| January 12 | ||
| And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart ... | ||
| Matthew 17:1 | ||
| Scripture records three times when Jesus took Peter, James, and John apart from the others to minister to them in very definite and special ways. Interestingly, each of those occasions dealt with death ... The first time Jesus singled out Peter, James, and John, He took them into the house of Jairus, whose daughter had died. After moving out the mockers, Jesus brought the young girl back to life, and Peter, James, and John saw that He was victorious over death. On a second occasion, Jesus would take them into a garden called Gethsemane. As He prayed, ‘Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me. Nevertheless, not My will but thine be done,’ Peter James, and John would understand that He was submitted to death. And here in Matthew 17, Jesus takes the three up the mountain where they will see Him glorified in death. I believe Peter, James, and John needed these special times of instruction concerning death because these three apostles would each have very unique encounters with death ... Peter would be the first disciple to be told of his death. In John 21, Jesus said, ‘Peter, they’re going to stretch out your hands and carry you where you don’t want to go.’ And that is exactly what happened when Peter was crucified upside down. James was the first disciple put to death — sawed in half lengthwise by his persecutors. John was the last of the disciples to die. Banished to the seemingly God-forsaken island of Patmos, it was a ninety-year-old John who received the Book of Revelation. The Lord uniquely prepared Peter, James, and John for what each of them would face. And He will do the same for you. He will prepare you through Bible studies, radio programs, friends, and books for what lies ahead for you personally. It’s amazing to me how I’ll study something or hear something only to discover a week later that a situation arises in which I need that exact information. Remain sensitive to His voice and then see the Lord’s faithfulness in lovingly preparing you for what lies ahead. | ||
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Homosexuality is a developmental disorder defined by the failure to establish a permanent bond with a member of the opposite sex. Psychologist Richard Cohen, in "Coming Out Straight: Understanding and Healing Homosexuality" (2000) argues it is caused when a male child fails to bond with his father. By having sex with men, the adult gay is trying to compensate for father-love denied in adolescence.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
| Take my yoke upon you ... | ||
| Matthew 11:29 | ||
| ‘Tekton’, the word translated ‘carpenter’ in Matthew 13 to describe Joseph, is the word we use for a finish carpenter rather than a framer. Tradition has it that the carpenter shop where Jesus worked with His father, Joseph, specialized in making yokes. Because there was always a lead ox yoked together with one who would follow, the yoke was designed in such a way that the lead ox would pull the greater weight. Thus, Jesus used an analogy illustrated daily in His trade and clearly understood by those who listened to Him when He said, ‘Yoke with Me. Let Me be the Lead Ox. Don’t try to figure out or change My direction. Let Me lead you.’ A story is told of a battleship cruising the Atlantic off the northern coast of Maine. One stormy evening, the Commander was notified, 'Sir, there’s a light ahead. Oncoming vessel.’ ‘Signal the oncoming vessel to change his course 10 degrees to the west,’ ordered the Commander. The message was sent. But a light flashed back, ‘Change your course 10 degrees to the east.’ ‘Signal again: Change your course 10 degrees to the west. I am an Admiral!’ barked the Commander. The light flashed back: ‘Change your course 10 degrees to the east. I am a Seaman Third Class.’ By this time, the Admiral was incensed as he thundered, ‘Signal again: Change your course 10 degrees to the west. I am a battleship.’ And the Seaman Third Class transmitted the message which would settle the altercation completely and decisively when he said, ‘Change your course 10 degrees to the east. I am a lighthouse.’ As we impudently and impetuously say to the Lord, ‘Lord, let’s go my way,' He answers, ‘No, we’re going My way. I am the Lighthouse. I am the Light of the world, the Rock of your salvation, the Creator and Sustainer of your soul. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the One Who knows the beginning from the end. Trust Me.’ | ||
Thursday, January 5, 2012
| Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink: nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. | ||
| Matthew 6:25 | ||
| Does this mean we should live recklessly? No. The word ‘thought’ implies anxious thought or worry. The word ‘worry’ literally means ‘to strangle’. If you’re worried about what you’re wearing or eating — about what you have or don’t have materially — your personality will be tied in knots and strangled. It doesn’t take much to strangle us. Even minor things worry us and sometimes destroy us. I read that it takes sixty trillion droplets of fog to cover seven city blocks. Sixty trillion droplets or seven city blocks worth of fog can close down airports and tie up traffic. Yet if you condensed those sixty trillion fog droplets, you would end up with only half a glass of water. That’s a perfect picture of what worry is all about. You begin with something little — only half a glass of water — but you start thinking about it and wrestling with it, wondering, ‘How is this going to work out? How am I going to do that?’ And pretty soon, you can’t see straight and your airport is shut down. You’re not hearing from the Lord and you’re not soaring with the Lord like you once did because you’re all fogged in. That is why Jesus said, ‘Don’t take any anxious thought whatsoever.’ Don’t let worry strangle you. Don’t end up in a fog. | ||
Monday, December 26, 2011
| December 26 | ||
| And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away. And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the LORD. | ||
| Zechariah 10:11-12 | ||
| The Jews would indeed “pass through the sea with affliction.” When they saw the clouds of the holocaust forming, many Jews got into boats and headed to Palestine. But when the British mandated that no more Jews would be allowed entrance, one of the great tragedies of history occurred when their boats were turned back. The seasoned saint, Zechariah, standing in the place of seeing prophecy passing before him is once again calling the people of God to see the big picture. And he calls us to do the same. We’re headed for Heaven, gang. Never grow weary of reading the prophets. They call us to remember where we’re headed. We want something practical. We want to read about how to have a better marriage, how to raise better kids, how to find a better job. But the prophets speak of the mystical rather than the practical because you’ll be a better husband if you remember you’re headed for Heaven, a better mom if you remember you’ll live eternally. John tells us it was because Jesus knew from whence He came and where He was going that He was able to wash the feet of those who were too busy jockeying for position to serve one another (John 13:3). That is why our Father sent prophet after prophet to talk about the mystery of eternity, to remind us to set our hearts on things above (Colossians 3:2). | ||
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