UnRedeemed by Selah with lyrics

Keith Green - Easter Song

The Message of Easter

On the very first Easter Sunday, 2000 years ago, Mary Magdalene met Jesus outside of the tomb, yet at first she did not know Him. She saw someone who she thought was just the gardener. That is the way we are in our lives today. Jesus is near but until He shows himself to us we do not know. But what is He really like? How would it be like to meet with Jesus. Here is what John the Apostle says of his own unexpected meeting with Jesus on the Island of Patmos.

Revelation 1:14  His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire.

Wow! Can you even begin to imagine how John felt? How do we relate to a God who sees everything with eyes like flames that see into the darkest and deepest places of our soul. David when he gets this realization starts out by saying,

Where can I go from your Spirit, where can I flee from your presence? Psalm 139:7

When John first saw Jesus he tells us that he fell down in a dead faint! Who else wouldn't do the same thing? It was just too overwhelming seeing Jesus as He really was, even for a moment! But Jesus came and put out his hand to touch John and said:

 ...Do not be afraid, I am the first and the last. I am the Living one. I was dead and now look I am alive for ever and ever! Revelation 1:17

Easter means putting our trust in Jesus. He knows every detail of our lives, and He has come to help us through. Discovering Him on Easter means allowing him to come into our deep places of pain,sorrow and fear so He can bring the healing and restoration of heaven. Easter Sunday means finding Jesus is not only alive, but alive and wanting to be with us. Are you waiting outside a tomb of dying hopes and wondering where Jesus is today? The amazing secret of Easter is that He will come and show himself to us just when we least expect. He knows all about us and He is waiting to come and touch us and change our lives forever! What an wonderful Lord is our Jesus! What a Savior we have waiting for us again this Easter!

Christian Child Harassed for His Faith

Music Video "There Is Nothing Greater Than Grace"

Selah - Before The Throne Of God Above [with lyrics]

Loving Enemies: Part Two

So if we are going to love our enemies and pray for them, what does that look like in real life?  Is there something more than just putting up with them? Are we still on the inside thinking, "Just give me ten minutes Lord and I'll fix them!!" ? God uses the Apostle Paul to give us some specific guidelines that help us to know both what to do and how to do it.
It is interesting that God uses Paul in this way since he was for his time, Public Enemy #1 to the Christian church. Paul was akin to being a card carrying Al Queda member. He was imprisoning Christians, beating them and constantly trying to force them to renounce their faith. He had in his hands a letter authorizing him to set up shop in Damascus  and to continue to pursue those who ran away from his hit squads.Then a strange thing happened to Paul, when Jesus met him along the way. Jesus came and started a relationship with a question, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" If Jesus had just wanted to stop Paul, he could have sent down fire and burned him up. But instead of anger, Jesus shined a light and showed Paul, just who He really was.

From that experience, Paul could say later in his letter to the Romans; Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. Romans 12:21


So in our own everyday life, how does that work? Are we just to go around handing out milk and cookies to evil men? Are we to simply ignore the harm that these people are doing? In the war with evil we have different and better weapons, than the weapons that God's enemies use. Remember that Jesus told us:


Luke 12:4 Do not be afraid of those who want to kill your body, they cannot do any more to you after that...


In other words it is pointless to fight back with the same worthless weapons of evil. We will never win out using the same tactics of the losing side! For God's good to win out, it must win out first in our own lives. "Don't let evil conquer you..." When God's goodness wins inside of us then we have a source and a well of grace to draw from in facing evil. In the  hour of battle, God will give us the resources we need. Romans 12:20 When your enemy is hungry give him something to eat... To feed our enemies means, being close enough to know they are hungry and brave enough to give them something to eat. Until we are willing to follow Jesus in doing good to enemies, we will keep running away from them or trying to fight back with their own weapons. Jesus wants us to stand our ground and not allow fear to rule us. If we trust Him totally He just might come and and get a hold of a 21st century Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus!

Praying For Our Enemies

Jesus gave us some very direct commands about how to treat our enemies and those who are out to persecute us. In Matthew's gospel Jesus says, "But I tell you love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you." Matthew 5:44. All this seems so easy in principle until someone is killed as happened to Joel Shrum today in Yemen. The only reason given by his killers was that he tried to tell others about Jesus. In the moment when I heard this news something in me wanted to lash out at those people who could do such evil. That would be my way, but it wasn't Jesus' way. Jesus commanded us to love and pray for our enemies, and He did exactly that.

In the dark hours on the cross, when people passed by and mocked and the soldiers gambled for his clothing Jesus cried out, "Father forgive them, because they don't know what they are doing!" Can we make that the cry of our heart tonight? Can we pray not only for comfort for Joel's family but can we pray for forgiveness for those men who have no idea at all of the love of God. It has been said that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the saints. God in his own wisdom allowed his innocent son to suffer and die alone on a cross to plant the seed that would give us life. How much more do we need to trust him today to take each new persecution, each harsh word spoken and with grace call out for mercy for people who do not even know they need it.

Oh how hard it is and how much it runs against the grain of our human nature but let's pray tonight for lost men in Yemen with blood still fresh on their hands. Let's pray for their families and for the future of their nation. God still extends His love. The cross still has the power to change lives if we will pray. God's love is so mighty that in the face of evil it swallows up death, and in the hour when no one hopes, it gives birth to new life. Who will join in prayer? 

How Deep by Sovereign Grace Music

Prayer from Iran

An Undivided Heart

                         Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore. From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets the name of the Lord is to be praised
Psalm 113:2-3

     Because we serve a God who is eternal, there is also something about our praise that needs to be eternal.  It is not just that we will praise him till we die, and then it will be some one else's turn. Eternal praise has a quality that flows from our hearts to God in a very special way. We often ask God to show us His ways. Psalm 25:4 says "show me your ways O God, teach me your paths"  That verse has been my own prayer for years. King David is the one person in all the Bible who is most known for his praise life. In Psalm 86:11-12 he writes "Teach me your way Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness. Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name"

     The idea of asking God to show us his ways, must also rule in our times of praise. We  need God to show himself to us ,as we sing, or pray or even simply bow in silence. When we don't see "His way" we find ourselves just singing the words like a bland meal, because there is nothing that tastes eternal. But  next David asks for something that gives us a compass to help guide us into God's ways. He asks God to give him an undivided heart. Above all other things, having an undivided heart will help us to have a true and eternal praise for Jesus.

      It is easy to see this in action in the story of Martha and Mary. Both of them loved Jesus, in fact Martha had gone out and invited Him and all his disciples to her house! Then Martha began to get busy so everyone would have what they needed. She is the perfect picture of how we often run around getting ready to go to church. We hurry and push and get stressed out with our family, because we are trying so hard to serve Jesus with a divided heart. One part of us wants to do all the right things and be on time and please everyone, while the other part is wishing we could just come and sit at His feet.

     How is your heart today? What was your schedule like this week? Was there barely a minute to just sit and listen? Jesus is delighted to be in our house, but He is waiting for us to come to a full stop so we can really see Him and hear what He has to say. He wants to be more than just the honored guest at our banquet. Jesus wants to step into eternity with us into a place where praise flows effortlessly like a crystal river. Jesus wants to draw our hearts after Him and turn our faces directly into His gaze. That is when we find we have the undivided heart. That is when our worship becomes eternal and He receives all our praise!

Finding Jesus

Hillsong- Lord of Lords

Hillsong Chapel - You'll Come HD (2010)

A Muslim lady's Journey from islam to Christ.

How Deep The Father's Love For Us

People are More Important Than Things!

Mark 8:36 For what will it profit a man  if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Mark 8:36

Though I have never lain awake mourning the loss of a car, or wept hot tears at the sudden memory of a coat I once wore, I have sometimes found myself mindlessly running after worldly things. Jesus warns us that it is so easy to be trapped by temporary things. They have the allure of a baited hook dangling before us. But the satisfaction of this world is so brief and its hook will tear the eternal things out of our hearts.

Jesus not only tells us, He shows us what it means to value eternal things. During the last dark hours of His life we see a clear contrast of what Jesus prized and what He did not. Above our Master on his cross was a mocking title "The kings of the Jews" The Romans were laughing as they nailed this above his head. They were spitting on him, beating him and pulling the hairs of his beard out. That was what they thought about the Jews, king or otherwise. To them, Jesus was a worthless man from a worthless race. The only valuable item they could find was his robe, so for that they gambled at the foot of the cross. They barely glanced up to look as Jesus suffered. He was just another fool taking his last breaths.
But in His final hour, Jesus' mother and John came to the cross. Jesus turned to Mary and told her, "See, I am leaving you John to care for you."  Then He turned to John and told him, "Here is my mother, please care for her as though she were your own." Mary was the final earthly treasure of Jesus' life. He did not turn and say, "John you can have my house," or "John my savings are hidden behind a stone in the wall." No, Jesus had no earthly treasure. He had lost His own life in every way. He had lost his worldly place of respect and honor. He had lost his home, his family and all worldly hopes. There was nothing left that was temporary. The thief on the cross next to Jesus saw clearly that soon, Jesus would be inheriting a kingdom! Jesus was leaving this life with a crown of thorns slicing into His forehead, but he would be crowned with honor and glory by the Father.
Around the world today we can still find disciples hearing the challenge from the cross. "Take care of my mother, take care of my brothers, watch our for my little ones." These are the priceless treasures that Jesus has left in our care. Can we can hear his voice? It will be worth it all one day if before Jesus we can wrap our arms around someone and say, "Jesus, here is your mother, your little sister and your son." Can we see that only people and not things really matter? The lives of people all around us are the treasure Jesus has left hidden in the field. It will cost us everything to have them as a part of our eternal reward. We all have a choice to make today. How will we decide? Will we give all for what God values most, or will we gamble for temporary things?

God's love letter

Forever Reign-Hillsong-A Beautiful Exchange

Praying for Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani

     A lot of attention has been focused on our dear brother Pastor Youcef over these last few weeks. His life hangs in the balance and the prayers of God people are absolutely needed now. But, how do we pray? What are we going to the throne to ask? Of course we ask that his life be spared, but then what? What next?
     Iran has a long history of imprisoning and executing Christian Pastors. Many have been imprisoned before and there are others who have been arrested over the last few months. If Pastor Youcef is released then will he be able to resume his ministry and rejoin his family? What will happen to his church and to many other Farsi speaking house churches. The government's fear is about the growth of these unregistered churches. How are we to best understand and help the church of Jesus in Iran?
     In the book of Daniel we meet three young men in ancient Babylon by the name of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They were confronted by a culture and a king who demanded that they bow down and worship a golden statue or be thrown into a bronze furnace and be burned to ashes. Listen to their response.

      ..."King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to delver us from your Majesty's hand. Even if he does not, we want you to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." Daniel 3:16-18

The future of a nation

    Notice both what these amazing young men said and what they did not say. They were not at all concerned about defending themselves in a civil sense. They were absolutely committed to live for God no matter what the consequences. Notice also that they didn't begin to question the king's authority or verbally attack him. What made them so compelling was their fearless trust in God alone. Because of their testimony, when God did come to their rescue, He was also able to change the heart of the king and the future of the nation.
     Today, it is vitally important that both our prayers and our words be focused with this same vision. This is more than a simple battle for a single life We are praying not only for the liberty of Pastor Youcef, but for the changing of the hearts of leaders and the future of the nation of Iran. We must guard our own hearts and words and by real Christian faith trust God almighty to be our shield and our defender!

Giving it all away!

Both as worship leaders and as worshipers in the congregation we often fall into the rut of giving God all our praise only when we feel His blessings. Yet God is pushing us and prodding us as he did with the simple story of Elijah and the widow. At the beginning of this story we see that God had provided for Elijah miraculously for a while by a hidden stream and had sent the birds to bring him food. But one day Elijah got fresh instructions from God. He could hardly believe his ears. "Go to the village of Zarephath and I have told a poor widow to take care of you."
That might have been a very humbling instruction for the prophet, who had shaken the kingdom. Elijah obeyed, but when he arrived he discovered this widow was not only poor, she was so destitute that she was gathering sticks to make a fire and cook her last meal for herself and her son. Then Elijah came and asked her to cook that meal and give it to him by faith!
That is where God's challenge comes to us today. Maybe we are not physically in such a place as this widow , but spiritually we are feeling that there is only enough for just one more step and then we will die. Nothing has be blessed in our work. There is no sign of blessing even among anyone we know. There is nothing left and  God has seemed far away. yet what she did have, like us, is just a little more. There is just one little bit left in our spiritual cupboard. God sees that little bit and He comes asking for it to be given away!
If we really still put our trust in God, we only have one answer to give him. "Here is my all. I am giving it to who you send me Lord. Lord, you are enough for me."
Faith in worship is not about those times when we can see the blessing and where it is so apparent that God is present. Worship in action is about those moments when we have just a little left and God asks for us to give that away too. Will we trust him with our all? Will we choose to really worship today?

Audrey Assad - Sparrow (Live)

O Church Arise