August 7, 2021

“For Your Love Is Sweeter”

2 Kiss me and kiss me again, for your love is sweeter than wine. — Song of Solomon 1:2 NLT

The Song of Solomon is a love letter from Jesus to His chosen bride, the Church. It explains how He sees the Church in its purest form, when all the members are living in unity with each other. It gives us a glimpse into the depth, length and width of His love. It shows what great lengths to which He will go to get us to spend time with Him. Everything He created was created for one purpose. That purpose was to bring all the glory to Himself. A part of that glory is the exaltation of the Church to the position of His chosen bride. For the marriage to bring Him glory, the bride must be spotless. He has assured that purity by washing each member in His own blood. When the Holy Spirit comes to each of us, He is not bringing an invitation to the wedding, He is coming with a question from the Bridegroom. The question is, “Will you marry me?” Such love demands a response and a total commitment. Keeping that commitment is not always easy and in the flesh, it is seemingly impossible. But it gets so much easier when we understand that a Holy lifestyle is really about having a love affair with Jesus. The thing that Jesus really wants from us is to be treated the way we treated our first real love. Remember that? That person was on our mind constantly, we were always contemplating how great it would be the next time we were with them and what we could do to please them. Jesus wants us to think about Him that way. Take some time today and just spend it loving on Jesus and allowing Him to love on you. He’s waiting to hear from us now.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous

March 4, 2020

“And Manifested His Glory”

11 This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him. – John 2:11

Glory Revealed

As a man, Jesus first revealed His glory to the world at a wedding. There He performed His first recorded miracle by turning the water into wine The Master of the Ceremony was amazed that the best wine was saved until the end of the ceremony. If we do as these servants did and follow the leadership of Jesus, we will be at the wedding feast when Jesus reveals His total magnificent glory to his Church. The magnificent splendor of His glory is beyond our imagination. We will also find that Jesus has again saved “the best wine” for that time. He blesses us every day but it is nothing compared to what we will receive when we get to heaven.

More Glory

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 03-04-2020

August 8, 2017

Glory Now – More Glory Later

even-smaller-bug-light1

11 This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him. – John 1:11 NLT

Glory Revealed

More Glory

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 08-08-2017

March 24, 2016

You Can Never Get Too Much!

even-smaller-bug-light1 26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant[d] between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many. 29 Mark my words—I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.” — Matt. 26:26-29 NLT (Read Matt 26:1-30)

Earlier, that day, Jesus had been anointed with alabaster perfume at the house of Simon, the leper. He told those that criticized the woman’s act of kindness that she had anointed His body in preparation for burial. Later, Judas goes to the leading priests and offers to betray Jesus. Then, sometime later, the disciples asked Jesus about the preparation for the Passover meal. Jesus gave them the instructions and they went into town to prepare the room and the meal. As evening approached, they were all seated around the meal and Jesus informed them again that He must die. He also informed them that one of them would betray Him. Judas rightly assumes that he is the one of whom Jesus speaks.

Jesus then blesses the bread, explains its significance and gives it to the disciples to eat. After that, He blesses the wine, explains its significance and gives it to the disciples to drink. Each time we take Communion, we participate in the Last (or Lord’s) supper with Jesus and His disciples. We are instructed to continue to do this in remembrance of Him until He returns to take us all home. There we will sit at the banquet table and do this again as we participate in the wedding feast that He has prepared for us. How often should we partake of the Communion? As often as the Holy Spirit directs each of us to do so. A good guideline in anything concerning Jesus is that you can never get more than you need and we sure don’t want to have too little of His goodness.

Post 03-24-2016

May 31, 2015

Pay Your Pastors Well

7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink the milk? 8 Do I say this merely on human authority? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? 10 Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because whoever plows and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. 11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? 12 If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.13 Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? 14 In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel..—1 Cor. 9:7-14 NIV

Paul continues to expand on the things that he could require the people to do for him. Isn’t it normal for the person who is being served to expect to pay for the service? We pay the soldiers who protect us, the vintner is free to partake of his grapes and the wine he makes, the shepherd keeps some of the milk for himself. Paul refers them to the Law of Moses and the expectations of the plowman and the threshers. If we are being spiritually fed, then we need to expect to pay those that spend their time in preparing the spiritual meals. But, says Paul, I will put up with any amount of lack as long as I can preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. A full time pastor deserves to be paid enough to support his family. It should be more than just enough for them to “get by”, they have wants just as we and our families do. (And, just in case you are wondering, no, I am not a pastor).

Post 06-02-2015

October 29, 2014

Jesus Reveals His Glory

God is waiting to show you the Way.

1 The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. 3 The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, “They have no more wine.” 4 “Dear woman, that’s not our problem,” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.” 5 But his mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons.[b] 7 Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.”When the jars had been filled, 8 he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions. 9 When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. 10 “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!” 11 This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him.—John 2:1-11 (NLT)
As a man, Jesus first revealed His glory to the world at a wedding. There He performed His first recorded miracle by turning the water into wine The Master of the Ceremony was amazed that the best wine was saved until the end of the ceremony. If we do as these servants did and follow the leadership of Jesus, we will be at the wedding feast when Jesus reveals His total magnificent glory to his Church. The magnificent splendor of His glory is beyond our imagination. We will also find that Jesus has again saved “the best wine” for that time. He blesses us every day but it is nothing compared to what we will receive when we get to heaven.
20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.–Ephesians 3:20, 21 (NLT)
Post 10-29-14

Morning Meds (Take 1 each Morning with all the Prayer You Need)

Lifestyle and Encouragement

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