Epaggelia

The effect Jesus Christ has had throughout the centuries and all over the globe has been amazing. Why? Because He was born intrinsically royal and divine, yet into a peasant family with all the odds stacked against him. Yet he still is the greatest kind of King, we have ever known.
One of the world’s greatest Kings was Solomon. When he prayed, God listened. Not because he was great, but because Solomon was humble when he prayed in this way,.. “have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God” (1st Kings 8:28) you see, Solomon understood who God was…and he understood who he was himself. Solomon had riches, wisdom and power, but he knew he was nothing compared to the Almighty God. In this knowledge Solomon, in all his prestige, was a humble man. He knelt before the altar and prayed to God on behalf of all Israel. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that when Solomon prayed and glory filled the Temple that God was The God and Solomon was just Solomon.
Listen, Christian and consider, “Your body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit” (1st Corinthians 6:19) and, “We have this treasure in jars of clay.” (2nd Corinthians 4:7) On this Christmas Day do not forget who the treasure is and who the pottery is. When Jesus was born, He was born as the greatest King that ever lived on earth, yet He was born in extreme poverty. Why? To prove to us that greatness is not in riches and the prestigious influence of powerful positions. No, but real everlasting greatness is in the mere presence of God, be it in a barn, or in a mansion. In Jesus Christ is where we want to be, because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
1st John 4:4.

Immanuel – God with us! You can hear that word in Christmas carols and read of it in the Bible. In ancient days God was with His people. When He sent Moses to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses feared, but the Lord assured him, “I will be with you.” (Exodus 3:12) Today, the Lord lives IN His people. Before Jesus returned to Heaven, He promised His disciples He would send a counselor, the Holy Spirit. “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23) The words “we” and “our” tell of God’s presence as Father, Son & Spirit in Christ. “For in [Jesus] the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, ….” (Colossians 2:9-10) What a privilege to be called a Christian! The Lord also craves your obedience and attention, for “He yearns jealously over the Spirit that he has made to dwell in us.” (James 4:5) During this Christmas season, tell people of His presence in your heart, not just on a hay filled feeding trough wrapped in swaddling clothes at Bethlehem. Is He in your heart?

George Washington said in the first Presidential Proclamation of Thanksgiving (1789) “…that we may all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country…; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpretations of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed;…and in general for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.” It was shortly after the Thanksgiving Proclamation was written, that it was lost for 130 years. The original document was written in long hand by William Jackson, secretary to the President, and was then signed by George Washington. It was probably misplaced in with some private papers when the U.S. capitol moved from New York to Washington, D.C. The original manuscript was not placed in the National Archives until 1921 when Dr. J.C. Fitzpatrick, assistant chief of the manuscripts division of the Library of Congress, found the proclamation at an auction sale being held at an art gallery in New York. He purchased the document for $300 for the Library of Congress, in which it now resides. Today many of our citizens will not celebrate Thanksgiving because they choose not to be thankful. They don’t even know who to be thankful towards! But there will be people who will serve The Occupy Wall Street protestors with food and supplies. They are thankful because they serve. My question is: Are the Protestors thankful? They claim they are the “99 percent,” but they have a very narrow vision of the world in which they live. The truth is: they are the “wealthy one percent!”. According to the World Monetary Fund, the average yearly income per person in the USA is $46,860. There are at least 100 Nations in this same world in which we live, where the average person earns less than $10,000. The Congo averages just $329 per year. Surely the Occupy protestors are in the one percent of which they object in this world! I once had a missionary friend from India mistakenly believe I was a millionaire because I have a three-bedroom home in the suburbs. And he couldn’t comprehend that I have two vehicles. I try to explain that they’re both over 7 years old, but that’s “new” there! For those of you who say “well that is India, if it wasn’t for the spirit of protest, we wouldn’t be where we are today in the USA”. My question for you is this: Are you really thankful? If so, how much? Enough to serve Him, from whom all blessings flow?

73 years ago, Mr. Orson Welles sent thousands of Americans on a panic attack with a story on the radio. “War of the Worlds” was narrated by Orson from a book written by H.G. Wells. The story is still popular, a movie was made with Tom Cruise in it a few years ago and I enjoy the DVD. Stories have a lot of power on us. Whether it’s fiction or non-fiction, stories can teach & influence us for a lifetime. The re-telling of a story, like Orson did, had a big impact on the public. He became famous for the national incident, scaring people into thinking we were being attacked by aliens from outer space. Have you ever told a story? The truth is this. Your life is telling a story to someone right now, maybe many people, or just one person is listening. Even if you feel lonely and like no one is paying any attention, God knows your story. He loves you and will never ignore you, prayer is important. Orson was once asked about his faith, and he said, “I try to be a Christian, but I don’t pray because I don’t want to bore God”. That is an amazing quote from such a good story teller. Sadly, Orson never learned how much God wanted to listen to him, the devil tricked Orson into thinking his life story was only interesting to humans. Don’t let the devil trick you, God says, “Never Stop Praying…for this is God’s will for you”. God says that your angel can see His face. Do you believe His story? Read Matthew 18:10 & 1st Thessalonians 5:17-18.

Recently, the Pentagon launched a nimble new satellite called the ORS-1 that will enable commanders in Afghanistan and Iraq to track enemy combatants more effectively than ever before. They can run, but they can not hide forever. In this age of incredible technology, news like this is often met with a yawn. So when we read that Jesus saw Nathanael under a fig tree from afar, it seems rather ordinary, considering we watch people from outer space almost routinely. But there was something very special in the statement Jesus made. “Because I said to you, “I saw you under the fig tree”, do you believe? You will see greater things than these” (John 1:50) People have long speculated about what it was exactly, but only Nathanael knows for sure. Whatever it was, it convinced Nathanael that Jesus was Lord & King. God often works this way. He may reveal Himself in a way no one else notices…but to you it is clear. “Here I am,” He says. “I know who you are. I love you. I have great things to show you.” Today, look for God’s message to you in the ordinary things, and pray that others in your neighborhood and Nation will recognize Him and say, like Nathanael, “You are the Son of God.” The Bible may look ordinary to you, but it’s message is unique, just as unique as you are.

This world we live in for now is a tricky place. Temptations and trials lurk around almost every corner of this journey. Sometimes it is hard to tell if even our best friend is our “bestie” or a “beastie”, as the kids say in school. Your temptation is yours, not mine, your weakness is different than mine. The uniqueness of the Bible holds a solution and power that fits you. When trying to decide who we should give our time and allegiance to, we must keep in mind what James the brother of the Lord Jesus said, “friendship with the world is hostility toward God…whoever wants to be the world’s friend becomes God’s enemy” (James 4:4). Worldly people will always be less gracious than godly people. Why? Because “God gives greater grace” (v6), and worldly people don’t befriend God in Jesus Christ. It is Jesus that brought the greatest amount of grace and truth into this world. Don’t misunderstand me, I know worldly people can be gracious, but they don’t have access to the source of grace. They run out and eventually become selfish. The opposite of grace is selfishness, and the farther we as Christians get away from Jesus Christ, the more we find selfishness growing in us! That is why James always advises us to never make friends with the world. Christians are indeed victorious in Christ, but we are vulnerable in the world. “Be strong in the grace of Christ Jesus” (2nd Timothy 2:1). Pray about The Bible’s message and read it, then learn how God’s grace is shown to you in everyday life. Praise God for His work on us.

I do believe that there is an area in a Christian’s life where the devil appears to hurt us most often, it is in the matter of trust. Our lives seem to say we can trust God for eternal salvation but we hesitate to trust Him to guide our life; we can trust Him for His promise that He will save our soul, but we won’t trust Him to guide us every moment of every day. That kind of doubt, can lead to a sad life filled with more pain than gain. If we try to guide our own life by our own standards and desires, we inevitably make selfish decisions that lead to cheating ourselves of God’s blessings. Are we trying to remedy our problems by our self? It is a mistake to exclude God from our decision-making. Trust Him to guide you. “He leads the humble in what is right…All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant.” (Psalm 25:9-10). Do we even know what his covenant is? It is our agreement with Him, that if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. (1st John 1:7). Do we believe we benefit from His blood only on Sunday in the communion? Or is His cleansing a part of our daily lifestyle? If we want to stay on the path of His love and faithfulness, then we should show our trust in his promises daily.

The Bible as a message stands alone, there never has, isn’t now, nor ever will be a message so enlightening to humanity. As there is but one sun to enlighten the earth physically, there is only one book to enlighten the human heart. Pray God’s message becomes to us a real counselor, the guide for our life’s journey, the inspiration for our thoughts and strength for our temptations and trials unto death. Prove to yourself, that “all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for teaching, and for conviction, and for correction and for instruction in godliness” (2Tim. 3:16) You may never have all your problems solved, but you will be sure of your foundation, you will feel that your feet are planted on the only foundation that can never be shaken, Jesus Christ (1Cor. 3:11) We must place him in our hearts, the very message of God. Why? Because His Spirit uses the Bible to solve every problem with a solution that is God’s goal, not ours. We may not reach every one of them on this side of eternity, but we will in the next. As we day to day face a temptation and overcome it, we just took one step closer to being that new creation He is creating in our heart. Keep walking in faith, to see all the glory, his message is creating in you. If you are in Christ, you are a new creation, the old is passing away.(2Cor. 5:17) Get into the Message

English has some wonderful uses of words. Look at collective nouns for various groups of animals. We are all familiar with a Herd of cattle, a Flock of seagulls, a School of fish and a Gaggle of geese, and less widely known is a Pride of lions, a Murder of crows, a Crutch of lobsters, an Exaltation of doves and, I suppose because they look so wise, a Parliament of owls. Now consider a group of Monkeys. They are the loudest, most obnoxious, and least intelligent of all primates, and what is the proper collective noun for a group of monkeys? Believe it or not, a Congress! I’m not sure what lay in that name, but one thing I’m certain, they need a good leader. Christians are instructed to pray for their leaders. Which leads me to ask you. What is the proper collective noun for a group of Christians? Church. What does that say about us, it means: “people called out of the world and into assembly”. Yes that is right, you can’t be part of a church, while you worship in the fields, mountainside or forest, and certainly not the riverbank where there may be lots of fishing poles! Worship is loving God, and the way God wants us to love him on Sunday is in the Assembly, that is what is in our collective noun as Christians. Love Him with all your heart, soul, body and mind! That is the command of Jesus, not advice, but an authoritative mandate from our Master, see Mark 12:30 & Luke 10:27. Why would a Christian neglect the assembly? Especially when we consider the opporunity for love that is there?