The relationship between God the Father and Jesus is a continuing story that preceded Creation. In the beginning, God is and before there was a beginning, God was and will always be. He is Father and Son in One mysterious union. As gravity is subordinate to a restricted environment, so is the succession within the numerical system. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—One God, One Spirit, One mission. When God created time, He sent for His only Begotten Son within the fullness of time, and through Him, He introduced His love to the object of His affection. “For God so loved the world, His creation, that He gave His only Begotten Son to the world.” The Son was given to restore both mankind and the whole of His Creation from the bondage and corruption in the world as result of the Fall. Sin entered the world through the interference brought forth by God’s enemy. The eternal love experienced by mankind and nature was interrupted by a cancerous contagion. The disease of sin had become so widespread that the pandemic was unrecognizable by its victims. Unfortunately, it is the tragedy of every generation; lovelessness, hard-heartedness, lusts, greed, and selfishness emit from the hearts of those who know no better than to heed the familiar voices of their peers who suffer from the same condition. 

Thankfully, God’s love is laser focused, as it penetrates the sin barriers erected over lifetimes and generations. Only His love can restore God’s creative order that is modeled throughout His creation. Contrastingly, a fatherless generation is a godless generation. Jesus came to share His Father with us while we were sons of disobedience. But now, God has sent His Son that we may enter in the eternal relationship that preexisted time. The story of redemption was historically conveyed through the Prophets to the fathers of the Tribes of Israel. This would bind fathers and sons through godly instructions given to families. Now His Word is embodied in flesh and He now speaks through Jesus Christ, His Son. And His Son speaks through His Church, the Body of Christ. As Christ is made known through His Body, every father has the responsibility to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to and through the Church. 

Governmental and political parties, along with Law enforcement officials, are searching for answers to dilemmas of our day. The statisticians are measuring the continuing decline of morals and ethics while passing laws that reinforce what they attempt to curb. When God is not acknowledged as Father, biological fathers have no established pattern for how to model their fathering. Even those who attempt to do their best at providing come up short not knowing where they went wrong. Fortunately, The Spirit of the Lord will send the spirit of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers.  

It must be pointed out for one to fully realize how important a mother really is. When we take the time to cease from our daily efforts and ponder the value given to the second person of God’s creation, we cannot help but thank God for such a wonder. Yes, fathers originate the process, and that began with God our heavenly Father. Our word “father” comes from Pater in Hebrew meaning, “brought forth from,” and that which is produced must be developed if it is reach its destiny. The seed would remain impotent and eventually die unless it was not deposited into the womb. There it is nurtured and protected in order to be formed into the idea of its original design. Who but God could have thought of such a wondrous plan as to take two distinctly different people and use them as His instruments to bring forth life? Not only does God place this miracle within her physical body, but also within her mind and soul lies the passion and desire to see that life become all that God intended for it to be. Within the womb is God’s creative genius, and outside of the womb is the demonstration of His love. The continuous love of a mother provides an environment for a child to grow up knowing that he or she is cared for. The world is a vicious and violent place to live, and people, not knowing who they are, will act out various roles of reality given to them by those that they admire. Their twisted thinking often leads them to violate the ethical code of humanity. They lose sight of their purpose and have no idea of life’s truest meaning. But the mother, the symbolic source of nurturing, serves as a reminder that there still remains a person that cares, and therefore, there must be a God that cares.

If love exists anywhere, it reminds us of the fact that love still remains. If it remains, it must generate from its origin. Therefore, if there was no other indication that God is the same, the dynamic of a mother and child would be enough to reveal to us of this truth. Jesus in His lamentation over Jerusalem expressed this love for His people. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37) Not only does a mother provide and protect her children, but even in the animal world, that protective love is exhibited. You may threaten to rob a mother of her valuables, and even threaten to take her life, but woe be unto you if you threaten to do harm to her children. She will do whatever is necessary to protect that which was brought forth from her own womb. It is an extension of God’s love through Jesus Christ for His own. She is there regardless of the life altering decisions made by her children. She is willing to express her love but the only way to know it is when it is fully received.

When Jesus was being crucified and hung on the cross, He took time out of his suffering to speak to John, His disciple, saying, “Behold, thy mother.” What He was saying to John was, “John, take care of mother and treat her as your own.” Why was this moment so special? Jesus was expressing His appreciation for the thirty-three years of nurture and love received from her. He was reminded of her value in His life and the encouragement He had received from her throughout the many years of life and ministry. He was saying to John, “Treat her as I would treat her. The acts of kindness that I received…treat her as if it were you instead of Me.” Now as we celebrate our mothers, let us remember that God gave her to us as His gift. Love her as Jesus loved His mother, as the potency of His love is expressed through her. 

Thomas Paine, at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, wrote, ‘these are the times that try men’s souls.”  The deluge of pressures converging during these tenuous times raises questions within the heart and soul. Here the bravery of men is addressed, especially for those who fought in the war even at the expense of possibly losing their lives. Yet, he contrasted their bravery with the summertime soldiers who would only engage in the battle if conditions were convenient. Like in the time of Paine, we are currently at war. The battle is for the souls of individuals and the soul of this generation. The crisis today is the unbelief in Christ and those who are misguided by and through the philosophies of men. Unfortunately, the tragedy of our day is that many do not realize it. 

As it was in the days of Noah before the Flood, business goes on as usual. Nothing about their routine is changed. Spiritual apathy has defined this generation. As we engage in a global crisis, the simpleminded are only capable of seeing the effect of it from day to day and contributing factors are not given any consideration. As ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, our primary assignment is the preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Only through preaching God’s Truth, which transcends human wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, will people be prepared to take the right stand and defend the right causes. The minister must first be called or recruited by God, and then must answer the call by abandoning self and permitting his life to be hidden in Christ. Only then can he meet the criteria to speak as the oracle of God.  His message is the message of God’s Kingdom, which is God’s rule and reign over all His creation. 

The battle is the cataclysmic collision between two opposing kingdoms—the kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of Light. The deceptive strategy of the devil camouflages his agenda, which causes individuals to interpret all things as the kingdom of self. Many choose to focus on self-image, self-gratification, and self-awareness while he comes to steal, kill, and destroy their souls. The disruptive nature of spiritual light exposes the character of those that would otherwise operate with their motives undetected. The closer we come to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, the more turbulence will be experienced within the culture. As it was when Simeon prophesied about Christ when he came to earth, he remarked, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against 35 (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” Luke 2:34-35.

The closer we come to the return of the Lord, a higher the price that must be paid by the faithful as evidence of their loyalty to the His standard of righteousness. The devil knows that his time is short, therefore he is using every piece of his arsenal at his exposal. Yet there will be faithful servants standing who have set their sights on things above, and who daily choose not to grow weary even if the whole world stands against them. 

Human existence on earth is like a classroom for continuous learning and where we learn what it means to live with purpose. The previews experienced in this life are but a dress rehearsal for our eternal home. The Holy Spirit is a gift from Heaven that leads and guide us through those things known to God alone. As the Spirit of Truth, he teaches us through the inspired instructions of those appointed by God, and the challenges of everyday life. In God’s economy, nothing is wasted. If we maintain our confidence in God’s love, even the pains of rejection, disappointments, and abandonments are but steppingstones into a bright and glorious future. The Apostle Paul said, “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ (Phil 3:7-9). If those things are considered as loss, then what knowledge did he desire to attain and where was that knowledge to be applied? It was obvious that he anticipated a higher level of communion that required a higher degree of knowledge. He sought after the knowledge of Christ in relation to His fellowship with the His Father, God. Jesus Christ came to the earth from Heaven, born of a virgin and suffered the severest of abuses to learn what it meant to be fully human. In exchange, He came to instruct and lead those that would follow Him that they may enter the glory of sonship with the Father.

This will give us a different perspective on the things that happen to us. Our histories are but reflections of God’s Divine Providence working towards a bright and glorious future. Even death itself is but a passageway from the lesser to the greater. Since all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord, that is, those who are called according to His purpose, we then can endure all things with courage. Whatever was a part of our history was leading to our destiny. As George Santayana famously remarked, “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” There are endless cycles that hold the individual captive and do not create any traction to move forward. As a result, the individual spins her wheels, not weaving a tapestry of beauty, but rather, casting sparks from the friction created when condemned to meet the same mistakes time and time again. God will not promote you to the next challenge until you have mastered the previous one. It may be the same challenge in a different form, or the rephrasing of challenge designed to free you from a fault, but the question that always remains is what did you learn while going through whatever you had to go through? There was a treasure contained within that challenge. The Holy Spirit was there to reveal to you an aspect of Christ never known by you before. What you are intended to gain will have eternal worth in your heavenly home. 

While there are many things that God gives you in this life that can take with you on your journey, just be sure that you are headed in the right direction. When you arrive there, those things that may have appeared to be senseless will make all the sense in the world. It will then make sense because it came for the Source of all wisdom, knowledge, and glory. The wisdom attained will produce the fulfillment never even imagined within the limited realm of time and space. But the life’s lessons learned is for the eternal glory in the place that it fits in best. Your Eternal Home!   

“When my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” (Psalm 61:2)

There are times when the pressures of life appear to surmount without any relief in sight. Every person has faced this challenge at one time or another and has wondered if he or she possessed the ability to keep moving forward.  St. John of the Cross, a writer in the 16th century, referred to this experience as “the dark night of the soul.” It is like entering a dark tunnel and not being able to see the light at the end. Moreover, the Psalmist describes it in language depicting the condition of the heart when he says, “When my heart is overwhelmed.” He did not say, “when my heart was overwhelmed, but rather, when my heart is overwhelmed. It implies that the dreadful place of an overwhelmed heart is not a once in a lifetime occurrence, but the experience will more than likely be repeated. In that strange and unfamiliar place, our faith is being tested. He is giving instructions from his own personal life experiences, and it is probable that there was a time when he did not know what to do. Hopelessness leads to despair, and then a kind of death occurs within the soul. Even though the body maintains its motion, it ceases to live within its members. The hollow feeling causes the person to be held captive as a prisoner to the moment as the entry level of the initial pain arrests the soul.

In order to press past this stage, it requires reaching beyond our current references and trusting in the One who knows what would otherwise be unknowable. He is higher than the heights of those things that stand in our way and would otherwise obscure our vision. Authentic faith catapults us into the future with confidence. When we are blinded by uncertainties, we are suddenly surprised by God’s grace. He reveals Himself as being greater than the problem. His grace appears in abundance and surpasses anything we could have imagined. Additionally, His Spirit was with us all the while. His objective is to lead us to the Rock of Ages—a stable and steady place where we can place the weight of our lives upon its surface. As we stand on the Rock, we are stilled so that we may see the glory of the Lord as He leads us from grace to glory.

Although there remains many things unknown to us, the difference now is what we learn after learning to trust in the Lord. No longer leaning to our own understanding, we submit all things to Him. All future planning then takes into consideration the unknown, yet trusting the One who knows all things. Without fear or trepidation. all plans are submitted to Him. “If the Lord wills, we will do such and such.” Every plan is preceded with a prayer of submission. To accept His will as being for my good and for His glory. His thoughts and plans for us are to give us a hope-filled life and a glorious future. The Rock that we stand upon is higher than I.

A proclamation is taking ownership of what we speak. When His Word becomes life within us, then we can proclaim it with confidence and conviction. The Spirit of grace upon our lives will arrest hardened hearts to hear us, and His power will convert sinners into saints. Otherwise, our words apart from God’s perspective are like a dog howling at the moon—noisy and aggravating. Spiritual messages conveyed through heartless vessels neutralizes its effectiveness. They become empty words reduced to cliches and routine recitations used to impress or entertain those who have itching ears and are acclimated towards the eloquence of speaking skills. They cause more harm through their spiritual impotency than good. 

The proclamation of God’s goodness is prophetic. It is the convergence of His goodness of the past, His goodness in the future, and its present representation in our lives. God has always been good, He will be good, and therefore, we can speak with confidence in saying, God is good! We speak of His glory by faith. The gift of faith holds us fast while we face the dilemmas and circumstances of today. We do not waver in our confession because we have placed all things into His Hands.  “And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak” (2 Cor. 4:13). The spirit of faith is what we share with those who have gone before us. It is the continuation of the legacy of faith once for all delivered to the saints. We then enter the experiences of those who have kept the faith to the end. Our declaration then becomes our proclamation. We proclaim what we have declared as truth, we speak what we believe, and we arrive at a level of believing even when there appears to be no evidence to support it. 

To shout out is to proclaim from the deepest recesses of the soul and to speak loudly with confidence. The shout has the capability to even awaken those who are hard of hearing. Figuratively speaking, it is to live life out loud. It is for the witness to overcome all timidity and ambiguity while precisely conveying the message that awakens slumbering souls. People will then be able to clearly distinguish the difference between God’s Word from what has is politicly correct and popular. Conversion requires the change of heart, mind, and attitude. If the message can easily fit into the repertoire of ordinary life without conviction that leads to a radical change, it is merely a message of accommodation rather than transformation. Yes, our humanness by nature has placed us in a hopeless situation and there is nothing we can do to raise ourselves up to the level of meeting God’s expectations. But His Truth through Jesus Christ came down to our level to lift us up beyond what we could do for ourselves. This is the message that we proclaim—the message of Jesus Christ who came to save us from our sin nature. We have the opportunity today to proclaim God’s goodness as His Son leads many sons to glory! 

God sent His greeting through angels to the shepherds while they were tending their sheep at night. This greeting provides evidence that God does not discriminate when addressing humanity as He introduces His peace to the world. “Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people” (Luke 2:10). He made it evident that even from the lowliest person, what was being proclaimed to them would be proclaimed through them, and would reach the farthest parts of the earth. His glory would descend from the Heaven of heavens and reach the ends of the earth. The suddenness of the proclamation was without forewarning. The time would come when the angel would make his announcement and the heavenly host would burst forth into praise; (14) “Glory to God in the highest.”  The highest degree of glory for the highest good for mankind. His promise would be fulfilled as was declared, “but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord” (Num 14:21).

Good tidings are proclaimed with excitement and enthusiasm. God wanted to deliver His good news of the Gospel more than the people were eager to receive it. It was the proclamation of peace, the peace of God and peace with God. Not only had God devised the plan, but the set time had come for His plan to be revealed. The Gospel message contains good tidings of great joy. Tidings expressing the good will of God, through His eternal purpose and intent for mankind, transcend the separation caused by his rebellion for the good of others in the end. (Deut 8:16b) He would not allow the sentence of death to be the end of what His love was capable of accomplishing, but the good news of the Gospel was that His mercy extended beyond the darkened conscience caused by overt rebellion. It was the violation of the Word that caused death, and now, the Word became flesh to validate the Truth of the Word. The Man Jesus Christ, revealed as the last Adam, succeeded where the first Adam had failed and a new and a living way was being blazed for us to return as individual men to the Father. 

The earth once existed without form and meaning. After God created the order for His creation, he established man to tend the earth and rule over His creation. Sin had invited meaninglessness to return while every manner of confusion was given permission to dominate what God had created. The god of this present age has caused man to redefine and recategorize what has been clearly made evident. “The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their ways; they have made themselves crooked paths; whoever takes that way shall not know peace” (Isa 59:8). Christ came to provide us a choice. We are no longer condemned to the solitary confinement of the world’s way, but now the way to life has come! He came to bring peace on the earth and good will towards men. We can now sing, “Joy to the world, the Lord has come. Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room. And Heaven and nature sing. Let Heaven and nature sing. Let Heaven, let Heaven and nature sing!

God gives us an abundance of reasons to be grateful, and expressing that gratitude requires one to take notice of His benevolence towards us. The Psalmist was overwhelmed as result of meditating on those things granted to Him and began with the exultation, “Oh.” This exclamation was made with great joy and triumph as he reflected upon the victories of the past through which the Lord had delivered him. Then, the psalmist expressed his blessings and benefits provided to him from the beginning of his life to the present time. Praise is the result of reflections of the past and provides hope for the future. The summation of his exultation is expressed through defining the character of God; “for He is good”! His goodness is never to be loosely defined or reduced to a cliché that is void of deep exultation. This would rob the words of their truest meaning. Then our description of goodness, as it is often defined, would be based on an expectation. When that expectation is not met, then there would rise within the heart a question of His goodness. But when we think of His goodness and have faith in His character, we are privileged to see beyond the moment through the eyes of faith. God was good in the past, He is good in the present, and He will still be good in the future. Faith in God is based on the knowledge gained over the years and trust in His unchanging character. We give thanks to the Lord even when we face difficulties without full explanation of their meaning and the uncertainty of their outcome. God is still good because God is love. Since God is love, He has my interest in mind. Yet, He does not see things as we see them. From His eternal perspective, we are being prepared to dwell with Him in His house, and reign with Him forever!

God is good and His goodness extends beyond our current circumstances. He gave us the assurance through the Apostle Paul that “all things work together for the good of those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). He assures us, as the called, that His Providence is leading us through all things and is in the process of perfecting us. The imperfections within us that prevent our lives from measuring up to the standard of Christ are confronted. Our response to them as we learn to trust God is the material through which godly character is built. We further identify with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for our sakes, not because of His sins but because of our sins. Then we do not consider God as being unfair and as withholding from us what we deserve. “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. (Lam 3:22-23) His goodness and His commitment to complete us coincides with His definition of love. The blessings and benefits outweigh whatever we may suffer in this life when we are able to see life as being more than those consumable things for which the world seeks and values. Not only does He not give us what we deserve, which is death as a result of our sins, but He allows us to experience the joy and hope that awaits us. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts”( Eccl 3:11). God is good for more reasons than we currently know, and He continues to reveal His goodness towards us as we continually give thanks for what He has already revealed of Himself. God is good, for there is much more to be revealed regarding the unfolding mystery of His grace towards us!

People are hurting, but do not know what to do with what they are currently feeling. They know what they feel, but lack the ability to interpret what that pain communicates to them. How should we react or respond to our pain?  This dilemma has become more apparent as a result of the added pressures of the pandemic. The pain was already there, but isolation and fears have given more expression to the battle already engaged within the soul. Those that are blamed become the victims of their rage, and pain is a part of life and living. The gift of life is painless, full of intrigue, and hope. But from the moment you drew your first breath, pain was inflicted and is used to forge and fashion your destiny.  As the saying goes, “hurting people hurt people.” Not only do we experience pain, but we inflict pain upon others. Not always intentionally, but it is impossible for us to be real with ourselves and with God without causing injury to the souls of others. Life does not consist of sameness of personalities and wills. The uniqueness of individuals does not automatically harmonize into a well-ordered symmetry of thoughts and actions. There will be people that you even love, not always enemies and strangers, that will rub you the wrong way. 

In addition to people, there are situations and circumstances that will occur that will cause you grief. A sickness or disease, the death of a loved one, the loss of employment, divorce and abandonment of spouse of friends; numerous things that cut deep within the heart. Their leaving a wound that cries out and demands attention. Dr. C. S. Lewis once said, “Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”  Pain always carries with it a message. It is not to be ignored, but it signals the need for either correction or adjustments. Medical doctors make it clear that we are not to ignore areas of pain within our bodies. If the pain lingers too long and is never attended to, what might have been something that could have been easily remedied has become a major crisis and could lead to death. The opposite is the hypochondriac that over medicates himself at every twitch of the nerves. He may poison his own system as result of being too self-conscious. It’s important to know what God is saying through the issues of life that we daily face. He is speaking, but are you listening? His Word is our daily food. It builds up our spiritual systems so that the antibodies of faith build within us the resistance to the disease of sinning against God.  

Heb 4:15-16 “ We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all — all but the sin.” (Message Bible)

Isa 53:3-4 “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows,”

 What must we do with our pain? Listen to God as His Word will develop faith to believe and act on His Word. Each case is different, but none exist beyond His knowledge. He fully identifies with our human experience so that His Spirit may enter in and provide the peace that can only come from Him. He comforts us in our pain by providing for us His strength when our strength is gone. He has gone before you, remains with you, and sees you through everything that you will face in this life. He wants to show you your future pain-free life to be spent with Him forever!

Afghanistan has fallen! Sharia Law is now reimposed as the Taliban eagerly reestablishes what they consider to be God’s, or in their minds, Allah’s standard of righteousness. The conundrum of standards has been in question among every culture, and cultural clashes have erupted over standards. Competition erupts as to which standard ought to be upheld or imposed upon the people, while there are some who do not consider standards for a people group as being essential. As long as the person is true to his or her own beliefs, that is all that matters. Yet there are those who believe that standards are being violated and are willing to take whatever measures necessary to restore the standard to its rightful place.

Then there are many who still believe that God sets the foundation and pattern from which standards are to be measured. If God is the measure, then what is His standard of righteousness? The Bible says, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory (righteous standard) of God.” Islam is an Arabic word meaning “submission to the will of God.” It is derived from the Arabic word “sal;m which literally means peace. His will, if not clearly defined, would then be left to interpretation. His Word would rely upon the accuracy and the integrity of the translators if God alone was to speak free from all errors. The same would hold true for Christians, as submission to God produces peace among mankind. Yet any departure from His Word would create chaos and confusion. His Word is the Law to govern the behavior, but without its enforcement, every person will do whatever is right in his own eyes. The divisions of righteousness have become the source of civil wars with every people group seemingly being right in their own eyes.

The problem of right and wrong must be traced back to man’s original sin. When Eve partook of the forbidden fruit through deception and Adam sinned against God by willfully eating of the same, sin entered into the world. The wages of sin is death. As a result, all were born in sin and fashioned in iniquity, and all are deserving of death. To agree with God’s standard of righteousness, whether one is Christian, Muslim, or Jew, all must first agree with God that His sentence of death upon all is just. There are some who think of themselves as the righteous to carry out the judgment of God upon the infidels, yet they disagree with God’s penalty of death measured against their own sins. As it was with a righteous God to have mercy on whomever He determined to have mercy and to have compassion on whomever He will have compassion. He chose Noah before the Flood, Abraham as the Father of faith, and Moses as the Lawgiver. Later in Scripture, He chose David as King from whom the lineage of Christ would come. Beforehand, it was His prerogative to protect His Seed and measure judgement upon all who had not submitted to His will.

The Word of God became flesh and dwelled among us. The perfect translation of God’s intent was manifested to the world. Then the sins of the world were placed upon Jesus Christ as sinless sacrifice on behalf of sinful man. He absorbed the totality of the wrath of God against sin. A jihad or a war to vindicate God is the same as fighting for God while standing against Him. Only the sinless qualify to vindicate the righteous. Then our part in the work of God is believing on the Lord Jesus Christ that His sacrifice was sufficient for my sins. Then submitting to His Lordship.  The Lord will vindicate the righteous. Those who are righteous are not righteous on their own. Their righteousness is the gift from identifying with the One who is Righteous and Holy—our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.