Luke 24:25 – 26 How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?

These were the words of Jesus to two of his followers as he joined their conversation on the way to Emmaus on the third day after his crucifixion. These two followers were in a state of grief and confusion. They were surprised when Jesus asked them what had happened to make them so discouraged. In turn they asked him if he was a newcomer in town. That seemed to be the only explanation for him not to have heard about this Jesus of Nazareth. Read Luke 24:13 – 35.

Jesus listened patiently. They had a lot of facts but they did not understand what it all meant. They even made the point that it was the third day, which means they had expectations for the third day because Jesus had predicted that he would rise from the dead on the third day. But what did that mean if they couldn’t find him? Just like us they wanted more evidence.

Sweet Savior, loving, patient and kind, he connected the dots for them. “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” (Still wondering why you need to spend time reading the Bible for yourself from cover to cover?).

Then, as it was getting dark, these two men urged Jesus to stay with them. “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.” In the breaking of bread, they came face to face with the risen Lord!

All Scripture is given to us that we may believe. God has had this ongoing relationship with mankind from the very beginning. He wants us to know him and Jesus Christ whom he sent. Jesus has asked us to celebrate the breaking of bread (Holy Communion) as an ongoing remembrance of him until he comes again. It was in that act of breaking bread that his followers connected with him the most and their confusion was replaced with joy.

2 Corinthians 9:6-8 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

This is a wonderfully complete guidance from Paul to the Corinthian believers on generosity, not just to the work of the Lord, but in general. Paul did not come at the subject from the position of the “tithe” or ten percent but rather he embraced the idea of sowing and reaping and sharing the harvest.

Nothing thrills the heart of a farmer more than an abundant harvest. When I was a little girl, the farmers in my village would bring the best of their harvest of crops to the church one Sunday each year and place them on the altar. A special offering was also taken that day. The proceeds of the sale of the produce and that offering would be given for the support of missionaries. There were no rich people in that village but the generosity of the people was contagious and radiated such joy.

Paul also explained that you should give cheerfully as you are able. In other words, there is no requirement to give in a way that creates difficulty for you, nor is it necessary to compete with others as each person’s circumstances are different. And God knows your circumstances.

The third aspect that Paul highlighted is that in your giving, you should consider God. Why? Because “God is able to make all things abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”  Wow! All this sounds to me like Paul has just shared the secret of not just sufficiency but of abundance – a way to lead a life without want, to offload the burden of never having enough, and at the same time being able to help others. Who doesn’t want that?

I like to say “Giving is thanksgiving.” There is no way to repay what God has done by giving his Son to redeem us, but our giving should be an expression of love for his abundant goodness. It is also an act of obedience which makes it possible to “go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation” (Mark 16:15) thereby bringing glory to God.

1 Thessalonians 4: 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God and the dead in Christ will rise first.

God is always speaking to us and making his presence known through his magnificent creation which we are privileged to inhabit, through his messengers, his Word and through his Holy Spirit. There have been times when He himself showed up. In the Garden of Eden, He came looking for Adam and asked “Where are you?” It was a call to responsibility. (Genesis 3)

God spoke again to the shepherds when the Babe of Bethlehem came on the world stage. “An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them: Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:9-11). This was a call to reconciliation for one and all.

When Christ suffered and died, his Father made his presence known through signs and wonders as “the curtain of the temple was torn from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.” (See Matthew 27:51-52) After his burial, Jesus himself was raised to life again. All this was a display of pure redeeming love, a call to repentance and to new life in Christ Jesus here and now.

The next call will be the trumpet call for resurrection of the dead in Christ and the gathering of believers who are still alive to meet the Lord in the air.

The final call will be to a rewards ceremony. “Behold I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” (Revelation 22: 12-13) What have you done so you may receive your reward? When your name is called, what will be your reaction? May God help us to drown out the other voices so we can listen to His voice and reset our priorities while there is still time.

“The voice of God resounds like no other. It wakes the dead, silences all opposition, sets the tone, changes the atmosphere and invades the human consciousness in a way that is incomparable. There is authority, finality and magnificence like no human can imitate. It is the voice of the Almighty, all powerful God.”

1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

When I did my initial draft for this blog, my intention was to post it for Valentine’s Day. Somehow it got lost in the shuffle and has just resurfaced. Nevertheless I am going to share the story of Saint Valentine with you because as far as I am concerned, we can and should examine our capacity to love any day of the year.

Although the true origin of Valentine’s Day is little known, the tale goes something like this: On February 14, in the year 270 A.D. an elderly Christian preacher named Valentinus was martyred for his faith in Christ under the Roman Empire Claudius II. Prior to this while Valentinus was in jail, the prison commander had brought his blind daughter Julia to be taught by him. On the night before his execution he penned a note to her which he signed “From your Valentine”. For his love of God he was regarded as “Saint”. Later, in 496 A.D. the then Pope marked February 14 as a celebration in honor of his martyrdom. So, indeed, Valentine’s Day denotes a love with the purest of motives.

So even though it might not be Valentine’s Day when you are reading this, ask yourself, “Do I really love the ones to whom I give gifts or make other gestures of deep affection or am I faking it? Be totally honest. Is the recipient of your card and/or gift(s) someone whom you love enough that you would be willing to give your life to protect him/her? I dare you to confess that face to face with the one(s) you love and see what happens.

Now just think about the fact that God loves you like that! He sent his Son to give his life for you! That makes it possible for you to be his child. What matchless love! How do you respond? Just accept it. Let God’s love overwhelm you today, no matter what your circumstances are. Don’t try to figure out whether you deserve it just thank him for loving you like that. Find words – let your gratitude flow for a few minutes. That is the effect of redeeming love, true love. Praise the Lord!

Psalm 42: 11 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

The Psalmist here is saying that depression is the enemy of your soul. Something has happened that has left you weighed down. Depression is the umbrella word and sometimes that state of mind is fleeting or it can come in, pull up a chair and sit down. The question is: Are you going to entertain it or chase it away?

If your condition is a result of a medical problem or medicines you are taking, then you need to see a medical practitioner for help. Otherwise, you need to realize that you can get out from under it by wielding the sword of the Word of God, just like the Psalmist did.

First, examine yourself. Where did it begin? Are you angry, dissatisfied or terrified? Anger relates to a past event, dissatisfaction is with the present state of affairs and your terror has to do with the future. If you are angry at someone, you will need to forgive them. How you handle this is up to you, but humility can have a cleansing effect. Then you need to repent before the Lord for time wasted being angry. If you are dissatisfied, is it with yourself or with someone? Is it a relationship or job situation that should have ended long ago, but you have been nursing it in the hope that it will improve? What has the Spirit of God been saying to you about it? Sometimes you have to let go of what you have so God can give you what he sees that you really need.

If your depression has to do with fear of the future, my friend this is the most debilitating of all because it is irrational. We have absolutely no control of the next moment let alone the years ahead. This is why the Psalmist preached to himself: “Put your hope in God.” Pray for wisdom for today to do life with excellence but commit your tomorrows to God who alone is eternal and knows the end from the beginning.

Hebrews 13:3 Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

This is a call to intercession. The writer of the Book of Hebrews was addressing Jewish Christians at a time when they were being persecuted for their faith. We are aware today that Christians in many parts of the globe are also being persecuted. This takes the form of mistreatment, denial of basic human rights, and confiscation of property, imprisonment and even beheadings. Various other people groups are ostracized, rendered homeless and neglected. We are called to identify with these people in their suffering and to remember them. We do so best by praying for them and their loved ones and giving to provide help when the opportunity is presented.

And what about closer to home where you know of someone who is imprisoned? Sometimes the individual might be guilty but at other times there has been a grave miscarriage of justice. In any case, we do not abandon them. We should visit them if permitted to do so, and we ask for mercy in their behalf knowing that God forgives and saves. We pray with confidence in a God who can turn circumstances upside down and bring deliverance. God never meant for the human body and spirit to be bound, deprived of decency and left to languish. No, he created us for excellence; he created us to be like him.

Did Jesus not say he was the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1-2?  “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”  (Read Luke 4:14-21). Never accept the diminishment of a life as normal. The right hand of God can move in behalf of the incarcerated to bring glory to his own name.

Genesis 18: 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?

Abraham was a friend of God. How amazing is that? But how did that come about?  It was God who first chose Abraham.  “Abraham shall surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised.” (Genesis 18: 18-19). Abraham’s obedience to God is legendary because of his willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac.

Here in Genesis 18 we see the friendship playing out. God visited Abraham and shared his plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness. Abraham took it upon himself to challenge God about the fairness of his decision and asked God if he would save the cities if there were 50 righteous people in them. God said he would spare the whole place for their sake. Abraham then proceeded to whittle down the number from 50 all the way to 10. The Lord agreed not to destroy the cities if 10 righteous people could be found, and then departed.

Since we know from Genesis 19 that Sodom and Gomorrah were eventually destroyed, it is safe to conclude that the 10 righteous people were not found. What a verdict? What is the state of America’s cities today, or any city anywhere in the world for that matter?  What an awesome responsibility we as believers have to constantly call people to repentance? God is love but, as Abraham recognized, he is also the Judge of all the earth. God’s righteousness is about the defense of his own name so he had to act in accordance with his word. The Holy Spirit is quick to remind us:

“It is the Lord of Glory who has been calling all men to himself throughout the ages. The time is now approaching that I will stretch out my right arm to judge the earth. Those who are mine need not fear for I am their God. It is I who will protect them but those who have despised me should fear for I am a consuming fire. It is I who will do the separation. There will be no place to hide from my wrath for those who have disobeyed and ignored me.”

Job 42: 1 – 2 Then Job replied to the Lord: “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.”

It takes a while to grasp the concept that whatever outcome God has designed for every situation will eventually manifest in time. Civilizations come and go but God remains.

It was through the testing of his faith that Job really began to understand the nature of God. God was on Job’s side all the while during the destruction of his reputation, family and possessions. But even though he did not realize that at first, he resolved to be unshaken in his faith in God. He lost the support of his wife very early in the process when she saw what was happening to him.  My goodness, if you can’t depend on your spouse, who can you depend on? She said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die.” (Job 2:10) Then he was subjected to much scorn and ridicule even by well-meaning friends who could not begin to identify with his misery.

His friends were so like us, trying to make a case that Job’s calamity had come upon him because of some secret sin or failing on his part, and in essence he should stop fooling himself that he had the capacity to be righteous before God. In one such encounter with his friend Bildad, Job pushed back and let him know that he will never admit that he is right, and until he dies he will retain his integrity. He let Bildad know, “As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made me to taste bitterness of soul, as long as I have life within me, the breath of God in my nostrils, my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will utter no deceit.”  (Job 27: 2- 4) Wow!

I found myself wondering whether I could have stood my ground like that with a friend, let alone a stranger. Could you? Job was willing to submit to the Almighty no matter what, even if he did not fully understand what was happening to him – “I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.” (Job 27:6). That’s faith!

God showed up in the end and clarified a lot of things for Job and that encounter changed his perspective forever. (See Chapters 38 – 41) He was also greatly rewarded for his steadfastness.  .  God would ask of each of us the pivotal question: “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?” Then “Let him who accuses God answer him!” (Job 40:2)

“It is my will that men should fear me and walk in my ways. It is not for men to question my grand designs, just to walk with me from day to day never doubting my care for those who have acknowledged me as Lord and God. I will undertake for them for so I have sworn by my own righteousness.

2 Samuel 22:26-27 To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, to the pure you show yourself pure but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.

This was part of David’s praise to the Lord when he realized how faithful God had been to him throughout his life. He had experienced just about every kind of trial and challenge life could throw at a human being. His life had been threatened by King Saul many times as a young man. He had fought and won many battles. At one point he had even been deposed by his own rebellious son Absalom. In this song of praise David seems to be taking stock of the paths he had travelled and was ascribing all praise to God for repeatedly rescuing him. At the height of his praise he stated that “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.” (2 Samuel 22:31).

For me, what sets David apart is his humility. He achieved greatness but gave God the credit. He always depended on God and pursued his ways. And, yes, it is true that because he was subject to human passions like the rest of us, he once had one of his soldiers murdered so he could take his wife as his own.  When the prophet Nathan came to confront him about the magnitude of his sin, he prayed a prayer of repentance like no other. (Psalm 51).  He had learned the value of full disclosure before God and that whenever he failed, he could turn to God for restoration.

But how was David able to speak of God’s ways with such passion and eloquence? In 1 Samuel 13: 13 – 14 the prophet Samuel had rebuked King Saul for having failed to do what God had told him to do and indicated that as a result his kingdom would end. Samuel also told Saul that “the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people.” When the Lord selected David to be anointed King by Samuel, the Lord had declared, “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7).  Samuel was commanded by God to “Rise and anoint him; he is the one.” Once he was anointed, it is recorded that “from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power.” (See 1 Samuel 16:13). I believe it was the reality of that anointing and the presence of the Spirit of the Lord that allowed David to know God in his perfection and commune with him the way he did throughout his life.

God knows our hearts, always. You alone know when the Lord “selected” you and the purpose for which he anointed you. Live in the light of that anointing and pursue him with all your heart. You have come this far by faith. If you have stumbled, behave like David – confess the sin and place your hope in the forgiveness of God who alone is perfect in all his ways.

Mark 13:5 and 31 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you.” … “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

One day as Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples pointed out the magnificence of some of the buildings around them. In response Jesus remarked: “Do you see all these great buildings? Not one stone here will be left on another, everyone will be thrown down.”  Can you imagine their surprise? Later, four of Jesus’ disciples – Peter, James, John and Andrew – took Jesus aside and said “Tell us, when will these things happen?  And what will be the sign they are all about to be fulfilled?”

Jesus launched into a description of the signs that would characterize the end of time and concluded by saying: “What I say to you, I say to everyone: Watch!” (Mark 13:37). Are you a believer? I don’t just mean are you saved? Do you believe what Jesus said? Are you watching? Have you allowed yourself to mentally let go of the things of earth, and heeded the call to “go into all the world and preach the gospel.” What does that mean for you?  Let us never allow ourselves to become complacent or imagine that the current order of things will remain as they are. After reading Mark 13, the Holy Spirit assured me:

“These are the great mysteries of God. Some things he has kept for himself. Some things are revealed in great detail. But be not misled, he will in due time reveal all things and his plans will unfold in his time and with speed. The duty of believers is to hold fast to every word that is plainly written in his Word. Be not influenced by things of the earth and the world to the point where you become so wrapped up in them that you fail to keep looking up and looking forward to the great and glorious day of your redemption. Believers are not to conform and be misled by the standards of earth.”