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The Lord’s provisions …
The book of Kings speaks of a famine induced by the voice of the prophet Elijah against the wicked King Ahab. The next verse depicts the instruction of the Lord to Elijah to… “hide thyself by the brook Cherith…thou shalt drink; I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.” During the length of the famine a daily miracle occurred by Cherith. Ravens brought bread and meat to the man of God to sustain him. And the question is answered: Can God provide a fountain in the wilderness? Yes! In the middle of it all, God provides everything we need.…
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Mind of Christ
John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. In light of the biblical narrative, the people followed Jesus because of the things that He did for them without understanding the higher calling of His mission. They were perplexed at His word as He presented Himself greater than the miracles which He performed. Jesus gave them bread, but the message was that He was the Bread of Life. He healed their infirmities, but He was the Resurrection. Jesus said,…
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Chosen
The Jewish people have been referred to as the “chosen.” This concept is derived from God’s declaration in Exodus 19, “you will be my possession.” To further emphasize the matter, centuries of prophetic pronouncement declared that the Messiah would be born into the house of David, having a lineage tied to the Abrahamic Covenant. This message was imprinted in the minds of the Jewish people so much that they believed no one outside of their heritage could qualify to be Chosen. The Gentile was reviled and dismissed. The Gentile had no heritage; no truth; no scripture. Even on the day…
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You Fool! What then?
Luke 12 recites the parable of a wealthy man who did not understand the priority of life. In his accumulation he built bigger barns to store more things. In the end, God said to him, “Thou fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own all the things you have prepared?” In a related biblical version the words are, “You Fool! What then?” The prodigal spent all that he had, but he never considered the question, “What then?” His inheritance was going to run out, but he lived for the moment never considering…
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Jesus wants the fragments…
John 6:12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. As you may know, the Feeding of the 5,000 was the number of men only. In reality the actual number of people hearing was about four times that amount. The deep and long wilderness place overlooking the Sea of Tiberias was what many called the perfect place for an echoing voice to drift from the bottom to the top. Jesus stood on the shoreline which made it a natural chamber to house His voice. Hours of teaching will pass as the…
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The Moon …
Ironically enough it seems that Hurricane Harvey has eclipsed the eclipse. The tragedy of the current has pushed last weeks news off the front page. August 21, however, was an incredible event when America experienced a total eclipse. The moon covered the sun. Flowers closed their petals and animals responded negatively. A host of things occurred that disrupted the flow of the creatures and plants of the earth which are too numerous for me to mention. I suppose that I can find a spiritual application for everything, but this I cannot pass up. Think of the audacity the moon must…
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Unity …
Genesis 11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. The first time the word “nothing” is found in the scripture occurs the moment God saw the construction of the Tower of Babel and said, “..nothing will be restrained from them.” He viewed humanity united under a single cause to build a tower to reach into the heavenlies. They thought to invade God’s throne room and become gods in their own sight. It…
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The Greatest of These is Love…
As often as I rehearse this word I tend to but scratch the surface of its great worth: Love. The Lord silenced the Sadducees in Matthew 22. Having seen an open display of His authority, a Pharisee, a lawyer, decided to try his hand at trapping the Lord. He asked, Matthew 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Without hesitation the Lord replied: “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” This would have been sufficient in itself, but Jesus went further: Matthew 22:38-40 This is…
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This kind…
Matthew and Mark both record a father’s plea whose son was possessed with a foul spirit. To no avail the disciples tried to cast out the spirit. In bewilderment, they spoke to Jesus about their lack of authority. Jesus performed the miracle and then gave instruction: Mark 9:29 This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. While the miracle is powerful in itself, I’m more gripped by what has been left out in modern versions of the Bible. Of the 5 top Bible versions, only the King James retains the word “fasting.” All the others simply…
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“Peculiar People”
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. I’ve never been opposed to the people of God being called “peculiar.” We are different from the world and we are not ashamed. We are “set apart” and “called out” from the nations. So if you would like to refer to Peter’s writing in this way, then there are ample scriptures to assist you. However, the word “peculiar” actually refers to…