promise – Cross Culture Church

Meditation: May 3

“God, my strength, my stronghold, my safe retreat when trouble descends:” (Jeremiah 16:19 MSG).

Trouble descends as a storm from above. Rain can be gentle and refreshing or it can come down as a deluge leading to a flood. The former is refreshing, producing growth and clearing the pollen. The latter overflows the river banks and destroys everything in its path. It is evident that there will be times of trouble as there are times of tranquility. A troubled people will live in a troubled world. The environment is not determined by the righteous alone. We are in today’s world and not the environment that we will one day attain. Yet while we are here, we have a refuge. God is our strength and our safe retreat. We are guarded by our Master who is also our Savior. We are safe as we find shelter under the covering of His grace. He refreshes us and protects us from the known dangers as well as those unseen. As danger descends, before it reaches us, we are protected even before the clouds gather and the forecast is given.

29 Jun 0Comments 0Likes

May 2018 Article: “El Shaddai”

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The names of God were revealed to individuals based upon their most current need. He revealed to Moses that He is the “I Am.” Then He made it even clearer that He is “I Am that I Am.” As new challenges would arise, He proved Himself to be sufficient to meet every need. As El Shaddai, He is God Almighty; Warrior or Destroyer; God of the Wilderness or Mountain. But the name that expresses His ability to nurture and meet needs is Enough or Sufficient; The Breasted One. We see attributes of God displayed through nature. Man (male and female) was made in His image and after His likeness. “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 brood under her wings, but you were not willing! (Luke 13:34-35) The hen (female) gathers and protects her offspring from invaders. She is willing to lay her own life down for her brood. Even before the eggs are hatched, she stands guard and the eggs can only be taken by force, facing her hottest wrath. Jesus came to earth to give full expression to the heart of God on earth. So much can be learned from His example of both motherhood and fatherhood. The basic role of a father is to provide, guide, and protect. This is the father’s, primary, but not exclusive, role in the family. The mother’s role is to nurture, feed, and encourage. Alhough she may wear many other hats, she will not neglect these key duties from infancy to adulthood. What both parents have derives from what is contained with God as the “I Am.” The love that we received from our mothers originated from our God. Even those who would extend themselves as mothers, not necessarily from birthing but from loving and caring, are manifesting the character of God through what they share with others.

It is God’s desire to reveal Himself through His Son Jesus Christ and for Jesus to reveal Himself through His Church. The mothers in the Church serve a vital role, particularly for those whose mothers are no longer alive. No one outgrows their need for nurture. As we grow older, those who were once nurtured become our nurturers. Those who we once protected become our protectors. It is as if God reverses the roles and allows the children of aging parents to give back what they had received as children. It is an honor to express love when there is nothing expected in return. This is the attitude and actions of El Shaddai. He revealed His love to the children of Israel in spite of their rebellion and hardness of heart. He showed us what unconditional love was all about. Children cannot care for themselves but are cared for as they learn how to give and receive care and love. The mother’s breasts are filled with milk containing all the nutrients needed for the child to develop. The baby does not have to learn how to suck, but instinctively is drawn to the breast as to receive the blessing contained within them similarly as we are drawn to Christ. When the mom’s breasts are full, the infant is hungry and mom needs to “express” or give forth her nurture. She is in pain unless she is able to give to her child what he or she needs. How marvelous is God’s creation of womanhood! Even after the child has grown, her greatest pain is not being able to give her child what is needed. She would be willing to do without herself in order to meet the needs of her children. God so loved us that He gave up His Only Begotten Son in order to meet our deepest need for redemption. He guards and protects His investment in us as a mother hen watches over her brood. He is El Shaddai, the God who is more than Enough, to supply our every need according to His riches in glory. Mothers help us to understand this truth and the provisions connected to it. May we appreciate God’s gift of motherhood as we worship the El Shaddai who sufficiently feeds us daily, so that we should never be left wanting for what we desperately need.

24 Jun 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: June 24

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“Since the One who saves and those who are saved have a common origin, Jesus doesn’t hesitate to treat them as family.” Hebrews 2:11 (MSG)

We are members of the family of God and the household of faith. Regardless as to when we entered in or whether the member is born or adopted into the family, there is a place reserved for each one. Jesus saved us from the wrath of God. We were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. Not only were estranged from the covenant of promise, we had no desire to be otherwise. Jesus saved us from a path even before we possessed the sense or the strength to seek any other path. We sought any option other than the path that led to life. It was the common origin of sin that blinded us to the love of God expressed through His Son. Little wonder why we made the choices that we made then. Our actions were expressions of our family of origin. But God rescued us by adopting us into His family. Now our reorientation is adapt to the character of the One from which we were reborn. It is our passion to proudly reflect the same qualities from which we came. Since we are now treated as family, we wish to display the attributes of the new and not the old. We are now akin to Him and He treats us that way. What a privilege!

14 Jun 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: June 14

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“By knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.” Proverbs 24:4

The knowledge of God is the principle thing to be attained by all who would be wise. We are built up as the House of God and the Household of Faith. God Himself is to inhabit what the Holy Spirit is establishing as His permanent residence. This has to do with our personal identity and corporate identity. We are made wise to consider how the Church is interdependent and must function as the Body of Christ. It is through our unity that we are rightly constructed. Then each part contributes to the growth of every part. Never should we become exclusive in our endeavors to please God. The small portion given to the part will only inflate the ego and eliminate it from receiving the blessings of God’s promise. If the rooms are too filled with precious and pleasant riches, each room must allow Jesus Christ in that He might rearrange the furnishings, discard of the rubbish, and restore what is broken. When the fragrance of His Presence fills the room, life leading to life is the aroma of life. All is most precious because He determines the value of what He puts in place.

23 May 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: May 23

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“You’ll find wisdom on the lips of a person of insight, but the shortsighted needs a slap in the face.” Proverbs 10:13

We must see into a matter and not just casually view it. It is the gaze accompanied by a rash opinion that influences many today. Little wonder why it has become so difficult for sound reasoning to be the guiding principle for so many. There are precious hidden nuggets contained within many messages that are hurriedly scanned by the minds of those who are wise in their own eyes. It requires the Holy Spirit and meditation on what God has promised in order for His Word to be rightly interpreted. The heart must be prepared first. Then one can ponder in their hearts what they have heard before they speak. If the old references remain in place, the pollution within the mind will distort the truth rather than purifies the soul. The Holy Spirit must be our filter so that we are enabled to attain a heavenly perspective. Our vision then would not be shortsighted, but we are enabled to participate in God’s eternal plan.

17 May 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: May 17

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“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9

The Lord extends to each individual the opportunity to be saved. It is the road that leads to life. The destination may not be clearly defined or easily understood, but the path to the destination is introduced to each one. It may be a subtle approach from a stranger, or an eye awakening experience. Each situation, when viewed from eternity’s perspective, was the extended hand of God releasing mercy. The objective is to provide an abundance of opportunities for the wayward to be drawn to Him. His desire is that none should perish. Those who perish are usually stubbornly justifying their rebellious ways and never seeing the need for a Savior. Oh, the wonders of His grace! When we understand the need for both mercy and grace, we will view our self-righteousness as sin, our abilities to love as hatred, and every effort on our part to boast as shame. What preserves us from destruction is the awareness of our absolute need for Him in all things. This is repentance when we turn away from our own ways and wholly turn towards Jesus Christ. Those who perish are those who neglect so great a salvation. It is not His passion that any perish. It is His will that all be saved.

23 Apr 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: April 23

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“So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” John 19:30

Jesus came into the world for this very moment. He was on a mission to die for the sins of humanity. It required a sinless death and now the moment had arrived. The sufferings would come to an end. At least the bodily sufferings, but there awaited Him a degree of suffering of the soul that only one who loves deeply are able to experience. The purchased price for our redemption was completely paid. But there would be many who He loves that will yet reject all that He came into the world to provide. “He came into the world and the world rejected Him.” Those who did not understand rejected Him then, but now that it is finished, will there remain those who refuse to believe that what He gave was sufficient enough for them? His Spirit returned to the Father and the Holy Spirit has now been sent forth to give life to all who would receive Him. From the fall of Adam, the promise was made for man’s reconciliation to God. The prophets spoke of this day, and now it had arrived. It is finished, but for us life had just begun!

09 Apr 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: April 9

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“He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” Matthew 28:6-7

His promises would have been mere empty words without power if the tomb had contained His Body without interruption. His Words would have faded off the scene as snowflakes in the heat of a warming sun if they were only good for the moment in which they were spoken. He said many things and made so many promises that built the faith of His followers and raised their hopes and dreams. They lived by His Word, but if the most dramatic and complex were false, then the least and the simplest were merely impressive conversation. The test would be the place where He was buried on the day on which He said He would rise from the dead. They arrived there with trepidation. But the tomb was empty validating the promise He made remembered. “He is not here.” If He is absent from this place, then where could He be? “As He said to us with Words to confirm all others spoken; now all that He has said can be trusted.” What else did He say? “Whatever He said I now believe because the empty tomb speaks of promises fulfilled.” Look at the place that now speaks loudly against all skeptics and critics. He is not here. The tomb is empty for all to see!

05 Mar 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: March 5

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“But from this day I will bless you.” Haggai 2:19

Forward looking or the outlook is much brighter than the past for the children of the Most High God. Even though many of the things promised have not yet come to past, God is still true to every one of them. The seed is still in the barn. The seed that is to be planted must be scattered before the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, the olives tree is able to yield its fruit. The laborers must sow in the time of sowing before the reapers can come and reap in the harvest. There is a future ahead of us that only God is able to bring to past. Yet each of us must diligently work in the season that is to be rightly occupied by those who are fully aware of times and seasons. While we may be waiting on God, God is waiting on us!

04 Mar 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: March 4

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“Daily expect the Day of God, eager for its arrival. The galaxies will burn up and the elements melt down that day — but we’ll hardly notice. We’ll be looking the other way, ready for the promised new heavens and the promised new earth, all landscaped with righteousness.” 2 Peter 3: 12-13 (MSG)

The coming of the Lord will attract the attention of those who are eagerly awaiting His return. While all things around us are being shaken, and nothing appears to have any degree of stability, there remains a constant focus in an upward direction in spite of all other things that would otherwise be disturbing. God has promised that He would send His Son again to the earth. If the earth could not receive the words of the prophets, and the world rejects His standard, it is not the world on which His kingdom will be established. He will descend, but above the earth while the heavens and the earth is burned with fire, then He will establish new heavens and a new earth where righteous will reign. But then, it will be under the rule of those who are kept by His power and anticipate His return. They will hardly notice the destruction of the old because they so eagerly await what God has to replace it. Sin is now running it course, but do not be discouraged. God will restore all that is now being destroyed by sin and those who have given their souls over to it. When those things are completely removed, His Day would have fully come!