Jesus is Knocking

Revelation 3:20 (New International Version)

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

Okay, we probably don't want to admit it but we all have knock knock jokes we just have to laugh at. Here are a few to make you smile today or maybe even laugh.

Knock Knock!

Who’s there?

Cash!

Cash who?

No thanks, but I’d like some peanuts!

Knock Knock!

Who’s there?

Doris!

Doris who?

Doris locked that’s why I am knocking!

Knock Knock!

Who’s there?

Armageddon!

Armageddon who?

Armageddon out of here!

Knock Knock!

Who’s there?

Thermos!

Thermos who?

Thermos be a better knock-knock joke than this!

But do you know what's better than the best knock, knock joke? A knock, knock TRUTH. What an amazing truth it is! It's the incredible truth that the Creator of the universe knocks!

In the bigger picture, Jesus knocks on the door of his church. He desires to have the sweetest fellowship with the people he died to save. It's almost too wonderful to believe that he wants to live with us in the most personal way, but it really is his knock, knock truth.

How many believers does it take to open the door? The fact is, it takes one. One person who will open the door and let Christ rule will make a difference in the entire church--and in the entire world.

Make a difference. Be the one. Answer the door.

Dear Lord we pray that today we would open that door. We thank You that you are knocking and waiting for us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Steve Elliott - Loving the Lord

1 John 1:3 (New International Version)

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard,  so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

Jim Elliott was born in Portland, Oregon in 1927. He came to the Lord when he was six after a church meeting. In 1949, he graduated from Wheaton College. Six years later, Jim and four other missionaries were martyred by Auca Indians on the Curaray River in the jungles of Ecuador. On January 16, 1951, he wrote the following in his journal: "I walked out to the hill just now. It is exalting, delicious. To stand embraced by the shadows of a friendly tree with the wind tugging at your coattail and the heavens hailing your heart, to gaze and glory and to give oneself again to God, what more could a man ask? Oh, the fullness, pleasure, sheer excitement of knowing God on earth. I care not if I never raise my voice again for Him, if only I may love Him, please Him. Mayhap, in mercy, He shall give me a host of children that I may lead through the vast star fields to explore His delicacies whose fingers' ends set them to burning. But if not, if only I may see Him, smell His garments, and smile into my Lover's eyes, ah, then, not stars, nor children, shall matter--only Himself."

Our primary relationship is to our Heavenly Father. Do you love the Lord with all of your heart, mind and strength?

Dear Lord we want to not ask for anything, we just want to thank You for Loving us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

God's Great Gift

John 14:16-18 (New International Version)

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

We all love to receive gifts. But none of the gifts we receive could ever match what God gives us on a daily basis.

Take, for example, the spider. It has received an extraordinary gift that provides her shelter and food (In the French language, the word "spider" is denoted as "feminine", for some strange reason!). This gift is that of making flexible thread out of her own fluids, thread that is five times stronger than iron thread. It is so strong that if enough of it were wound together to a thickness of 1 cm, it would be strong enough to open the door of an airplane. It is so tough that a thread 3 cm thick would bring a Boeing 747 in full flight to a complete stop. Not an ordinary feature, is it!

No human can make such a thread!

The spider's thread is not only strong, but it is also very elastic. It can stretch 30 - 40% of its length before reaching its breaking point. No wonder than these thin wires can stop a bee in mid-flight. In fact Polynesian fishermen use the thread of the golden orb web weaver Nephila as a fishing line. They don't have to worry about it breaking!

Don't you wish you could produce such a thread?

But those of us who follower Christ as our Lord and Saviour have received a much bigger gift than this! Nothing can compare to the gift God has bestowed on us!

God's kind of gift is everlasting. It will not only encourage us, but it will also guide us all our ways. All we have to do is listen. No need for expensive human counseling. God Himself will guide us through His Holy Spirit. No need to try to distinguish between lies and truth, as God's Spirit is "the Spirit of Truth" as well as the author of His Word, the Bible.

A spider may be able to stop a bee in mid-flight (Or a Boeing 747 in full flight, if it could produce a 3 cm wide thread!), but we can now face any adversity because God is not only with us always, but He also resides within us. Even while locked up in a cell, we still can enjoy fellowship with our Maker. Nobody can take Him away from us!

We do have the most unique gift of all creation. The world will not recognize Him because they don't know Him, but we sure can! May we learn to enjoy the gift God has given us in surplus to the sacrifice He gave to us on the cross.

Hey! I can wake up every day with a big smile. God's Holy Spirit is not only my constant companion, He is also my best friend. Who else can I trust like I trust Him? He never ever lies to me and I can rely on Him in all things!

Today you can get to know Him? Invite Him into your heart today. Life will never be the same again. It will be pure delight, even amidst afflictions!

If a 3 cm spider thread could stop a plane in full flight, imagine what God's Spirit can do for us! Wow! Amazing!

Dear Lord thank You for the best gift of all. We pray that today we will share that with all who You bring into our life today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Resting in His Peace

Psalms 27:5 (New International Version)

For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.

As humans beings, we all face trouble. If not daily, then at least weekly! But then, that's what Jesus warned us of: In this world you will have trouble.

This can take a toll at us, especially when some of these "troubles" are in the hurricane category. Still, amidst all of this turmoil, we can find safety and peace in God who will sustain us. Consider the following example:

It can be freezing outside in the Reykjavik region of Iceland, but once in the Blue Lagoon, the geothermally-heated seawater keeps you quite warm and safe at 98 to 102 degrees. No dangers lurked here. Even the bacteria common to man cannot life in this water! No chlorine is needed! Amazingly, once you are in the water, the water so thoroughly relaxes you that worries seem to evaporate to nothingness.

At the lagoon, six million liters of geothermal-heated water, consisting of two parts saltwater and one part freshwater, are renewed every forty hours. The water contains minerals, silica and algae, which is proposed to work wonders on skin diseases such as eczema and psoriasis, and a horde of diseases.

What is even more astounding is that the Blue Lagoon is located right between 2 continents. Two tectonic plates, the Eurasian plate and the North American plate, meet nearby the Blue Lagoon, and are closely associated with Iceland's active volcanic systems. Although stress may be experienced deep in the earth, once in the Blue Lagoon, we don't even remember it. We are perfectly at peace amidst elements that could otherwise take their toll on us.

This is what King David is referring to when he wrote Psalms 27:5. We can be at rest amidst the storms of our life if we leave everything we face in God's hands. We don't need to be in control! God is!

Sunday night we had a storm pass through. It was the kind of storm with almost unending lightning. As we found one thing after another that was destroyed by the lighting strike the turmoil mounted. We truly felt the strain on the outside and completely empty on the inside. But the peace that we had is that we can rest in the presence of God, basking in His restoring power. He revives us, He fills me with inner peace, and He reassures us that everything is O.K. He is in charge and He will never let us down.

No matter what the outlook is before us we can still look forward to hiding in the shelter of His presence. We are truly as peace with Him.

Dear Lord we pray today that we would take the chance to share the peace that we have through You. We thank You for the peace that You give to each of us. I Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

The Distracting All Around

Proverbs 22:13 

The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside!

    I’ll be killed in the public square!”

A state trooper pulled over a guy on a lonely back road and said, "Sir, is there a reason why you're weaving all over the road?"

The guy replied, "Oh officer, thank goodness you're here! I almost had an accident! I looked up and there was a tree right in front of me. So, I swerved to the left and there was another tree in front of me. Then, I swerved to the right and there was another tree in front of me!"

The officer reached through the side window to the rear view mirror, and explained, "sir... that's your air freshener."

Like that guy, we spend much of our lives "dodging obstacles" which are really not obstacles at all. We worry (and lose sleep) over things which never materialize. We hesitate to take action because we are fearful of what "might" happen. Our imagined fears keep us from driving down the straight and narrow ("What will they say? What will they do?")

Was there really a lion in the streets? No, but any excuse will work when you don't want to do something, even dodging imaginary obstacles.

Dear Lord we pray that we won’t hesitate when obstacles are in our way? Help us to completely trust in you today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Are You an Imitator of God?

Ephesians 5:1-2 (New International Version)

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

At an early age, brother Damien became captivated by the love of God. At the age of 23, with barely one year of seminary training, he left Belgium to be a missionary to the people of Hawaii. Now this may not sound like such a sacrifice to us, but in the 1800s, Hawaii was not the idyllic paradise it is now known as. By 1896, leprosy, as well as other diseases brought by white men, had decimated the Hawaiian population from 300,000 to barely 31,000.

Fear of leprosy led the king of Hawaii, Kamehameha V, to exile all lepers to the isolated island of Kalaupapa. Shocked by the living conditions of those destined for certain death, Brother Damien was the first to volunteer his services to this condemned island. He didn't pay attention to the advice of his elders either, who warned him to not eat with or touch any of these lepers. What did he have to fear? God was with him! Moreover, he knew without a doubt where he would be heading if for some reason his life was cut shot.

With the help of those lepers who were still able to work, Brother Damien built houses and a church, and even dug canals to bring pure, running water into the buildings. When someone died, which happened on the average of once every other day, Brother Damien, or "Kamiano" as he was known in Hawaiian, made sure there was a proper burial. His goal was that these men and women, rejected by society, would know beyond a doubt that they were not alone in their plight!

Oftentimes he would go to Honolulu and demand clothing, construction material and help. He was perceived mostly as a nuisance and a troublemaker. This didn't stop him however; as God's deep love had invaded his heart.

At all times his door was open for any and all lepers who came to visit him. Then one Sunday in 1878, he started service with the following words: "We, the lepers..." He had discovered dry spots on his skin. He has leprosy! This still didn't stop him from continuing to love his fellow lepers, however. He was fearless because he had put his utter trust in the One whose example he was following.

In those days, leprosy was thought to be the last stage of syphilis, and Damien was immediately accused by his church of having love affairs with prostitutes. He knew this wasn't true however, and he continued loving the unlovable until his death on April 15, 1889.

Half a century later, following a strange turn of events, his body was brought back to be buried in the place of his birth: Belgium. Sixty years later, Hawaiians succeeded in obtaining his right hand. This they buried where his body had originally been laid to rest. To the Hawaiians, his right hand was more important than the rest of his body, because it stood for all the work he had done among them. He was truly their hero.

Brother Damien was motivated to live like Jesus lived when He was on our planet. He became an imitator of God, living fearlessly amidst dire circumstances.

You see, there is no fear to those who put their full trust in the Lord. Then and only then can we make a real difference in this life!

Dear Lord we pray that today we would put our complete trust in You. We pray that no matter what comes our way we will not turn our trust from you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Don't Let the Devil Ruin You

James 1:14-15 9 (New International Version)

Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

They had planned it to the utmost detail. They brought ropes, flashlights, paint rollers, and, of course, the red and white paint. Though they were excited, they were cautious, for their practical joke could endanger their lives if they were not careful. It isn't easy to repel down a mountain in the middle of the night, and since the moon found a hiding place behind the clouds, they had to rely on flashlights to avoid any perilous situations.

But this didn't daunt them, and before morning, there was a huge Swiss flag painted on the face of the Salève. Once these seminary students from abroad found themselves in the safety of their rooms at the foot of the Salève, they could only chuckle at the thought of what the next morning would bring.

Things didn't turn out exactly as they had planned, however. Dismayed French authorities were determined to find the culprits. Although Switzerland borders France in this region, and both countries share an amicable relationship, having a Swiss flag painted on a French mountain was not well perceived!

Eventually the guilty party was found, and it was with knocking knees that they not only faced the authorities of the seminary, but the local French authorities as well. They hadn't considered the possible ramifications of their actions, and rumour quickly spread that the culprits had been expelled from France, never to return. As a result, they were forced to abandon their studies at the seminary, and no other seminary would be likely to accept such infamous students.

It didn't take long for the Swiss flag on the face of the Salève to receive a white coat of paint, and this was the only thing left to remind these students of the fact that they hadn't considered the probable fear they would be facing for their actions if they were ever caught.

The same is true for each one of us. We fear the devil and his power to ruin our eternity, yet we have forgotten that he is a defeated foe whose only weapons are restricted to temptations and intimidations. When Jesus defeated him on the cross, all of the bite went out of his bark!

Our problem is that we tend to listen to his insinuations, and this leads us to trouble! It is true that the evil one knows us well and attacks us in our most vulnerable spots:

We also tend to forget that help is available when we are tempted. Most often we face it with our own strength, and we lose every time! Instead, we could be depending upon the One who can guarantee victory, the One who suffered severe temptation, but without sin. This is why Jesus is our guarantee to victory!

If we begin truly fearing the Lord (A fear of hurting Him through our actions, a fear of living eternity without His presence), we will reject temptation as irrelevant, for Jesus' unfailing love is much more beautiful to behold than any of the desires of this world.

Dear Lord we pray today that our fear would be for You. We pray that we would do the things You want us to so that others will see You in our life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.