10-18-2025 Ezekiel 37 Dead Bones & Today

How does Ezekiel chapter 37, the valley of the dry bones, apply to today?

The hand of the Lord was upon me and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord.  He set me down in a valley which was filled with dry bones.  He caused me to pass around and in them, the valley was open and the bones were very dry (v1-2).  Then He asked me 

  
And I said, Lord God, You know (v3).

Then He said to me to prophesy to these bones and say “Oh dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord.  Thus says the Lord God to you bones, I will cause breath to enter into you and you shall live.  I will lay sinews upon you, lay muscle upon you and cover you with skin and I will put breath in you and you shall live.

I prophesied as commanded and here was a noise and a shaking and bones came together, bone on bone 

(v4-7).

     

And I beheld the sinews and muscle came upon them and a skin from above covered them, but there was no breath in them (v8).

        

Then he said to me prophesy to the wind, son of man, “Thus says the Lord God, come from the four winds and breathe upon these slain that they might live” (v9).

So I prophesied as He commanded and breath came into them and they stood up on their feet, an exceedingly great army (v10).

Then the Lord said “son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel and they say our bones are dried, our hope is lost and we are cut off for out parts (v11).

Therefore, prophesy to them and say “Behold, my people, the Lord God I will open your graves and cause you t come up out of you graves and bring you into the land of Israel and you will know that I am the Lord when I have opened your graves and brought you out of them (v 12-13).

I will put my Spirit in you and you shall live and I shall place you in you own land.  When this happens, you will know that I am the Lord because I have spoken it and performed it.  says the Lord (v14).

This was Father’s promise to Israel.  BUT, how does this imspact us today?

The world, and too much of today’s church ARE in the valley of dry bones. I lookk at a posting called “quora”.  It is a place where people and ask questions, express opinions and even post jokes, all on various topics. Through the posts, I’ve sen how lthe world views the bible and Jesus Chlrist.  I’ve seen suppoortive, positive information as well as degrding, ‘anti’ information.  Some negative, worldopinion, tidbits call the “the bible a ‘fairy tale, evenl a lpack of lies which never happened or ‘Jesus is a myth, He never really lived”.  I’ve also seen where scientists are discovering facts that ‘do’ support the bible. But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Heb. 11:6).  Father tells us that if we don’t listen to Him when He talks to us, He won’t listen to us when we cry out to Him (Zech. 7:13).  But, thank God, when the righteous cry out, God always hears us (Psalm 34:17).  But, bear in mind that even when a ‘sinner’ cries out, when his heart is truly seeking the Lord, God will honor that prayer (Psalm34:18).  After all, he who confesses Jesus and believes with all his heart, shall be saved Rom. 10:9).

 

So, in Ezekiel, Father has raised all those dry bones and gave them life and what do they do.  They complain, they don’t have what they want, they have no direction in life so they are divided.  Yet God promised them that He will fill them with His Spirit.  Keep in mind that there is the ‘spirit of life’ which enables all creatures to take a breath.  There is God’s Spirit, a part of the ‘Trinity’, that is to say the active part of God who puts His words into action through His breath (read Genesis chapter one).This is the same Spirit that entered Jesus which enabled Him to do all the works which He did, suffer the cross, be buried, then raise from the dead and return to the Father.  This same Spirit will work within us as long as we allow Him and don’t quench Him (1 Thess. 5:19).  Jesus tells the disciples to ‘receive the Holy Ghost (John 20:22) and strengthens that promise on the day of His ascension (Acts 1:8) and on that da, promises us ‘explosive power to do the things to which Father has called us.  In the upper room, the disciples did receive the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:1-16).  This same Holy Ghost is available to us, even today.

But note in our passage, Israel became complacent as God was good to them, even to the point where they forgot all about Him so Father no longer walked with them (Jer. 9:13).  He let them “do their thing’.

According to Webster, religion is basically being committed practicing a personal or institutionally set of practices or beliefs (Webster’s 7^th Collegiate edition 1966).  That means if we practice a personal belief or one that is established by a church or an organization constitutes, we practice a religion.

Faith is allegiance to a duty or a person. Belief or trust (Webster’s).  The Hebrew word for faith is emuwnah (H530) and is basically is stability and truth.  The Greek is pistis (G4102) means assurance, faith, belief or truthfulness.  Either or both indicate a strong commitment.

A fine line separates these two definitions, but the substance of the difference is what’s in our heart.   Do we ‘just do’ or do we serve with all our heart?  In short, in the Old Testament, the Jews observed the Law, all the holidays and rituals and sacrifices.  They attained salvation by being obedient in these works.  In the Old Testament, God’s Spirit did not come upon just anybody but on those whom God designated for a task.  Also prophets such as Isaiah (Isa. 6:1-9), Jerimiah (Jer. 1:-4-5) or Ezekiel (1:3, 2:1-3 ).  Consider some of the judges -Othniel (Judges 3:9-10), Gideon (Judges 6:34), or Samson (Judges 14:6) as examples.  Jesus upbraided Israel as to whether they truly believed the ordinances or not.  Jesus called them hypocrites for their heart was not into what they were doing (Matt. 23:1-32).  Remember that David was a man after God’s own heart so Samuel anointed David to become king (1 Sam. 16:11-13), David becomes king (2 Sam 5:3) and God explains that David was a man after His own heart (Acts 13:22).  

Faith is obtaining salvation first, then doing the works. Israel did the works to get ‘saved’, but today, we should be doing the works because we’re saved! Jesus tells us that if we love Him, we should keep His Commandments (John 14:15) and His Commandments are to love (Matt. 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31)!  Because as the passages say “all the law and t the prophets are dependent on love.

Compare today’s church wit the 7 churches of Rev. chptrs 2 & 3: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergmos, Thyatria, Sardis, Philadephia and Laodicea.Father praised each chuch for the good that had been doing, but then came the ‘however’.  The howevers included: some have left their first love (Father/Son), fearful and not showing that they understood lthat God loved them.  Some held to the doctrine of Balaam, sacrificd to idols and commintted forniacation listened to Jezebel, guilty of impefect works (not afrom the heart) or were luke-warm (not tlruly committed to Jesus, but not denlyingd Him).  Yet, on the other side God will protect the faitful and prepare us to be worthy to stand before God and be  welcomed on that last day.  We will hear “Well done, good and faitful servant.  … welcome into the joyy of the Lord” (Matt. 25:23).

I’ve lbeen discovering and seeing how the Old Testament refelcts conditions of today’s world.  If we read the OT, we can learn a lot about how Father interacts with His children. As we we learn our rrelationship with Him, we cn become better equjipped to deal with the situations lthat come our way.

Good or bad, which of lthese qualities do w see abiding in today’s Chlristian churches?  In the lives in those around us?  where do we stand?

We are justified through the blood ofd Christ (Rom. 5:9), so we are redeemed from our sins through that blood (Eph. 1:7) and our robes are mde white through the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7:14)

To sstay clean from sin, we need to to be transformed by the renewing our minds (praying & reading scripture) daily so we know what is good, acceptable and perfect before our Lord (Rom. 12:2).  In a race, all run to win, but only one actually crosses the finish line first (1 Corint. 9:24), and Jesus is the first to cross that finish line as He was raised from the dead (1 Corinth. 15:20-22).  Understand all who cross the finish line are winners.  We have emainned fdaithful to our Lord.  We So, when we do mess up (sin)  we have an advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1).   Jesus intercedes on our behalf (Rom. 8:27).  So, as we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive us from those sins, cleansing us from all unrighteousness 1 John 1:9).  And whatsoever we do we do from our heart (Col. 3:23-24) shows  that those actions are heartfelt which means honest and true.

Again I ask, where do we stand in our relationship with the Lord?

 

Amen

 

 

10-4-2025        Zechariah  Chapter 1

         

Israel had been in bondage for some time when God comes to Zechariah “Let’s start rebuilding my temple, my body”.

King Darius was a king who ruled between 522BC thru 486 BC which included Macedonia in the west to the Indus in the east, and from the Black Sea in the north to northeastern Africa in the south. 

On the eighth day of second year of King Darius’ reign, the Lord came to Zechariah, the grandson of the prophet Idda.  The Word of the Lord tells Zechariah that He is displeased with Israel.  They have not listened to the former prophets who warned their ancestors to turn from their evil ways and their evil doings and turn back unto God, the Lord of Hosts.  Have your ancestors lived forever?  Didn’t the words and statutes which My prophets proclaimed mean anything to your ancestors?  They even declared that God has dealt with them according to their works and deeds (1-6).

On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the Word of the Lord came to Zechariah again “At night, I saw a man riding a red horse among the myrtle trees and it was twilight.  There were red, speckled and white horses”.  Zechariah asked “Oh, my Lord, what are these?”  And the angel said “I will show you.”  The man among the myrtle trees said “We had walked to and fro through the earth and behold, the earth sits still and is at rest” (7-11).

Then the angel of the Lord said “”Oh, Lord of hosts, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah upon which you have shown your indignation these past seventy years?”    (12)

Then the Lord answered the angel with good and comforting words (13).   

Then the angel talked with me and said “Tell the people ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts; I have la great jealousy for Jerusalem and Zion.  I am sorely displeased with the heathen who are at ease (comfortable in their ways) and who had helped my children increase their affliction.  Therefore says the lord of hosts, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercies.  My house shall be built in it and the Lord of hosts shall stretch a line (measuring) upon Jerusalem.  And yet says the Lord of hosts, through prosperity, my cities shall b be spread abroad and the Lord shall comfort Zion and yet choose Jerusalem.” (14-17)

I (Zechariah) lifted my eyes up and saw four horns and I asked the angel, who talked with me, what are these?  And the Angel responded “These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem (18-19)

And the Lord showed me four carpenters, then I asked “what are these to do?”  And He said “These are the horns which scattered Judah so that no man could lift his head up.  But these (carpenters) who are come to frighten them and cast out the horns of the Gentiles which lifted up their horn to scatter Judah’ (20-21).   (the carpenters have come to repair the damage)

So, what do we care about what happened with Israel over 2000 years ago?

This passage implies that Israel is the “apple of God’s eye’.  But because of Gentile influence, Israel strayed from God’s laws and statutes.  Through His prophets, Father tried to get Israel back on the right track so He ‘reprimanded’ them (Israel). 

After He brought them out of Egypt and Israel strayed and God put them under subjection to other powers. 

However, consider that after God brought Israel out of Egypt (the Exodus), God allowed Israel to live among the Gentiles which yet remained in the land which God had promised them.  Gradually, Israel adopted the ways of those amongst whom they lived and forgot the ways of the Lord.  But, when Israel cried out God raised up judges to deliver them (Book of Judges).  Over time, God raised up twelve judges to deliver His people from oppression, a period which ended when finally, at the people’s request, God gave them a king, Saul (1Sam.chptr 10).

The people strayed from Father’s Word and statutes.  Father is love (1 John 4:8) and not a tyrant so He gives us a choice to follow Him or not.  Father told Israel that He has called heaven and earth to testify that on this day, He gave them a choice: life or death, blessings or cursings (Deut. 30:19).  Or if it seems evil to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, Joshua chose the Lord) … (Josh. 24:15).  Or Trust the Lord with all your heart and don’t lean unto your own understanding.  Acknowledge God in all your ways and He will direct your path (Prov. 3:5-6).  Temptation is common to man but God is faithful that He will not try us without providing an escape so we can bear it.  Beloved, flee idolatry, that is worshipping anything other than our heavenly Father (1 Corinth. 10:13-14).  Father tells us to rejoice in our temptations for this grows our faith.  When faith is perfected, we find ourselves wanting (needing) nothing.  Don’t revile people but freely give and ask God for wisdom and He will freely give it to us.  Don’t let our faith waver like the wind driven sea.  A double minded man is unstable in his ways and won’t receive anything from the Lord (James1:1-8). 

What kind of choices do we make today?  What about today’s churches?

Zechariah was commissioned by God to start gathering the materials and rebuild His church building, His temple.  We are God’s living temple (1 Corinth. 3:16).  Are we in a construction or even a reconstruction period in our lives?  Is Father foremost in our hearts and minds?  Our dads and moms gave us instruction and direction when we were young.  An heir does not differ from a servant when he is a child even though He inherits all things for he is yet under tutors land governors until Father’s appointed time. Are we still bound by the elements of the world (Gal. 4:1-2)?  In other words, we are still children until Father says otherwise.  Do we remember or teen years when we thought we knew everything?  But truly we knew nothing (in perspective).

 Father works in us and through us via the Holy Ghost.  Jesus tells us that the Holy Ghost will be in us (John 14:16-17).  Jesus tells us to receive the Holy Ghost (John 20:21-22).  Jesus received the Holy Ghost when John baptized Him in water, the Spirit of God came upon Jesus in the form of a dove (Matt. 3:13-17).  The apostles and about 108 disciples received the Holy Ghost in the upper room (Acts 1:15, 2:1-4).  Paul encountered twelve men on the road to Ephesus (who had been baptized by John) and the twelve received the Holy Ghost after their encounter with Paul (Acts 19:1-7).  Philip preached in Samaria and many received Jesus but it wasn’t until Peter and John came up from Jerusalem that they receive the Holy Ghost (Acts 8:5-17)  And how can we forget Cornelius and his household who received the Holy Ghost even while Peter was preaching, that is before water baptism (Acts 10:34-48).  Consider the thief on the cross beside Jesus who received neither water baptism nor baptism in the Holy Ghost, but he had received  Jesus in his heart so Jesus told him that “this day, you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43).

Paul tells us not to quench the Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19), that is prohibit the Holy Ghost from doing His job.  For the Holy Ghost will lead us into all truth (John 15:13), help say what needs to be said (Matt. 10:19-20), help us commune with the Lord (1 Corinth. 3:16) and confirms our salvation within our own hearts (Rom. 8:16) and even more.

Father gives us what we need to get the job done.  After all He will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5).  All we have to do is ask and follow His diection.

As Joshua said “This day me and my house, will serve he Lord (Josh. 24:15).  Zechariah was on his way in starting to construct the temple of God.  As we have Jesus into our lives, we ARE the living temple of our Lord (2 Corinth. 6:16).

Are we allowing the Holy Ghost to construct or perhaps reconstruct our temple?  How have our choices been?

 

Amen

 9-20-2025  Ten Commandments

  

The scribes challenged Jesus as to what is the first commandment and Jesus responded: Listen, the Lord our God is one Lord and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and the second is like it – you shall love your neighbor as yourself.  There are no other commandments other than these because all the law and the prophets are based on these (Matt. 22:35-40, Mark 12:28-31). 

EXODUS

Chapter 20

“I am the Lord God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt and out of the house of bondage.

1          You shall have no other Gods before me.

2          You shall make no graven image for yourself, nothing in the likeness of heaven or the earth beneath or that is in the water or under the earth.  You shall neither bow yourselves down to them nor serve them, for I the Lord God, am a jealous God and I visit the iniquities of the fathers unto their children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.  But I show mercy to the thousands who love me and keep My commandments.

3          You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God in vain (a lie or being destructive), for he who takes the Lord’s name in vain shall be held accountable.  

4          Remember the Sabbath Day and to keep it holy (set apart). You shall do all of your work in six days . But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God and you shall do no work on it, neither your sons nor daughters, manservants nor maidservants, not even you cattle nor any stranger in your city . For the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea and all that is in them in six days, then He rested the seventh day.  Therefore the Lord blessed and hallowed the Sabbath day. (a time of rest to celebrate the Lord).

5          Honor your father and your mother so your days may be long upon the land which the Lord has given you.

6          You shall not kill.

7          You shall not commit adultery.

8          You shall not steal.

9          You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10        You shall not covet your neighbor’s house nor his wife, nor manservant nor maidservant, his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Okay, so why did God give Moses the 10 commandments?  Read the scriptures. All that the prophet said and did were at our Father’s direction.  They spoke what God told them to speak (Gen. 7:1-5, Moses).  And the prophets did what God told them to do, as exampled when Elijah went to Ahab’s prophets with a challenge to see who served the true God, Baal or Jehovah (the great I AM [Exod. 3:13-14]) (1 Kings 18:25-39).

So let’s take a quick look at the 10 Commandments to see how God fulfilled the description of love.

The first four commandments have to do specifically with our relationship with Father.  God created the heavens and he earth and all that’s in them (Gen. 1-31).  So He is the creative force behind all existence.    We shouldn’t make any graven images, statues or pictures and say this represents our God and then bow down and worship these ‘things’ as if they were God.  God is Spirit and all who worship Him should do so in Spirit, with all our heart and mind and truth (John 4:24).   As necessary, we do come before Father first to cleanse our heart so we can commune with Him with a clean heart.    

Remember that Father honors our requests so we need to be careful for what we ask (Psalm 5:15).  A piece of fruit is better than a candy bar. We need nutrition for our body and spirit.  Just because we get a sudden urge, Father is NOT our manservant to jump every time we bark. He does honor sincere and meaningful requests, especially when we are aligned with His will (1 John 5:14-15).  But also remember Jesus asks us to love our enemies (Matt. 5:44-45) and leave vengeance to God (Rom. 12:19).  So surely, we should never ask Father to send His damnation upon someone. The world wonders about the condition of the world.  One of the world’s favorite expressions is G–D D—n it.  I wonder why there are so many problems?  The world lives in its own mess.  Why should we ask God to make it any worse?  God is love (1 John 4:8) so let’s use His holy name in love – at all times.

And, of course Father asks us to remember the Sabbath.  After creating all that is, Father rested on the seventh day.  Even though He tells us man should work six days in the week, the seventh is a time for rest and commune with the Lord, a time to cease from our own works and rest in God’s works (Heb.4:9-11).  Amen? 

In honoring our parents we find ourselves in a transition period from moving from God to those around us.   Our heavenly Father has shown us love so can now we share that love with those whom we encounter.

When we love someone, we most assuredly won’t kill them.  As I have committed myself to my wife, I will not commit myself to another by committing adultery.  And, by the way, this includes ‘spiritual adultery’, which is worshiping something other than God.  How long can I enter into God’s house, then go into the house of Satan oar even bring Satan into God’s house.   We cannot love two masters.  We will love one and hate the other (Matt. 6:24).  Love means I won’t steal from others nor tell lies against them.  When I consider my neighbor my equal, no better or any worse, I should care enough not to desire anything that is his. That is to say I can desire something like what he has, but not that item  which is in his possession.

We mentioned a couple of examples of hearing God and doing something for Him as an act of love.  We’ve seen examples of how we can show our love for our Father which includes loving our neighbor as ourselves.

Jesus tells us that we can pray “My Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed is your name.  Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give me his day, my daily bread and forgive me my debts (sins) as I forgive my debtors (those who sin against me).  Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil.  For Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever.  Amen”.  This simple a prayer but is our ticket for daily living, it meets our daily need. In the same thinking, the Ten Commandments give us a simple definition of God’s love and how to live in it.

I’ve heard many say that the Ten Commandments don’t apply anymore but aren’t they a basic description of how we can show our love for the Lord and others?  Just how do we love if we don’t keep the 10 commandments?

Amen

 

9-6-2025    What has God Done for Us

 

 This is a paraphrased and personalized rendering of Psalm 107, that is reviewing things Father has done for Israel and us or as if He and were talking with each other.

 

Psalm 107

 

I will give thanks to the Lord for His mercy endures forever.  He has redeemed my soul form the hand of my enemy.  He has brought me out from my sinful nature.  (v 1-3)

 

In the past, I wandered in a spiritual wilderness, doing what I felt like doing but found that I had no place for rest.  I was spiritually hungry and my soul was faint.  Then I cried to the lord in my troubles and He delivered my out of my distress.  (v 4-6)

 

He led me by the right way so I could find a place to settle in.  (v 7)

 

Oh, let me praise the Lord for His goodness and for the wonderful works He has done in my life.  He satisfied my empty soul and filled my hunger with His goodness.  (v 8-9)

 

For once I was in darkness, even in the shadow of death bound by those things that weighed heavily on me because I had rebelled against God’s Word and disregarded His council. In those days, I labored heavily for there was no one to help me. (v 10-12)

 

But when I cried unto the Lord in the midst of my trouble, He saved me out my distress.  He brought me out of the darkness and even the shadow of death and He broke off those things which had me bound.

 

Oh let me praise the Lord for His goodness and for the wonderful works He has done unto me.

For He has broken those brass gates and iron bars in two, which held me captive. (v 15-16)

 

I was a fool because of my transgressions because my sins brought on my affliction. For then I hated the food which brought me near the gates of death.  (v 17-18)

 

Then I cried unto the Lord in my trouble and He saved me out of my distress.  He sent his WORD and healed me and delivered me from my destruction.  (v 19-20)

 

Oh, let me praise the Lord for His goodness and for the wonderful works He has done in my life. 

Let me offer my heartfelt thanksgiving and let me rejoice while declaring the works He h done for me. (v 21-22)

 

Father guides and directs success in life.  He can bring me up or He can bring me down.  I can be facing problems that seem so overbearing, but the Lord can bring calm to my soul, my heart and my mind.  He brings me into a haven of peace.  (V 23-30)

Oh let me praise the Lord for His goodness and for the wonderful works He has done unto me.

I will praise Him where people gather as well as in the assembly of the elders. (v31-32)

 

When I get off track my rivers (problems) become a wilderness and my springs of life dry up.  When I wander from His ways, my fruit dries up, my fields are dead because wickedness has settled in. (v 33-34) 

 

But as I am faithful, He turns my wilderness into standing water and my dry ground into a wellspring of life.  He fills my hungry soul that I may live.  The works I put my hands to flourish (v 35-37)

 

He blesses me in the things I do and they are multiplied greatly.  Through whatever I have encountered, my problems have diminished. (v 38-39)

 

My Lord causes those (or that) which stand against me to wander in the wilderness, unable to find their way.  (v 40)

 

Yet because I am poor (in my spirit or humble) He sets me above that which comes against me and my family flourishes. (v 41)

 

The righteous shall see how God blesses me and rejoice and those who would speak ill of me will hold their tongues. (v 42)

 

Those who are wise and observe the goodness of God shall come to understand His lovingkindness.

 

How many of us truly understand how good Father has been to us?  How many of us take time to count the blessings Father has given us this day? How many of us have taken time to take note how many times has given us direction over the past week?  How many of us realize how many situations Father has delivered us from over the past month?

We usually look for the ‘big’ things that God does for us and we give Him praise for those things.    Things like being saved from a potentially fatal crash, being healed from a debilitating or deadly illness, blessing us with a pay raise, on the job which we weren’t expecting?  How many times have we looked into the closet and asked “which outfit should I wear?”  Many of us have been programmed to believe that Father only does the ‘spectacular’ things and we seldom considers that He actually cares about the ‘little’ things in our lives or the decisions we make.  Father is interested all our things in our life, not just the ‘headline grabbers or those things which just don’t seem important to us to us to bother Him with.

We have ‘testimony time’ at our church.  We’ve all expressed our gratitude for Father helping us make ‘minor decisions’.  Yes, sometimes minor decisions can become important moves in our life may impact other things down the road.  Those little things could lead into bigger things.  We seldom know the full details of the decisions we make until the ‘whole picture’ finally unfolds.  I used to chuckle at a lady from several years ago, the first thing out of her mouth was “I thank God for giving me another day!’  I’m not chuckling anymore.  I know what she meant. 

Father want us to share our lives with Him, no matter how significant or insignificant something may seem to be. 

Father knows our heart and our mind.  In speaking to the Pharisees, Jesus told them that He knew their heart and it wasn’t good (Luke16:15).  Father knows everything about us, He can even know the thoughts and intents of our heart (Heb. 4:12).  So Father knows us but how can we know Him?  We have the mind of Christ (1 Corinth. 2:16)!  With Jesus Christ in us, through the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, we have a direct communication with our Lord (John 14:16-17). Jesus tells His disciples (and us) that what He says has come from the Father (John 14:29).  The Holy Ghost will lead us into all truth and show us things we need to know (John 16:13-15).  The BIG question is are we listening?

Reread this again and pick up your bible and read psalm 107.  Ask Father to open your eyes and heart see what you might discover about being thankful and giving Him the praise He deserves for all that He does for us.

Amen

 

 

8-23-2025     The Smile

     

I wrestled all week with what to publish today.  Yesterday, I thought Father was telling me to compare Luke chapter 15, the Prodigal son, with a song/poem He had given me (oh my goodness) fourteen years ago.  Of course, the prodigal son took his inheritance, left home to ‘live his own life’, but learned that living in his Father’s house was far better.  The song/poem carries us from our youth to old age and our relationship from our heavenly Father’s perspective. One day was not enough time to do this justice.

So this morning Father started my mind thinking about how I feel when I smile and how I feel when I help others to smile.  Not much scripture today, mostly my personal reflections.  The book of Proverbs chapter 15 might help a bit with this as well. 

I guess I’ve made ‘wise cracks’ all my life.  I make a joke or a pun about something and it always brings a smile to my face and more often than not, to the people I’m talking with at least a smile.  I may have been encouraged in my High School Latin class.  One day, a fellow student in our third year of Latin, wrote a phrase on the blackboard.  Not only was he challenging us translate the phrase into English, but our teacher as well.  A few of us picked up on what he had written and it even took the teacher a few minutes to figure it out.  With the explanation, we all had a good laugh.  No, I don’t remember the phrase, but I was dating a girl named Peggy at that time.  The Latin word ‘clavum’ means ‘peg’, so at times I would tease her by calling her Clavusy.  Must’ve been okay, she never slugged me.

I pick the occasion to imitate Arnold (Schwarzenegger, not the pig) with “Ah’ll be baach”.  Of course then, Arnold drove a pickup truck through front door to the police station (Terminator).  I just want to let people that I’ll be seeing them - sometime.

Okay, now to why I’m writing this today.  I enjoy smiling a laughing and over the years I’ve learned that when people smile, their face will (actually) light up.  Needless to say that their countenance changes – for the better.  When they laugh, the barrier is broken – to a better attitude.  I feel good when I see people smile and even better when Father has allowed me to be a part of their laughing and releasing any tension they may have, even if only momentarily.  Often, I will just nod as I pass by people and acknowledge them and usually I’ll get a nod back, maybe even with a smile.  I feel good and, by the grace of God, perhaps I’ve helped someone else to feel good. 

What did the verse in Provers say?  “A man has joy through what he says and how good it is when spoken in due season (Prov. 15:23). 

As Christians, aren’t we supposed to help people feel better about themselves?  I’m not talking about soothing egos, but maybe lo just let a little sunshine into their life.

Paul talks about edification – that we should do things to bless and edify others (Romans 14:19).  He also encourages us to bless those who don’t like us Rom. 12:14).  Shouldn’t we more so to our friends? 

What is the fruit of the Spirit?  Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance (Gal. 5:22-23).  As we treat others in this fashion, it will come back to us (Matt. 7:2). 

Helping people smile is a reflection of the Holy Ghost in us (fruit of the SPIRIT).  It is being polite and courteous to others to demonstrate that fruit in our lives.  That fruit will bring smiles in our direction and we reap the ‘good feelings’ through the appropriate response.  Remember the old slaying “monkey see, monkey do”?   A positive action does generate a positive action in return

As I said, I feel good when i smile, even if they don’t smile back, but when they do, I feel much better. This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

The smile is a spiritual lifter for the smiler as well as the smilee (is that a word?)  how faces will brighten up – even our own.

Amen

 

8-9- 2025     What is Revival?

    

What is a revival?  What does it really mean?

Webster’s defines “revive” as return to consciousness or life, become active or flourishing again, reanimate, restore (from an unused state), to renew. 

Of course, revival is the state of being the condition of the aforementioned.

Note that in the bible, the word “revival” is not used.

The Hebrew used for “revive” is chayah (2421) which is translated be alive, quicken, recover, or be whole and is used in both present and past tense. 

A single Greek word is anazao (326) meaning live again or revive and is used only twice in the New Testament, both used a past tense situation.  Once where sin is revived (Rom. 7:9) and again speaking of Jesus’ resurrection (Rom. 14:9).

Childhood revival in Baptist Church

As a young child, I remember going to a church located about two blocks away.  From the top of my street, one direction from my house was two blocks to the main road between Washington DC and Annapolis, Md.  The other direction, two blocks again, the road ‘Y’d’ and there sat the church, in a house.  I think that it was a Lutheran church, I don’t remember anything else about that church so I don’t think I went there for long.

I do remember the Southern Baptist Church which my neighbor across the street attended.  Their son was my age so we went through school and Sunday School together.  In those days, Jr. High ran grades 7-9 and High School ran 10-12 and I attended this church during those years.  After graduation, I attended that church sporadically until I met my wife, about eight years later.

I remember that the Baptist Church always had an evangelist come in, I think, late spring or early summer.  Now, most of these evangelists were fresh out of bible school, practicing what they had learned in their schooling, some, perhaps, strengthening their so they might pastor their own church.  Understand, not all graduates became evangelists, but all were looking for a church to connect with. 

When my “girl-friend” and I decided to marry, the Baptist Church I had attended had recently brought in a new pastor who was till in his first year (I think).  This is the man who performed our wedding ceremony and we began attending there as she also had a Southern Baptist background.  Evangelists were still brought in annually.

Back then, the evangelist was supposed to give the church a “shot in the arm”, to revive them, to bring a little life back into their being.  As I remember, when an evangelist came, He revved up everybody trying to ignite new ‘fire’ for Jesus.  That was his job and it always seemed to work – for a while.  But after the evangelist was gone, most people settled back into their ‘groove’, their ‘comfort zone’.  The pastor was always encouraging us to abide in god’s love and to be friendly with our brothers and sisters and visitors, but the Holy Ghost was not evident in our church.  Yes, most folks did their best to live a Godly life (as they saw it), most sang along with the songs from the hymnal.  That was good yet the pastor had to encourage the few ‘Amens’ which were heard during his sermon.

Over the years, Father has taken me through some ‘main-stream’ churches as well as many  ‘full-gospel’ and Pentecostal churches having me take note of the flow of the service which varied greatly. 

The bible tells us that no one speaking in the Holy Ghost can call Jesus accursed nor can anyone call Jesus Lord without the Holy Ghost.  In other words, we cannot confess Jesus as Savior unless the Holy Ghost is in us (1 Corinth. 12:3).  Paul also tells us not to ‘quench the Spirit’ (1Thess. 5:19).  Here, the Greek word for quench is abennumi (G4570) which means to quench, put out or extinguish.  In short, it’s not just the simple fact that the Holy Ghost is in us, but we must make the decision to allow God’s love ot operate through us as well.

When the apostles and disciples were baptized with the Holy Ghost in the upper room, what  happened.  What sounded like a rushing wind was heard, what appeared to like flames of fire rested on (and in) each of the 120 who were present and they were filled with the Holy Ghost. They began to speak with other tongues.  Tongues is the Greek word glossa (G1100) which basically means acquiring a language one did not learn naturally.  They also spilled out into the streets and the crowd observing them said they acted like ‘men on new wine (drunk).  AND no matter what language men spoke, they all understand what these Hebrew men were saying!  Peter reminded them that these 120 were fulfilling the prophecy of Joel (Joel 2:228-29, Acts 2:`1-16,).

In Ezekiel 37:1- 14, Ezekiel speaks about the dry bones of Israel.  Children who had become complacent in knowing “The Law”, they had forgotten who God truly is.  Their ‘religion’ had become nothing more than dried out actions which desperately need a ‘shot in the arm, kick in the butt or whatever.  Father showed Ezekiel how to bring this pile of dried bones back to life.  A process, yes, but even after these bodies were reformed, even though they stood up and could communicate, they complained.  Though hey move around, they were no yet truly alive.  Father says that He’ll give us what was still lacking – His Spirit (the Holy Ghost.  The Holy Ghost comes from God (John 14:26). 

Many churches send evangelists out into the world to ‘save’ souls.  To receive Jesus into their hearts.  All well and good, but how many of those souls still have something lacking?  Though Philip’s preaching brought many souls into the kingdom of God, Peter and John went to Samaria so these same folks might receive he Holy Ghosts (Acts 8:1-17).  Also, consider the twelve men Paul encountered on the road to Ephesus, who had received John’s baptism.  “Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?”, Paul asked. To paraphrase a bit, the response was “Er, what’s a Holy Ghost?” (Acts 19:1-7).  Also consider Cornelius and those in his household (Acts 10:1-48).  Here, the first 29 verses recount Cornelius’, then Peter’s account of this story on how they came together, then vs 30-48 tells us what happened.  We see situations where people received Jesus and were baptized in the Holy Ghost then they were baptized in water, Note that in either case, Jesus was received first! 

As I said in the beginning, revival does just that, revives, renews or brings back to consciousness.  Anything alive does not need reviving, only something that has died or is close to dying.  Webster’s says that evangelism, basically, is bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to those who don’t know Him.  Interesting that the bible only mentions the word ‘evangellist(s) three times.  The Greek word is euaggelistes (G2099) which means evangelist or preacher of the gospel.  Here is another word to consider – ‘watchman’.  Watchman is only used in the Old Testament.  Three words are translated as ‘watchman’ -  Natsar H5341) which imeans to guard, observe or preserve, tsapah (H6822) which is to observe or behold and shamar (H8104) which is take heed, be aware, observe, watch or the like.  So, the evangelist is intended to draw souls into the kingdom of God.  Ezekiel tells us that the people need to set a ‘watchman’ so that if an enemy approaches, the people can be warned so they can take measures to protect themselves.  They are safe.  But if the watchman doesn’t do his job, the enemy can come and the people are harmed, the watchman carries he blame.  But when he watchman does his job but the people don’t listen and the people are overrun, the people are to blame  But when the watchman doesn’t do his job, the burden is on him for not warning the people (Ezek. 33:1-7).  Looking at the two definitions, we may draw the conclusion the though the evangelist brings souls into the church while the watchman watches for problems outside the church – or maybe inside as well.

Why did Paul write the letters to the churches he established?  He heard that they had fallen off track, they were not following the original teaching Father had given them.  As an example, Paul writes Timothy to tell the people that they had gotten off ‘track’ and need to spiritually make things right again (2 Tim. 2:14-21). 

Jesus spent three years sharing the New Covenant with the Jews on how He is fulfilling the old covenant.  Note, I said fulfill, not replace.  There is a difference.  Father obligated Israel to ‘do’ the Law (10 Commandments) and in so doing, they would be expressing their love for Him (Yaweh) and be saved.  AS we read the Old Testament, we see where many Israelites actually loved God from their heart and not just in what they did (read Genesis through Malachi).  Jesus encourages us to not be like the hypocritical Jews who did things for show, but rather do it from our heart in sincerity and honesty (Matt. 6:1-6).  Jesus was not introducing a ‘new foundation’ to the Jews but clarifying the meaning of the old, that is renewing their understanding.  But with the Gentiles, He was bringing new words of life through which they could learn and grow.  Jesus performed the duties of both a watchman and an evangelist! 

Confessing Jesus as Savior and being baptized in water to wash away our sin is just the first step we must take to enjoy eternal fellowship with the Father.  And yes, Father will bless us as we abide in His will (John 15:7) in this life.

And yes, Jesus IS the Rock of our salvation, the foundation of our relationship with Father through Jesus by the power of the Holy Ghost (Acts 1:8). 

There are two aspects of a covenant.  One is the one who offers it and then those who agree with it (confessing Jesus, Rom. 10:8-13).  Once we have received Jesus into our heart, now our journey truly begins.  That is, we become a ‘living’ sacrifice for, in and with Jesus.  We renew our minds daily with His Word and then doing it as a demonstration of our love for our Lord (Rom. 12:1-2).  Our faith is demonstrated through our works (James 15-20).  

After ‘salvation’, we find that we still may ‘commit’ sin.  So what’s going on here?  AS Paul says we all have sinned (Rom. 3:23).  Our old nature is still with us, but praise the Lord, Jesus has overcome our old nature (Rom; 7:14-25).  So I have to bring my body under subjection, that is my control (1 Corinth. 9:27) by not repaying evil with evil but build a joyful Spirit within me, pray continually, be thankful for what I do have, allowing the Holy Spirit full operation in me and through me, receive prophecy from those who follow God, treat all people as creations of God (‘saved’ or not), etc. (1 Thess. 5:14-26).  And should we sin, acknowledge, confess, repent and renounce that sin (1 John 1:9, Acts 3:19 & Prov. 28:13).  Then put the sin (as Father does) behind our back (Isa. 38:17 and cast them into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19), or as Father allows me to say “into the sea of forgetfulness’.  Then, let’s get back into the ‘race’, on the right track.  Confess = homologeo (G3670) which to confess or admit.  Repent = metaneo (G3440) which is to change one’s mind about something.  Renounce = azab (H5800) forsake or leave destitute.  In other words, when Father forgives us our sin, He totally forgets them, they are out of His mind.  Should we do any less?                   

Once we’ve fallen short of Father’s expectations (sinned), we’ve already mentioned the first step we must take.  There are other things we must do so that we don’t fall into our enemies snares again.  Three things pop out at us immediately (or at least they should).  1.  We have to read the bible.  The scriptures describes God’s love for us as well as giving us a multitude of examples to help us understanding and guidance so we can implement that love.  A biggie would be “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that none should perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16, 2 Peter 3:9).  Even though someone else may share with us, the scriptures confirm the truths of God.  We also need to keep reading the scriptures and the Holy Ghost will help us to get a deeper understanding of our relationship with the Lord (Rom. 12:2, John 16:13) 

2. Prayer time with our Lord.  Taking the time to talk with Him and then listening to what he has to tell us.  The Holy Ghost will teach us to recognize Father’s voice.  Father reveals things to us through the Holy Ghost (1 Tim. 2:10-13).  Understanding scripture helps us to recognize when it is the Holt Ghost speaking to us. What we hear in our heart and what we read in the bible are in agreement.  The more contact we have with our Lord in prayer, the more He is able to grow us (Rom. 2:12). 

3   Reading the bible and praying with Father helps us to grow in our relationship with Him.  Our Father indicates this when came to visit Adam and Eve in the garden (Gen. 3:8).  This example is given so that we may conclude that this was a normal ‘thing’ for God to do – walk in the garden and talk with Adam and Eve.  Other examples Father shares with us that He talked with His prophets, apostles and disciples.  God had a relationship with them and now He desires one with us.  Consider that Jesus encountered Saul (Paul) on the rod to Damascus (Acts 9:1-7).  As we open ourselves up to the Lord, He will open Himself up to us.  The Holy Ghost is in us.  Therefore we have the mind of Jesus Christ and Father will reveal the depth of His love to us (1 Corinth. 2:11-16).        

Paul tells us to run the race as though we expect to win (1 Corinth. 9:24-25a).  Don’t be fooled for many have already crossed the finish line before us, but everyone who crosses that line is a winner – through Jesus Christ, our Lord! It’s not just ‘that we cross the finish line’ but ‘how’ we finish - in love and joy.

As we live for, in and with Jesus, Father has placed a ‘calling’ upon each and every one of us.  Not everyone will become a great preacher or a magnificent singer or even an awesome athlete.  If so, where are the teachers, those who can ‘run’ a successful business, the librarians, clerks or maintenance staff.  Take a look at the production of a musical concert or a movie.  There a lot of people working together to make these things happen – writers, musicians, directors, cameramen, stage crew, etc.  All we have to do is ask and Father will show us to that which He has called us . Then, we allow Father to hone our skills so we can perform to the best of our ability to please God.  as we do our ‘jobs’, we find favor with God, we will also find favor with man (Prov. 3:1-4).

Evangelism is bringing life to those who have yet to enter into the kingdom of God.  It can also help to revive a dying church. 

Like the prodigal son, one must have had something to come back into it (Luke 15:11-24).  The watchman sounds the alarm when danger approaches, whether that danger is outside the church or comes from within.

Revival is for the church when a church slides back into complacency from being too ‘comfortable’.

Revival is pouring life back into a body (the church), no matter the level of the sign of life.    

Amen