A New Year’s Blessing
2020 has been difficult for many and maybe not so much for some but a new year quite often is something which we look forward to. Regardless of where you find yourself in this new year, harken to the words of the prophet Micah. Watch in hope for the Lord. Wait for God for He is your Savior. He will surely hear you. May the Lord’s blessings be upon you in the days and months ahead! ~ Thom
Savor More than Candy Canes!
Thank You, Father, for a productive day. Many of the components for Sunday’s service are in place. Your direction and encouragement helped so much!
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When my head hit the pillow last night, I thought of something and actually mulled it over a bit before finally going to sleep. My thoughts were on Candy Canes! I know that Christmas is now past, and I wasn’t craving one, but I did get a few of them in gifts from my bus kids this year.
I like them but they are not something that I just have to have and cannot get enough of. (Chocolate maybe, but not Candy Canes!) I have one a few times throughout the whole Christmas season and am happy with that.
I think that those who enjoy them, have different ways of doing so. Some are biters and chewers. I do this occasionally but when we go this route it’s a bit more difficult to savor, to taste with pleasure, to relish, to delight in (as Merriam-Webster would say). They can be enjoyed but boy they go fast and then all that is left is that lingering tingle on your tongue, lips, and cheeks!
To truly savor Candy Canes, we can go a couple of different directions. We can bite off a chunk, but we don’t chew, we let it just roll around in our mouths and dissolve. Others may peel the wrapper back enough to treat it like a sucker, allowing their lips and tongue to enjoy the flavor each time it passes by them. Now that is savoring!
But as believers in Christ, there is something which we much savor that far surpasses anything Candy Canes could ever provide.
Jesus replied to them, “I am the Bread of Life. The one who comes to Me will never be hungry, and the one who believes in Me [as Savior] will never be thirsty [for that one will be sustained spiritually]. John 6:35 AMP
Do we savor Christ? In the verse noted, from the Apostle John’s Gospel, Jesus, proclaims, “I AM the Bread of Life…” and when we come to Him, we need never be hungry! To partake of Him and all He extends to us, those He loves, partaking is sheer pleasure. We relish in Him! We delight in Him! He is all we will ever need and so much more!
Just nibbling the Bread of Life greatly decreases the benefits He offers!
My one church observes the Sacrament of Holy Communion by intinction. Intinction is where the person partaking of Communion pulls off a piece of bread (symbolizing the body of Christ – the Bread of Life), in our case from a portion of a loaf, and then proceeds to dip it into a chalice (a cup) of grape juice (symbolizing the blood of Christ). I find it interesting how people pull off their portion of bread. Most of them are average “bite-size” pieces, but occasionally some will pull off, much to their embarrassment, a much larger piece than they had intended. And then some barely get a “pinch” of bread.
I often think, “This is supposed to represent Christ, why are we embarrassed? Truly, can we have too much of Christ? Why do we hold back, only taking the smallest amount of Christ we can? Shouldn’t we take a generous portion of our Savior who generously offers Himself?”
As you read this on the last day of the year, I would extend a challenge to savor Christ. Take as much of Him as You can get your hands on. Don’t hold back. There is no way that you can overdo it! What better way to transition into the new year!
Dec 31st, 2020, Wed, 9:09 pm
Twisting the Truth
Another full day. Even on break, it seems like there is a lot to do. May I be attentive to Your voice as we come together tonight, Father. Amen.
Luke 23:1-5 (<<click here to read the passage)
One of the biggest struggles both now and in past millennia is keeping to the entirety of truth in God’s Word. It is easy to pick and choose, to pull out what shores up our own desires in such a way to make truths and half-truths equally palatable – twisting the truth to have it say what we want it to say!
We can “make” the Bible say just about anything we want it to.
For several years I purposely made a point of reading and listening to God’s Word from beginning to end, i.e., from Genesis to Revelation. I found it greatly beneficial in that time and time again I saw the multitude of links and intertwining connections on so many fronts. One great example is the many Old Testament passages that point to Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection.
Many are guilty of pulling portions of Scripture out of context to suit their needs and devices. That is one great reason why Paul exhorts us to,
“…test all things carefully [so you can recognize what is good]. Hold firmly to that which is good. Abstain from every form of evil [withdraw and keep away from it].” 1 Thessalonians 5: 21-22 AMP
God allowed the actions of the entire council to fulfill His great plan of salvation for us all. They picked and chose and twisted and bent the truth to accomplish their ultimate goal of ridding themselves of Jesus once and for all…or so they thought.
They had been around Jesus enough that they had no reason for not knowing what was what. They should have known the truth but they, instead, chose to cover their eyes and plug their ears so their hearts would not receive the impact of God’s true Word. They picked up just enough to twist for their own depraved ideas and goals.
It’s amazing, isn’t it? The people who should have been the first in line to spread God’s truth and the freedom it would bring instead avoided it with every fiber of their being! They themselves remained enslaved and in turn, refused to allow anyone else to find the readily offered freedom only God Himself could give.
The Roman governor, Pilate, didn’t get where he was by being stupid. He saw through their veneer of dedication to protect the Roman government from being undermined. No one wanted them around. If they thought they could have gotten away with it, they would have risen up and thrown Rome out with a swift kick and a “good riddance” but…they lacked the strength and power to do so.
So, Pilate’s response to their accusations against this poor powerless “teacher” was to honestly proclaim His innocence. “I find nothing wrong with this man!”
But this was the way God intended events to take place and the religious powers-that-be would not be denied. Jesus time had come…and He willingly placed Himself directly in line with God’s holy will.
Dec 29th, 2020, Tues, 7:14 pm
Don’t Be a Footstool
Father, thank You for giving me the ability to get through several things today. May our time together be productive as well. Amen.
Luke 22:66-71(<<click here to read the passage)
Some years ago, I was responsible for a few employees in my specific area. Most of them were very hard workers and I really didn’t have problems with any of them. One day I was told that a relative newcomer to our group had decided that they were going to have my job. Supposedly they were going to undermine me by telling higher-ups that I wasn’t doing my job in the best manner. I was hurt but I felt I was doing the job the way it needed to be done and that things would work themselves out without me addressing them myself.
The problem came to nothing in that the employee ended up finding another job…and truthfully a much better job for them in many ways. And best of all for me, what could have been a very messy confrontation never occurred and I feel that we, all these years later, are still on good terms.
For years Jesus and Israel’s religious leaders had been butting heads. And never once had they even come close to getting the best of Him. Time and again they had had to turn around embarrassed and livid at their defeat.
We’ve talked in our Bible studies about the numerous times that Jesus had declared that it just wasn’t the right time for Him…just yet.
And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” John 2:4 ESV
Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. John 7:6 ESV
You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” John 7:8 ESV
So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. John 7:30 ESV
These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come. John 8:20 ESV
For years Jesus had countered their every move but now it was time to do what He had come to do…all in God’s perfect timing.
They had a false security that they had Him cornered this time and that He would no longer escape their desperate grasp.
“Tell us, are you the Messiah?”
“If I tell you, you won’t believe me. And if I ask you a question, you won’t answer…But from now on the Son of Man will be seated in the place of power at God’s right hand.”
“So, are you claiming to be the Son of God?”
“You say that I am.”
“Why do we need other witnesses? We ourselves heard him say it.”
Interestingly enough there is a cross-reference to Jesus’ sitting at God’s right hand and it’s found in Psalm 110:1,
The Lord (Father) says to my Lord (the Messiah, His Son),
….“Sit at My right hand
Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet [subjugating them into
….complete submission].”
Their time had come as well as His.
Lord Jesus, may we ever be mindful of who You are and Whose we are. You are our Lord and Savior and we, in every aspect of our lives, should be about being a genuine reflection of Your love and compassion. Enable us to avoid being footstools ourselves. Amen.
Dec 28th, 2020, Mon, 8:44 pm
Hope to Be Had
Father, I give up… I attempted to go one way with this and, well…it’s just not going to suffice. So, at it we go. Help me to communicate what You would have me communicate.
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Why am I here? What am I doing, really, with the minutes I have been allotted? Haven’t we all asked ourselves those questions? There are so many uncertainties in life. Does what we do truly have any genuine long-lasting impact on the world?
Our culture tells us that life just is. It tells us that death just is. We have no control and – poof! – when our number is up that’s it. We die… and many in the world believe that is literally it. We live, we die, we may make a small dent in our world but that quickly fades and in a matter of years, we are forgotten.
The last portion of James 4:14 tells us that we,
“…are merely a vapor [like a puff of smoke or a wisp of steam from a cooking pot] that is visible for a little while and then vanishes [into thin air].” AMP
Hmmm…a wisp of steam from a cooking pot. Hopelessness fits, doesn’t it?
That is what the world spews out…hopelessness. Why bother? No wonder suicide rates are so high. No wonder drug and alcohol abuse is so rampant. Many cannot deal with the realities of life. They cannot deal with all the expectations, so they run…they hide. They avoid. We live…we die. What’s the use?
In John 10:1-10 Jesus shares an illustration about sheep and a shepherd…specifically the Good Shepherd. Jesus is the Good Shepherd and each of us is sheep. For thousands of years, many have tried and still try to be shepherds. Some do so deceptively. They were (and are) after their own gain, caring little for the sheep. But not Jesus, he gave, he sacrificed…he died…so that we could be reunited with Him.
Jesus is the Shepherd, but He is also the Door by which we enter into His eternal blessing. He proclaims in verses 9-10,
I am the Door; anyone who enters through Me will be saved [and will live forever], and will go in and out [freely], and find pasture (spiritual security) …I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]. NIV
As we enter this last week of 2020, may we not be downtrodden. May we shake off the shackles of hopelessness. Jesus gives us reason to live. James didn’t say we were a wisp of steam to bring us despair but point out the importance of humility.
My sermon today spoke of Jesus’ words that though we may be in the heart of our world’s deep darkness. We may despair, we may ask where is the light for us? But He clearly announces,
“I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” John 8:12 NLT
He alone gives us the hope that the world cannot give.
The Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:4, 6,
“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God…The God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’ made his light to shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” NIV
Cling to that hope. See that Light. May we let our light shine out of the darkness! There is hope to be had!
Dec 27th, 2020, Sun, 11:31 pm