Thomas' Story**

The Holy One calls to me this morning.   The annual celebration of the powerful event in history that is the foundation of our Faith in Christ has passed.  The day we celebrate in remembrance of the Resurrection of the Lord, Jesus Christ is gone for another year.

I was reminded by the Holy One that Jesus hung around in His glorified body for "forty days" and was seen by many to give evidence of His resurrection to the Disciples who knew Him.

Acts 1:3, "After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave them convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of 40 days and spoke of the Kingdom of God".

While the personal stories may vary, each one of us has (or needs to have) one that relates to the first time we really "see" the Lord for Who He is.  Today, the Holy One takes me to the disciple named Thomas and his interesting story of that day in his life.  The day he "saw" the Resurrected Christ.

John conveys the account in His Gospel record, and how the disciple came to have the nick name of "doubting Thomas"  in John 20:24-29.  We can join in with the crowd that has looked down on Thomas until we admit that all of us have had our doubts about God.

In reading the Biblical account of the resurrection, others told Thomas that they had "seen" the Lord.  They told him of their personal encounter and testimony, but Thomas wasn't buying it.  In fact, he told everyone that, despite knowing Jesus the man, and having heard His words about His death and resurrection, he would not believe in Jesus as God unless and until he put his hands in the nail holes of His crucified body.

What Thomas was desperately needing was a personal encounter with the living and resurrected Messiah.  I think that sometimes the real importance of this story gets lost in the judgment of Thomas' doubt.

For me, the really awesome point of this account is that Jesus met him in his doubt.  I believe the Lord's response and why it was recorded was so that we could read about Thomas' wrestle. In the deepest places of our heart's desire to truly know the Lord,  we simply are not satisfied with someone else's testimony.

The Holy Spirit speaks encouragement to my heart today, "Keep praying for manifestations of my Presence for I will surely appear".  Could it be that the Lord wants to use our doubts to open the door to a more personal encounter with Himself?

Scripture says in John 20:24, "now Thomas, (called Didymus) one of the 12 was not with the other disciples when Jesus came, so the other disciples told him, "we have seen the Lord".

I cannot even begin to imagine the sorrow in Thomas' heart that he missed the most amazing moment in history.  Jesus made an appearance post death and Thomas was not there to witness it.   He was not present with "the others".  Was it extreme self-disappointment and faux pride that said, 'unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my hand into his side, I will not believe"?

I would be saying "poor Thomas" if I haven't been in that place myself, listening to someone else's testimony without my own. 

But what happens next in this epic story is nothing short of a personal love relationship forged forever in the furnace of desire.   Thomas has a personal criteria in order for him to believe in the resurrected Savior.  Thomas declared it, God heard it and Jesus met it.

"A week later His disciples were in the house again and through the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you".  Then He said to Thomas, "put your fingers here: see My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into , my side.  Stop doubting and believe."  Thomas said to Him, "My Lord and my God"  Then Jesus told him, "because you have seen me, you have believed: blessed are those who have not seen and yet have have believed".

Personal relationships involve personal encounters.  Should we expect anything less in our personal relationship with our Savior and Lord?  The wonder of Thomas' story is that Jesus met him where he was in his doubt.  And that is our hope and assurance: that Jesus will do the same for us.

The world turns, life spins out of our control, doubts arise and failures in faith happen, but through it all we can be assured that Jesus IS here and ready to provide the convincing proofs of His resurrection life, not if, but when we need them. 

Sanctification is a process.  Faithfulness is a fruit and the evidence of the Holy Spirit of Jesus within each one of us.  It is a quality of a life that bares His fruit.  I am having to re-think my judgement of Thomas and his stated criteria for belief. 

For Thomas who knew the "man" Jesus, to see the body that was pieced was not a "fleece" but a foundation.  In that moment when his hand touched the place of those mortal wounds, Thomas moved beyond any and all doubt that Jesus is God.

What is the equivalent of Thomas' criteria in our lives today?  What would it take for us to move beyond all doubt that Jesus is Who He said He is and Trust Him as our Savior and Lord?  If Jesus was willing to appear and show Thomas what he needed to see, He will do the same for all who truly want to believe.

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him? 

                    

Call On The Name Of The Lord

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  Out of the darkness of the morning hour, I hear Him call to me.  The quiet is not disturbed by His call.  It is something beyond human sounds within my ears that I hear.

The sense of His Presence is marked by a peace beyond words.  While life and the challenges it presents, still move the clock and calendar, His Holy Presence brings security that all is ultimately well.

Today in our fellowship, the "call" becomes the focus.  Our days here on earth are limited to say the least.  We hoover between the two ends of life we know as birth and death.  We have no control over the first and may have some, but very limited control, over the last marker of temporal life.  For most of us, questions about eternity loom large once we accept our own inevitable mortality.

Life on earth can be very hectic.  It seems that time is advancing so fast and knowledge is accelerating from a few very short years ago.  Cyber space is now opened up like a Pandora's box and there is no going back in what we have discovered and harnessed for our convenience or to fuel our lusts.  Like some sort of ethereal treadmill, we are being forced to run at the pace someone else as set. 

God's Word "calls" to me, to read and search for answers to the questions that my inquiring mind longs to know.  The Holy Spirit "calls" to me from out of the dark and confusing atmosphere to His counsel and with His help to interpret life here on earth. 

The "call" of God has gone out from Heaven.  The "call" of Holiness can be heard on earth.  The "call" of the Creator must be answered by each one of those He created.

God's word in the book of Joel speaks of an end.  The Prophet of God, quoting his source said, "God said, "In the last days I will pour our My Spirit on all people".  This passage in Joel 2:28-32, was spoken to Israel before the 1st coming of the Lord and we see it again spoken to the Acts church, when Peter quoted Joel in Acts 2:17-21.

In that chapter, Peter was explaining the phenomena we know as "Pentecost";  the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to those who witnessed but did not understand the supernatural yet visible manifestations of the third person of the Trinity. 

As Peter quoted Joel, we can see that we are co-partners with the early church in that we are set to see the "wonders in the heavens above and on the earth below",  as God's created universe awaits the return of Jesus, the Christ.

There has been talk of the days to come that might fulfill the prophecy spoken and whereby "The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood" before the great and glorious day of the Lord.

Joel's prophecy speaks of "the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord."  Contrast that with with the last words in Malachi before the first coming of the Lord Jesus. 

In Malachi 4: 5 scripture says, " See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and DREADFUL day the Lord comes.  Jesus 2nd coming will be in Glory as is fitting for the return of our King. 

Things too great for the limited human mind to fathom can be sorted out in our relationship with the Father made right by the sacrifice of His only Son, Jesus, and because of the role of the Holy Spirit Counselor.

Joel first recorded the promise of God regarding the outpouring of the Spirit.  Then, Jesus, in John 16, spoke of the coming and His sending of the Spirit.  In the account of Pentecost we see that promise fulfilled.

Simply speaking, since Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has been here and operating within the heart of every saved person.  Whether you embrace the supernatural manifestations of his Presence or remain in a place of more "flesh" control of His rule and authority, He has invaded this realm and is operational today.    It is His Presence within that gives us ears to hear and a heart to understand what He is speaking and the ability to answer His call. 

Before we decide to embrace Jesus as our Savior and also our Lord, the Holy Spirit calls from without.  All those interesting and powerful circumstances we might think are coincidental are a well planned orchestration of the opportunity to come to Jesus and enter into a personal relationship with the Savior of mankind.

Once we venture to the Cross, confess our sins against the Holy One Who created us, and accept the crucifixion of Christ as a personal atonement for our personal guilt, at that moment we become one with God.  The Holy Spirit, upon our invitation, invades our now clean heart and takes up residency within.    At that moment in our life, we become the eternal beings we were designed to be. 

The death sentence  of permanent isolation from the source of all life has been paid and we walk free, able to be in a relationally eternally peaceful and productive life with our eternal Savior and King. 

Today the Holy One speaks to me about the last verse of the Joel prophecy as recorded in Acts.  As the signs and wonders unfold, and nature offers visible proofs of strange phenomena, Acts 2:21 says, "and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved". 

The word "calls" has my attention and I seek to understand truth.  For so many people, the question of eternal destiny rides on what that might mean.

If we think that word is a "call" like that of a person in a free fall after leaping off a 10 story building, crying out for someone to snatch him and save him from the doom of his landing, that is one thing.  But if it means a deep and conscious call to the trusted One in faith believing,  that is another "call" all together.

Today the Holy One is calling us, whether to come to the Cross for Salvation or to engage Him in fellowship as a trusted Counselor within.  With the conditions of the world indicating an expiration date, not too far away, the "call" of the Holy Spirit is an important one to answer.

If the horn were to blow at midnight, signally the end of life as we know it, would you be among the ones who would call on the Name of the Lord and be saved? 

I do not know the entire scope of this verse.  Much is to be understood after the day of the Lord comes to man and the dust settles around the survivors.  But the one thing I do know is that my own desperate need for the Lord is in each and every day of my existence, temporal and eternal.

Each one of us needs to read and interpret, by the One who brings truth to our inner being, what is meant by the prophecy twice repeated, and assess where we will be standing on that great and glorious day.

Isaiah 55:6, "Seek the Lord while He may be found.  Call on him while He is near"

The Spirit IS calling.  Can you hear Him?        
  

                            

Palm Sunday: The Beginning of the Great Divide

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  The day and season brings a look back to the time of our Lord's crucifixion death and resurrection life.  Today on the calendar of earth time is Palm Sunday.   This is the commemoration of the day Jesus entered Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey, which to the people of the day, symbolized the arrival of a Gentle King.

The Holy One speaks into my thoughts, "The people are reacting to Me the same way today.  There is worship when they think of  Me as kingly authority, but when My ways cross purpose with their expectations, they yell, "crucify Him". 

Conviction hits my mind like a bucket of ice water on all the warm fuzzy thoughts of today.  I am stunned to hear such a sad indictment from the One who is worthy of all praise, honor and worship.    The sobriety of His words ring true for all of us in this life and expose the times when our faith, like that of Peter, refuses to accept The Lord's  mysterious ways.

Palm Sunday, as the Church has come to recall the day Jesus entered Jerusalem on the back of a donkey's colt, is in the week before the crucifixion, death and Glorious Resurrection of our Lord, Jesus the Christ.

In Matt 21, Jesus instructed His Disciples to fetch Him the donkey colt as the Prophetic Word revealing His Kingly Status had to be fulfilled.  Matt 21: 4,  "This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the Prophet".  Zechariah wrote this prophecy of the coming King, in the book that bears his name:

Zechariah 9:9, "Rejoice greatly O Daughter of Zion.  Shout "Daughter of Jerusalem!  See your King comes to you,  righteous and having Salvation,  gentle and riding on a donkey." 

Zechariah 9:11 depicts the blood shed by our Savior as the sign of God's covenant with the people. 

Jesus' reputation as a miracle worker was in part the reason for the worship.  Wasn't this the crowd who had eaten from the miraculous supply of bread and fish, seen Him open the eyes of the blind, heal the limbs of a paralytic, deliver the demon possessed and heard, if not witnessed the man, Lazarus come out of his tomb? 

Worship of this Holy Man grew out of what they had seen Him do.  He had set their lives onto a whole new trajectory and course of hope;  for an end of the bondage to Rome, not to mention the hope that somehow their sicknesses and diseases and even concept of the Holy could be healed and set right.

Jesus' message resonated with the poor, the sick, and the dis-advantaged in Israeli society, especially those who were denied entry in the club of the religious elite. Interestingly the atmosphere of worship and hope changed drastically in the days following that triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

Tensions rose among the people for there were those in power who liked things the way they had been for centuries.  Their motivation came due to the control and position they held in the hierarchy of Jewish society and life.

Little did they know that the plan to eliminate the God-Man would ultimately release  His authority out and move that sacred placed called the "Holiest of Holies" they had tightly guarded under the law, into temples not made by human hands. 

The thought of losing their grip on the people enraged those comfortable in the religious power structure of the day.  God's plan for equal access by all and based on a personal decision any could make and be received, was an alien concept and disconcerting for those who had invested in a structure and code of religious performance. 

Much is to be gleaned from the conditions then and taken as a warning to the Church today.  The personal application to my flesh battle brings me to question and repentance.  Lord, am I one of those who will worship You on a pleasant day of Your miraculous ways and then betray our relationship the next, when pain marks the pathway of this temporal experience called life?  Will my loyalty hold past what You do for me and rest on Who You are to me?

How does the Church that You are the Head of react to the power of the Holy One as the people share in it's government?  Not in isolated concentrated authority but in liberally poured out equal distribution of the Holiness and authority of the Holy Spirit via the gifts given to the least of Your Body? 

For me, this Palm Sunday is an opportunity to bring praise and worship to my King, but also to realize and prepare for the possibility that I might be tempted to betray Him when His ways do not conform to mine.

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of a great divide.  The coronation of a king to some, the plot to destroy a power not their own to others.  Jesus gave warning that His life and Being would bring such division and a sword.  He said He did not come to bring peace but a sword.  He said  that "sword" would divide and truly it does. 

Interesting how the life of One who brought so much hope and healing to the world could be so threatening to those who have their own agenda to serve.  He spoke of Himself and the sword He would bring, only to warn us of the reality of the division that His Being can and will bring into the world of men.

Oddly enough, the celebration of Palm Sunday is a reminder to me of that sword and the division it will cause, in the lead-up to Good Friday and then His Glorious and Bodily Resurrection.  But more to the point of His counsel today, it is a time to think about what side of the great divide we are on.

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?           

Pick Your Battle

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  Distractions abound that are pleasant.  Life is loud and even the forest dwellers are emerging from their slumber to celebrate Spring. 

The Holy One reminds me that as life goes on,  so do the battles and challenges we face day to day and season to season.  His lessons of late have been subtle and require me to really draw close to Him in fellowship for greater understanding of the mystery of Holiness.  He continues to speak His Word to my heart:  "In this world you will have trouble but take heart!  I have overcome the world."  John 16:33.

The Truth of His words to those who follow Him are so important in the world we inhabit today.  Battles and challenges have always come to humanity due to the fall of man way back when.  But there are times on the calendar of our years when the presence of evil is like a suffocating blanket.  Today if we could have the eyes to see beyond human sight, I believe we would observe a titanic battle in the spirit realm.

Life on earth had a beginning and also has an end.  Not the end like the evolutionist imagine or the one that the save-the-planet people are promoting.  The end of life on earth has been ordained and written down by the Hand of Holiness; our amazing, Sovereign, Creator God.

Troubles we are told, come like birthing  pains, contraction after contraction.  The closer we get to the 'birth" the more intense come the pains.  Questions abound as to what will be "birthed?  What new is about to emerge?

The answer I find and hold onto in my faith walk is the "birth/emergence/arrival of the glorious Kingdom of the King of Kings.  Jesus the Christ is about to come to planet earth once again, not as the suffering Messiah, but as the Glorious Resurrected King of Kings.

We are told to hold onto the hope we have in Christ Jesus.  The hope is unto our righteous hearts, grieved by all that we see that is alien to the Kingdom of Heaven and offensive to the Holiness of our God. 

But what are we to do as we look forward to that day?  What is our assignment here on earth? 

Looking back to the first coming of our Lord, we can see historically that a "herald" was sent to announce His arrival.  John the Baptist came with the message;  Prepare the way for the Lord.  Make straight paths for Him.  What was his message if not, repent for the kingdom of Heaven is near.  He called for the people to repent and be baptized;  cleansed of the old ways and open to the arrival of the One who would open the way to God.

Today we anticipate the return of Christ as King.  As we await Him, the challenges to live out His life under his Lordship abound. 

Looking at John the Baptist and the testimony of his life and calling as the messenger and herald of the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, danger found him.  As he spoke of the glorious Kingdom of Heaven evil plotted to silence his message and we live with the same dangers today.

The Church is the current day "herald" (like unto John the Baptist) and with the same mission to "prepare the way for the Lord".

The striking thing about John the Baptist and his mission was that in his confrontation with evil he lost his head and life.  We may not be at risk to lose our heads as we confront evil but we are called to confront it and stand firm for our Kingdom and our King.

Can we look around and agree that there are countless places for us to make a stand against evil for our Kingdom and our King?  As we make our stand, the Gospel is revealed and the Name above all Names recognized as our reason. 

The Holy One says, "Pick your battle and I will be with you to overcome the evil there."  Your battle is not the same as some one else's.  Your passion is unique, your calling individual and your battlefield your own.  But the one thing we can be sure of, we are fighting against a common enemy, a roaring lion who prowls around looking for someone to devour.

The Holy One has walked me through the account of a woman named Deborah, "a mother in Israel" as she calls herself, and one who lived in circumstances not unlike ours.  In fact the conditions she faced are eerily similar to those we see around us today. 

Judges 5:7-8, speaks of a life of oppression due to Israel's enemy,  by the name of Sisera.  "Village life ceased until I, Deborah, arose, arose a mother in Israel.  When they chose new gods, war came to the city gates and not a shield or a spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel." 

The picture is very clear.  choosing new gods brought war.  Village (peaceful) life ceased.  The people were defenseless for having no weapons.

There are 2 levels of view in these verses, life in the natural and life in the spirit.  Deborah called for the fighting men on both fronts to step up.  Deborah called for national and spiritual unity.  Both were critical for the victory. Today in our society and life, both are critical to our victory as well.

The enemy has us divided, and suspicious of each other.  Yet as we serve the same Lord, by His Holy Spirit we are one with Him and each other.

We are living in a land whose governmental foundation is based on the Word of God.  We have laws and statutes that are being compromised and to the end of a society at war. 

Judges 5:15-16 says, that in the "districts of Reuben", there was much searching of the hearts. The decision to be made seemed to be the decision to unify for battle against the common enemy. 

Certain tribes came to the war   Certain ones refused.  For those who chose to be involved, Judges 5:20 says: "From the heavens the stars fought from their courses against Sisera"  (AKA the common enemy). God's Angels came to the war.

As the battle ensued, there was this eye opening statement, Judges 5:23: "Curse Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse its people bitterly because they did not come to help the Lord, to help the Lord against the mighty".  Meroz was an Israeli town distinguished because they refused to enter the battle.

There is so much to ponder as we see Israel under siege today and the US refusing to fight with her.

There is so much to ponder as we see our society in the grip of evil forces and see life as we once knew it being destroyed,

There is so much to ponder as we see a church in apathy and the very Body of Christ siding with the world and making peace with the Lord's enemies.

And there is so much to ponder as we personally choose whether to just "sit this one out" or refuse to help those who are in crisis and under attack for their faith.

The Holy One says again, "Pick your battle.  Decide where to make your stand in all those areas to ponder, and I will be with you".

Does the Lord lack power to overcome any enemy?  Of course not.  But for whatever the reason He wants me to join Him in the battle.

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?