a pair of oxen yoked together, if we take Christ' yoke upon us, the bulk of the load is on Him. When we are troubled, we are to lift our eyes to the hills from whence cometh our help. Our help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. At Jesus birth the angels announced to the shepherds Fear not for we bring good tidings of great joy. When there was a storm brewing on the sea of Galilee Jesus said fear not it is I. Isaiah 41:10 fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness. Genesis 15:1 Fear not, Abram. I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward. Exodus 14:13 And Moses said unto the people, “Fear ye not. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show to you today; Deuteronomy 1:21 fear not, neither be discouraged.’ Joshua 8:1 And the Lord said unto Joshua, “Fear not, neither be thou dismayed. Ruth 3:11 And now, my daughter, fear not. I will do for thee all that thou requirest, for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. 2 Samuel 13:28 Fear not. Have not I commanded you? Be courageous and be valiant.” The above are just a few examples from the word of God where we are instructed to be fearless. Being fearless is not always about being loud or argumentative. Rather it is about our trust in God's ability to watch over us. It is also about letting go and letting God take care of us. Jesus said that He has not left us as orphans. His Holy Spirit resides within us to comfort, edify, exhort and help us. The answer to our problems and concerns is just a prayer away. When God is for us,  no one can be against us. We are more than conquerors through Christ who strengthens us. As a gospel song says the God of angel armies is always by my side. In closing, be bold, be strong for the Lord thy God is with you. Do not be afraid. Do not be dismayed. Walk in faith and victory. Amen 

Oct. 18, 2021

Hosea 14:3-7
MSG
“I will heal their waywardness. I will love them lavishly. My anger is played out. I will make a fresh start with Israel. He’ll burst into bloom like a crocus in the spring. He’ll put down deep oak tree roots, he’ll become a forest of oaks! He’ll become splendid—like a giant sequoia, his fragrance like a grove of cedars! Those who live near him will be blessed by him, be blessed and prosper like golden grain. Everyone will be talking about them, spreading their fame as the vintage children of God.
VOICE
We admit that Assyria can’t save us, nor can riding horses and chariots into battle.
    We’ll never again say to idols made with our own hands, ‘You’re our gods!’
We know You’re merciful because You take care of orphans.”Eternal One: I’ll heal their apostate hearts so they won’t turn away from Me again; I’ll love them freely because I won’t be angry with them anymore.5     I’ll be like dew that waters Israel. She’ll blossom like the lily.
        She’ll put down roots like the stable cedars of Lebanon;
6     She’ll send out shoots until her beauty is like the olive tree
        and her fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon.
7     The people will return from exile and sit in My shade once again;
        they’ll flourish like grain; they’ll send out shoots like the vine.
    And their fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.

2 Corinthians 2:14
PHILLIPS
Thanks be to God who leads us, wherever we are, on his own triumphant way and makes our knowledge of him spread throughout the world like a lovely perfume! We Christians have the unmistakeable “scent” of Christ, discernible alike to those who are being saved and to those who are heading for death. To the latter it seems like the very smell of doom, to the former it has the fresh fragrance of life itself. Who could think himself adequate for a responsibility like this? 
TPT
God always makes his grace visible in Christ, who includes us as partners of his endless triumph. Through our yielded lives he spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere we go.

Just reflecting on a few verses this morning on the fragrance of Christ. The presence of God is likened to His fragrance.  Ephesians 4:2 and live a life of love, just as also the Messiah loved us, indeed, on our behalf gave himself up as an offering, as a slaughtered sacrifice to God with a pleasing fragrance. TPT And continue to walk surrendered to the extravagant love of Christ, for he surrendered his life as a sacrifice for us. His great love for us was pleasing to God, like an aroma of adoration—a sweet healing fragrance. This verse states that Christ' sacrifice on the cross was a sweet fragrance of His love for us. Similarly we are to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of God to the world. In Hosea He says that He would cause the backsliders to return to Him and that they would exude the fragrance of Christ once again. God is in the soul restoration business.  He takes the wayward and sin afflicted souls and gives them His Spirit and new life. Our righteous which was like filthy rags is traded in for brand new robes of Christ' righteous. As it says in Hosea : I’ll heal their apostate hearts so they won’t turn away from Me again; I’ll love them freely because I won’t be angry with them anymore.5     I’ll be like dew that waters Israel. She’ll blossom like the lily.
        She’ll put down roots like the stable cedars of Lebanon;
6     She’ll send out shoots until her beauty is like the olive tree
        and her fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon.

God will restore the apostate hearts and make them to exude His fragrance. Just a quick exhortation to return to Christ and exude His fragrance to this lost and dying world. The world needs to  experience the forgiveness of Christ. We as Christians have to disperse Christ' fragrance to the world around us. The world is looking for the sweet aroma of Christ. The Bible says taste and see that the Lord is good. The world needs to experience God's goodness. We as ambassadors of Christ have to disperse God's fragrance to this world. It's the goodness of God that leads men to repentance. The world needs to experience God's goodness and it is through us that they can experience God's grace. Again a quick word to disperse Christ' fragrance in our corner of the world. Have a blessed week. Amen.