An Expert Searcher

Charles H. Spurgeon, Faith's Checkbook

(Eze 34:11) For thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.

This He does at the first when His elect are like wandering sheep that know not the Shepherd or the fold. How wonderfully doth the LORD find out His chosen! Jesus is great as a seeking Shepherd as well as a saving Shepherd. Though many of those His Father gave Him have gone as near to hell-gate as they well can, yet the LORD by searching and seeking discovers them and draws nigh to them in grace. He has sought out us: let us have good hope for those who are laid upon our hearts in prayer, for He will find them out also.

The LORD repeats this process when any of His flock stray from the pastures of truth and holiness. They may fall into gross error, sad sin, and grievous hardness; but yet the LORD, who has become a surety for them to His Father, will not suffer one of them to go so far as to perish. He will by providence and grace pursue them into foreign lands, into abodes of poverty, into dens of obscurity, into depths of despair; He will not lose one of all that the Father has given Him. It is a point of honor with Jesus to seek and to save all the flock, without a single exception. What a promise to plead, if at this hour I am compelled to cry, "I have gone astray like a lost sheep!"

HAVE YOU READ YOUR BIBLE TODAY??

An Expert Searcher

Charles H. Spurgeon, Faith's Checkbook

(Eze 34:11) For thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.

This He does at the first when His elect are like wandering sheep that know not the Shepherd or the fold. How wonderfully doth the LORD find out His chosen! Jesus is great as a seeking Shepherd as well as a saving Shepherd. Though many of those His Father gave Him have gone as near to hell-gate as they well can, yet the LORD by searching and seeking discovers them and draws nigh to them in grace. He has sought out us: let us have good hope for those who are laid upon our hearts in prayer, for He will find them out also.

The LORD repeats this process when any of His flock stray from the pastures of truth and holiness. They may fall into gross error, sad sin, and grievous hardness; but yet the LORD, who has become a surety for them to His Father, will not suffer one of them to go so far as to perish. He will by providence and grace pursue them into foreign lands, into abodes of poverty, into dens of obscurity, into depths of despair; He will not lose one of all that the Father has given Him. It is a point of honor with Jesus to seek and to save all the flock, without a single exception. What a promise to plead, if at this hour I am compelled to cry, "I have gone astray like a lost sheep!"

HAVE YOU READ YOUR BIBLE TODAY??

Conversation with Jesus

(Mat 7:7) "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Sometimes I get so frustrated trying to determine and discern where God wants me that it becomes a stumbling block and a distraction. I am often my worst enemy as I try to stay just a step ahead of my Lord. It does not work! It does not work because His will and our will are almost always opposites. We remain flesh and blood, constantly influenced by the world, and simply cannot truly decipher the spiritual unless aided by the express intervention of the Holy Spirit. I so look forward to that day when all believers will exchange the tent of our bodies for the immortal and our language will be in the spirit.

(Isa 25:8) He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.

One morning, during early devotions, I sat at my desk and experienced a “Day Dream” A dream of having a direct conversation with Jesus. All though not face to face, I imagined His actual presence in the room and following is my recollection of that Day Dreamed dialog:

ME: Oh my Lord God, how very lost I sometimes feel. When your presence is known through your actions, I am at the top of the world. It is almost like being in heaven while here on earth. You know my heart, Lord, you knitted me together in my mother's womb, and from that first heartbeat, my first breath, the first steps of my feet, you, Oh God, have always been right there. Most of the time Lord, I am confident in my walk, but other times, like now, I question if I am truly doing what I am supposed to do. What is my purpose? What is my job? Jesus help me!

JESUS: Love. Love our Father, Love me with all of your heart, all of your mind, and all of your soul, and love your brothers and sisters and neighbors as you love yourself. That is your purpose. It is why you were created. To Love. Love me because I first loved you. [MT 22:36-40, 1 JN 4:19]

ME: I do so love you Lord. With everything in me, I do so Love you!

JESUS: I know you do. That is why I am here. Your job, like your purpose is likewise uncomplicated. You are to go and make disciples of all the nations, Baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them about all of my commands. When you do that, I will always be with you to the very end of days. That, my loving brother, is your job. [MT 28: 18-20]

ME: (tears in my eyes) You called me brother!

JESUS: I did.

ME: (now sobbing) Lord I should be calling you King, Savior, even GOD! And you just called me, ME, your brother. [MT 12:50]

JESUS: I Love You. Let it be as I have said for this moment. In your human tent, you cannot measure the length or the width, or the height or the depth of my love for you. You are not capable of grasping such love, but you are capable of following in the example I set for you while I was walking on the earth. You see, you have all the tools you need to follow me. They are gifts from on high. Your greatest power rests in your FAITH. Faith, belief in that which you cannot see, cannot taste, cannot smell, cannot touch. The faith of a child that all is possible and that nothing is impossible with the Father and with Me. When you feel lost, find your faith. The narrow path will return. Above all else, know that I Love you and I am always here and will never leave you.

[EPH 3:17-19, MK 10:15, MT 17:20]

ME: Oh Lord, My God how wonderful you truly are, how magnificent, wondrous and powerful. All of us, those who believe, how very blessed we are to walk in your steps, and to follow your lead and to share the Truth, the Gospel to all who will listen. Thank-you Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me, Amen.

This was a day dream. Its tale, its contents are based on facts in the book. His book. Our guide. The Bible!

Have you read your Bible today?

Conversation with Jesus

(Mat 7:7) "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Sometimes I get so frustrated trying to determine and discern where God wants me that it becomes a stumbling block and a distraction. I am often my worst enemy as I try to stay just a step ahead of my Lord. It does not work! It does not work because His will and our will are almost always opposites. We remain flesh and blood, constantly influenced by the world, and simply cannot truly decipher the spiritual unless aided by the express intervention of the Holy Spirit. I so look forward to that day when all believers will exchange the tent of our bodies for the immortal and our language will be in the spirit.

(Isa 25:8) He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.

One morning, during early devotions, I sat at my desk and experienced a “Day Dream” A dream of having a direct conversation with Jesus. All though not face to face, I imagined His actual presence in the room and following is my recollection of that Day Dreamed dialog:

ME: Oh my Lord God, how very lost I sometimes feel. When your presence is known through your actions, I am at the top of the world. It is almost like being in heaven while here on earth. You know my heart, Lord, you knitted me together in my mother's womb, and from that first heartbeat, my first breath, the first steps of my feet, you, Oh God, have always been right there. Most of the time Lord, I am confident in my walk, but other times, like now, I question if I am truly doing what I am supposed to do. What is my purpose? What is my job? Jesus help me!

JESUS: Love. Love our Father, Love me with all of your heart, all of your mind, and all of your soul, and love your brothers and sisters and neighbors as you love yourself. That is your purpose. It is why you were created. To Love. Love me because I first loved you. [MT 22:36-40, 1 JN 4:19]

ME: I do so love you Lord. With everything in me, I do so Love you!

JESUS: I know you do. That is why I am here. Your job, like your purpose is likewise uncomplicated. You are to go and make disciples of all the nations, Baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them about all of my commands. When you do that, I will always be with you to the very end of days. That, my loving brother, is your job. [MT 28: 18-20]

ME: (tears in my eyes) You called me brother!

JESUS: I did.

ME: (now sobbing) Lord I should be calling you King, Savior, even GOD! And you just called me, ME, your brother. [MT 12:50]

JESUS: I Love You. Let it be as I have said for this moment. In your human tent, you cannot measure the length or the width, or the height or the depth of my love for you. You are not capable of grasping such love, but you are capable of following in the example I set for you while I was walking on the earth. You see, you have all the tools you need to follow me. They are gifts from on high. Your greatest power rests in your FAITH. Faith, belief in that which you cannot see, cannot taste, cannot smell, cannot touch. The faith of a child that all is possible and that nothing is impossible with the Father and with Me. When you feel lost, find your faith. The narrow path will return. Above all else, know that I Love you and I am always here and will never leave you.

[EPH 3:17-19, MK 10:15, MT 17:20]

ME: Oh Lord, My God how wonderful you truly are, how magnificent, wondrous and powerful. All of us, those who believe, how very blessed we are to walk in your steps, and to follow your lead and to share the Truth, the Gospel to all who will listen. Thank-you Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me, Amen.

This was a day dream. Its tale, its contents are based on facts in the book. His book. Our guide. The Bible!

Have you read your Bible today?

LISTENING

(Luk 9:35) Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!"

Listen to Me, listen to My Son, listen to them, listen to My Word, Listen to Him, They don't listen, they did not listen, if you would only listen.......

Many of us are pretty good at sending, but woefully poor in the art of receiving. So often God's will is delayed or interfered with because we refuse to listen. We love to hear ourselves talk. We think we have all the answers. It is actually rare for us to have any of the answers absent the Holy Spirit. When your mouth is running, its very difficult to hear the inner voice of God, and we miss His message.

(Joh 10:27) "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;

This old boy has had many years of experience in the “Flapping of Lips” department. The result has been missed opportunities, loss of valued lessons, ignored warnings, and failing God more times than I could ever count. [ He is so very patient with us....]

Have you ever been driving the car, jacking your jaw, and you miss the turn off? When your mouth is operating it pulls vital nutrients from the common sense part of your brain. This results in stupid behavior, irrational actions, and failure to notice the RED LIGHT at the intersection you are about to speed through. The mouth is so over rated.

When we practice the gentle art of LISTENING, (and it truly is an art), and discipline ourselves to LISTEN, and not talk, amazing things happen! Knowledge happens! Learning happens! Valued information and usable data is revealed producing an OH-MY-GOSH moment. This is only possible when the MOUTH unit is closed and the EAR unit is open.

When a friend comes to you with a problem, their hope is that you will listen. That you will hear and understand. That is what friends are for. If, instead, you are in TRANSMIT mode, you will most likely not hear the message your friend is hoping you will RECEIVE. If you miss the MESSAGE, you miss an opportunity. We rarely have a second bite at that apple. Many warnings are missed while the mouth bloviates.

God's message throughout the Bible is to LISTEN. We listen to learn, we learn to OBEY, we obey to serve, and we serve to minister in His LOVE. None of this happens if we fail to LISTEN. Its in the Book!

HAVE YOU LISTENED TO YOUR BIBLE TODAY?

LISTENING

(Luk 9:35) Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!"

Listen to Me, listen to My Son, listen to them, listen to My Word, Listen to Him, They don't listen, they did not listen, if you would only listen.......

Many of us are pretty good at sending, but woefully poor in the art of receiving. So often God's will is delayed or interfered with because we refuse to listen. We love to hear ourselves talk. We think we have all the answers. It is actually rare for us to have any of the answers absent the Holy Spirit. When your mouth is running, its very difficult to hear the inner voice of God, and we miss His message.

(Joh 10:27) "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;

This old boy has had many years of experience in the “Flapping of Lips” department. The result has been missed opportunities, loss of valued lessons, ignored warnings, and failing God more times than I could ever count. [ He is so very patient with us....]

Have you ever been driving the car, jacking your jaw, and you miss the turn off? When your mouth is operating it pulls vital nutrients from the common sense part of your brain. This results in stupid behavior, irrational actions, and failure to notice the RED LIGHT at the intersection you are about to speed through. The mouth is so over rated.

When we practice the gentle art of LISTENING, (and it truly is an art), and discipline ourselves to LISTEN, and not talk, amazing things happen! Knowledge happens! Learning happens! Valued information and usable data is revealed producing an OH-MY-GOSH moment. This is only possible when the MOUTH unit is closed and the EAR unit is open.

When a friend comes to you with a problem, their hope is that you will listen. That you will hear and understand. That is what friends are for. If, instead, you are in TRANSMIT mode, you will most likely not hear the message your friend is hoping you will RECEIVE. If you miss the MESSAGE, you miss an opportunity. We rarely have a second bite at that apple. Many warnings are missed while the mouth bloviates.

God's message throughout the Bible is to LISTEN. We listen to learn, we learn to OBEY, we obey to serve, and we serve to minister in His LOVE. None of this happens if we fail to LISTEN. Its in the Book!

HAVE YOU LISTENED TO YOUR BIBLE TODAY?

PALM SUNDAY

Jack Zavada, writing for --About Christianity dot com--, did a very nice piece back in 2014 providing a brief overview of the significance of Palm Sunday as the Holy week begins.

Won't you join me in returning to that time in our minds and hearts and witness the triumphal entry of our Lord, our King into Jerusalem, just days before His death.

[Scripture References: MT 21:1-11, MK 11:1-11, LK 19:28-44, JN 12:12-19]

Jack Zavada writes:

Jesus Christwas on his way to Jerusalem, knowing full well that this trip would end in his sacrificial deathfor the sin of humanity. He sent two disciples ahead to the village of Bethphage, about a mile away from the city at the foot of the Mount of Olives. He told them to look for a donkey tied by a house, with its unbroken colt next to it. Jesus instructed the disciplesto tell the owners of the animal that "The Lord has need of it." (Luke 19:31, )

The men found the donkey, brought it and its colt to Jesus, and placed their cloaks on the colt. Jesus sat on the young donkey and slowly, humbly, made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

In his path, people threw their cloaks on the ground and put palm brancheson the road before him. Others waved palm branches in the air. Large Passovercrowds surrounded Jesus, shouting "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" (Matthew 21:9, )

By that time the commotion was spreading through the entire city. Many of the Galilean disciples had earlier seen Jesus raise Lazarusfrom the dead. Undoubtedly they were spreading the news of that miracle.

The Pharisees, who were jealous of Jesus and afraid of the Romans, said: "'Teacher, rebuke your disciples.' He answered, 'I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.'" (Luke 19:39-40, )

Points of Interest from the Triumphal Entry Story:

• When he told the disciples to get the donkey, Jesus referred to himself as 'The Lord,' a definite proclamation of his divinity.

• By riding into Jerusalem on a the colt of a donkey, Jesus fulfilled an ancient prophecyin Zechariah 9:9: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." [This was the only instance in the Gospels in which Jesus rode an animal.]

• Throwing cloaks in the path of someone was an act of homage and submission. The people were recognizing Jesus as the promised Messiah.

• The people's cries of 'Hosanna' came from Psalm 118:25-26. Hosanna means "save now." Despite what Jesus had foretold about his mission, the people were looking for a military Messiah who would overthrow the Romans and restore Israel's independence.

Question for Reflection About the Palm Sunday Story:

The crowds refused to see Jesus as he truly was, placing their personal desires on him instead. Who is Jesus for you? Is he someone whom you want to satisfy your selfish wants and goals, or is he Lord and Master who gave up his life to save you from your sins?

(Sources: The New Compact Bible Dictionary, edited by T. Alton Bryant; New Bible Commentary, edited by G.J. Wenham, J.A. Motyer, D.A. Carson, and R.T. France; and the , Crossway Bibles.)

Have you read your Bible today?