THE BLIND MAN'S GARMENTS

One of my favorite Bible stories is about blind Bartimaius in the 10th chapter of Mark. This is how the story starts...... Jesus is passing by with a crowd following him. May have been up to 2000 people. Imagine the noise level of this crowd. Even if they are being respectively quiet there has to be a murmer going on. There is a blind man begging at the side of the road. Then this blind man cries out...Son of David have mercy on me. The crowd tells him to shut up...don't bother the Master, but the blind man calls out louder and Jesus hears the cry and he stops...stands still and commands the crowd...bring him to me. When Jesus heard the call the crowd faded from him and he focased on the one man. He gives him his personal attention. The crowd goes to the blind man and tells him to cheer up get up Jesus wants to see him. Then an amazing thing happens. The blind man gets up and flings off his garment and goes to a personal audience with Jesus. Today we identify blind people because of their white cane or seeing eye dog. Then a blind man was identified with the garment they wore...so... When he stood up by faith he threw off his present his past. He threw blindness behind him. When Jesus asked him what he wanted? He said to see. Jesus said according to your faith be it done to you. The blind man received his sight and became a part of the crowd who followed Jesus. I think we all can learn a lesson from this blind man. When we call on Jesus and get his attention we need to by faith throw off our garment of fear, doubt, illness, our present our past and look to the future. That is where miracles can happen. To cast off the garments the world has put on us to identify who they say we are. We need to to look forward to who Jesus says we are.... The healed.... The saved.... The delivered. AMEN.

BRIDGE OF HOPE

If you want to be a bridge of hope sometimes you have to let people walk on you. Think about it. It is not our job to judge how the world receives our gift. It is our job to give the gift of hope and Jesus is his name. God bless.

THE ONLY BOOK IN THE BIBLE THAT WAS WRITTEN TWICE

JERIMIAH WAS A YOUNG MAN OF 17 when God called him and started living him instructions. God told him what to do for 23 years and then says I want you to write down everything I have ever told you. He got a friend a scribe and wrote down al God had ever told him. The King heard about the book and demanded to read it. Most of the book was about the King and he did not like it and destroyed the book and God said write it again. Can you imagine. No computer no back up. Wow!

HE CALLED ME BE-LOVED

Every week before prayer meeting I ask God for a word. This week he said, come unto me be-loved. Come and rest in me. He called me be-loved. That blessed my heart. We know He loved us enough to sacrifice His son for us and we know He sees us as so much more than we see ourselves, but when He calls us be-loved the same thing He said to His son, that is so awesome. This is my be-loved son...... He called me be-loved. Come and rest in me. We are brought up thinking we have to do something. We have to work for our salvation, we have to do, do, do. But the greater truth is we only have to show up and He does the work. He says His burden is light. He has done the work and now we can rest in His love and His peace. Come unto me be-loved . Come and rest in me.

CONSPIRACY OF KINDNESS

I was listening to an interview with Steve Sjogren. He does servant evangelism. A few years back he wrote a book called, Conspiracy of Kindness. They used a line from his book in the movie Evan Almighty.... Small things done with great love can change the world. He told how he started his ministry which is vast now. He asked God why they were not developing following? God said Steve you are boring. Of course Steve thought that was the enemy speaking and rebuked him. When he told his wife what the Lord had said she agreed with the word. They read through the 4 gospels 4 times and discovered how Jesus was all about doing acts of kindness. They started by giving a free car wash. The customers decided they were Christians so they probably wanted a donation. When they offered, the team refused and said we do this in service of Jesus because we believe He would have done the same act of kindness to you. Then they changed the sign to 1.00 car wash and got even more customers. When they had washed the car the washers handed the car drivers a dollar bill. The customers were so over come they teared up. What a ministry! A visiting preacher came to preach 7 sermons on a Sunday and in the breaks between services instead of Steve offering him a cup of coffee, Steve took him to service stations and they cleaned toilets in the name of Jesus. It truly was a conspiracy of kindness. Small things done with great love can change the world! Also saw a clip for a new 3-d animated movie to come out June the 3rd called... The Lion of Judah. An awesome clip. I want to see it. Take your kids. It will be an awesome movie. God bless. If you are interested in Steve his web site is servantevangelism.com

IF YOU CAN PRAISE IN A HOSTEL ENVIRONMENT YOU CAN CHANGE THE ATMOSPHERE

If you can praise in a hostel environment you can change the atmosphere. Let us look at the lady with the alabaster box. The disciples were in the house having church with Jesus. When she walked in it became hostel territory. The disciples did not want her in their service, after all she was a sinner. It is sad that they walked with him for over three years and still had that attitude. They really got mad when she broke the box and anointed Jesus. They had money on their mind. It could have been sold and given to the poor they claimed. Jesus defended her from the religious crowd. This was her best worship gift to the messiah preparing him for his imintent death. Her actions, his defense changed the atmosphere of that hostel environment. Friends we need to have the courage of this woman who did not bow to hurt feelings or criticism. But bravely worshiped and ministered to Jesus. Hair is a woman's glory and she let down her hair her glory for His glory. Her praise and worship in a hostel environment changed the atmosphere to glorify God. Amen.

SURELY THE PRESENSE OF THE LORD IS IN THIS PLACE AND I DID NOT KNOW IT.

These are the famous word of Jacob. He had just been in a place of blessing and now he was running for his life. His brother wanted to kill him. He is driven into a wilderness area. His destination was uncle Laban's place so he thought, but he had to go a different route so his brother could not find him. He ended up in a wilderness mountainous place that no herds or people inhabited. There he met God in a dream with a ladder ascending into heaven where he saw God on the throne above the stairs and angels ascending and descending. There he wrestled with an angel till daylight and was blessed. An isolated place where only he and God met. Beloved are you aware that even though Jacob did not know where he was that was the place his granddaddy had visited when he went to sacrifice Issac, Jacob's father, the place Jacob wrestled with the angel and was blessed, the place that is now home to the dome of the rock in Israel and the place where the temple mount will rest when Jesus returns. So the next time you are driven into the wilderness by the circumstances in your life remember, the steps of a righteous man is ordered by the Lord. Even though it looks like a curse this is a place of blessing. Remember Jacob's words. Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place and I did not know it. Amen