When God becomes flesh, He merely descends from heaven into a particular flesh. It is His Spirit that descends into a flesh, through which He does the work of the Spirit. It is the Spirit that is expressed in the flesh, and it is the Spirit who does His work in the flesh. The work done in the flesh fully represents the Spirit, and the flesh is for the sake of the work, but that does not mean that the image of the flesh is a substitute for the true image of God Himself; this is not the purpose or the significance of God become flesh.
He becomes flesh only so that the Spirit may find a place to reside that suits His working, the better to achieve His work in the flesh, so that people can see His deeds, understand His disposition, hear His words, and know the wonder of His work.
His name represents His disposition, His work represents His identity, but He has never said that His appearance in the flesh represents His image; that is merely a notion of man. And so, the crucial aspects of the incarnation of God are His name, His work, His disposition, and His gender. These are used to represent His management in this age. His appearance in the flesh bears no relation to His management, being merely for the sake of His work at the time.
Yet it is impossible for God incarnate to have no particular appearance, and so He chooses the appropriate family to determine His appearance. If the appearance of God were to have representative significance, then all those who possess facial features similar to His would also represent God. Would that not be an egregious mistake? The portrait of Jesus was painted by man in order that man might worship Him. At the time, the Holy Spirit gave no special instructions, and so man passed that imagined portrait on until today.
It is only the zeal of man that has caused the portrait of Jesus to remain until this day. God is Spirit, and man will never be capable of encompassing what His image is in the final analysis.
His image can only be represented by His disposition. He is the invisible Spirit, who is formless and imageless.
God can ascend to the highest place and also humble Himself to be a man. No matter which image He appears in, His substance is still God Himself. These two people represented either end of the social spectrum, and I believe this is on purpose because the Lord wants us to know that His help is equally available to everyone.
It is by our faith, not our social status that we get results. Verse 29 tells us that as soon as she did, her condition changed and that she knew in her body that she was healed of that plague.
She got what she requested from the Lord, her healing miracle. She believed, pursued, and received. Jesus was not looking for her, she was looking for him. She did not wait for Jesus to come by her house, she reached out to him. As believers, this is the action part of our faith that is necessary to receive what we desire from the Lord.
Christians, I cannot express this point strongly enough. There are spiritual laws in place for the believer to correct negative things that arise in our lives. Jesus told many people who came to him seeking help that their faith in Him produced their desires. Psalm tells us to delight ourselves in the Lord and He will give us the desires of our heart; we need to live like we believe the Word and act accordingly.
God has provided a system for us to access His power in our lives, but we have to follow it. Hoping God will help you, but thinking that He might not is a zero faith prayer, and do not expect it to be answered. In fact, it is an open door for the enemy to come in and do the exact opposite of that prayer, and then blame it on God.
Jesus said in Mark that we can have what we say, but the problem is we are saying what we have. Jesus had to keep him from accepting the bad report, and to keep his focus on the healing that he was believing for.
It works the same for us today. We have to stay focused on our faith, knowing God loves us and will help us to get our desired result, as we stay connected with Him. Three people in Mark 5 connected with the Lord by faith, and they all got life-changing glorious results. He wants to provide so much more than just forgiveness of sins and a heavenly home.
Although if that was all He offered, that would be an overflowing glorious plenty, but He is always a very present help in time of need Psalm because He loves us so much. We see this in the second part of Mark chapter 5. We pick up in verse 21 where Jesus returns to the other side and many people are gathered to hear Him teach. Jairus, who was one of the religious leaders, came and begged Jesus to come to his house and lay His hands on his daughter, as she was at the point of death. Jairus made a faith statement to the Lord when he said she will live if You lay hands on her.
She will live; not she might, or we have tried everything else maybe this will work. He said she will live. In verse 24 we see that Jesus went with him. Our faith does the same thing today.
Jesus probably had an agenda when He came back from Gadera. Jairus was looking for Jesus, Jesus was not looking for him. The focus changes in verse 25, and we see a certain woman with an issue of blood for 12 years, who had been to many doctors and spent all that she had. In spite of all the medical care, she was no better, and in fact she was worse. She had to say this to herself because no one would be around her, as she was considered unclean, an outcast, diseased and untouchable.
She was taking a huge risk by just coming out in public, much less approaching Jairus and gasp touching Jesus. She could very well have been sentenced to death as a result. That day she had a decision to make, either stay in the house and complain about how bad it was, or by faith pursue healing that was available with Jesus.
She chose to take action. Faith takes corresponding action toward the goal. This is what James chapter 2 means in saying faith without works is dead. Faith has to be spoken and declared, as both the woman and Jairus did. Faith must have action, as both came to Jesus, they did not stay at home.
For example, if you are believing for a job, you must put in applications. You cannot sit on the couch and say you are believing for a job without corresponding action. Faith without works is dead. We must take action toward our goals, connected with the Lord. But we must first believe that we receive Mark The most important component of faith is being connected and communicating with the Lord, knowing how much He loves us and believing His great desire to help us.
In Mark chapter 5, Jesus encounters three people who are dealing with extremely difficult life circumstances, even to the point of life and death. The first man that Jesus met, the Bible describes him as having his dwelling in the tombs and no one could subdue him anymore, not even with chains. This man was possessed, or oppressed, or controlled by several unclean spirits. His condition sounds like addiction or a self-harm mental illness of today. The Bible says the man was crying cutting himself with stones as a result of the influence of the unclean spirits.
The man did muster up enough of himself to run to Jesus for help, as we see in verse 6. In verse 7 the spirits took back over and spoke to Jesus. I look forward to talking to this man when I get to heaven. He was in extreme bondage and probably hopeless, but when he saw Jesus, he got a glimpse of hope and he desperately ran to Him.
That last-ditch effort for help that he made paid off. Jesus freed him from the spiritual bondage that was controlling his life. That man was suffering through life miserable and isolated, with no hope for change or a better future. No one had been able to help him. I imagine the local religious people tried to talk to him, but to no avail.
Everyone had given up on him. The man was pitiful. But Jesus came and gave him a new life. In verse 15 we see that he was sitting with Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. What a change. In verse 18, the healed man wanted to go with Jesus on his journey, but the Lord had bigger plans for him. He told that man to go back to his home and to his friends, those people who had seen him decline to his worst condition, and tell them how the Lord had changed his life.
I submit to you that Jesus desires to do the same thing today, which is showing Himself real and doing great things in our lives. That man, even in his worst condition, connected with Jesus on purpose and asked for help. Jesus promised in John 14 and several other places in Scripture that if we would ask, He would always help us. He said if we would ask, we would receive, seek and find, knock and it would be opened to us.
Our situations may not be changing because we are not asking and seeking and knocking. Or when the Lord tells us to do something, we do not do it. Jesus told the healed man to go home and tell people, and in verse 20 we see that he began to publish in Decapolis Ten cities the great things Jesus had done for him.
I believe he had to publish it in written form so he could get the word to everyone in those 10 cities, and I believe he achieved a level of notoriety and respect and a comfortable lifestyle that he enjoyed throughout the remainder of his life. Jesus transformed him from misery and torment, to peace, joy, and prosperity. I am looking forward to talking to the healed man of Decapolis when I get to heaven.
Let us have that same motivation to seek the Lord for our best life. Be blessed friends. At the end of the last column, we reviewed Ephesians I am drawn back to that passage that clearly illustrates the character of God. Jesus tells us in John that we as believers will have a piece of God that will live in these bodies with us, and that Holy Spirit will connect us to His peace. Sometimes it feels really hard to not worry or be in fear when difficult situations arise.
But when we look inward to connect with our spirit, our core, that sealed place where our personal Spirit of God resides, we can find the peace that passes all understanding Phil. We can to have a strong spirit by being connected with Him. God created us for this connection, and the enemy is constantly trying to distract us away from it. Worry, fear, strife, bitterness, just to name a few, can cause our focus to be taken off of our relationship with Him.
This is why the Bible tells us to guard our heart with all diligence Proverbs , so that we keep our focus on our Father, and access his best blessings in every area of our lives.
Verse 17 tells us that with Christ dwelling in our heart focusing on and listening for him , we can be rooted and grounded very secure in His love for us. As a pastor and professional counselor, I see so many people who are insecure, or not sure of who they are as a believer.
God loves us perfectly, and His great love is unconditional, which means it does not depend on our performance. He will not love me more if I can be really good because He already loves me perfectly, and that cannot be improved upon. We stay close to our Father and enjoy His best blessings!
Verse 18 speaks to the enormous level of love that God has for us. Folks, this is where miracles happen, when we believe what the Word says, and operate in it with a confident expectation in the goodness of God and His great desire to help His children.
This passage is telling us to be continually mindful of the broad range of blessings that our loving heavenly Father graciously bestows upon His children daily. We should recognize how much He loves us and the fact that He is always trying to help us. He is constantly flowing helpful communication to the believer, and we should be steadily working to improve our ability to hear and receive His guidance and direction.
He only wants the best for us. God is not trying to hurt us to teach us a lesson or trip us up to see if we will fail. That is what the enemy does. Furthermore, examine the Gospels and we find Jesus always teaching, helping, and healing, never hurting anyone to teach them a lesson.
He never rejected a request for healing under the pretense of God trying to teach them a lesson with sickness or infirmity. In Luke chapter 13, Jesus made it clear that Satan had caused the woman to be bowed over for 18 years, not God teaching her a lesson.
The only people who did not receive healing from the Lord were those who did not seek it and those who did not believe that he could or would. Mark chapter 6 tells us that Jesus could not do any mighty works in his hometown because of their unbelief. Jesus did not suddenly lose his power to heal, the problem was that those people would not believe and receive healing He wanted them to have.
The woman with the issue of blood in Mark chapter 5 confidently stated that if she could just touch His garment, she knew she would be made whole.
She did not question His ability or His desire to heal her. It is important that we as believers apply this truth into our lives.
God is well able to help us, and He desperately wants to. Psalm tells us that He heals all of our diseases; 3 John v. Jesus promised us in John that if we would ask He would always help us. Jesus said many times Matthew 7, et al.
His healing is for physical, emotional, mental, relational, and whatever else needs repair. His Word is His will for us. It all comes down to how much He loves us. A week from now is Good Friday, the dark day on which Jesus died a brutal, horrific death on the cross at Golgotha, the place of the skull. We began to hear the story of Jesus when Moses wrote down the history of the universe.
And they lived happily ever after for ever and ever and ever and ever. But the world broke. We broke the only rule we were given. The relationship was shattered. Angels with burning swords blocked the return to the Garden. We immediately turned on each other, the first two siblings ever experienced jealousy, envy, anger and murder. We sank into depravity. Despite that, there were bright spots in humanity who remembered what we had in the Garden, who remembered God and honored the Lord.
The very water that washed humanity off the face of the earth also saved Noah and his family because of his devotion to God.
Abraham walked with God, too. God made a promise to him thousands of years ago, foretold of one descended from Abraham who would save the world and bless all people. People, being people, being descended from the ones who broke the one original rule, betrayed God and began sleeping with the enemy, worshipping gods fashioned by the hands of people, imagined out of the darkness in our souls.
The world waited on the arrival of the Reason, the Point, the Healer, the Redeemer. We waited a long time, many despaired God would never return. The Word had come. A new chapter for humanity began. The Word taught us to love, to see the most important aspect of our lives is our relationship with God, one that was worthy of everything we are, body, mind, heart and soul. The Word showed us we are all beloved children of the Most-High God and by loving each other we are fulfilling our purpose to love God.
He challenged the ones who would use position and power to take advantage of the weak and disadvantaged, the widows and orphans. He called them out for their hypocrisy and championed the cause of the poor. He brought the Good News that there is a path which leads back to Eden, to the new Heaven and the new earth, a narrow way which leads us to the Throne of Grace, to our salvation, redemption and life.
We do well to not only remember the story at Easter. This story is so important we need to hear it afresh every day. One day, soon, Jesus will return and take us home. Then we will live happily ever after. Come, Lord Jesus! There is a long-held practice of giving up something for Lent.
I had a friend tell me recently he was giving up Lent for Lent! Jesus tells us we are to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him. Jesus gave up his life for Lent. We see the final push of his ministry in the Gospels. We see him marching inexorably toward the cross. He knew what was coming and he went anyway.
The first Lenten journey ended in death. To stop there is to do the story an injustice. Lent always ends in death. And yet, Easter is always about new life and resurrection! We make a sacrifice in our life to echo the sacrifice of Jesus.
No, our sacrifice is not the equivalent of his. But when we miss what we deny ourselves for Lent, we are reminded of what Jesus gave up for us. A friend is fasting once a week every week of Lent for 24 hours. When he hears his stomach, he says a prayer. When he would normally sit down for a meal, he sits down with his Bible and follows it with a healthy helping of prayer.
The point is to make more room in our life for the spiritual side of our life to permeate all of our life. We live in a world of which we are not a part. This is not an easy stance to maintain and the enemy is constantly hammering at our defenses to break in and defeat us. He tried, futilely, to break Jesus. He will certainly try to take us down. We have a solid rock, a strong tower to which we can run. We will not be shaken or moved.
The practice of Lenten sacrifice keeps us focused on Jesus. As we follow in his footsteps, we discover the will of God for our lives. The closer we draw to God, the more we are transformed by love, made over into the image of Jesus. I want God to see Jesus when looking at me! I can never be worthy of his grace which is exactly why it is grace and by grace we are healed.
I believe in adding a spiritual practice during Lent, not just giving up something. I have yet to come up emptyhanded on any day. I see God in action, in people, in events. I see God answering prayers, healing relationships, and performing miracles ever day. Try it yourself. He said they hated him so we are sure to be hated, too. Take up your cross. Follow me. And he promised to always be with us, even to the end of the age. Come, Lord Jesus.
I want to revisit this idea for today. We are in the middle of the Lenten season as we march toward the cross and Easter morning.
Jesus willingly went to the cross, laid his life down of his own free will. His prayers in the garden before he was arrested attest he was aware of how bad it was to be and he submitted to the pain, the humiliation, the inhumanity anyway.
Because he was striking a point beyond the cross and that point was so important that no barrier would stop him. Look around you.
Everything you can see, everything you cannot see, from one end of the universe to the other, was made so you and God could be together. We were created to be in relationship with God, to be able to hear and be heard, to love and be loved, to share and be shared.
We were built to be in relationship with each other. We are infinitely stronger together than we are individually. Then sin happened. The bonds broke. We were separated from our family, from our Father. It was traumatic to the human race. It took Jesus coming here, giving himself up to pay our penalty, to restore our bond with our Creator. Jesus knew that the brief time it would take to play out his passion was worth eternity with all of us.
He endured ridicule, betrayal, abandonment, condemnation, and barbaric abuse by his own creation. He took three nails meant for us. We do this in remembrance of him.
Jesus punched past the gates of Hell and Death, confiscated the keys of both from the one who stole them and returned victorious so we would no longer face either. We know how the story ends. Because He lives, we can do more than face tomorrow. We can have a heightened sense of expectation! Out of more than prophecies found in scripture that are fulfilled by the life and person of Jesus, there remains one left undone, one promise unfulfilled.
He promised to come back. We awake every day expecting this to be the day. The amount of time from when Jesus made the promise to today is immaterial. He was promising past the barriers. He will strike his mark, he will split the sky and return with legions of angels to take his faithful home, back to the Garden, back to a place where we live in communion with God and each other, as we were meant to be.
Rest in his promise. What do we do while we wait? We will find him there and there we will find ourselves. Keep expecting God to be amazing. I began looking for the trick, because there had to be a trick. No way anyone could punch through that many boards, through that many blocks of concrete.
The masters tell you they do not strike the boards. They visualize a place just beyond the wood, that is where they focus, where they are striking, not the actual surface. They see their hand or foot passing through the material to reach their goal. Do we have an equivalent in our faith? Yes, because with God anything is possible. He speaks to us again and again about asking, seeking, knocking and we will receive, find and be invited into the presence of God.
Why do we expect the creator of all that is who loves us so much that all of this was created for us to have a relationship would want anything other than the very best for us?
Truth is, we are, because God said we were, even when we know we are not. On top of this most amazing gift, we would have all our needs met. In my experience, God does more than cover the basics. To be fully known and loved by God is humbling, staggering, cleansing, freeing, and joyous! Dive into the Word every day. Keep an open prayer line to the Throne of Grace. Seek God first. With all we have, body, mind, heart and soul. Love our neighbors. Watch our lives grow in love and grace. We expect much because we know the one of whom we expect is able to create everything just so we can be together.
God has never failed to live up to the promises made to us. He promised, so we may live with the highest expectations possible. Work on the Pilot Mountain First Presbyterian Church fellowship hall is progressing quickly and, according to Building Committee Chairman Steve Gilbert, the committee is pleased and excited by how the resulting structure is taking shape.
When complete, Gilbert said, the addition will feature a large, open central area for fellowship. Areas along the side will be available to be partitioned off, allowing for Sunday School classes or meetings. A kitchen area will allow for food preparation and service and bathrooms will be included in the new area.
An enclosed breezeway will provide easy access to the sanctuary. In keeping with a desire to integrate the old and the new, however, the window was saved and moved to a prominent location at the front of the fellowship hall when viewed from East Main Street. The project includes a renovation of the church parking lot, allowing it to connect to both East Main and Needham streets.
The lot renovation will allow for a significant increase in the number of vehicles which can be parked. A covered drop-off area, Gilbert said, will allow individuals to move from the parking lot into the sanctuary without the necessity of dealing with any steps.
According to Gilbert, wet weather has impacted the pace of the outside work but plans are still to have the project completed at some point in the spring. The sanctuary front entrance is also being redone in a way, Gilbert noted, that will allow for much easier handicap access. Other work in the sanctuary building will include renovations to church offices and bathrooms as well as the addition of a nursery and choir rehearsal area. First Presbyterian Pastor Travis Milam noted that the building was already generating positive comments from the surrounding community.
Greetings to each and everyone of you today. I really appreciate speaking with you. It seems each passing year goes quickly. But of course we have had so much happening everyday. The deadly coronavirus, that has affected family, and loved ones. This deadly virus does not discriminate. No difference here. Oh only if this could be this way in everything.
We ought to really think about this for a while. This year is a new year, and new opportunities. I am praying for our nation, especially the elderly, and the youth. I have never ever seen the voter turnout as it was in the November election. Most of us wanted change, I certainly did. And according to the voters they wanted it also. The younger generation were not being heard. There was so much bloodshed.
We have so many that we need to give homage to. Thank God for President Biden, finding these children that had been separated from their mothers, These children will be traumatized for life if they do not get help. Martin Luther King Jr.
Congressman John Lewis was a man full of faith, and did so much for the people. The late Rosa Parks was also a wonderful woman that made an impact. A new year and new opportunities. Isaiah To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of Vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; opportunity can be yours.
Greetings my fellow readers. I do appreciate your faithfulness in reading. I desire your prayers. And I know a lot of you are praying. Thank you very, very much. We must pray for one another. The spirit spoke with me. Sometimes people lose their way spiritually. That is why we must press our way and pray. Press and pray means to act upon through steady pushing or thrusting force exerted in contact. Sometimes we procrastinate. And I am sure at some point we are all guilty.
If you are a faithful prayer warrior, you pray and press and press and pray. This is Black History Month. Oh, I am so proud of my people, proud of what we have accomplished. Oh what a blessing to have a president with a smile and not arrogant.
One who cares about people. President Joseph Biden, when he speaks, he gets your attention, without falsehood. We needed a big change, thank God we have one now. We have a long way to go but we are in this together.
I praise God for it. There is so much to cover, but not all in this column. In this column we are speaking on the blood of Jesus Christ.
Romans But God commendeth his love toward us, in that while were yet sinners, Christ dies for us. Romans much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. We will sum it all up as because of the blood. God bless you! Hello, to each and everyone out there. I do hope you are trusting and taking heed to things going on around you. I am sure you all know what taking heed is. Webster says we should listen, attend, hear, hearken, mind, note, observe, see, watch, and pay attention.
It seems some of us are guilty. But if we follow the spirit of Jesus Christ, we will not error. Sometimes we would rather things stay the same, than to experience change. Most of our lives have changed tremendously. I know mine has. The corona virus pandemic has affected all of lives, one way or another. We are speaking on taking heed on situations, and all things. I am so proud to be celebrating Black History Month. We have made history, by the grace of God. Even with the tragedies with family, and loved ones.
Oh wait a pleasure to have a president that wants to bring us together, instead of separating us. Praise God!
Matthew Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones, for I say into you, that in heaven their Angels do always behold the face of my father which is in heaven. Mark And Jesus answered, answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you.
Mark For many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ, and shall deceive many. There are so many people being deceived today. Some people refuse to open their eyes, but would really see themselves. Well, there are so many I would love to give homage too. The late Congressman John Lewis, he was such a humble man.
Cicely Tyson, a pioneer woman who opened many doors for our people. We can never forget Dr. They served with such class, and I know it could not have been easy. The Bible says in Matthew and Jesus answered and say unto them, take heed that no man deceive you.
There are people, just refuse to believe the truth. We know we can trust His promises. He promises He will return soon. He instructs us how to prepare for His imminent return. He warns us to follow Him alone, and not be deceived by false Christs.
Friends, God loves us. All that we need to know has been recorded for us by God in His Word, the Bible. How can we recognize the true Jesus? But take heed; behold, I have told you everything in advance. What can we conclude from these warnings? When Jesus returns, His appearance will not be as a human being who claims to be Christ or who seems to have special powers. The Bible describes what appear to be two separate, distinct events in which Christ returns.
These events appear to be quite different in purpose, timing, and appearance. Jesus has promised to come again to take all true believers with Him to heaven John Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
Therefore comfort one another with these words.
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