A Christ Follower: The Journey

  HE gives power to the faint. And to them who have no might, HE increases their strength. Even young people will faint and be weary. The strong young men can utterly fall. But they, who wait on the Lord, will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:29-31 Given the right, or not so right, circumstances, fainting can take place, just as being so bone tired makes you feel powerless. Again, given some challenging circumstances, even a really strong young person can feel weary, and their load may be so heavy, that they simply fall. In our scripture lesson, being able to be like an eagle, being able to run tirelessly, and being able to walk tirelessly, as God increases strength, occurs when we "wait on the Lord." Hmmm. What does "wait on the Lord" mean? I am glad you asked. Waiting by Being Alone with the Lord. In this fast-paced world, where we clutter our minds with Smart...

 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness, O LORD . Lamentations 3:22-23 Most have heard these words: "God is love." But what does this love look like? The "crying prophet" let's us in on this. He is clear that God's love is steadfast. In other words, it is dependable, and it can definitely be relied on no matter how we feel emotionally. For God's covenant people, this love comes because of HIS mercy or because HE is NOT going to give us what we deserve. And this love is fresh. It never ceases.  God's love is like a never-ending flowing river. It never comes to an end. "It is new every single morning. And I might add, it is new every single night and any time in between.  How do I know this is true? I know it because I have experienced it. I know it because, "the Bible tells me so."  The main reason I know all this to be true is because God is ...

  One day, the Apostle Paul was sharing with the Church, and he was discussing an urgent matter .  At least he urges people to do something. Listen to him in his own words: "Therefore, I urge you brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your spiritual act of worship. And don't be conformed to the world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds. You do this so that you can test, and approve what God's will is, seeing that it is good, pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:1-2 Did you catch all that? First, he is indeed urging the Romans, and he is urging you and me, to take advantage of God's mercy, to fully surrender ourselves to God, and to do so by making an offering of our entire bodies. God considers this a spiritual act of worship, and while we are doing this, God views us a being holy and acceptable unto HIM.  Second, something beautiful happens to you and me when ...

  He was wounded for our breaking God's law. He was bruised for our premeditated sin. The punishment, for our sin, that should have been ours, was placed on Him so we could  have Peace with God. And by His stripes we are eternally healed. Isaiah 53:5 And so, we call this day "Good Friday." SoJourner

  On This Day On this day, Holy Wednesday, a covert operator of the 1st century went into action.  We call him "The Spy."  We know him by the name of Judas. He was motivated by the Satan who, via "Holy Men" was paid off to deceptively betray Jesus. What Most People Don't Know What most people don't know about this is how Jesus demonstrated the lengths he went to offer Judas grace and love; for example, on one occasion early in his ministry, Jesus sent out the twelve to accomplish powerful tasks. They healed the sick, cast out demons, and worked all kinds of miracles.  The Holy Spirit, with His power, made it possible for them to do what no one had ever done before.  Judas, in spite of all he was, was also favored in such a way. He worked miracles, cast out demons, and he healed the sick. Additionally, even though Judas was identified as a thief, he was selected as the treasurer for the twelve. Finally, Judas was given 3 full years with Jesus to see him in ac...

  Holy Tuesday AD 33 -- More or Less On this day during Holy Week, we see a side of Jesus that many people don't like to see.  It was on this day; He prophesied some bad news about the Temple, and it came true, as the Temple was destroyed as He predicted. It was on this day He drove the money changers, the thieves and religious leader conmen out of the Temple in Jerusalem. And it was on this day He spoke forcefully towards the religious leaders that constantly came after Him, and who were corrupt to the core. I call this the " Seven Woes of Jesus ." No, we don't hear a lot about this side of Emmanuel, God with us. But just as Jesus spoke words of love, joy and peace, as God, He also pronounced God's judgement, and this gave the religious bigots of His time on earth more motivation to get rid of Him. The Seven Woes Pronounced on the Teachers of the Law and The Pharisees Here the Word of the LORD Matthew 23:13-33 I "'Woe to you, teachers of the law and Phar...

A Day of Judgment  Today is a sacred day during Holy Week.  Some call it "Holy Monday. "   Jesus stayed fairly busy on this day: I call it a day of judgement, and a day of prophesy. We see in Matthew 11:12-33 that Jesus must have been hungry. He saw a fig tree, and he went to pick some figs. This was strange because it wasn't, according to the Bible, the season for these trees to produce fruit. Either way, Jesus declared the fig tree would never again produce figs, and later it was clear the fig tree had died.  Now, the fig tree is a key biblical symbol of the nation of Israel.  Israel had failed to carry out its covenant obligation of sharing God's Kingdom and covenant.  Israel was about to reject its Messiah; therefore, Jesus was making a judgment, and it was in line with what we discussed yesterday.  Israel was carried away once again by an invading nation -- this time it happened to be Rome. And the prophesy, as we said yesterday, came true wh...