Meditation: December 23

“For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” John 18:37

Jesus gave us a clear picture of the Nativity. There is a purpose for every birth. But His birth was not like any other. He knew why He was born and why and when He was to die. Many live and die never knowing why they were permitted to occupy a particular space in a particular period of time. The Nativity has to do with the place, conditions, and the circumstances of the birth of Jesus. “For this cause…” A cause that would affect the whole of humanity would come to light as the result of a child that was born. He was the gift given to us by God to save the world from the consequences of sin which was resident within all. His life was the resounding amen to the Truth of God. Christmas is about mankind coming into agreement with God. As Jesus bore witness to the truth, we are to be made witnesses of Jesus Christ. The world will know the reality of Christ through those us who hear and believe on the One who was born to live for us and to die for us. 

Meditation: December 13

“You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11

Divine guidance is the most precious possession of any being. To be equipped for great effectiveness is important, but to be directed towards the very thing for which one is appointed is of much more value. There are many who are equipped but misguided. They squander away their lives rather than using what God had made available to complete them. His intention is to show us the path of life. When we see the Kingdom of God, we will desire to enter in. He will then guide us on the path that we have been enabled to see. What greater joy can be experienced than this? When we know that our path leads to the fullness of life and that more abundantly! Only God is able to give us what we so desperately need. He has given us His Son. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Through having faith in His precious Word, we see what would otherwise have been missing in our search for significance. May all be led on this path to a greater purpose.

Meditation: April 9

“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. “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! 

Meditation: April 7

“ For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him” (1Thessalonians 5:9-10). 

The love of God has been directed towards all mankind, but not all know the depth of His love or the greatness of His power. He alone has the power to save us from the judgment that is measured against all ungodliness. He is angry at all things that may interfere with the peace of His beloved. We are saved from sin, but we are also saved from the wrath to come. God will eliminate all things that work against His divine plan, that is, the evil works of darkness. The penalty for sin is death. Jesus died for us while we were yet sinners to provide a way of escape from His wrath. Love cannot be expressed without hatred being measured against the enemy of love. It is the opposite side of the same. He will ultimately make all things new. Adversarial things and competing values will soon pass away for Jesus died to abolish sin. It has already been judged through His awesome act of love. Now we can anticipate a life together and forever with Him whereas even death cannot hinder or alter His plan. 

Meditation: November 28

“That I may know Him…” Philippians 3:10

The deepest cry of the human heart cries in the direction of its Maker and Provider. There is a deep yearning to know the Source from which it came. The ability to want and have provided a fulfillment that makes all of life meaningful is a gift given to all from God. It is the desire left unfulfilled that leaves one searching and grasping for straws only to discover that what appeared to have significance was merely an illusion or a pipe dream. It is the god that is imagined that stands in the way of an authentic search. It leads to a manufactured religion that gives temporary relief but wears off as quickly as it came. Paul’s prayer is earnest having tasted and seen the real thing. Because he had experienced Christ to a degree, he wanted more of the same. “…that I may know Him!” He had the satisfaction in being on the right path but anxiously anticipating the arrival in reaching the destination. He was knowable, but daily the whole of his life was absorbed in the pursuit. It is the experience that he sought after, not just a casual introduction. He like us must continue to seek the experience in knowing Christ. Then our lives can be totally absorbed into His purpose and fulfilling the deepest desires of the heart.

Meditation: November 25

“What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me? Psalm 116:12

The Lord provides benefits, many times unexpected and often before we are even aware of our need for them. As He looks far down the road of our lives, if we maintain a steadfast faith in Him, He takes our offering of life and leads us on a course directed towards His standard of righteousness. None can imagine the how many benefits we receive along the way as we journey on that path. It is not just arriving at the destination, but being on course with what really matters in life that is fulfilling. The emptiness of vanity is gone and we are left with a pursuit to know the One who loves us most. Love received demands a response. How can we respond to the overwhelming love demonstrated through our Lord, Jesus Christ? All we can possibly do is take advantage of the purpose for which He came to die such a cruel death on the cross for us. We can take Him up on His offer. By receiving His gift we bring the greatest joy to the heart of the Father.

Meditation: October 2

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. (5) And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” John 1:4-5

Our comprehension will become the measure of our apprehension. When there is a willingness to understand that part of Jesus Christ which has been given to the saving of the soul, one then is able to be saved. If there is no interest in eternal life, but merely a desire to catch a few of the trappings from the promises given to the believer, he may prosper to a degree in those things, but be eternally lost. The light that God sent to men was the light of eternal life. This light illumines and guides the person to understand how little he really understands about Christ. Yet it awakens his interest to pursue Him with a passion never realized until the light has come. Those who are hungry for more than worldly pleasures or survival have seen something more of Him. The blinding light of His glory fixes their attention on a different object of affection. They become dead to the world and alive unto Christ. Paul wanted nothing more than to apprehend that for which he was apprehended. He wanted to pursue the purpose for which God arrested him from self destruction. May we walk in the light that shines in the midst of darkness.

“Dimensions of Freedom”

This year has numerous prophetic overtones. 400 years ago, Africans were brought to America as slaves and stayed in bondage for 250 years. The Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. Watchnight Services held in many African American churches originated to commemorate the time they spent awaiting the news that their freedom had come.   Yet it took two and one-half years before federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to take control of the state and ensure the freedom of those who had been set free by proclamation. Finally, the Emancipation Proclamation was made real with the backing of military force. The information was withheld by many of the slaveholders until after harvest time, using their labor to harvest their crops. The news began to spread and over 250,000 enslaved were set free. The day marked for celebration was June 19th and became known as “Juneteenth.” 

This year, 2020 connotes vision. 20/20 vision is  the ability to see correctly. Vision provides one the ability to see ahead; to envision things as they ought to be. Israel was enslaved by the Egyptians for 400 years. They were subjected to harsh punishments and forced servitude. It was their cry to God that their voices were heard on High. God raised up a leader, Moses to lead them to the Promised Land. Pharaoh’s resistance was met with plagues that enveloped all of Egypt. Now in the  global pandemic of Covid-19, along with Global Warming, fires, hurricanes and floods, earthquakes, and other dilemmas are plaguing the world. Through all that is currently happening, a new paradigm is emerging. Laws were amended in the past, Civil Rights legislation and Affirmative Action; an African American was even elected as President of the United States. Yet the residue of slavery remains as systemic racism is deeply ingrained into the American psyche. The changes did not go far enough, yet the beneficiaries of the established systems have their consciences pacified. As long as the established system remained, true freedom would never be fully realized.  “So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Intercede for me.” (Ex 8:28) The leash, or the economic controls remain affecting the educational systems, the availability of jobs; the penal system overrun with the children of former slaves, and other crippling effects that prevent the realization of deeper dimensions of freedom. There remains an invisible ceiling that prohibits the advancement from going too far. The controls are there to regain the harsh grip that once was attached to the neck of the slave. 

Then all of the events of history converged into one prophetic moment. The public lynching of George Floyd ignited global fires that brought years of oppression to the surface. With leadership  assisting in igniting the fire through inflammatory remarks, the light has now been turned on and is burning brightly. As it was on the Day of Pentecost,  new questions are being asked and new actions are being initiated. The unsettled state of the world has led us to an apex. Moses approached Pharaoh with the objective of freedom with a purpose. “Let My people go that they may worship Me.” This nation was established for the purpose of worship;   when true worship was withheld, the situation descended into newer and different forms of bondage. Taxation without representation; the Church under the control of the Government, and many other methods of bondage. Yet freedom to worship without worship in Spirit and in Truth leads to the freedom to enslave others with the disease of amnesia, forgetting why freedom was ever extended. This time, may we embrace the right definition of both freedom and worship. Then we will be free indeed. Free enough to even intercede for our former slave masters!  Pharaoh said  to Moses, “when you get to where you are going, pray for me.”

Meditation: June 1

“For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required” (Luke 12:48). 

God expects a return on His investments. The gifts of God are given to each person in order for all to profit as the result of His distributions. It is not based on what most would consider as the criteria for God’s judgments. God is not equal in His judgments, but He is equitable. Grace is freely given, but God determines who will receive what is being distributed. Yet we may covet what we deem as necessary, but it must only be for the advancement of His kingdom and not our own. When our hearts yearn to do more for God and we feel powerless to fully participate with Him in what He wills to do, it is in order to seek Him for the empowering gifts that would further qualify us. Yet in our earnestness to receive, it does not obligate Him to any measure to give us what we consider to be necessary. He will give us what He knows is best for us as well as what’s best for others. But, the warning is not to frustrate the grace of God. What God gives must be used as He wills for it to be used. God requires faithfulness of His servants. Only then are they obedient and not wicked.

Meditation: May 2

“For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe” (1Timothy 4:10). 

Those who trust in the living God labor with a goal in view that is different from the activities of others. There are luxuries not afforded the faithful for he must live his life with purpose. Every day must have a degree of significance that further sets him aside as God’s representative on the earth, maintaining the course leading to a destination. Kingdom business is his primary business. Now the world system will notice the difference but will not know how to interpret it. His strangeness will be repulsive to many who would much rather he be silent than speak. His activity appears to run counter to values of his contemporaries. Yet he has fully embraced his call and to suffer reproach because his life is not his own; he has been bought with a price. Therefore he trusts in the living God who is his constant companion to guide him through this maze of life to his eternal home. His life is a gift to the world so that others who would come to believe that Christ suffered for a reason. That reason being the very ones who do not understand.