Our God's Alive!

"I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!"

Rev. 1:18

~Jesus the Christ

Happy Resurrection Day!
Dorci

Lessons From the Cross

As Jesus hung on the cross, bloodied and bruised and agonizing, His thoughts and purpose for us remained steadfast.  These are the words He chose to speak as His last before His work was done and just a few things we can learn from them.

"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

Luke 23:34

He showed us mercy and forgiveness and gave us hope that we can forgive no matter the circumstances, too. 
  

"I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

Luke 23:43

            He showed us grace and the hope of heaven.

"Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother."
John 19:26-27

            He showed us His compassionate provision. 


“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”   
Matthew 27:46

He showed us that even when we don’t understand we are to cling to the Father in the midst of our suffering.

"I am thirsty."
John 19:28

            He showed us humility.

"It is finished!"
John 19:30

            He showed us His completed work.  There is nothing left for us to do.


"Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."
Luke 23:46

            He showed us complete dependence and trust in the Father for our

            eternal souls.


   
Question4U: What lessons do you learn from Jesus' last words on the cross?

Love and blessings,
Dorci

The Way of Love

Tommy’s taken some time out of his successful life as a doctor, spending the day out on the golf course with his buddies when he receives an alarming phone call from another part of the world. 

His son, Daniel, is dead. 

And all at once, a life that seemed to have every duck carefully placed in a row was upside down.

And thus begins a father’s journey in the movie The Way with Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez.   It is a poignant look at a man who has been caught up in the world’s version of success and has, ironically, become somewhat cynical and bitter.  And when the unthinkable happens we see the ensuing inner struggles of a man who suddenly realizes he doesn’t have things figured out quite the way he thought.   

FYI - If you haven’t seen the movie yet, this will contain some slight spoilers. 

The last time the two men spoke they were engaged in an awkward conversation as Tommy drove his son, Daniel, to the airport. Daniel tells his dad about the journey he’s going to make and, in an effort to try connecting with his dad, asks him to come along.  Tommy cynically laughs it off, saying that not everyone has the luxury of taking time off from work to do such a thing. 

And now the time was gone. 

Tommy makes the pain-staking trip to St. Jean Pied de Port, France to retrieve his son’s body and his belongings.  Daniel had just begun his journey on the road of El camino de Santiago, The Way of St. James, a pilgrimage that millions have traveled over the last thousand years.  The journey can begin on any of a number of paths, but the destination is always Galicia, Spain, where some believe the remains of the apostle James are buried.  Depending on the origin of one’s journey, the pilgrimage can take weeks to months. 

Tommy arrives in France and decides to have his son’s body cremated for the return trip.  He begins looking through his son’s backpack at the things he’d chosen to take with him on his journey of discovery.  It’s perhaps the first time in a long time that Tommy had taken a few moments to really study his son. 

And we can’t help but think about how we’re spending the days of our own short lives. 

Tommy decides to honor his son by taking him on the journey anyway.  He throws the backpack over his shoulders, the box of ashes tucked safely inside, and he sets out to make the 500-mile trek in his son’s stead. 

Tommy reluctantly picks up a few friends along the way, each of whom has their own reasons for traveling The Way.  But their reasons seem rather selfish and superficial compared to the heavy burden that Tommy carries. 

The others approach their goals half-heartedly, but Tommy remains steadfast in his mission to do this last loving act for his son. 

As they all reached their destination together, it occurred to me that the only one who successfully accomplished what he set out to do was the one who, in love, set out to do something for someone else. 

It was too late to reconcile with his son, but through choosing this unselfish and loving act he gains much more—a heart of forgiveness, humility, love, and peace.

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another."  John 13:34

Jesus made this statement to the apostles the evening He had washed their feet.  He didn’t just say He loved them, He became their servant.  That is what God says love really is and this is the way we’re to live our lives. 

It’s love that gives us the strength to do the hard thing--the ability to lay aside our pride and our own lives in order to finish what God’s called us to do. 

We are all on a journey called life, and loving others is what makes life worth living. The specific ways we’re called to sacrifice throughout our lives may sometimes go against all common sense.  Sometimes we may just not feel like it, just like Tommy didn’t feel like going on the trip with his son.  But God says that by choosing to live a life of sacrifice we’ll gain a lot more that we ever gave up.

As I watched the movie I couldn’t help but also make comparison to Christ and the road He walked in our steads, too.  Like the story, while we were dead in our sins, Christ embarked on a journey for us, a journey we couldn’t take ourselves.  He journeyed to the cross and laid down His life for us to purchase our souls from hell. 

It was His love for His Father and for us that kept Him steadfast on the road to an agonizing death.  But to Him, the reward of giving us eternal life made the journey worth it.

Question4U: What is one thing you can do to live your life more unselfishly?

Blessings and Love,

Dorci

Arise, shine; for your light has come! Isaiah 60:1

Relax! It Doesn't Have to Be Perfect

For to you is born today, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this is a sign to you. You will find the babe wrapped, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.  

Luke 2:11-14

I was once told that it isn’t Thanksgiving without green bean casserole.  As if green beans, mushroom soup and fried onions make us thankful.  Could we not be thankful if we gathered around pizza or hot dogs? 

I think the lack of celebrating Thanksgiving in its purest sense by being deeply grateful is what leads people straight into having a materialistic Christmas. If we don’t acknowledge our thankfulness for all we have then we feel we need more.  And more and more. 

There’s even a current commercial being run that boasts it can give you “more Christmas for your money.”  We are being sold the lie that Christmas means having as much as your credit card will allow.  And when we buy it then our focus on what’s truly important becomes very fuzzy. 

We can get so caught up in the rituals and traditions that we forget the true meaning of the holidays.  Green bean casserole is nice (so they say!) and so is turkey.  Gifts are wonderful and so is spending time with family. 

But so much emphasis is put on having the picture-perfect Rockwell holiday that many feel left out when they can’t live up to those expectations.  And that’s when people become depressed during the holidays.  I know.  I’ve spent a number of holidays that looked more like a Picasso. But Picassos are beautiful, too, you just have look a little deeper and remember...

it’s about the Lord, not us. 

Christmas is about celebrating the birth of the Christ Child.  The Savior of all mankind came to take away the sins of the world!  How awesome is that?! Celebrating Him begins in our hearts, not on a Martha Stewart dinner table and not with a lot of charged-up gifts under a lighted tree that will take half the next year to pay.

No matter where we are, no matter what’s going on around us, if we have family or not, if we have money for gifts or not, we are the richest when Jesus lives in our hearts and we celebrate Him.

And if we have spaghetti for Christmas, so what?  Have it with gusto and thank God for it!   After all, Jesus’ birthday wasn’t picture perfect, either.  But the joy in the stable and beyond was immeasurable. 

If you’re having a difficult time this Christmas and you’d like some prayer, I’d be more than happy to pray for you.  Just leave a comment or send me an email.  Or you can click on A Place for Prayer Requests at the top. 

God bless you!

Dorci

He is Risen!

Sunrise over Resurrection Bay, Seward, Alaska

"I am the Resurrection and the Life!

He who believes in Me, though he die, yet he shall live."

John 11:25

Anatomy of a Sin

“City Worker Stole $100K”

“Con Man Offered 19 Excuses As To Why He Couldn’t Pay Back Investments”

“Ex-Teacher Guilty of Sex Charge”

Most of us would look at these current headlines in shock, maybe even with what we might think of as righteous indignation, and wonder how a person can sink so low as to commit these crimes. But sin doesn't take over a life overnight. It’s a process of giving in to temptations, justifying the acts and deceiving one’s own heart. And none of us are immune to it.

If we were in Jerusalem almost 2000 years ago, we might see this headline in the local paper:

“Judas Iscariot Betrays ‘King of the Jews’”

“Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests. And he said to them, ‘What will you give me, and I will betray Him to you?’ And they appointed to him thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.” (Matthew 26:14-16)

Why did he do it? Why would Judas betray this man--this friend whom he walked with for 3 years, who taught him, who trusted him, who had just knelt before him and washed his feet--for a mere 30 pieces of silver, the wages of a slave?

I think we find the answer in John, chapter 12.

Many are gathered in the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus where a dinner was being given in honor of their friend, Jesus. Mary had just unsealed the lid of a very expensive jar of perfume and had washed the feet of the Guest of Honor with it, wiping them with her own hair.

Judas said, “’Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.’ He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.” John 12:4-6.

Instead of confessing to Jesus that he had given in to the temptation to steal from the money bag, Judas gave in to the temptation time after time, letting greed take over. And in 3 short years, Judas’ love of himself and of money became more important to him than any love he would have had for Jesus. And at some point evil took over as satan, the enemy of Jesus, entered into Judas Iscariot (Luke 22:3), carrying out the betrayal through him.  And by the time Judas' conscience caught up with him, it was too late. He had handed over the Son of God to His death.

(Yes, Jesus' death was planned for by God all along; yes, it is by His death that we are saved from our sins and are given eternal life, but I wouldn't want to be the one who betrayed Him, would you?)

Once again, instead of confessing his guilt to the one Man who would have forgiven him, Judas confessed to the chief priests and the elders who couldn’t have cared less. Guilt consumed him and he hung himself.

All of us are faced with the temptation to sin every day. Being tempted is not a sin; even Jesus was tempted, but He remained sinless. It's when we've given thought to the temptation, however brief, and choose to submit to it that we've sinned.

In the beginning, it may seem as harmless as taking a few coins here and there from a money bag, or looking at a picture on the internet every now and then that we know we shouldn’t, or flirting with that co-worker. If we continue to deceive ourselves, thinking it's no big deal, or we can handle it, we may look back someday and realize we've made the biggest mistake of our lives.

Whatever your temptation is, before it gives birth to sin and the consequences are more than you ever wanted to pay, confess it to the one Man who can and will forgive you, the God Who can help you, the Lord Who loves you--Jesus Christ.

How's Your Love Quotient?

I saw an interview with Aron Ralston, the mountain climber who, in 2003, went for a day hike and instead spent 5 ½ days trapped by a very large boulder that had dislodged, falling onto his right forearm and pinning him to the side of a canyon. He was in a very remote area, leaving him alone with only his camcorder, his hiking gear, and his thoughts.

He attempted to free himself first by trying to push the boulder off his arm, then by using a knife to try chipping away at the boulder. Neither worked. He sipped on the little bit of water he had and when that ran out, he hydrated himself by drinking his own urine.

When the days slipped by and he lost hope of being freed, he carved his name, date of birth and the date he believed he would die in the canyon wall next to him. He videotaped what would be his last will and testament and last goodbyes to his parents in hopes that someone would eventually find his body and return the message to his family.

And then, the last night he spent in the canyon, he had a vision. The vision was a scene of himself, sitting on a living room floor, playing with a little blonde-haired boy. Though he wasn’t married and had no children, he somehow knew that little boy was his own son. And the immense love he instantly felt for his son gave him the courage to begin to free himself by cutting off his own arm.

Through intense pain, he cut through the skin and nerves and muscle all the way to the bone but then realized the knife was too dull to cut the bone. He would have to break his arm. And so, using some of the hiking gear, and the boulder as leverage, he broke the bones in his forearm, cut off the rest of the arm, and freed himself. As he walked the several miles back to his vehicle, he crossed paths with a couple who called authorities and he was rescued by helicopter.

During the interview, Aron spoke about the vision he had of the boy he knew was his son, and the fact that it was the deep love he felt for this child that gave him the courage to do what had to be done throughout his staggeringly painful ordeal. He said that there was nothing like the love between a parent and child. He knew he had to survive for his son.

As I listened to Aron, I couldn’t help but think of Christ and the fact that what kept Him held in the arms of His captors, what kept Him standing before Pilate, being sentenced by a mob to a cruel death even though He was innocent of any wrongdoing, and what kept Him held to the cross despite unbearable pain, was His love for us.

His love for every one of us and His overwhelming desire to purchase our freedom from the penalty of our sins far outweighed the love He had for Himself.

His love for us knew no bounds even when that love kept Him bound.

So, why do we, as children of God, do what we do? Why do we get up every day and serve others? What motivates us to turn away from all the world’s attitudes of selfishness and greed? Why do we go against common sense and love our enemies? What keeps us going through trials without sinning either in deed or attitude?

If we forget that it’s all about our love for the Lord and glorifying Him, we will lose sight of why we’re going through it and that will cause us to forget how to get through it. As our focus on the Lord gets smaller, our trials will seem overwhelming in our eyes. We will forget to entrust our lives to the loving Lord who died for us. We will get so focused on the trial itself and on ourselves that we will forget that God is working all things together for our good.

We may not always know the exact reasons why we go through very difficult and painful adversities, but God, Who loves us more than we can imagine, does. If Jesus would put Himself on a cross for the reason of purchasing the freedom of the ones He loves, why would He not have eternally praiseworthy reasons for allowing us to go through our momentary afflictions?

Have courage, my dear friends, we are loved by the King!

“let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Hebrews 12:1b-2

Oh, and by the way, Aron married Jessica Trusty in August of 2009, and they had a beautiful baby boy in February of last year. His wife has blonde hair.

 
Blessings,

A Light In The Darkness

In the dead of night, as the world around them slept and all was dark and quiet and still, under a twinkling mobile of stars, a King was born. No fanfare greeted Him, no parade announced Him, no room was made for Him save for an ordinary barn.

And in the light of day, as the world beyond them busied and all blindingly labored under the weight of their own sin, a Messiah was born.

Though creation groaned for a Savior, the world was wholly unaware of the miracle that had occurred in their midst.

The Christ had stepped down from His regal throne at the right hand of the Father and was born a helpless babe.

And his mother laid Him in a manger. The trough that was constructed to contain food for beasts now contained the spiritual food for all mankind.

Though we sought Him not, He poured Himself as the Living Water and gave Himself as the Bread of Life.

Quietly, humbly, the Light of the ages shone into the world and, joyfully, into the hearts of man. There is no high enough exaltation to give our King Jesus Who lovingly gave Himself for the salvation of all people.

May all glory and honor and praise lift up the precious Name of Jesus forever and ever.

“And the angel said to them, ‘Do not fear. For behold, I give to you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For to you is born today, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this is a sign to you. You will find the babe wrapped, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.’” (Luke 2:10-14)

A Righteous Death

“And coming to a place called Golgotha, which is called, Place of a Skull, they gave Him vinegar mixed with gall to drink. And when He had tasted, He would not drink.” Matthew 27:33-34

As was the custom, Jesus was offered vinegar mixed with gall, a bitter poison, to ease His unthinkable suffering. He stood exhausted, spat upon, profusely bleeding after being beaten nearly to death, thorns piercing his head, and facing a barbaric death. And yet He refused the cup.

He refused to have his suffering eased and his senses dulled by the narcotic.

He refused to take in the bitterness of spirit, the deep resentment that can come, if allowed, when one has faced suffering.

He loved His Father and He loved us. To Him, obedience and the salvation of our souls was infinitely more important to Him than His own momentary comfort.

We, too, are called to die to ourselves. Just a few chapters before, in Matthew 10:38, Jesus said, “And he who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.”

We cannot follow Christ unless we daily nail our own sins and yes, even our dreams, our worries and our own agendas to our own personal, figurative cross. How can we follow Him if we are busy following ourselves? How can we allow Christ to fulfill the unimaginable dreams and plans He has for our lives if we are busy following our own small, finite dreams? How can we live in righteousness if we are busy following worldliness?

And even the death of our old man, our carnality, the selfishness and pride that manifests itself in our mortal flesh, is painful. Sometimes that death has to come through suffering—an illness, a financial blow, a strained relationship. If we allow resentment to take hold of our hearts in a season of suffering, it will cause a root of bitterness to grow that is not easily removed. And that bitterness will dull our spiritual senses to the point that God will seem afar off.

And some will look to the poison of sin to ease their suffering. And when I say “sin,” don’t be tempted to think only of something obvious, like adultery or drug or alcohol abuse. Whatever we put before God in our lives, whatever we depend on more than Him, whatever we go to for comfort when we are in the middle of a painful trial instead of going to Christ, that is sin.

The comfort of sin is a façade, and when it has reached its end will swallow us in bitterness of soul.

Like Christ, we must refuse the cup of bitterness in whatever form it presents itself. Our suffering is for righteousness’ sake, for our own spiritual growth, to work into us the image of Christ our Lord. Suffering in the Name of Christ is a good and noble thing and will produce much fruit in the loving and skillful hands of the Father—fruit that will remain pure and unspoiled as we refuse the poison of bitterness.

You Are The One

"When Jesus had said this, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, 'Truly, truly, I say to you that one of you shall betray Me.' Then the disciples looked upon one another, wondering of whom He spoke. But there was one of His disciples leaning upon Jesus' bosom, the one whom Jesus loved."  (John 13:21-23)

"Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him."  (John 20:2)

"Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following (the one who also leaned on His breast at supper, and said, 'Lord, who is he who betrays You?'  Seeing him, Peter said to Jesus, 'Lord, and what of this one?'" (John 21:20-21)

I love that the apostle John refers to himself over and over in his account of Christ as "the one whom Jesus loved."  Not that Jesus loved any of the other apostles less, but John saw himself first and foremost as one who was loved greatly by his Lord.  It would seem there was never a doubt in his mind of Jesus' love for him.

John was confident of Jesus' love at the last Passover meal when Jesus announced that one of them would betray Him.

He was confident of His love in the dark hours of confusion that followed Jesus' crucifixion and death.

He was confident of the love that Christ had for him even when a brother tried to point a critical finger at him. 

In all circumstances he knew he was loved by the only One Who really mattered.

I hope you know, too, that you are the one whom Jesus loves.  No matter what hardship you face now or in the future, no matter what you've tackled in the past, you are loved by the Lord.  There is no one He loves more than you.  If you had been the only inhabitant of earth, He would have come and died for your sins just the same. 

If you are a disciple of Christ, I hope you'll walk in faith and pure confidence at all times that you are the one whom Jesus loves. 

Friday Funnies {Friend Request}

Is your face in His book?

Will the Real God Please Stand Up?

There is a certain phenomenon of sorts in the believer’s life called “crisis of faith.” If we live long enough I think almost every Christian believer will, to one degree or another, go through this period of intense questioning of one’s own faith when life hands them a doozy of a trial and the responses of people and of God just don’t make sense.

As we grow up we adopt many ideas, some true and some false, about God and what faith in Him means. And even when we come to know Christ as our own personal Lord and Savior many of the false ideas about who God is still linger in our minds.

Then, when the violent winds of trial slam into our lives and we can’t control it and God doesn’t respond according to our preconceived, mythical notions, we can begin to have a crisis of faith. At this point we can choose to turn back to the world and stew in our confusion and bitterness or we can choose to forge ahead on the greatest journey ever known to man: the awakening of our souls, minds and hearts to the One, True God as we walk with Him and He with us, loving and becoming bonded to one another in a relationship that is unparalleled in its intimacy and blessing.

If we choose to weather the storm, hand in hand with our God, these are the times when we can begin to truly understand Who God is and put away the false god we have for so long envisioned in our minds.

The agonizing search for understanding that we begin to go through during times of suffering--the “whys?” and the “hows?” and the “how longs?”—finally shift direction from being focused on our trial to a deep soul-searching of just Who this mysterious God really is.

And the usefulness of our trial begins to emerge.

Psalm 51:6 says, “Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.” It is God’s desire to remove the lies we’ve believed in our hearts and fill us with the truth. Then we will “worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to worship Him. God is a spirit, and they who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23b-24)

We cannot fully worship and know God while the myths about Who He is still resound in our minds and hearts. Those myths will lead us off course in our understanding about God and about the painful things we encounter in our lives.

God’s enemies, satan and his lackeys, love it when we believe a lie. They can use those false understandings to persuade us into making wrong decisions, disbelieving God, growing bitter and eventually turning away from God and His people. We have to fight against that if our faith is to survive to the end.

Jesus said, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32) God longs for us to be free from the bondage of falsehoods, and the key to unlocking our chains is truth, and the source of all Truth is Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by Me.” (John 14:6) It is only through relationship with Him Who is the Truth that we are able to come into the full knowledge and wisdom of truth.

A common question among unbelievers and many believers alike is, “Why does God allow people to go through difficult things?” And eventually the question becomes more specifically, “Why is God allowing me to go through this difficult thing?”

God does not wish pain on us for pain’s sake. But He does know that for us to become mature in our faith, not falling prey to the evil one, wise in our service and leadership of others and able to fulfill the great commission of making disciples as we lead others into the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, we must be filled with truth and a correct understanding of our God and His Word. We must worship Him as He is, not as we want Him to be.

If we choose to hold onto the Lord when the storm blows in we can have  assurance that God is with us and that if we diligently seek Him He will reveal Himself to us in ways we never thought possible. We will experience increasing joy and peace and love as we more clearly see the wondrous beauty of our God.

The Foreshadowing of Yom Kippur

I love that the events of the Old Testament are a centuries-long love story between God and His people that foreshadows for us an even more intimate relationship with God through the coming Christ and the grace and mercy that is given through His sacrifice on the cross. God initiated relationship with a people that He chose for Himself - the Israelite nation that began with one man, Abraham. He then initiated relationship with the whole world by one man: Jesus Christ. What began as a relationship between God and man through law thousands of years ago is now a relationship of love and grace and mercy that is written on the hearts of all people who have received forgiveness through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Although I was not born into Judaism, I personally feel a special kinship with the Jewish people because Jesus Christ was born out of the line of the Israelites and the day that I received Him as my Lord and Savior is the day I was adopted by the Father as His daughter. Because of that, I’ve always been interested in understanding Jewish observances and how they are a picture of my Lord, Jesus Christ.

For 24 hours beginning at sundown today, Jews all over the world observe Yom Kippur, The Day of Atonement, which is a day of fasting, repentance and prayer to atone for their sins. Atonement means, “satisfaction or reparation for a wrong or injury; amends.” The Jewish people consider it one of the, if not the holiest day of the year. The Day of Atonement is described in Leviticus, chapter 16, where the Lord spoke to Moses and told him that his brother, Aaron, was to make atonement with a young bull as a sin offering for himself and his household, and a ram for a burnt offering.

Then, Aaron was to take two male goats from the Israelite community. One goat was sacrificed to the Lord for a sin offering for the people. The blood that was shed was sprinkled on the atonement cover (or mercy seat – the cover of the Ark of the Covenant) to make atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting and the altar, because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites.

The other goat, the scapegoat, was then presented alive to the Lord. Aaron was to lay both hands on the head of the goat and confess over it all the sins of the Israelites. Then the goat would carry the sins upon itself and be sent out into the desert.

And to the people, God said, "This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: on the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work—whether native-born or an alien living among you- because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the LORD, you will be clean from all your sins. It is a sabbath of rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance. The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest is to make atonement. He is to put on the sacred linen garments and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, for the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and for the priests and all the people of the community. ‘This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites.’ And it was done, as the LORD commanded Moses.” (Leviticus 16:29-34)

At one time a law was given that a literal goat be given as a scapegoat to carry the sins of the Israelites far away from them. This foreshadowed the Messiah Who would be our scapegoat, taken from within the Israelite community. Yet He willingly gave Himself as a sacrifice as He took on the sins of the world and removed them from us as far as the east is from the west. He also is the Son of the Father, the High Priest, who makes atonement for us, just as God commanded the Israelites all those thousands of years ago.

And at the moment His work on the cross was done, the foot-thick veil that separated the Most Holy Place, the place where God resided and only priests were given access, was ripped from top to bottom. No longer would God’s dwelling be separate from His people because of their sins, but rather He would now reside in the hearts of His people because Jesus Christ made atonement for them all. God was inviting us in to Him for a relationship through grace rather than through law.

                                                    The Tabernacle

And no longer do we have to deny ourselves for the purpose of atonement. Works no longer satisfy as payment for our sins because Christ has made the supreme sacrifice and now only that will satisfy our sin-debt. But, the sons and daughters of God who have His love written on our hearts willingly die to ourselves – to our own personal desires - so that we can gloriously live for Christ, realizing the far more amazing plans He has dreamed for us. The work of forgiveness is done; the privilege of relationship with God through Jesus Christ has begun.

I hope you’ve made that transformation from observing God through religious law to knowing Him through His Son, Jesus Christ, by accepting the forgiveness of your sins by His blood sacrifice for you. If you haven’t, you can do that right now by praying to Him.

And now that we’ve been given the privilege of entering into the most intimate of relationships, one that was paid for us with a very precious price, one that takes place not on the outside, but in the very depths of our heart, we must never neglect it. To treat our relationship with Him with anything other than the utmost of respect and honor and glory is to trivialize the ultimate act of selfless love given to us by our Savior.

I hope we use the precious and fleeting time we’ve been given in this life and the gift of our salvation to let God’s glorious love live in and through our hearts every day of the year until the day in Heaven when we bow before Him – our very Mercy Seat.

Trust

Too many things in our world are vying for our "trust." 

But only One is deserving. Only One is worthy.  Only One is righteous. 

Only Jesus Christ will reward our trust with complete faithfulness.

What, or who, will you choose to trust right now?

The Risen Savior

"I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore."

~Jesus Christ

Revelation 1:18

Face to Face

“So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?’

He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’

He said to him, ‘Feed My lambs.’ He said to him again a second time, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?’

He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’

He said to him, ‘Tend My sheep.’

He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?’ Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’

And he said to Him, ‘Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.’

Jesus said to him, ‘Feed My sheep. Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish." This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’”

I read this portion of scripture a while back, looking to glean something new from it. I knew that this was the post-resurrection, pre-ascension Jesus revealing Himself to the apostles (for the third time) by the sea after they had fished all night. (Read the rest at Halas & Phos here.)

To receive news about Halas & Phos' sales and new products, sign up to receive their monthly email newsletter here.)

Tell somebody about Jesus this week!
God's blessings to you,
Dorci

His Indelible Love

I walked into a room in our house where the t.v. had been left on and playing on that channel was one of those shows about tattoo artists and I got sucked into watching it pretty fast. Not my usual thing, but it was interesting.

A man came into the tattoo parlor with some pictures and a story behind the tattoo he wanted inked over his heart. It seems when he was very young, he and his dad were flying in a small plane and as a strong wind kicked up, the plane’s tail went up and the nose went down, threatening both of their lives.

His dad’s instinct was to save his son. He used his own body as a shield between the life of his child and the ground they screamed toward below. His dad made the ultimate sacrifice with his very life.

The man had brought in a newspaper clipping with a picture of the plane crash and a picture of his dad holding him when he was a baby. His request was to have a collage of sorts with the picture of the two of them and the date that his dad saved his life permanently memorialized over his heart as a reminder of his dad and the gift of life he had given to him that day.

More than once the man remarked that he was indeed special to have received that kind of gift. Only a precious few have faced death and have been loved enough by someone that they willingly gave their life for their loved one’s. The joy on his face at being loved that much by his father was palpable.

How could the analogy have been made any more plain?

Jesus Christ came to give His own life to act as a shield between our souls and hell. He placed Himself in harm’s way, giving His very life to pay for our sins so that we wouldn’t have to face punishment for them ourselves.

If we’ve put our faith in Jesus Christ, not only have we been given a second chance in this life, but we’ve been given the gift of eternal life.

How incredibly special is that?

Just think of the magnitude of God’s love for you - that He sent His only Son to die for you. And what’s more, God kept loving you until you were brought to the place of repentance and faith in Him and you became His child.

If we daily remember how privileged we are to be loved so much that Jesus Christ willingly gave His very life for us, then we, too, will beam with joy at the very precious gift we’ve been given.

Now I’m not saying we should have that sentiment indelibly inked onto our bodies, but we can have the joyful remembrance that His love will always be written on our hearts.

“No one has greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

Love Came Down At Christmas

Hi friends,
Still looking for some Christmas gifts?  Well, look no more!  Halas & Phos online Christian store has lots of great Christian apparel and gifts and you don't even have to trudge through the crowds or the snow!

They've also just put out their December newsletter which has wonderful words of hope for all of us during the Christmas season, and all year long.   You can read their archived newsletters here, and sign up to receive them by email here.  Included is always a devotion, and the great sales that are available and any product news. 

 

Also, check out their December press release, Don't just wear your Christian Apparel - LIVE IT!


“Love came down at Christmas.”

These words have made their way to the forefront of my mind more than a few times in the last couple of weeks

The eternal God, the great I Am, Who had no beginning and has no end, Who is all-sufficient unto Himself, Who created all things great and small, sent to us His only Son, Whom He loves with an inconceivable love, in the form of a tiny, soft, cuddly baby boy.

Love was encased in a manger that morning.

As his mother and step-father stared breathlessly into the face of their brand new, precious little gift as all parents do, they were privileged to look into eyes swimming with love. They held love, wrapped in a blanket, and waited for him to demonstrate to them, and to all of us, the true meaning of love.

(Read the rest on the Halas and Phos devotional page here.)

Blessings to you!
Dorci

In What Is Your Hope?

As much as the holidays are meant to be a time of rejoicing, there are many who find themselves feeling hopeless at this time of year. When we think of Christmas, we think of getting together with family and buying lots of presents. But many are instead grieving the loss of a family member, or maybe there’s no family at all with which to celebrate. Many are struggling to find a job again and don’t know where they’re going to find the money to buy gifts.

Instead of being a time of rejoicing, Christmastime can actually magnify those problems. It can be easy to focus on what we don’t have and let ourselves feel empty. But if you have Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you are not empty.

Your portion is the Lord.

“‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, therefore I hope in Him!” (Lam 3:24)

From all the things you could have in the world, you have the choicest allotment. Your portion is not paltry, it is not less than, it is not weak.

When our portion is the Lord, and when we delight in our portion, we are most blessed.

He is a perfect Father and a loving friend Who never leaves us.  He has removed our transgressions and has prepared a home for us with Him.  He has indwelt us with His Holy Spirit to lead us, to minister to us, to counsel us and to mature us in Him.  He is a God Who cares about every detail of our lives and hears us when we pray.  So pray boldly!

And the hope that we have in Him is not an empty hope, it is an expectant and patient waiting, knowing that our Lord has the power to do as He wills in our lives and knowing that He loves us with an everlasting love.

No matter what’s going on today, put your hope in God. Not in that next interview, not in that next paycheck, not in your family or friends. Those things can disappoint us.

But set your eyes on your portion – Jesus Christ. His power and His love are limitless and in Him, so is our hope. Bring all your worries and cares and concerns to Him and wait, with hope, in His sovereign will.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with Whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (James 1:17)