Reading: Matthew 28

In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John there are detailed accounts of Christ’s Resurrection and His appearing unto His own.

The Book of Matthew states; Mary Magdalene and Mary arrived at the tomb and suddenly an earthquake with an angel descending from heaven, rolled back the stone and sitting upon it spoke to them of Jesus not being there, but that He was Risen from the dead. To their amazement they went quickly with fear and joy to share the good news with the disciples. While on their way Jesus appeared to them and said, REJOICE, then they fell at His feet and worshipped Him. What an amazing moment in time this must have been…He knew what His disciples were about to face and He knows what we are facing today! He knows our every care, our fear, weakness, pain, grief, suffering, and circumstances… He understands! He is with us always even to the ends of the earth…

His Resurrection was their hope and it’s ours as well…

We too can fall at the feet of Jesus and worship Him, we can REJOICE knowing that HE IS RISEN.

Matt 5: 13-16 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

The Lord commands us to let or light shine before men so the may see good works and praise our Father in heaven.

Questions to ponder

• Are we the salt of the earth?
• Are we the light of the world?

True fresh seasoning will not lose its flavor, but will only be enhanced by the other ingredients such as; love, faith, hope, purity, goodness, and so many more. Light cannot be hidden, but will only reflect that which is seen such as being; lovely, holy, pure, blameless, set apart from the darkness that prevails.

God’s instruction in these verses is to give flavor and shine! Pure and simple…

We must love instead of hate, encourage rather than discourage, focus on strengths rather than weaknesses, edify rather than tear down, trust and obey instead of distrust and disobey, have hope rather than lose hope. We should show the better way so that others would hear of the Grace of God. 

1 Peter 2:21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.

James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Followers of Christ do just that; follow step by step. We walk daily one step at a time asking the Lord to lead and guide us every step of the way. It’s imperative that we take some time daily to seek the Lord in prayer; this is essential for Christian living. All too often we lead such busy lives and forget the very important task of taking it one step at a time, moment by moment, prayer by prayer. Being a follower of Christ is being a lover of Christ. Will you take time today to fall in love with Him all over again and share His love with others? People need the Lord more than ever today, and until we have Him in our life completely and unreservedly we cannot begin share His love with others. Spend time with the Lord daily, seek Him in much prayer, and spread His love abroad. Jesus Lives and others need to see this, hear this and know this. If we are followers of Christ, then we are His living letters.

Dear Lord, today I pray that we would stop for a moment and seek You taking it one step at time. Help us to not be too busy to pray, but let us come to the altar of prayer and lift up the needs of another, yet desiring to enrich our walk with You as we seek you throughout our day. Give us a burning passion to follow in Your footsteps, and help us to diligently follow after You. May Your will would be done in our lives, not our will.

In Jesus Name I pray! Amen!

We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised. Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. (Hebrews 6:12-18)

A friend shared this with me and I thought I’d share it with you.

We may believe that a Power greater than ourselves can restore our sanity, but still wonder how long it’s going to take. Over time, we may grow discouraged at the length of the process. We may have our spirits dampened by the chaos we can’t seem to escape. Some people report instant release from their addictions and the accompanying craziness. But for most of us, it will take patience to inherit the promise of a sane new life.

The book of Hebrews tells us: “You will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance. For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. . . . God took an oath in his own name, saying: ‘I will certainly bless you, and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.’ Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised” (Hebrews 6:12-15).

The key point to consider here is that Abraham had to wait twenty-five years to see God’s promise fulfilled. There were times he took matters into his own hands, times he probably wondered if he had really received the promise at all, and times he laughed in disbelief to think that the promise would ever come true. In the end, “Abraham was now a very old man, and the LORD had blessed him in every way” (Genesis 24:1). Just because our restoration takes time doesn’t mean our faith is in vain. Let’s keep holding on!

Since God is Truth, we can rest securely in his promises.

Blessings,

Joyce

“Matthew 25:1-13 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent…Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.”

In this parable the ten virgins were hoping to prepare for the bridegrooms arrival, but only five were allowed to enter in as they were; “on the alert”. Ready and waiting with only five having their oil lamps filled for this arrival. These five planned ahead and made wise preparation It was time to arise from their sleep and journey to meet the bridegroom. Five of the ten virgins were not prepared and they had to scramble to find more oil for their lamps. As the five diligent virgins arrived they were allowed to enter into the wedding feast and then the door was shut. After a time the remaining five foolish virgins arrived only to find the door closed, and entry to the wedding feast was no longer permitted. They were left outside and told; I do not know you” by the bridegroom. We can see many variations from this parable, but one sure meaning is that we need to live our lives in such a way that we are ready for the Lords return or for the finality of our lives. With Him we will live in eternal glory, without Him we are separated. While the oil lamp represents the light of our lives, the Spirit of God in us. Let us all draw close to God in complete surrender and devotion. Let us be ready trimming our lamps for the night coming.