Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

There are times in our travels of faith when the lights go out. Despite the unfailing glow of God’s word in our hearts, all about us is nevertheless covered with a thick darkness that hides even His presence from our perceptions. He promised never to leave us, but what are we to do in such seasons of silence and apparent absence?

Isaiah asked, “Who among you fears the LORD and obeys His servant? If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the LORD and rely on your God.” That’s the answer — we are to continue trusting, for He is faithful and will never fail us. Even though He may seem distant and detached, He is all the more nearer in those trying moments.

After encouraging us to stay the course, the prophet Isaiah then adds this sobering warning, “But watch out, you who live in your own light and warm yourselves by your own fires. This is the reward you will receive from Me: You will soon fall down in great torment.” (Isaiah 50:10-11).

The temptation to light things up on our own is never greater than in those times when the Lord seems far away. It is then that we are most susceptible to try and make something happen on our own. This is what gives rise to much of the hype and hullabaloo that passes itself off as anointing and power in many religious circles today. But the end of that path is trouble in every way.

You may be in one of those dark seasons right now — so take heart. The Lord is closer than you realize. Keep walking by faith and in due time you will again see a great light. And in that light you will discover the many treasures the Lord has brought forth for you while you were passing through the muttering tunnel.

Remember David’s words? “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff comfort me.”

Be comforted, my dear friend; their is light aplenty just up ahead!

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God designed the Church to function as a unified community of spiritually gifted, ethnically diverse, men and women loving and serving one another in humility, availability, and submission; thereby presenting to the world a compelling case for trusting Christ alone for salvation.

If we are faithful in following the teachings of the Bible, and are being filled with and led by the Holy Spirit (who authored the Bible), then this is the Church we will become. To the measure that we are not becoming this Church, then we are following the teachings and traditions of men, and are being filled with and led by the spirit of another instead of Christ.

Satan, who is called the Accuser of the Brethren, takes great delight is soliciting our unwitting participation in his campaign to divide and discredit the Church. The Greek word for accuser is kategoros, from which we get the English word category. It means to be against another in a criticizing way; to put another down by elevating oneself as a judge. The moment you find your heart categorizing other believers who differ from your traditions of faith, you are at risk of being complicit in Satan’s destructive schemes against the City, whose builder and Maker is God.

While you may enjoy God’s presence, and experience His power in the context of your local assembly, with its particular history and practices, never lose sight of the fact that you are nevertheless part of a vastly larger Kingdom — in which diversity plays a major role. Rather than sitting in judgment over those who may do it different from you, or who emphasize things other that what you personally deem most important, rejoice in knowing that Christ is being preached far beyond your own borders and abilities.

It is His Church, not yours. He is the Head; not you. Take your place with humility, and give thanks to God that many others are also taking their place as the Lord directs.

Remember, the Church is both local and global. On a global scale it appeals to all who hunger and thirst after righteousness, and therefore is filled with such variety of people that there is no other organization on the earth that rivals it. Yet, on a local scale it may be more tempered to a particular people group than the broader audience of the world, and thus might seem somewhat narrow and exclusive.

Both are legitimate expressions of the Body of Christ and, as such, should be held in highest esteem. Neither holding the other in contempt, nor seeking to defame in any way those who call upon the name of the Lord.

Be a part of a local church, but also be a citizen in that City whose builder and maker is God. That is what the Lord is doing in today’s world.

What are you doing?

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TO: Jesus Christ, Son of Joseph
Woodcrafters Carpenter Shop
Nazareth, Israel 35922

FROM: Jordon Management Consultants
Jerusalem, Israel 00666

RE: Staff Team Evaluation

Dear Mr. Christ,

Thanks for using our service; as you know, we bring a rich tradition of proven excellence in matters pertaining to the things of men. We have carefully studied the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for management positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests; and we have not only run the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant.

It is the staff’s opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education, and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. The majority of your staff’s profiles were rather bland, and self explanatory – so we need not go over them with you – but only wonder why you would be interested in those who are so unimpressive. We feel it our duty to alert you to a few serious problem cases —

• James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus definitely have radical leanings, and they both registered a high score on the manic-depressive scale.

• Andrew has no qualities of leadership, and his homey habit of brown-bagging his lunch could be a turn-off to potential clients.

• We feel it our duty to tell you that Matthew has been denounced by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau. Continued association with him could seriously jeopardize your own reputation.

• Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We actually had four people leave our firm after meeting with him.

• Simon Peter is emotionally unstable, highly opinionated, and given to fits of temper. In fact, during the interview he punched out three of our consultants.

• The two brothers, James and John, place personal interests above company loyalty, and show an inordinate dependence upon their mother. They also seem unusually fascinated with fire.

• One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and responsible. It is our recommendation that you keep as your controller and right-hand man Judas Iscariot.

We wish you every success in your new venture.

SIN-cerely,
Lucy Furr

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If you are suffering under some great trial right now, then hear these empathetic words: no trial feels good at the moment or seems to be a good thing.

If you thought the Bible teaches that you are supposed to feel good under God’s chastening hand, then you can now breathe a sigh of relief. God knows that your pain hurts; He does not, and you should not, expect it to feel good when affliction comes.

However, there is this great encouragement — although it does not feel good right now, your trial will have a good result, as you are “exercised” by it. This is an interesting choice of words, because “exercise” in the Greek is the same root from which we get our English word gymnasium.

If you go to any gymnasium today and observe the participants inside, you will see the same principle on display there of which the writer is here speaking — people going through pain and discipline and difficulty in order to obtain a worthwhile goal.

Gymnasts go through rigorous training in order to nail their floor exercises; bodybuilders endure repeated strain in order to chisel their muscles; even middle class moms and men put themselves through strenuous workouts in order to keep their heart healthy. Similarly, we are to understand, suffering is sent to build us up, to keep us healthy.

As we are weaned of this world by trials, and are made to look to God for our strength and fulfillment, we become stronger because of the difficulty we have faced. May your soul-exercise today bring you great rewards in your relationship with your God!

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It is one of the more familiar scenes from the life of Jesus. Standing in the Jordan River as cousin John prepared to perform of His baptism — the time honored ritual that symbolized death, burial and resurrection. How interesting that Christ’s introduction to the public scene would began in just such a manner. And how appropriate.

Indeed, for everything about Him – his teachings, his miracles, his interaction with the leaders of His day – everything was aimed with unswerving accuracy at one thing — the Cross. And how empowering it must have been for Him to hear at that very moment these tender words from His Father — “You are My Son, chosen and marked by My love; pride of My life.”

I firmly believe that everything Jesus said and did from this moment forward flowed out of this one thing – He was secure in His Father’s love for Him. He had no need to perform in order to be accepted and loved. No, He was already accepted and love – and that freed Him to fully carry out His mission.

Now here is the point of what I’m saying. We have no difficulty in hearing that God said such wonderful words to Jesus. Nor should we. Our difficulty comes when someone suggests that God may be saying the same words to us!

As hard as it may be for you to grasp this, or to believe this — it is true. God loves you…..loves you just as He loves Jesus. He says to you, “You are my son, my daughter — chosen and marked by my love — pride of my life!”

Can you not see the evidence of this truth in your life? God has surely chosen you, that’s why you feel and think the way you do. That’s why you hunger for truth and long for something other than what this world can offer. You are chosen by God!

But there is more! You have also been marked by His love. There is something about you that causes others to take note when you are around. A look in your eye, a grace in your words, a power in your presence. But, none of this is originating from you, as though you possessed these things on your own. No, these are but the evidence of being “marked by God’s love.”

And, as surely as any father beams with joy and pride at the birth of a child, so the Lord does over you! It was a happy day of earth when you were born, but it was a happier day in heaven when you were born again!

It’s true! God loves you as a Father loves his child. He has chosen and marked you by His love. You are the pride of His life.

I dare you to believe this for just one day.

I double dare you.

I double-dog dare you!

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No more beautiful words have ever been spoken than, “He is risen.” The Sabbath had ended and the dawn of a new day was beginning. The two Marys were hurrying to see the sepulcher where their Lord was laid, that they might put more spices upon his body. At this moment, we have one of those great “asides,” where the Bible explains some new unexpected event.

Suddenly there was a great earthquake when the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and rolled back the stone from the door of Jesus’ sepulcher and sat upon it. The angel’s countenance was like lightening, and his clothing as white as snow. Upon seeing him, the soldiers stationed to guard the grave site shook with fear and became as dead men.

At just this time, the two Marys came upon the scene, and there stood the angel before them. Before they could even realize what was happening, the angel spoke to them the most beautiful words they had ever heard, 

Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

Could it be true? As the two Marys peered into the tomb, indeed it was empty. They could hardly hurry away fast enough to tell the disciples. But, an even greater surprise awaited them. Before they had walked any great distance, Jesus met them, saying, “All hail.” Then, they rushed to Him, fell at His feet, and worshiped Him.

Those three words made all the difference. He is risen!  For all eternity, we who worship the Lord, will forever be thankful for our dear Lord and Savior who suffered and died, not for any crimes that He had done, but for all our sins. Yet, He did not stay in the tomb, for He, overcoming death and hell, burst forth from the grave, to triumphantly reign with God, His Father, forever.

Our hope and our destiny lie in His hands. He, who conquered death and sin for once and for all, wrought a great victory for all who come to Him. We no longer have to be bound by the chains of sin that had gripped man since the fall of Adam, but now have a door to eternal light, eternal joy, and eternal peace with God our Father, and our dear Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

On this Easter Sunday, over 2000 years later, we still rejoice and sing the praises of our Lord, who is our risen Savior. Some trust in money, fame, and fortune, but we will trust in God, our Savior, for He alone holds the key to all of our joy and happiness. No matter what happens to us on this earth, it is of no account, for our home is in Heaven with the Lord Jesus. We long for Him and look forward to the day when we will join Him in the courts of Heaven where we will live forever more!

Go, today, in the power of Christ and say, “He is risen. Yes, He is risen, indeed!”

The hill is quiet now. Not still but quiet. For the first time all day there is no noise. The clamor began to subside when the darkness—that puzzling midday darkness—fell. Like water douses a fire, the shadows doused the ridicule. No more taunts. No more jokes. No more jesting. And, in time, no more mockers. One by one the onlookers turned and began the descent.

That is, all the onlookers except you and me. We did not leave. We came to learn. And so we lingered in the semidarkness and listened. We listened to the soldiers cursing, the passersby questioning, and the women weeping. But most of all, we listened to the trio of dying men groaning. Hoarse, guttural, thirsty groans. They groaned with each rolling of the head and each pivot of the legs.

But as the minutes became hours, these groans diminished. The three seemed dead. Were it not for the belabored breathing, you would have thought they were.

Then he screamed. As if someone had yanked his hair, the back of his head slammed against the sign that bore his name, and he screamed. Like a dagger cuts the curtain, his scream cut the dark. Standing as straight as the nails would permit, he cried as one calling for a lost friend, “Eloi!”

His voice was raspy, scratchy. Reflections of the torch flame danced in his wide eyes. “My God!”

Ignoring the volcano of erupting pain, he pushed upward until his shoulders were higher than his nailed hands. “Why have you forsaken me?”

The soldiers stared. The weeping of the women ceased. One of the Pharisees sneered sarcastically, “He’s calling Elijah.”

No one laughed.

He’d shouted a question to the heavens, and you half expected heaven to shout one in return.

And apparently it did. For the face of Jesus softened, and an afternoon dawn broke as he spoke a final time. “It is finished. Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

As he gave his final breath, the earth gave a sudden stir. A rock rolled, and a soldier stumbled. Then, as suddenly as the silence was broken, the silence returned.

And now all is quiet. The mocking has ceased. There is no one to mock.