Epaggelia

…To Mary of Magdala & the other Mary, (John 20:1-2, Matthew 28:8-10)

…To the 10 Apostles, (John 20:19-25)

…To Thomas & the 10 Apostles, (John 20:26-29 & Luke 24:33-49 & Mark 16:14-20)

…To Cleopas & the other disciple on the road to Emmaus, (Lk. 24:13-35 & Mark 16:12)

…To the 11 Apostles in Galilee while fishing, (Matthew 28:16-20, John 21:1-24)

…To the 11 Apostles on Mt. Olivet while Ascending, (Luke 24:50-53 & Acts 1:4-12)

…To the 12 Apostles, (1st Corinthians 15:5-7)

…To more than 500 brethren at once, (1st Corinthians 15:6)

…To Stephen during his martyrdom, (Acts 7:55-60)

…To Saul on the road to Damascus, (Acts 9:1-6, 18:9-10, 22:1-8, 26:12-18)

…To Paul in the Roman barracks at Jerusalem, (Acts 23:11)

…To John on the Isle of Patmos, (Revelation 1:9-20)

Jesus said, “Do not be astonished at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will rise, those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment”. John 5:28-29

“…there will certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked”. Acts 24:15

Do you believe that Jesus can be seen as an example in you? The Apostle Paul did, read Galatians 1:16. When we talk about Jesus in a virtuous way, sharing our faith in His presence, love and wisdom. He is there. Even if we have problem that only affects two people. If they come together to prayerfully solve the problem, He, that is Jesus, is there with them, this is His promise. Read Matthew 18:20.

The only problem with churches using buildings, is not money, but windows. There are never enough of them. Why? Because the church has a constant need to stay in touch with His glory and holiness in the earth and heavens around us, (Isa. 6:3) it is healthy and generates praise! Keeping a congregation closed in a building to worship is good in preventing distractions and a harsh environment, but limiting our worship to an auditorium limits our whole view of how big and great God really is. This is why Jesus said that it is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, because he is constantly following ‘rules’ instead of God Himself. Rich people are bombarded by our own dependency on ‘things’ instead of God. Therefore we are more easily attracted to making our worship to God more materialistic and attractive by the world’s expectations, instead of God’s expectations. Matthew 19:16-26. Rich people are good at making rules about our way of life for God, instead of making sacrifices as a way of life for God. If this is our emphasis and direction, we will experience the ‘awe’ in reverence towards God in worship. Our God is great & worthy of constant praise & prayer. 1Ths. 5:17-18. Tennyson the English poet wrote “Let knowledge grow from more to more, but more of reverence in us dwell, that mind and soul, according well, may make one music as before” (1850). He is observing the truth that when humans replace reverence for the Creator with knowledge of the creation we become uglier.

To help us express reverence in our praise & prayer, we should learn about three contrasts David puts in Psalm 8:1-9. A. The glory of God and the frailty of our humanity, v1-2. See also, Psalm 19:1-2.
B. The vastness of the Universe and the tiny space mankind occupies, Psa.8:3-4. C. The dominion God gave us over His creation in our service, Psa. 8:5-6, and Gen. 1:28. Of course all of these things are magnified in Jesus (Son of Man), and in a smaller way, exemplified in the Christian (siblings of the Son of Man). Jesus proved in the transfiguration that He possessed the glory of God, yet suffered death at humanities horrors inflicted on himself. Jesus was small in this Universe he helped create, in that he was born in poverty, lived homeless and died a pauper, but was raised eternally victorious. Jesus also reflected dominion over creation in many miracles, yet had to work with his own hands with the servants in creation to eek out a physical existence while on earth. It is amazing that scientist with all their knowledge can accept our universe as infinite, but reject an eternal God who created and controls it. Even sceptics and scoffers can not question “a superior power” when they truly consider the conception and birth of a single baby human being, Psa. 8:2, 14:1-2.

Now that we have examined what helps and hinders reverence, let’s define it: Leviticus 25:35-43 is a good example of what it means to reverence God in our lifestyle. Ecclesiastes 12:13 expresses our deepest respect in our heart for God in daily life. Hebrews 12:9, shows a good analogy of Christian reverence towards God in our heart. Boldness is sometimes confused with arrogance, Hebrews 4:16. But when we accept that an Almighty God can listen to a human that can reverence Him, all because of the blood of Christ, we have a position to be BOLD in. Boldness in prayer obviously comes from real faith growing stronger. We must know the power of God, Mt. 22:29 & Mk. 12:24. Boldness in prayer comes from God, Jude v20. This is only true, if we are praying a prayer instead of just saying a prayer. The Apostle Paul knew that if we were united in this faith, that we could “JOIN FERVENTLY” in prayer to get work done. See Romans 15:30-32. This is a military term which actually means to fight alongside one another.

If you were to make a list of priorities, surely somewhere at the top, would be to show devotion to Jesus. Oddly enough, the word ‘devotion’ is not in the King James New Testament, but the phrase “CONTINUED STEADFASTLY” is used. It means to show devotion, be dedicated and keep a priority. The New Testament does not leave us guessing about how we are to show devotion, it is specific and repetitive in telling us that Christians are to be devoted and continue steadfastly in prayer. Prayer is a top priority in showing who we are committed to in this life. Look at the following verses, Acts 1:14, “devoting themselves to prayer”. In Acts 2:42, “devoted themselves to…the prayers”. In Acts 6:4, “devote ourselves to prayer”. In Romans 12:12, “constant in prayer”. Ephesians 6:18, “praying at all times in the Spirit”. Colossians 4:2, “Be devoted to prayer”, and 1st Thessalonians 5:17, “pray always!”. Why all this devotion? Because God never stops loving you more than anything in this world! The world is devoted to making money, looking pretty and dominating power over the next person. Jesus is devoted to loving you, tell Him you love Him, every day!

This is the essence of praising God, by our action, our words and whole lifestyle. Anyone who worships (loves) God and does his will, is heard by God, Jn 9:31. What God does after hearing someone who loves him and does what He wants, is a good question. Cornelius is a great example. His prayer and good deeds went up as a memorial, and God answered him with the good news of his salvation by His Spirit and Peter’s command of baptism, Acts 10:45-48. This empowers us to praise Him. We of course, are not coming into salvation as the first ever Gentile believer, with the purpose of proving God’s work miraculously. But we are just as precious, loved and destined for a divine purpose. The reason we should praise God is best defined by David who wrote in Psalm 40:1-3, “I relied completely on the Lord, and he turned toward me and heard my cry for help, He lifted me out of the watery pit, out of the slimy mud. he placed my feet on a rock and gave me secure footing. He gave me reason to sing a new song, praising our God. May many see what God has done, so that they might swear allegiance to him and trust in the Lord”. This kind of praise that is rooted in recognition of God’s help, is the kind of praise that keeps us devoted to prayer and our Savior Jesus Christ. Do we lack the strength and stamina to keep praising Christ? It may only be because we do not recognize His very real help and work on us and all around us. Look! Read! Believe and live it out!

Saccharin, Stevia or Sugar, which is real? The food industry has studied, tested, proven and promoted all kinds of sugars. But which is really the best for your body? That is a much debated topic. But let no one argue about which kind of sweetness is best for our soul. God says, “and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:6-8). What could be sweeter than the kindness of God in Christ Jesus. His grace still inspires millions to be kind & gentle, even towards enemies undeserving. This is true love, it is sacrificial love and the most love any one could have, that is, to lay down their life for a friend. It is God’s design for His sacrificial love to inspire our human affections to grow. For most of us, Valentine’s Day is a time to show affection and kindness to those who are close. But if we are called upon to make a real sacrifice for those close and dear to us, could we do it? This reminds me of an anonymous poem my aunt gave me. “God has not promised skies ever blue, flower strewn pathways always for you. God hasn’t promised sun without rain, joy without sorrow, peace without pain. But He has promised strength from above, ongoing comfort, unfailing love”. This truth was long ago expounded upon by the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:35-38.

Some Christians get real upset, when they are told what to do, other Christians, just get on with it. The latter, usually knows the truth about who really rules. Regardless of the request, we all usually want to know ‘who put you in charge?” In the Church, Jesus Christ is in charge, our Lord of lords and King of kings. He is the one who ordained the powers that be. This past week we have heard of two people who didn’t like being told what to do, so they took a gun and killed the ‘ruler’. Robert Butler Jr, was suspended from School for driving on the sports field, so he shot & killed the Assistant Principle Vicki Kaspar on Wednesday, at the same time our 112th Congress took their seat of power. I wonder if any politicians can see the link? Is God making a statement? Our society needs to reassert trust in God, instead of Government, so that peace instead of chaos can reign. Until that is done, we will suffer the malaise of irresponsibility and ignorance that eventually kills our democracy. In the meantime, we must pray for “all that are in high positions” (1st Tim. 2:2) Make sure you’re the type of Christian that does what we are told. Who rules who, or do we think we rule our selves?

We know God’s word claims His control over our care. Peter proclaims that we must cast our cares on Him because He cares of us, (1st Peter 5:7). We often hope a person’s word is good, especially when we are trying to get something fixed, replaced, or when we are signing a contract! But sometimes we find failure. God’s word is different, He never fails us, and even when it feels like He has, look closer at this word and He will shine brighter and truer to His word than you ever imagined. His word is living and active, he never stops helping us and will never forsake us, just as he promises in Hebrews 13:5, “Keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you”. Jesus has his Spirit right here in our fellowship and in our hearts! In this new year, it’s going to be alright! Yes we have a bumpy economy and a terrible unemployment problem in our society, but God is at work and His word will empower us to make everything alright. We have His Word and it has been proven good.

According to an ancient legend in Lystra Greece, two gods, Hermes and Zeus, had once visited their city with a promise to return. When the Apostle Paul and Barnabas arrived doing miracles, some of the people were certain that those gods had come back. With patience and confidence, Paul let them know that no mythical gods had bestowed goodness on Lystra, but it was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who had blessed their land – as a testimony of the very real Spirit of Christ in their midst all along. Today, most people in our society believe in the spirit of Christmas, instead of the Spirit of Christ. It was Christ, that God The Father of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob promised to us. It was Christ in God that fulfilled that promise. Therefore, Christmas is here and we are thankful ! We are thankful for a real God that keeps real promises, because He really came and made another promise to come again. The Lord’s brother, James wrote, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). How many good & perfect gifts have you received in past Christmas mornings? God just keeps on giving and giving, He is good all the time, Christmas or no Christmas. God didn’t promise us Christmas, but He did promise us His Son. Thank God, He keeps His promises, and gave us His Spirit of Promise, (Galatians 3:14).

God had made many promises in His work with us throughout the ages past. The most important promise for us, is that He would come to live with us in our heart. Read Matthew 28:18-20 & Romans 5:1-6:14 to understand how He made the promise and keeps it. Our God is both powerful and loving to do this for us.

God is Love, He is Spirit and He is The Father of Jesus Christ. Every true Christian learns that He is the best Father, they could ever ask for. Better than the wildest dream of any child, dreaming about Father Christmas! The Apostle Paul says, “For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption by which we cry, Abba, Father!” (Rom. 8:15) God is our Father, and he is best at giving us what we really need. God is good all the time and He gives us The Spirit of Christ. His Spirit pours out His love into our hearts (Rom. 5:5) This helps us discover His love and learn about how much better He is than any other kind of Father. We can emulate and experience and share His love. We become true lovers. God takes this picture to it’s greatest height, when He compares Christians to the Bride of Christ in Eph. 5:30-32 & Rev. 21 –22. Spiritually we become lovers of God and for love, there is no limit! His wisdom and His word helps us value Him above everything and everybody in this world. A wise lover values not so much the gift of the lover as the love of the giver. God has given us an indescribable gift in Jesus Christ. Please read 2Cor. 9:8-15. The more we learn about this and grow in faith, the more we discover his innumerable gifts for here and into eternity.

Elias Boudinot was the head of our Continental Congress for 1782-1783 and served as a Representative for several years from New Jersey during the formation of our Federal Government. Elias also is the founder of the American Bible Society (ABS) which was led by such famous men as John Jay, first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and John Q. Adams & James Fennimore Cooper. The ABS always appointed one Sunday a year to publically venerate the Bible, and to this day, makes a special effort to give thousands of Bibles away, especially to our Armed Services. Traditionally the ABS has chosen the Sunday before Thanksgiving in preparation of our Nation’s focus on God’s grace. Today the ABS asks the public to pay special attention to the Bible. Do you think the public will listen? If Elias Boudinot was alive today, do we think he would be impressed with how the Bible has affected our society? More importantly, do we know how the Bible has affected our society? Elias once wrote, “Good government generally begins in the family, and if the moral character of people degenerate, their political character must soon follow.” The character of our politicians today is a reflection of their families moral character, that is for sure! God says, “Bad Company Ruins Good Morals”, (1st Corinthians 15:33) The only way to correct this is for each of us personally to feed on and promote God’s Word publically ! God tells us to pray for “all those in authority” ( 1st Timothy 2:2). Combiming the power of God’s word with personal prayer is effective and can help us overcome evil with good. Have you written your Representative recently? Have you prayed for our President? Christians should be making time to do this and keeping this a priority as a Christian duty. If every Christian took this godly duty seriously and fulfilled it, our Nation would be blessed in greater ways than any of us can even imagine!